I shared some of the play by play details in pre-opening weeks of Nopi, Yotam Ottolenghi latest London venture in Nopi, Ottolenghi Work In Progress, From Testing Dishes to Marble Floor almost a year ago.
What i failed to mention was the U.S publication of Plenty, Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi (Chronicle Books, March 2011).
As 2011 comes to a close, I will try to make up for this gap with a couple of recipes, starting with this one, a quick option for Meatless Monday.
The ultimate winter couscous
Someone complained to the Guardian about the long list of ingredients in this recipe. But I knew it was a success when a friend spotted it on the menu (with a due credit) of the Sun and Doves, a cool and arty pub in Camberwell.
Serves 4, or even more
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks
8 shallots, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
3 bay leaves
5 tbsp olive oil
Salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp hot paprika
¼ tsp chile flakes
2 ½ cups cubed pumpkin of butternut squash (from a 10 oz squash)
½ cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 cup chickpeas (canned or freshly cooked)
1 ½ cups chickpea cooking liquid and/or water
1 cup couscous
Large pinch of saffron
1 cup boiling vegetable stock
3 tbsp butter, broken into pieces
2 tbsp harissa
1 oz preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 cups cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the carrots, parsnips and shallots in a large ovenproof dish. Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, 4 tablespoons of the oil, ¾ teaspoon salt and all other spices and mix well. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the pumpkin, stir and return to the oven. Continue cooking for about 35 minutes, by which time the vegetables should have softened while retaining a bite. Now add the dried apricots and the chickpeas with their cooking liquid and/or water. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or until hot.
About 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the saffron and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour the boiling stock over the couscous. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for about 10 minutes. Then add the butter and fluff up the couscous with a fork until the butter melts in. Cover again and leave somewhere warm.
To serve, spoon couscous into a deep plate or bowl. Stir the harissa and preserved lemon into the vegetables; taste and add salt if needed. Spoon the vegetables onto the center of the couscous. Finish with plenty of cilantro leaves.
(* Recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi published in the U.S by Chronicle Books-March 2011- Photographs by Jonathan Lovekin, reproduced by permission, all rights reserved)