Taste Test: Ottolenghi
Ottolenghi's sweet potatoes
I have a lot of cookbooks, and I have a lot of favorites. The Ottolenghi cookbook is one of my newest ones and it's already turned into a favorite. Everything I've ever made out of it was wonderful. At the beginning of the year, I came across a blog that mentioned the Ottolenghi restaurant in London, saying the food was fabulous. I took a quick look at the website and though, well it looks a little like Hiltl, a vegetarian restaurant in Zurich and possibly one of my favorites. Then I forgot about it. A few months later I was browsing in the cookbook section of the English Orell Füssli store in Zurich and saw the Ottolenghi cookbook. The name rang a bell and I took it over to one of the chairs and looked at the book. I really liked what I saw. A couple of weeks later, my sister visited me and I showed it to her and she liked it, too. While I was there that time, I took the time to take another long look at it. Soon after that my sister said she would be going to London. Hmmmm. I checked the exchange rate and noticed the book would cost about half of what it did in the bookstore if she brought it back for me. I said pretty please and she said, if she had room. While she was in London she actually went to the Ottolenghi restaurant and blogged about it. And she brought me cookbook!
The first time I made this dish we had our first cold spell after summer and it was perfect. I think it's great for the holidays, but also for a cold winter night. Beware, there is a lot of garlic. But it's just too good to even think about putting in less! I also made the Mushrooms with Cinnamon. The recipe can be found here.
Danielle's Sweet Potato Gratin (Ottolenghi Cookbook)
Note: I made this in the early afternoon, covered it with foil and put it in the fridge. I took out out about 15 min. before popping it in the oven. Serves 4-6.
6 medium sweet potatoes
5 tsp roughly chopped sage
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
250 ml whipping cream
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Wash the sweet potatoes and cut them into this disks. Don't peel them. In a bowl, mix together the sage, garlic, salt and pepper. Arrange slices standing upright in a baking dish. They should fit tightly together. Cover the dish with foil and roast for 45 min. Remove the foil and pour the cream over the potatoes. Roast, uncovered, for another 25 min.
