What I've been cooking #6: Simple

Ottolenghi is one of those food writers I have wanted to try for a long time. I fawn over his recipes on the Guardian every week but as he is well know for being a bit of a faff, I had yet to try a recipe personally. The list of ingredients has always put me off. But I was lucky enough to be sent a copt of his newest cookbook Simple at work. When it arrived I had a quick flick through, turning over so many pages of what I wanted to make. The ingredients are pretty easy to find and the imagery is just beautiful.  I now want to buy all of his cookbooks and am eagerly checking Amazon to see if they become reduced. I honestly couldn't recommend this book and have loved every single thing I've tried. It's not really much of a midweek book but I absolutely adore it for weekend cooking, for when you have a bit more time in the kitchen. So what did I make?

Blueberry, almond and lemon loaf
Ah this was absolutely delicious! It came out as more of a drizzle cake because I ran out of icing but I think I prefer it this way. I'd definitely make it into a drizzle into the future. The blueberries and lemon were the perfect partnership. They both really made the cake taste so fresh and light. I can see myself making this cake over and over again.

Pasta Alla Norma
If I could, I would eat aubergine every day for dinner so it's a bit of a mystery why I had never eaten this pasta dish before. Roasting the aubergine before gives it such a deep, delicious flavour and really does make the dish. There's just something about roasted vegetables isn't there? For something so simple, Pasta All Norma really hits the spot. It's a great dish to cook when you have friends round as it tastes so delicious but won't make you spend all your evening in the kitchen. I served it with lashes of parmesan on top and homemade garlic bread.

Braised eggs with leeks and za'atar
We love tomato based bake eggs in our household so I was intrigued to see how these ones would taste. Filled the the brim with leeks and spinach, these feel like a much lighter option. But the added feta gives it something a little extra. Next time I would emit the salt seasoning during cooking as I found it a little too much with the cheese. The dish was pretty filling and we didn't even need any crusty bread.

Butterbean mash with muhammara
Found in Levantine and Turkish cuisines, this hot pepper dip is originally from Aleppo, Syria. It's so simple to make, the most difficult and time consuming thing is roasting the peppers. The butterbean mash has a similar taste to hummus and was very addictive. Next time I would add some more chilli flakes in to give it a bit more of a kick. I ate this with some delicious cumin and coriander flatbreads from Rachel Allen.

Spiced 'Shepherd's pie' with butterbean mash
This was another winner! I loved the addition of the butterbean mash, it help make it feel 'lighter'. I omitted both the apricots and the olives as we're not fans. I think it needed another tablespoon of Harissa as I was very cautious. Next time I'll use two tablespoons. Again it's quite time consuming so is another weekend job. But it's 100% worth spending the time on it.

Slow cooked chicken
I had every intention to make the corn curst but completely forgot to buy sweetcorn in our weekly shop. So we ended having it as a stew instead and I served it with salad. It was absolutely delicious and I think it is my favourite recipe in the book. I loved the kick of the Harissa and the tender chicken that just fell apart. It's the perfect dinner for a cold winter night. It does take quite a long to cook so it's definitely not one for week nights.

Avocado butter on toast wth tomato salsa
This was a massive faff and I'm not quite sure it was worth it. The butter mixed with avocado didn't really blow me away. It was tasty but it's not going to replace my normal method of making avoiding on toast. I can't be bothered to get the stand mixer out every time. I did however love the addition of the cumin seeds so will be using that little touch more frequently.