Yotam Ottolenghi’s kale recipes | Food (2024)

Stir fried kale with tahini, chilli and soy (pictured above)

This quick dish is perfect for piling on to a mound of brown rice for a light, easy supper.

Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 6

2 tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced
500g curly kale, stems removed and discarded (500g net weight)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp lime juice

Whisk all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, add three to five tablespoons of water (the amount you need will depend on the tahini, so add gradually), and whisk until the sauce is thick but pourable, a bit like honey. Set aside.

Now for the stir-fry. Heat both oils in a large saute pan on a high flame, then fry the garlic and chilli for one to two minutes, until the garlic is golden. Lift out the garlic and chilli, and reserve – you’ll be using them to top the finished dish.

Pile as much kale as possible into the hot pan, add the soy and a tablespoon of water, and cook to wilt down. As the greens collapse, add more kale to the pan and cook, stirring regularly, for three to four minutes, until the kale is cooked yet crunchy and there is no liquid left in the pan. Stir through the sesame seeds and lime juice, and take off the heat.

Spoon the greens on to a platter and drizzle the sauce over the top (hold a bit back to serve on the side, if you wish). Scatter the fried garlic and chilli on top, and serve.

Flowering sprout chips with nori and sesame salt

Flowering sprouts, or kalettes, are a cross between kale and brussels sprouts. They’re a relatively new ingredient to our supermarket shelves, and can be fried, steamed, boiled or roasted. If you can’t find them, just use brussels. The nori salt here makes double the amount needed, but it’s so good, I’d recommend making even more. It’s a wonderful way to season food, from boiled eggs to roast chicken and everything in between, and keeps very well.

1 10cm x 10cm sheet nori seaweed
20g sunflower seeds
20g pumpkin seeds
10g white sesame seeds
10g black sesame seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
Flaky sea salt
340g flowering sprouts (aka kalettes)
2 tbsp olive oil
100g mayonnaise, homemade or shop-bought, to serve

Heat the oven to 160C/320F/gas 2½.

Return the pan to a medium heat, add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and toast for three to four minutes, until they have turned golden brown and the pumpkin seeds have popped. Tip them out on to a board, chop into rough 2-3mm pieces and add to the nori bowl.

Put all the sesame seeds in the pan and toast for two minutes until the white sesame turn golden brown. Add to the nori bowl, then stir in the chilli and a teaspoon and a half of salt.

Put the kalettes in a large bowl (cut any large ones in half lengthways, so they are all roughly the same size). Add the olive oil and a half-teaspoon of salt, and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the sprouts to a large oven tray lined with baking paper, spacing them well apart, and roast for 18-20 minutes, turning them once halfway through, until crisp and starting to brown.

Remove and serve warm with a bowl each of mayonnaise and nori salt alongside, for dipping.

Kale and herb dumplings in broth

This is the kind of hearty and warming food I want to eat on cold days when I’m under the weather. Feel free to substitute the vegetable stock for chicken or beef, if you prefer, but don’t use stock cubes: they’re too salty. And, of course, you can use gluten-free bread instead of sourdough.

1½ litres vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g kale, thick stems discarded, leaves and thinner stems roughly chopped (150g net weight)
1 small banana shallot, peeled and quartered lengthways
2 spring onions, quartered
½ garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 lemon – zest finely grated, to get ½ tsp, and juiced, to get 1 tsp
10g dill, finely chopped
5g chives, finely chopped
5g tarragon leaves, finely chopped
80g ricotta
60g feta, roughly broken into 2cm pieces
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
60g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs (about 2 slices, crusts removed)
30g plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil, to serve

While the kale is cooling, add the shallot, spring onions and garlic to the stock, simmer on a medium-high heat for 15 minutes, then discard the shallot and spring onions, and turn off the heat.

Finely chop the kale and put it in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice, herbs, both cheeses, the nutmeg, egg, breadcrumbs, a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and stir to combine.

Return the stock to a medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium, gently lower in the dumplings, cover and cook for four to five minutes, until they swell and float to the top.

Divide the broth and dumplings between four bowls, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, drizzle over the oil and serve piping hot.

• Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.