Yotam Ottolenghi Quotes

The emotive power of hummus all over the Middle East cannot be overstated, being the focus of some serious tribal rivalries.

I love the way soft white cheese such as ricotta or the creamier mascarpone reflect the milieu in which an animal has been raised.

The way to entice people into cooking is to cook delicious things.

Food can bring people together in a way nothing else could.

Dinner parties are still highly popular, and I believe they always will be.

Panko are the elite of the breadcrumb world because they stay so crunchy and light.

Going out for a meal, especially for young urbanites, is less about socialising over enjoyable food than about enjoying food as a way to socialise.

The main distinction for fresh chillies is whether they are red or green, the difference being one of ripeness.

Sea spaghetti looks like dark fettuccine and has a similar texture - you can get it in health food stores or online.

Having grown up in the Middle East, eating beans for breakfast always seemed like a bizarre British eccentricity.

Tossing doughnuts, fritters or fried dumplings in fennel sugar adds grown-up complexity without diminishing the indulgence factor.

Stuffed vine leaves tend to burn and/or stick when you cook them. To avoid this, use a heavy based pan lined with a few layers of second-rate leaves.

Yoghurt cuts sweetness and richness, tempers spice, and makes a dish sing.

I have yet to meet a carnivore who doesn't love a sausage roll.

Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.

Scamorza, an Italian curd cheese often labelled 'smoked mozzarella,' melts fantastically well.

Seasonality in winter doesn't have to mean sleep-inducing, stew-like, starchy casseroles.

Verjuice may not be the easiest thing in the world to find, but you should be able to track some down in good delis and online.

People don't know how good cauliflower is, because they always have this image of cauliflower cheese - awful, sticky, creamy and rich.

Good asparagus needs minimal treatment and is best eaten with few other ingredients.

Fish cakes are perceived as being quite British, and they're always a bit brown and a little dull.

A food processor, or even one of those small bowls that fit on a stick blender, is a real treasure. No, that's not an overstatement.

I do support people eating more vegetables. It's a good thing to do.

Raw fish suppers admittedly require a little planning, not least in the acquisition of the main ingredient.

Gooseberries aren't just for creamy desserts and pies.

When I was a kid, there was always food to be had on the street in Jerusalem, but anything above a falafel stand was mediocre or worse.

I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am hooked on Twitter. Not good.

What makes maftoul worth celebrating is that it's so easy and forgiving to cook.

Kirmizi biber has a sweet aroma and can vary in spiciness.

Pomegranate molasses is ubiquitous in Arabic cooking: it's sweet, sour and adds depth.

The kitchen is tough. It's one of the last bastions in civilized culture that sets out to crush the spirit.

I just don't tend to cook eggplant at home.

Chana dal are skinless dried split chickpeas used in Indian cooking. They have a great texture and delicate flavour.

The Guardian's 'Word of Mouth' blog bridges the gap between blogging and serious food journalism.

I am sure that in the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit was a fig and not an apple, pear or anything else.

Most pumpkin dishes involve scooping out the seeds, cutting off the skin, and chopping up the flesh before cooking.

Even in the busiest kitchen, there's always a point at the end of the day when you go home.

I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.

A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.

Mackerel is sustainable and healthy.

I always pan-fry sprouts - it retains texture and enhances flavour.

Eating ready-made meals is about being very passive, and actively cooking is something that nothing compares to.

The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.

I don't do guilt. Whatever I do, I do it happily.

A lemon, boiled whole and blitzed, makes a useful base for all sorts of dressings.

The natural sweetness of leeks, with their soft, oniony aroma, makes them the perfect winter comfort food.

I like to talk about food, ingredients, and how to adapt recipes. It's a dialogue.

Beetroot is a great salad ingredient, especially when still warm; the colour ain't bad, either.

Orange blossom water would make a magical addition to your store cupboard.

Brussels sprouts are really quite versatile.

How can something that's 95% water be so divisive? Alone among vegetables, the poor, innocent stick of celery elicits the most vicious attacks.

The combination of lentils with rice or bulgur is the absolute height of Levantine comfort food. I could eat it every day.

Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.

The moment to tell my barber I was gay just never came up.

The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food.

On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.

Amaranth, the world's most nutritious grain, is available from health food stores.

When it comes to the battle of the molluscs, cephalopods win tentacles down.

Cobnuts have a fresher flavour than any other nut I know of and go very well with autumnal fruit and light cheeses.

Vegetarian and frugal it may be, but the chickpea is one of the most versatile ingredients you could keep in your cupboards.

Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.

Date syrup is a natural sweetener that has wonderful richness and treacly depth; I drizzle it over semolina porridge.

A quick shallow fry is a great way to transform leftovers, and no more so than in the case of risotto.

I can't stand recipes that don't have background.

Souffles don't deserve their reputation as potential disasters.

Urfa chillies are a Turkish variety that are mild on heat but big on aroma. They're sweet, smoky, a lovely dark red, and go with just about anything.

If I must choose between healthy and tasty, I go for the second: having only one life to waste, it might as well be a pleasurable one.

Herbs deserve to be used much more liberally.

You don't need a machine to make pasta: a rolling pin and a fast hand can create a smooth, if thick, sheet.

Many ingredients are called 'earthy,' but none comes as close to fitting the bill as buckwheat. I'm mildly obsessed with the stuff.

It's hard to beat the rough texture of steel-cut oats, with their slight resistance against the teeth.

Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.

Call me tacky, but I love the union of sweet and sour, even in some now-unloved Oriental dishes incorporating pineapple and ketchup.

The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.

Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.

Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.

It's well worth making your own harissa, but there are some very good commercial varieties.

I have to admit that I can't take a whole fig and eat it on its own as I would a peach or mango. It's just too much.

Tagliatelle comes from the word tagliare, meaning 'to cut.' Tagliolini are simply thinly cut tagliatelle.

Lebanese mezze, Cantonese dim sum and Basque pinchos have all evolved over years and are designed to make sense together.

The unlikely combination of potatoes and pasta does appear in some Italian recipes.

Long-, medium- and short-grain rices differ in the amount and type of starch they have.

Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.

Greek yogurt with some olive oil stirred in can transform many dishes.

The tang of tamarind is a great way both to flavour and lighten up slow-cooked savoury dishes.

Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.

Chipotles, which are dried jalapeno peppers, give out a terrific smoky flavour - they're warm, earthy and usually not too spicy.

For my money, celery hasn't got a mean bit of fibre in its body, and we all need to start being much nicer to it.

Miso makes a soup loaded with flavour that saves you the hassle of making stock.

Almost every culture has its own variation on chicken soup, and rightly so - it's one of the most gratifying dishes on the face of the Earth.

Some heat, some spice and plenty of citrus are the building blocks of many North African fish dishes.

Most men say they can cook pasta, but I think you should find a little bit of an unusual angle on your pasta and make that your signature dish.

Steaming maintains some of the aubergine flesh's texture, which doesn't happen if you cook it in any other way.

In certain European cuisines, vegetables are cooked a long time. I take the term 'al dente' and use it for vegetables.

There used to be a time - it isn't so much the case now - that vegetarianism was some kind of religion, and either you belong or you don't belong.

Apart from its famous healing properties, manuka has a strong, woody flavour.

Vegetarians in general don't like me.

I like to add something unusual to a dish.

Middle Eastern cuisine has the same depth of ingredients and processes as other cuisines. They just haven't had as much exposure.

Brunch, for me, is an extended breakfast that should be enjoyed whenever you have time properly to engage in cooking and eating.