Yotam Ottolenghi’s Valentine’s Day recipes | Food (2024)

Whole roast kohlrabi with herb oil and fried almonds (pictured above)

Kohlrabi is a wonderful vegetable to roast, but it needs a little help because of its high water content, so I smother it with herb oil and aromatics. Leave out the anchovies to make this vegetarian.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 55 min
Makes 4 as a side

For the herb oil
10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
15g basil leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
60ml olive oil
1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

For the almonds
5g unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil
30g blanched almonds

Heat the oven to very high – 260C (240C fan)/gas 9-plus. Toss the kohlrabi in a tablespoon of oil, put on an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for an hour and a half, until deeply charred on the outside and soft in the centre. Turn down the heat to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9.

In a small bowl, mix the butter and anchovies, then use your hands to spread the anchovy butter over the top of the kohlrabi, pushing some of it into the slits. Roast for 15 minutes more, or until warmed through and nicely coloured.

Meanwhile, make the herb oil. Put all the ingredients, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a food processor and blitz smooth – about a minute.

For the almonds, melt the butter and oil in a small frying pan on medium-high heat, then fry the nuts, stirring continuously, until golden – about three minutes. Strain (discard the oil), then finely chop the almonds.

Transfer the kohlrabi to a platter and spoon over a generous amount of herb oil; serve any excess alongside. Sprinkle on the nuts and serve warm or at room temperature.

Confit duck legs with shallots, pomegranate and coriander

Serve this with the roast kohlrabi on the side, or with some vibrant greens to cut through all the richness. Be sure to save the flavourful oil the duck is cooked in (discard the jelly that forms at the bottom once refrigerated), and use for roasting vegetables or to spread on toast.

For the confit duck
25g flaked sea salt
1½ tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar
3 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar
4 duck legs
1 small onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1 head garlic, cut in half widthways
1 red chilli, cut in half lengthways
900ml olive oil
1½ tsp soft brown sugar

In a small bowl, mix the flaked salt with a tablespoon of coriander seeds and two teaspoons of cumin seeds. Pat dry the duck legs, coat all over with the salt mixture, transfer to a non-reactive dish, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least six hours, and ideally overnight.

Heat the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gas 1. Take the duck legs out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you intend to start cooking.

Remove the tray from the oven, leave the duck to cool slightly in its oil – about 30 minutes – then gently transfer the legs to a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and the remaining coriander and cumin seeds, and set aside. Drain the oil, discarding any solids, leave to cool, then refrigerate – save the fat for the shallots (see introduction).

Meanwhile, put the pomegranate juice, sugar, molasses, vinegar, chilli and 200ml water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on a medium-high heat, and cook for about 25 minutes, until it’s reduced down to the consistency of a loose maple syrup. Stir in the coriander seeds and set aside.

Turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/465F/gas 9. Put two tablespoons of the reserved duck fat in a large, ovenproof saute pan for which you have a lid. Add the shallots, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook for seven minutes, or until the shallots are lightly browned on all sides. Add the pomegranate mixture, bring up to a boil, cover with the lid and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes, until the shallots have softened and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds.

Return the duck legs to the top shelf of the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until browned on top.

To serve, divide the shallot and pomegranate sauce between four plates, sprinkle with extra chopped coriander and top with the duck.

Coffee and pandan puddings

Pandan leaves are super-fragrant and used in Asia to flavour all sorts of sweet and savoury dishes alike. You can find them in most specialist south-east Asian food stores, but if you can’t get hold of any, use a split whole vanilla pod instead. Add the coffee syrup only just before serving.

50g fresh pandan leaves, roughly cut into 4cm lengths (or 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways)
300ml whole milk
300ml double cream
15g cornflour
1¼ tsp instant espresso powder
5 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp flaked sea salt
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1cm cubes
30g salted macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Put the pandan leaves (or vanilla pod), milk and cream in a medium saucepan for which you have a lid, and put on a medium heat. Cover and leave gently to heat and steam, pressing down on the leaves a few times to release their flavour – about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave, still covered, to infuse for at least two hours. Strain through a sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible, then discard the leaves (or vanilla pod). Measure out 80ml of the milk mixture, pour this into a medium bowl, add the cornflour and whisk until smooth. Pour the remaining strained milk back into the saucepan, add the espresso powder and whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth.

Bring the saucepan of infused milk up to a simmer on a medium heat. Temper the egg mix by slowly pouring in half the warm milk, whisking continuously, until the egg bowl is warm to the touch. Now pour in the cornflour mixture and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour the now-tempered mixture into the infused milk saucepan and whisk continuously, until it’s the consistency of a thick but pourable custard – about three to four minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter until incorporated.

To serve, top each pudding with two teaspoons of the coffee syrup, then sprinkle over the nuts and serve with any excess syrup at the table.