A bucketful of crisp textures in this salad, and one sharp, creamy dressing that brings everything together nicely. Inspired by a dish Yottam Ottolenghi had at Aloette, a splendid restaurant in Toronto, Canada.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Iceberg Wedges with Aubergine Cream and Super Crunchy Topping
These recipes have not been tested yet, but look promising.
This salad is a delightful mix of crisp textures and a sharp, creamy dressing that brings everything together nicely. It was inspired by a dish Yottam Ottolenghi had at Aloette, a splendid restaurant in Toronto, Canada.
Ingredients
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce (350g), cut into 12 wedges
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 25g parmesan, finely grated
- 45g rainbow radishes, peeled and thinly sliced (ideally on a mandoline), or use normal radishes
- 2 small avocados, stoned, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 small handful chives, cut into 1½cm lengths
For the aubergine cream: * 2 medium aubergines (600g) * 2½ tbsp lemon juice * 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped * 50g greek yoghurt * 2 tsp dijon mustard * 60ml olive oil
For the crunchy topping: * 1 tbsp olive oil * 60g skin-on almonds, roughly chopped * 100g sourdough, crusts removed, blitzed into coarse crumbs, to get 60g * 50g pumpkin seeds * ⅓ tsp urfa chilli
Directions
- First make the aubergine cream. Put a well-greased griddle pan on a high heat and ventilate your kitchen. Poke the aubergines with a fork seven or eight times all over and, once the pan is smoking, grill them for about 45 minutes, turning occasionally, until the outsides are completely charred and the insides soft.
- Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl and, once cool enough to handle, remove the flesh; discard the stems and as much of the charred skin as you can. Measure out 200g aubergine flesh, and reserve any excess for another use.
- Transfer to a food processor with the remaining cream ingredients, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and blitz smooth.
- Meanwhile, make the topping. Put the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the almonds and cook, stirring often, for about two minutes. Add the bread, pumpkin seeds and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring continuously, for five minutes more, until golden. Add the chilli, cook for another 30 seconds, then transfer to a tray and leave to cool completely.
- To assemble, divide the lettuce wedges between four plates. Top each portion with a teaspoon and a half of oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spoon over the aubergine cream, followed by the parmesan, radishes and avocado. Sprinkle again lightly with salt and pepper, then drizzle the last two tablespoons of oil on top. Scatter over the chives and a generous helping of the crunchy topping, and serve any extra alongside.
- You can watch how Ottolenghi himself prepares this here.
- This recipe is from the best cooking column in the world – by Yotam Ottolenghi. You can find more of his aubergine recipes here.