When I tell Ottolenghi this, he looks vaguely alarmed. \u201cDid she do something terrible with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The penny drops. By which, I mostly mean my credit card. Because not all outsourced sauces are created equal. A 170g jar of Ottolenghi-branded Pomegranate, Rose and Preserved Lemon Harissa will, for example, set you back approximately $25.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recommend using them,\u201d he says (honestly, it would be weird if he didn\u2019t). \u201cBut I don\u2019t recommend just using them. I recommend using any pantry ingredient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ottolenghi\u2019s last bestselling book was called Comfort. The live tour that lands in Auckland on February 21 next year \u2013 An Evening With Yotam Ottolenghi \u2013 is about making cooks comfortable.<\/p>\n
That shift from noun to adjective says as much about the state of the world as it does our kitchens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to show that you can create great food with all the layers of flavour and complexity of a delicious meal with little effort \u2013 and little anxiety,\u201d Ottolenghi says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the anxiety has to do with other anxieties that we have these days. It\u2019s kind of a big-picture observation, but I think we\u2019re not comfortable with many things that should be instinctive. Relationships and friendships, for example. How do I do this and how do I do that? We\u2019re constantly surrounded by mixed messages.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019re also surrounded by mixed messages around food. We\u2019re constantly being told how we should or shouldn\u2019t be eating. Am I hungry, am I not hungry? Should I be eating this? Is it good for me or is it not good for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
No wonder, says the chef, cooking makes some people anxious.<\/p>\n
Persevere, he says. Or at least let him teach you how to roast a chicken. Because: \u201cIt\u2019s a very powerful thing to be able to provide a meal for people and get them to enjoy what you have to offer. At its most basic, food is a life force. If you master it beyond the basics, then you really give people a special experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel-born and London-based Ottolenghi has six delis and three restaurants. His name has become a byword for vibrant, vegetable-forward cooking that champions Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours. <\/p>\n
He has been credited with single-handedly introducing sumac, za\u2019atar and barberry to the middle-class culinary masses. Hyperbole? If you\u2019ve ever left a dinner party wondering how to get pomegranate molasses out of a white frock, you\u2019ve almost certainly experienced the \u201cOttolenghi effect\u201d.<\/p>\n