Roast hen, a yoghurt dip and crispy fritters: Yotam Ottolenghi’s tomato recipes | Meals

The drawback with tomatoes, at the moment of the yr, is that they will make me lazy. They’re simply too good as they’re: sliced, drizzled with olive oil and paired with cheese. Caprese, Greek salad: I may (and just about do!) eat them daily in the summertime. It’s sensible to be reminded, then, of how splendidly versatile they’re, fortunately baked, cooked, squished, braised and fried in all types of suitably summery dishes.

Roast hen with tomatoes, bread and herbs (pictured prime)

This dish is impressed by Mediterranean flavours. Be happy to make use of any in-season tomatoes that you’ve got at hand. Serve with an enormous inexperienced salad or some boiled potatoes.

Prep 10 min
Prepare dinner 1 hr 40 min
Serves 4

1kg hen thighs (about 6 to eight), bone-in, skin-on
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
Sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
400g vine cherry tomatoes, vines eliminated
200g vine plum tomatoes, vines eliminated
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
300g sourdough, crusts eliminated, in 1cm slices, toasted after which torn into 4cm items (150g web)

For the herb salsa
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
25g parsley, roughly chopped
25g chives, reduce into 1cm lengths
100ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
50g inexperienced pitted olives, halved (I used nocellara)
10g mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 lemon, finely zested, to get 1½ tsp, and juiced, to get 1 tsp

Warmth the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gasoline 6. Put the hen in a big bowl and rub with the dry herbs and three quarters of a teaspoon of salt. Put a big, high-sided, ovenproof saute pan for which you’ve got a lid over a excessive warmth. Add a tablespoon of the oil to the pan, together with each forms of tomatoes, and 1 / 4 of a teaspoon of salt, then fry for 5 minutes, stirring sometimes, till the tomatoes start to interrupt down and launch their juices. Put the hen skin-side up on the tomatoes, pour within the vinegar, cowl with the lid and put within the oven for 40 minutes.

Flip the oven as much as 220C (200C fan)/425F/gasoline 7, take away the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Take away from the oven and switch the hen to a tray. Return the pan to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, till the tomato combination has thickened and barely charred.

In the meantime, make the herb salsa. Put the sesame, dry and recent herbs (other than the mint) in a small heatproof bowl and put aside. Put a small frying pan on medium warmth and add the oil and garlic. Prepare dinner for 3 to 5 minutes, till golden and aromatic. Shortly and thoroughly, pour the oil into the herb bowl and stir to coat. Depart to chill, then stir within the olives, mint, lemon zest and juice with 1 / 4 teaspoon of salt and a great grind of pepper.

Stir the bread into the tomato combination and put the hen on prime. Spoon a number of the tomato juices over the hen with a great grind of pepper. Serve with the salsa on prime.

Tomato and bulgur fritters with yoghurt and tomato salsa

These tomato fritters are good to make use of up a glut of tomatoes when you possibly can’t face one other tomato salad. Be happy to substitute the cherry tomatoes for every other that you must hand – simply just be sure you deseed bigger tomatoes earlier than crushing to take away any extra moisture. Serve them as they’re or with heat pittas to make it a meal.

Prep 40 min
Prepare dinner 30 min
Serves 6

60g bulgur wheat
Sea salt and black pepper
400g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
30g panko breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested to get 1 tsp, and juiced, to get 1 tbsp
15g mint leaves, finely chopped
15g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp coriander seeds, calmly bashed with a pestle and mortar
2 purple chillies, deseeded and finely chopped, (40g)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 purple onion, peeled and finely chopped (150g)
50g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
60ml vegetable oil
2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped (230g)
1 tbsp olive oil
150g Greek-style yoghurt

Put the bulgur wheat in a small bowl with ¼ tsp salt and pour over 70ml of boiling water. Cowl tightly with a lid or reusable kitchen wrap and put aside for 10 minutes, till all of the water is absorbed.

Put the cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl with the tomato paste, a teaspoon of salt and a great grind of pepper. Utilizing your palms, squish the tomatoes till coarsely mashed, then add the bulgur, panko and lemon zest. Combine nicely and put aside for 5 minutes, till a lot of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add 10g of the mint and 10g of the parsley, together with the oregano, coriander seeds and half every of the chillies, garlic and onion. Combine nicely, then stir within the plain flour and baking powder to get a moist combination that holds its form.

Put two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a big, nonstick frying pan and placed on a medium warmth. As soon as scorching, spoon 50g of the combination into the pan, utilizing the spoon to form them into circles of about 6cm. Don’t overcrowd the pan: it’s best to be capable to prepare dinner 4 to 5 at a time. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on all sides till golden and crispy, taking further care when flipping them over. Drain on kitchen paper and repeat till all of the vegetable oil and combination has been used up.

To make the salsa, combine the plum tomatoes with the lemon juice, olive oil and remaining mint, parsley, chillies, garlic and onions with half a teaspoon of salt and a great grind of pepper. Serve the fritters heat with the yoghurt and salsa in bowls alongside.

Tomato and yoghurt dip with caramelised figs and mint oil

Tomatoes and yoghurt actually get alongside, particularly with the addition of figs. Serve heat with loads of toasted bread.

Prep 20 min
Prepare dinner 50 min
Serves 4, as a starter

1 lemon, finely grated, to get 1½ tsp zest, and juiced, to get 2 tsp
3-4 recent figs, sliced into ½cm rounds (160g)
40g caster sugar
2½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (180g)
¼ tsp floor turmeric
½ tsp floor cinnamon
350g child plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
350g thick-set Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp picked dill

For the mint oil
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp dried mint
Fantastic sea salt and black pepper

First, make the mint oil. Warmth the oil in a small saucepan over a medium-high warmth. As soon as scorching, take off the warmth, stir within the garlic, mint and a great grind of black pepper. Put aside to chill, then stir in a single teaspoon of lemon juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.

Put the figs in a small bowl with 35g of the sugar and blend gently to coat. Put a medium frying pan on a excessive warmth with half a tablespoon of oil and caramelise on all sides for 45 seconds, taking further care when flipping over. Flip again over once more for a closing 15 seconds to caramelise, put aside on a parchment-lined plate and sprinkle with an an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Wipe the pan clear and return it to a medium warmth.

Put a tablespoon of oil within the pan, add the onion, and prepare dinner, stirring sometimes, for 10 minutes, till translucent. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, remaining tablespoon of oil, one teaspoon of salt and a great grind of pepper and prepare dinner for 5 minutes, till it begins to caramelise. Reduce a slit via every tomato, flip the warmth as much as medium-high and add these to the pan with two tablespoons of water, the remaining 5g of sugar and 1 / 4 teaspoon of salt. Prepare dinner for quarter-hour, stirring and urgent each couple of minutes to launch the juices. Take away from the warmth when the tomatoes are barely jammy, stir within the remaining teaspoon of lemon juice and put aside to chill for 20 minutes.

Put the yoghurt, lemon zest and 1 / 4 of a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl and blend nicely.

Now, assemble. Unfold a 3rd of the tomato combine on to a big plate, adopted by a 3rd of the yoghurt. Proceed layering till the tomatoes and yoghurt have been used up. Utilizing a spoon, swirl the yoghurt and tomatoes to create a marbled impact. Scatter with the figs and dill. Serve with the mint oil drizzled on prime.