Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for no-cook cooking | Meals

At this stage of the yr, three days from its longest day, “cooking” is usually extra about buying and meeting than time standing on the range. I prefer to spend a second making attention-grabbing and punchy dressings and infused oils, then utilizing them in near-instant meals. Fruit- and veg-wise, the bounty of color, flavour, sizes and shapes round in summer season signifies that a lot of the work has, joyfully, been performed for us already.

Silken tofu, crunchy salad and marmalade dressing (pictured prime)

This can be a nice midweek meal, as a result of it’s fast to assemble and could be prepped prematurely. If you wish to get forward, make the dressing and marinate the tofu the day earlier than (an in a single day marinade does wonders for it). The nuts and seeds could be swapped for any it’s important to hand, too.

Prep 20 min
Serves 2 as a starter or aspect

350g agency silken tofu

For the marmalade dressing
30ml soy sauce
20ml lime juice
60g bitter orange marmalade
35ml sunflower oil

For the salad
50g mangetout, sliced very thinly at an angle
50g sugar snaps, sliced very thinly at an angle
80g breakfast radishes, sliced very thinly (use a mandoline, ideally)
2 spring onions, sliced very thinly on the diagonal
Salt and black pepper

For the crunchy topping
20g salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp white sesame seeds
½ tsp aleppo chilli flakes
Superb sea salt

Begin with the dressing. Blitz the soy, lime juice, marmalade and half a teaspoon of salt in a small meals processor till absolutely mixed. With the motor working, slowly pour within the oil till the combination emulsifies, then pour 50ml into a big bowl. Add the mangetout, sugar snaps, radishes and spring onions, combine effectively and put aside.

Now make the topping. Put the nuts, seeds and aleppo chilli in a small bowl, stir to mix and put aside.

Elevate the tofu from its carton, taking care to maintain its form, and put it on a plate lined with a kitchen towel to empty off any extra liquid. Lower the tofu into 1cm-thick slabs and prepare in a barely overlapping line on a big plate with a lipped edge. Spoon the remaining dressing over the tofu, prepare the salad on prime, sprinkle over the crunchy topping and serve at room temperature.

California-style caprese salad

That is unashamedly fusion, with the tomato-mozzarella-basil basic assembly some Californian citrus. Go all out on the tomatoes: the extra colors and sizes and varieties, the higher.

Prep 20 min
Serves 2

1 pink grapefruit
125g mozzarella, torn into ½cm-thick items
250g tomatoes – as extensive an assortment of sorts, colors, sizes and shapes as potential
1 massive ripe avocado
1 tbsp small basil leaves
1 tbsp olive oil, plus further to complete

For the dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp maple syrup
½ tsp paprika
½ aleppo chilli flakes
½ tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sherry (or balsamic) vinegar
Flaked sea salt and black pepper

High and tail the grapefruit, then use a small, sharp knife to chop off the pores and skin and pith. Holding the grapefruit above a small colander set over a medium bowl, reduce between the membranes to launch the person segments into the colander and squeeze any juice out of the pith.

Whisk all of the dressing elements in a small bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and grind of black pepper.

Lower the bigger tomatoes into uneven, 1cm-thick items and reduce the cherry tomatoes in half. Put all of the tomatoes in a medium bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of the grapefruit juice. Lower the avocado in half, take away and discard the pit, then peel. Lower the avocado flesh on the diagonal into ½cm-wide strips, add to the tomato bowl with grind of pepper and toss gently.

Organize the tomato combine on a big platter with a lip or a shallow bowl. Dot the mozzarella round and about, nestling it barely into the salad, then evenly spoon over the dressing. High with the grapefruit segments and basil leaves, sprinkle on an eighth of teaspoon of salt and crack of pepper, drizzle over a ultimate tablespoon of oil and serve at room temperature.

Marinated sardines with radish and watercress salad

Hold a jar of those marinated sardines in your fridge: they’re such a deal with to have round for summer season evenings, to be eaten simply as they’re with crusty bread and butter.

Prep 15 min
Marinate 30 min
Serves 2

90ml olive oil
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ tsp chilli flakes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp capers (I like lilliput capers), roughly chopped
5g (1¾ tbsp) chives, finely chopped
Flaked sea salt
2 x 120g tins sardines, drained
10g (1 tbsp) dried currants, soaked in 1 tbsp sizzling water for about 10 minutes, to plump up
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, and juiced, to get 2 tsp
100g radishes, quartered
70g watercress, tender leaves and stems picked

For the pickled onions
2-3 small purple onions, peeled and reduce into very skinny rounds (use a mandoline, ideally; 75g web weight)
1½ tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp maple syrup

Put 75ml oil, the cracked black pepper, chilli flakes, garlic, capers, chives and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a medium saute pan for which you could have a lid and set over a medium warmth. Warmth gently for 2 to a few minutes, then go away to chill.

As soon as the caper combine is cool, add the sardines, cowl and go away to marinate at room temperature for half-hour, turning the fish over midway (alternatively, refrigerate for as much as three days).

In the meantime, make the pickled onions. Put the onions, lemon juice, maple syrup and half a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, combine gently to mix, then put aside to pickle for 5 to 10 minutes, till the onions flip pink.

Organize the sardines on a big platter with a lip and spoon over all their oil. Sprinkle the drained currants, lemon zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of flaked salt on prime, then scatter over a 3rd of the pickled onions.

Simply earlier than serving, combine the radishes into the remaining pickled onions, add an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and the remaining tablespoon of oil, add the watercress and toss gently to coat. Serve the fish at room temperature with the salad on the aspect.

• This text was edited on 21 June 2022, to make clear that the soaked, plumped currants must be added to the sardine dish concurrently the lemon zest.