Setting ourselves a five-ingredient limit on any recipe really gets the Ottolenghi test kitchen going. Well, that, or it sends us spiralling into existential doubt, not least regarding what, exactly, constitutes an ingredient. Everyone has salt and pepper, right, so we don’t need to include them in the tally? What about white pepper: is that the same? Water’s not an ingredient, either – it’s not something we need to go out and buy. But does that mean tinfoil is? Can we squeeze in olive oil on a free pass? Or garlic? And what if something is just a serving suggestion, rather than a built-in part of the recipe? How about we just put every ingredient in the title, to highlight how simple and short the ingredient list is? For a group of recipe-creating obsessives, never has counting to five felt so confusing. The results, though, I’m happy to report, are delightfully straightforward, uncomplicatedly delicious and serve (well, about) five.
Chicken and rice with spring onion oil (pictured top)
This is a sort of cheat’s traybake version of Hainanese chicken rice, only without the broth. It’s big on comfort, and easy on the prep and washing-up. The rice doesn’t even need rinsing before it’s added to the tray, because you need all its starch for stickiness. Look online for how to spatchcock the bird, or ask the butcher to do it for you. Serve with steamed or sauteed greens such as choy sum or pak choi.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4-6
170g spring onions, trimmed
300g paella or arborio rice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Fine sea salt
120ml olive oil
60g root ginger, peeled and roughly grated
1 chicken (2.3kg), spatchcocked
Kecap manis, or soy sauce, to serve (optional)
Chilli oil, to serve (optional)
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Finely chop 70g of the spring onions and put them to one side. Slice the remaining 100g spring onions in half lengthways, then cut each half in half lengthways again and lay in the base of a 23cm round cast-iron dish or 30cm x 26cm high-sided roasting pan. Top with the rice, half the garlic and a half-teaspoon of salt, then mix well and spread out in an even layer.
Mix the remaining garlic in a small bowl with two tablespoons of the oil, half the ginger and a teaspoon of salt. Using your fingers, loosen the skin of the chicken from the breast and legs, spoon half the garlic-and-ginger mixture under the skin and rub the rest and another teaspoon of salt all over the outside of the bird.
Pour 600ml water over the rice in the tray, shake the tray a bit to distribute the liquid evenly, then put the chicken on top. Cover tightly with foil then bake for 45 minutes, or until the juices run clear – test by piercing the thickest part of a thigh with the tip of a sharp knife. Lift off the foil, turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 and roast for another 15 minutes, until the skin of the chicken is lightly golden and the rice slightly crisp at the edges. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Put the remaining 90ml oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat for two to three minutes, until smoking. Add the remaining 30g grated ginger and cook, stirring, for a minute or two, just until softened. Stir in the reserved chopped spring onions and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then take off the heat.
Spoon half the spring onion oil over the chicken and serve with the rest in a bowl on the side with the kecap manis and/or chilli oil, if using.
Braised broad beans in their pods with chilli and garlic
When you slow-cook beans in their pods and shells, they turn super-soft and very delicious (if your beans aren’t especially young and tender, use french or helda beans instead). Serve with a lemony tahini sauce, if you like, or a good spoonful of Greek yoghurt.
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4 as a meze or side
80ml olive oil
1 red chilli, stem, pith and seeds removed and discarded, flesh finely chopped (10g)
10 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
500g young broad beans in their pods
Fine sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
Chopped coriander leaves, to serve (optional)
Top and tail the bean pods, pull off and discard the fibrous thread running along each side of the pods, then chop the pods into 5cm pieces.
Put the oil in a large saute pan for which you have a lid, and set it over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chilli and garlic, and fry for two to three minutes, until the garlic starts to turn golden.
Add the beans, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, cook, stirring, for a minute longer, then add 60ml water, turn down the heat to low, cover and leave to simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, cumin and coriander, if using, and serve warm or at room temperature.
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