With the festive season soon upon us, tables will be starting to fill up with family and friends in search of good cheer and food. And to provide the answer to that perennial culinary Christmas question, “What on Earth will we feed everyone?” a dish has got to tick a lot of boxes.
For those who prefer to prepare things in advance, it has to be something that can be made well ahead of time; for those who are feeding the masses, it has to be arecipe that can easily be doubled or trebled without compromising the finished dish; and for those who don’t want to start a fresh shopping list for every meal over the busy next few weeks, it has to be a dish that features ingredients you have in the store cupboard – or, even better, leftovers that need using up. Any recipe that makes use of that half a green pepper and two sticks of celery in the salad drawer, and that day-old bread and those eggs you never got round to turning into an omelette, saves time on the shopping and space in the fridge.
The list of boxes a dish has to tick at this time of year goes on and on. Not only must it be substantial enough to stand alone, if need be, itmust also be able to operate alongside other dishes; it will get extra points if it’s versatile enough to dress up or keep simple depending, again, on what the occasion calls for. And top marks go to any dish that also sparks happy and nostalgic family memories for those slicing and sharing it.
And guess what? For me, there is one recipe that ticks every single one of those boxes: meatloaf*. It’s a dish for life, notjust for Christmas.
*Other acceptable answers from those living outside the UK include bobotie (the South African equivalent of meatloaf), polpettone (my own Italian grandmother’s version being the best, naturally), klops, kibbeh and kofta.
Lamb and bulgur meatloaf with tomato and yoghurt salsa
This dish is never going to win anybeauty contests, but no matter: itticks all the boxes for a festive recipe, and is as ridiculously easytomake as it is deliciously comforting to eat. The salsa makes the final dish look pretty, too. Grating is the best way to get the tomato flesh without much of the skin, and demands very little effort; it also saves on the chopping. Simply rub the tomato on a coarse grater, and you’ll be left with most of the skin in your hand, which you can then discard. Thanks to Faiscal Barakat. Serves eight.
150g bulgur wheat, soaked in plentyofwater for 15 minutes, drainedand squeezed dry
400g lamb mince
400g beef mince
1½ tsp ground allspice
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 medium onion, peeled and roughlygrated
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
20g flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
20g coriander leaves, chopped
60g pine nuts, toasted and roughlychopped
2 medium tomatoes, cut in half and roughly grated (discard the skins)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salsa
750g cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp white-wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
120g Greek yoghurt
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
15g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a medium bowl, mix together all the salsa ingredients with half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper, cover and refrigerate until required.
Put the bulgur in a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients, apart from the oil, and add half a teaspoon of salt. Mix well, then transfer the mixture to a 30cm x 20cm high-sided baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture down with your hands, so that it is about 3-4cm thick, then brush the top with a tablespoon of oil.
Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and coloured on top, brush with the remaining oil and set aside to cool for five minutes. Cut into eight portions and serve with the salsa spooned on top or alongside.
Turkey mini-loaves with a sweet and spicy chilli glaze
These go down particularly well with all the family. The chilli in the glaze might put little people off, in which case simply omit it. Makes eight little loaves, to serve four.
500g turkey mince (thigh meat, ideally)
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
15g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
4 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, finely chopped
3 spring onions, trimmed and finelychopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 medium red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
Vegetable oil, to brush the tins
Salt
For the sweet chilli glaze
60g sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1½ tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds (or just white, if that’s all you have)
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. First make the glaze. Put the chilli sauce in a small pan, add the sesame oil, chilli, ginger and two tablespoons of water, then bring to agentle boil on a medium heat and leave to bubble for two to three minutes, then set aside to cool.
Line the moulds of an eight-cup muffin tin (ideally the moulds should measure 5-6cm at the base) with parchment paper and brush generously with oil. Put all the ingredients for the meatloaf in abowl and add a teaspoon of salt. Mix well, then divide between the eight cups. Press down gently with your hands, then bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with the glaze. Set aside for five to 10 minutes, then unmould from the tray, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve warm or at room temperature.
Kazan kebabi
Or “stuffed zebras”, as they were soon renamed in our test kitchen. Serve with yogurt into which you’ve mixed some crushed garlic and a little olive oil; add plain rice alongside and top with a little freshly chopped mint, and this is pure comfort food of the very best kind. Serves four.
For the stuffing
200g minced beef
200g minced lamb
1 medium onion peeled and roughlygrated
40g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 medium tomato, roughly grated
20g flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughlychopped
2½ tsp ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium aubergines (eachweighing250g)
For the sauce
3 medium tomatoes, roughly grated
60g tomato paste
1½ tbsp rose harissa
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp muscovado sugar
40g unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium red pepper, deseeded and cutinto 0.5cm strips
First make the stuffing mix. Put the beef, lamb, onion, breadcrumbs, tomato, parsley and cinnamon in amedium bowl with a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, mix to combine and set aside.
Using a vegetable peeler and working from top to bottom, peel off long strips of aubergine skin, so they look like a zebra, with alternating black and white stripes. Cut six deep incisions, widthways and 1.5cm apart, into each aubergine, and make sure the incisions stop at least 1.5cm from the base of each aubergine, otherwise they will fall apart when stuffed. Stuff a quarter of the meat into each aubergine – use your hands to press it into each incision (the first time you make these, you may find it easier to scoop out alittle of the aubergine flesh, to make room for the stuffing) – lay the stuffed aubergines on a high-sided 24cm x 32cm baking tray, and set aside.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put the grated tomatoes, tomato paste, harissa, garlic and sugar in amedium bowl with half ateaspoon of salt and 200ml of water. Mixtogether and set aside.
Put a small saute pan on amedium-high heat. Add the butter and, once it starts to froth, add the onion and pepper. Fry for eight to 10 minutes, until soft and golden, then add the tomato mix. Bringto a boil and take off the heat at once.
Pour the sauce over the aubergines, cover the tray with foil and bake for an hour, basting with the sauce every now and then. Turn the aubergines over – be gentle, because they’ll be very delicate – spoon over some of the sauce and cover the tray again with foil. Bake for 45 minutes more, basting a few times. By this stage, the aubergines’ flesh should be completely soft, but they should still be holding their shape. Carefully lift the aubergines out of the tray, divide them between the plates, spoon over the sauce and serve at once.
Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.
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