Yottam Ottolenghi Favorites Round-up {and Cauliflower Soup w/ Mustard Croutons}

It's that time of year when I Heart Cooking Clubs says goodbye to one chef and hello to another.  This is our last week cooking with Yotam Ottolenghi.  Truthfully, I didn't know who the heck he was.  Contrary to what you no doubt think, I am not hip like that.

I know!  I just blew your mind.  Pretty much like Ottolenghi blew my mind with the Mustard Croutons that float on top of his Cauliflower Soup.

 

Whoa, these were good.  So good I made myself sick snacking on them before the soup was ready.  Seriously.  I ate so many my stomach was feeling kind of floppy.

But I had to, you understand.  It turns out these croutons didn't keep very well--they were soft and chewy the next day (although still tasty).  So, really, I was doing my family a favor by not subjecting them to too many soft, chewy leftover croutons.

I will always take one for the team when Mustard Croutons are involved.

The Low Down: the soup was just soup.  It was fine.  Though there are other cauliflower soups I prefer, the croutons were special.  So mustardy, tangy, addictive.  All three of us thought they were great.  I did have a hard time achieving that crouton crunch (which is probably why they were soft and chewy the next day), but they could have the texture of a soggy sponge for all I care as long as they taste like they taste.

The soup and crouton recipes can be found HERE.  The only changes I made were to use a mixture of 2 Tbsp Dijon and 1 Tbsp Creole Mustard for the croutons.  Also added some chopped chives and dill to the crouton mixture.

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Over the past 6 months, my Top Five Ottolenghi recipes were...

#5 Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin 

I'm not usually one to turn to turkey when making burgers, but these changed my mind.  The sour cream sauce didn't hurt a thing either.

#4 Okra Fritters w/ Creamy Remoulade Sauce

This was a really fun thing to do with okra--which may not be everyone's favorite, but let's face it, fried food with a good dipping sauce rocks.

#3 Sweet Potato Cakes

When it was announced that we would be cooking the recipes of Ottolenghi, I was kinda iffy.  Never mind that I'm always iffy when there's a change going down.  Just forget that.

YO's Sweet Potato Cakes was one of the first recipes I tried for this round of IHCC and it was one of the best.

#2 Fried Cauliflower w/ Pine Nuts, Capers, & Chilies

This dish, with eye-popping red accents, has a fantastic paste made with capers, garlic, and parsley.

#1 Broccoli & Gorgonzola Pie

I can't say enough about this pie.  

Although it isn't the healthiest YO recipe, I thought it was the best.

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Next week we say Hey, Donna Hay!  If you'd like to join in, please visit I Heart Cooking Clubs for the details.