I Tackled A “Simple” Dish From Chef Yotam Ottolenghi!

My wife was the first to turn me on to the incredibly inventive Chef Yotam Ottolenghi, when she bought me one of his cookbooks:

Chef Yotam Assaf Ottolenghi is Israeli-born. He is the co-owner of many restaurants in London and the author of several bestselling cookbooks, including “Ottolenghi: The Cookbook”, “Plenty”, and “Simple”, which is what I am cooking from today.

I now own several Ottolenghi books, and have always found them to offer bold flavors while being approachable for everyday cooks, like this one.

That’s the picture of his recipe for Orzo with Prawns, Tomato and marinated Feta.

Here are your ingredients – lets begin with the marinated Feta:

4 oz. crumbled feta

1/2 tsp. chili flakes – I used Smoky Paprika

4 tsp. fennel seeds, light crushed and toasted

multiple uses of olive oil

In a medium bowl, mix the feta with a teaspoon of chili flakes (or the smoky paprika I used), 2 tsp of fennel seed and 1 tbl of olive oil, then set aside – here’s how quick and easy this is – roll ’em!

Next up, let’s make the Orzo with Prawns – here are your ingredients:

6 oz. orzo

6 garlic cloves, crushed

4 slices of finely shaved orange skin

2 chopped tomatoes

2 cups vegetable or seafood stock

1/2 lb. raw shell-off prawns

basil leaves

salt and pepper

Toast your crushed fennel seeds in a pan on medium high heat…should take only a few minutes. Stir to keep them from burning. Set aside

In a large saute pan, add 2 tbl olive oil, the orzo, 1/8 tsp salt and pepper on medium high heat.

Fry for 3-4 minutes, until the orzo begins to turn golden brown, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Add 2 tsp oil to pan, along with 1/4 tsp of chili flakes/paprika and 2 tsp of the toasted fennel seeds, and also the garlic and the shaved orange skin. Fry for two minutes, until the garlic begins to brown.

Add tomato, stock, salt and plenty of pepper….cook for 4-5 minutes.

Stir in the fried orzo, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove cover and add the raw prawns, cook for 3-4 minutes until pink and cooked all the way through.

Here is a video putting it all together from beginning to end!

Stir in the fresh basil and then dish it onto a plate, sprinkling the marinated feta on top of the dish along with some extra fresh basil.

My review? It was delicious! The sauce of fresh tomato, garlic, smoky paprika and orange rind was rich and flavorful…if you like chili flakes they would have added an even bigger pop! 

The creaminess of the orzo plays well with the crunch of the fresh prawns, and the dinner is filling and satisfying as well. Some crusty bread to dredge in the sauce would make it an even bigger win!

I have cooked Ottolenghi before:

For my own “52 In 22” cooking challenge, I made this terrific “one pot” dish from Chef Ottolenghi – check it out here!

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