Published by: Julia
Looking for something new to cook? – Try middle Eastern cookery and let the master Yotam Ottolenghi show you easy ways to weave this delicious cuisine into your life.
I did and it has been a revelation. We are now eating in a far healthier way while experiencing a delicious cuisine that completely passed us by until now. If you want to eat more plant-based foods, but find vegetarian dishes boring, try some of the dozens of recipes Yotam shares in this course. You won´t be sorry, I promise you.
Who is Yotam Ottolenghi?
Until I took Yotam Ottolenghi´s masterclass I had never heard of this amazing chef. He was born and raised in Israel. But, many of his childhood summers in Italy. His parents are of Italian-Jewish and German-Jewish descent. This mix of cultures gives a really nice twist to his cooking.
It is very much middle-eastern. But with a modern accent. He started his culinary career in London, working as a pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Capital Restaurant and Baker and Spice a well-known artisnal pastry shop.
When he met the Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi, they clicked and opened their deli Ottolenghi in Notting Hill. Very quickly their homemade middle Eastern ingredients and dishes bought people flocking to the shop.
Since then, the Ottolenghi brand has grown from strength to strength. They run a bistro, NOPI in Soho and Rovi in Fitzrovia that offers mainly vegetarian food, as well as a formal restaurant and 2 more delicatessens.
I want drama in the mouth.
Yotam Ottolenghi
Who is this masterclass cooking course suitable for?
I would say that this course works for all kinds of cooks. There are plenty special yet really easy dishes, for example, the Green Herb Shakshuka.
But, don´t worry even the most experienced chefs are likely to learn something new. Partly because Middle Eastern cooking is yet to make its mark globally as some other cuisines have. Also, because Yotam takes such a unique approach to the beautiful food he cooks.
So, don´t sit on the fence. Plunge in and buy this course.
Once you do, you will also be able to enjoy the other 13 Masterclass cooking courses without paying a cent more. You will be learning from Gordon Ramsy, Thomas Keller and Aaron Franklin.
Ok, enough rattling on, here is what is included in Yotam Ottolenghi´s masterclass.
I have already liked hummus and have made it myself several times, but have to tell you Yotam´s recipe is the best. It tastes so much better than the way I used to make it.
By the way, we recommend purchasing Masterclass for more than just one single course. The value comes when you take several. If you want to read our review of the whole platform, check out this Masterclass review article.
If you want to just find out what some of the best masterclasses are, this is the article for you.
Meze – small dishes tons of flavour
All of the best food cultures have found ways to allow people to delight in food throughout the day, not just at mealtimes. The Spanish have tapas, the Greeks mezedopoleio (finger foods) and most Middle-Eastern cuisines have Meze. Which is also sometimes called Mezze.
These food make lovely snacks or wonderful starters. Many of them can also be taken on a picnic or eaten as snacks throughout the day.
Yotam´s recipes are all packed with big flavours. In this Masterclass, he teaches you how to make a beautiful Meze spread. The recipes he shares in this section include:
- Muhammara – a delicious pepper and tomato based salad
- Pea Spread with smoky marinated feta
- Hummus with confit garlic and tahini
Learn to make your own Middle-Eastern condiments
One of the best things about Yotam´s masterclass is the way he teaches you to add a middle-eastern twist to some of the foods you already cook. Using the condiments he shows you how to create makes this really easy to do. Plus, when you make these condiments you will always have the main ingredients for the other dishes he teaches you to make, easily to hand.
Apart from a few sauces, pickled onions and chutney, I had never really made condiments before I took this Middle Eastern cooking online course. But Yotam´s condiments looked so easy to make that I decided to give it a go. It was a revelation. Using them has pepped my cooking up no end.
Here are the condiments you will learn to make when you take the course:
- Smoky Marinated Feta
- Tahini Sauce
- Confit Garlic Oil
- Labneh
- Quick-Pickled Chilies
- Smoky Marinated Feta
- Tahini Sauce
- Confit Garlic Oil
- Labneh
- Quick-Pickled Chilies
- Quick Lemon Paste
- Saffron Water
- Za’atar Oil
- Dukkah
- Sumac-Pickled Onions
- Quick Shatta
- Rose Harissa
Beautiful vegan and vegetarian middle eastern dishes
One of the best things about Yotam Ottolenghi´s middle-eastern masterclass is that it caters for all tastes. In particular, those of you who are vegans. Several of the condiments are vegan or at least vegetarian friendly.
You also get to learn how to put together this beautiful vegetable mezze spread:
- Roasted Eggplant Salad With Quick Lemon Paste and Quick-Pickled Chilies
- Grilled Carrots With Labneh and Dukkah
- Smacked Cucumber Salad With Sumac-Pickled Onions
A super healthy and tasty brunch spread
If you are trying to follow a healthier diet, the recipes that Yotam shares are a great starting point. His lunch brunch is a perfect example of this. It is also vegetarian friendly. These are the dishes you learn to make in this section of this fascinating online cooking course:
- Middle Eastern Bread Spread
- Labneh With Berries
- Green Herb Shakshuka
- Vegetable Spread
Middle Eastern-inspired main courses that are sure to impress
If I had a critism of Yotam´s cooking masterclass it would be that it does not feature enough main courses. But as my husband pointed out you do not necessarily have to cook large or complex dishes to make a feast. You can easily combine several of his condiments and Meze recipes and serve up an impressive meal.
The main courses he teaches you to cook are:
- Mafalda Pasta With Quick Shatta
- Roasted Cauliflower With Harissa Chili Oil
- Salmon and Prawns in Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Celebration Rice With Saffron and Sweet Spiced Lamb
Yotam Ottolenghi´s Masterclass PDF cookbook
One of the best thing about masterclass courses is that each one comes with a workbook. For Yotam it comes in the form of a beautiful cookbook, which is free for you to download and enjoy. It is extremely well written.
Is Yotam Ottolenghi´s cooking masterclass worth buying
There is no doubt that this masterclass is worth buying. Especially, if, like me, you are not familiar with this style of cooking. All of the dishes were new to me and I learn several new techniques which will enable me to create other condiments and dishes.
Plus, remember, when you buy this course, you are going to get access to the 14 other cooking courses that were available on the platform, at the time I wrote this review.