THE RECIPES IN-THE-KNOW COOKS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

Yotam Ottolenghi, the chef dubbed ‘the foodie’s foodie’, has joined forces with another guru of the kitchen, Ramael Scully, to create a new cookbook destined to become a bookshelf treasure. The result is some of the most inspired recipes you’re likely to get addicted to this year. A heads-up: they’re not the simplest, but the rewards will be rich – we promise

INTRODUCTION: SUSAN LOW. PHOTOGRAPHS JONATHAN LOVEKIN PORTRAIT ADAM HINTON

Inspiring a new generation

Every once in a while, a chef comes along who changes the culinary landscape, from what’s served in restaurants to what cooks make at home. Step forward Yotam Ottolenghi, the Jerusalem-born chef, restaurateur, author, TV presenter and culinary genius who moved to London in 1997 and opened a few groundbreaking deli-cafés before launching the more grown-up (his words) NOPI restaurant in Soho in 2011.

Along the way, Yotam has made ingredients such as za’atar, sumac and pomegranate molasses staples in home kitchens from Aberdeen to Penzance. Like Delia, Yotam has inspired a phrase: ‘Doing an Ottolenghi’ means creating a favourpacked, Med-inspired dish that looks beautiful, is packed with colourful vegetables and delights the senses. Look out for the phrase in the next OED... Yotam’s books, Ottolenghi, Plenty, Jerusalem and Plenty More have been justifably popular, but his latest recipe collection is, by his own admission, “somewhat more challenging for home cooks”.

The recipes are co-written with NOPI head chef Ramael Scully, an Australian with a worldly palate that draws on his Malaysian, Chinese and Irish roots. Yotam describes Scully’s cooking as having “bold, intense favours”, with “irreverent blends of ingredients, vibrant colours and a generosity of spirit and big gestures”. Put all that with Yotam’s instinctive culinary magic and the results, as you can see here, are out of this world…

Chicken supremes with roast garlic and tarragon brioche pudding, p70

Chicken supremes with roast garlic and tarragon brioche pudding

SERVES 6. HANDS-ON TIME 1 HOUR 15 MIN, OVEN TIME 1 HOUR 20 MIN, PLUS SOAKING AND RESTING

“There’s no need to serve this dish with anything at all. Except, perhaps, a simple green salad with a sharp lemony dressing.”

KNOW-HOW

Chicken supremes are chicken breasts with the bottom half of the wing bone intact. They’re available from good butchers. If you can’t get find any, use large chicken breasts.

MAKE AHEAD

Make the bread pudding and jus up to 6 hours ahead. Keep covered in the fridge.

FOR THE TARRAGON BRIOCHE PUDDING

• 2 garlic bulbs

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 4 medium free-range eggs

• 300ml double cream

• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• 15g fresh tarragon, finely chopped

• 1 tsp salt

• 10g unsalted butter, melted

• 400g crustless brioche, cut horizontally into 3 x 22cm x 9cm slices (to fit the loaf tin in step 3)

FOR THE PEA AND TARRAGON JUS

• 500ml fresh unsalted chicken stock • 75g cold unsalted butter, diced, plus extra to grease

• ½ tsp salt

• 180g fresh/frozen peas, blanched for a minute in boiling water

• 15g fresh tarragon leaves

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp salt

• 6 free-range skin-on chicken supremes (see Know-how)

• 10g fresh thyme sprigs

• 100g unsalted butter, diced

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. For the pudding, slice off and discard the top quarter of each garlic bulb to expose the cloves, then put both heads, cut-side up, on a 20cm foil square. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt, then wrap in the foil. Roast for 35 minutes until soft and caramelised. Remove from the oven, set aside for 10 minutes, then squeeze the garlic cloves and any oil out of their skins into a small bowl. Use the back of a fork to crush them to a paste.

2. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl with the cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, tarragon, salt and a good grinding of black pepper.

3. Lightly grease a 24cm x 10cm loaf tin with the melted butter, then line with baking paper. Line the base with one slice of brioche. Spread half the garlic purée on top, then pour in one third of the cream/egg mix. Put another brioche slice on top, spread over the rest of the garlic purée, then pour in another third of the cream mix. Top with the final piece of brioche, then pour over the last third of the cream mix. Lightly press down the brioche so it’s fully submerged. Set aside for 30 minutes for the liquid to soak into the brioche.

4. Transfer the pudding to the oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked and golden brown. It’s ready if a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for 15 minutes before taking out of the tin, with the baking paper still attached. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, then carefully remove and discard the paper. Trim the ends and cut widthways into 6 x 3.5cm slices.