Noor Murad - Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things: Bold, vegetable-forward recipes plus homemade sauces, condiments, and more to build a flavor-packed pantry: A Cookbook

Acknowledgments

The premise of this book came quite naturally, after a discussion between Yotam and Noor about the way they eat, accessorising their everyday meals with the shattah in the fridge, or the dukkah in the cupboard. In fact, this is common ground for everyone at the Test Kitchen where, at the end of a work day, any leftovers will be taken home by a willing volunteer to be repurposed in some other way. This book is another of the many stories and skills the OTK wants to share with you, but, as is always the case, no story is complete without some help from our friends.

A huge thank-you to Team Ebury, especially Lizzy Gray and Emily Brickell, who took over the reins and kept us speedily on track. We also extend our thanks to Joel Rickett, Sarah Bennie, Stephenie Reynolds, Lara McLeod, Catherine Ngwong, Catherine Wood, Anjali Nathani, Aslan Byrne, and Annie Lee. Across the pond we thank the team at Clarkson Potter: Aaron Wehner, Jennifer Sit, Lydia OBrien, Windy Dorresteyn, Kate Tyler, Maria Zizka, Ian Dingman, Kim Tyner, Mark McCauslin, Chris Tanigawa, and Jana Branson.

For the design, a big thank-you to Caz Hildebrand and Julie Martin, who carried the whimsical spirit of OTK from book 1 through to book 2. We also send big Wei-sized hugs to Wei Tang, for always delivering on the coolest props and sourcing all the existing jars within a 1,000-mile radius.

For the photography, we are beyond delighted to have welcomed back (with open arms!) Elena Heatherwick and her partner-in-(comedic)-crime, Lesley Lau. In typical Elena fashion, both our photos and our shoot days were made that much brighter.

Shout out to Gemma Bell and Co. for all the supportsocial and much more! And lots of love to Tom Walker for capturing the unique OTK personalities via video.

Many thanks to Felicity Rubinstein, Kim Witherspoon, and Mark Hutchinson for their continuous support throughout the OTK journey.

As always, a big thank-you to Cornelia Staeubli and Noam Bar for their continual presence and support of the Test Kitchen team.

Noor's acknowledgments

It wasnt so long ago that I sat down to write these very acknowledgements for Shelf Love , a book that came at me when I least expected it. Extra Good Things came together very soon after, with a 180 shift in focus: from clearing ones pantry to filling it, from scarcity to abundance, from stripped back to a lot more embellished. Yotam often says that all his books are like his children, and I didnt get it until recently, when I did. As Shelf Love was wholeheartedly welcomed and embraced into the world (thanks, world!), Extra Good Things was only just brewinga sibling with its own unique identity. And somewhere in this whirlwind of books and recipes, of photoshoots and write-ups and more condiment jars than you can possibly fathom, I felt an overwhelming sense of joyin community, in creativity, in the support system that are friends, colleagues, family, and beyond. To more people than I can list, I owe a whole load of shukrans .

To my two halves, Salah and Vanessa Muradwho technically make me half machboos and half sconethank you for your unconditional love and support.

To my work fam: Gitai, who hasnt yet divorced me as work-wife (heres hoping you never will), thank you for being equal parts salty and sweet when I need it, and for pushing me when I need it even more. You bring the Extra, ya ekhti . To Verena, I appreciate you letting me eat the filling out of your pies and learning to love me anyway. You remain an incredible chef and forever friend. To Chaya, for adding plenty of spice and cheer to my days with your colorful array of dresses and rainbow leggingsdont ever change! To Tara, for your continuous support for all things OTK. To Claudine, for being the best seal of approval from WalesIm not sure how wed function without you, C! To Clodagh, Jens, and Jake, for sliding so easily into the OTK family and for being such a pleasure to work with.

To the bestest of friends, Maram, for being a constant source of love and inspiration. Heres hoping you always have both types of mustard in your fridge.

A big thank you to Josh for your unmatched ability to have me in fits of laughter, for letting me cause a scene wherever we go, and for holding my hand every step of the waycome rain or shine.

All the thanks to Emily, Lizzy, and the whole team at Ebury for waving the OTK flag a second time, and working so tirelessly to make it as Extra Good as can be.

To the creative talents that are Elena, Caz, and Wei: how lucky am I to get to work with you a second time over!

Last but not least, to Yotambig man Ythe collected calm to my fiery demeanor. Thank you for your wisdom, honesty, and unwavering faith in me from one year to the next.

A little bit of funk

The spoiler alert on food is that it sometimes does just that: spoils. A half-full bottle of milk, a forgotten head of cabbage, or the eggs that are well past their sell-by date. Luckily weve found clever ways to deal with this throughout history via pickles and ferments, aging and curing and, basically, by manipulating certain environments in order to provide some seriously tasty results. And these results are what we at the OTK like to call funk.

In the food world, or the world within these pages, funk checks a few of our favorite flavor boxes: sour, tart, punchy, pungent, and slightly out-there. The thing with funk is that it provides the element of surprise, a little hit of the unexpected. As with anything funk-related, it requires a delicate balance of time and the right treatment in order to develop its intensity, whether that be via a brine, an acid, a cure, or good old-fashioned bacteria (the friendly kind, of course).

If theres one thing funk doesnt enjoy, though, its being rushed. Sometimes we try to bypass this, creating that funk flavor sans the waiting time. The feta dumplings with fresh chile sauce (), where this Salvadoran cabbage-based ferment wants nothing more than to be left alone. Once it has the space to flourish solo, it gives and softens and, eventually, transforms into this salty, slightly funky cabbage condiment. Weve combined this with a glorious puffed-up corn pancake and a rich chile-based sauce and perhaps, had we not patiently waited, wed have never known that the curtido is what this indulgent dish needed all along.

Youll notice that weve also included some dairy-based condiments such as the yogurt cheese (or shanklish, ). This doesnt need much more of an explanation than it does a resounding recognition that dairy, especially when aged, adds something delicately creamy, wonderfully transformative, and inevitably out-there.

With this very first chapter we delve into the world of funk and all the numerous condiments that come with it, which, to no surprise, have a unique rhythm of their own. Now to find the ones that suit your groove.

1. Burnt eggplant pickle ()

2. Cured yolks ()

3. Yogurt cheese ()

4. Fresh chile sauce ()

5. Curtido ()

6. Pickled chiles ()

7. Blue cheese dressing ()

8. Marinated feta ()

9. Pickled onion ()

10. Hot sauce ()

11. Cheat's preserved lemon ()

12. Pink daikon ()

13. Ginger pickle ()