Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes to mark the #CookForSyria campaign | Middle Eastern food and drink (2024)

For those, like me, who live to eat, it’s pretty mind-bending to think of how many people in the world still eat to live. Somewhere in between these two extremes, the campaign is holding a month of events and celebrations nationwide, from supper clubs to charity bakes, and from cooking demos to restaurants and cafes giving a share of proceeds on special dishes to Unicef UK’s Children of Syria Fund. It’s an opportunity to cook, eat and raise as much money and awareness as we can, so if you fancy joining in, go to cookforsyria.com for all the details.

The charity banquet that kicks off the campaign is in London on Monday, so if you haven’t got a ticket, I thought I’d start this week’s column with the dish I’m cooking on the night. Make it for friends, ask them to donate and hold your own charity supper at home.

Harak osbao

This simple dish of lentils with pasta has a tonne of bold flavours. It’s at once comforting and hearty and, thanks to all the colourful garnishes, also fit for a celebratory feast. The name translates from Arabic as “he burnt his finger”, which goes some way to explaining how irresistible it is, even when it’s piping hot. Serves six to eight.

Mash the tamarind in the water, to separate the pips, then strain into a small bowl and discard the pips.

Put a large saucepan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, add the pasta pieces and toast for a minute or two, until they start to brown. Tip into a bowl.

Return the pan to the heat and add two tablespoons of oil and the onions. Fry for eight minutes, stirring regularly, until golden and soft, then tip into a third bowl.

Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high flame, then fry the garlic for one to two minutes, until just golden-brown. Off the heat, stir in the coriander.

Spoon the lentil and pasta mix into a large, shallow serving bowl, scatter over the fried onions, the garlic and coriander mix, the parsley, pomegranate seeds and sumac, and serve with lemon wedges at the table.

Bulgur with tomato, fried aubergine and cucumber yoghurt

This works as a standalone dish or light meal, or as part of a mezze spread. Serves four.

1 aubergine, cut into 2cm chunks
About 120ml olive oil
Salt
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
5 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
200g coarse bulgur wheat
¾ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or another chilli flake)
250ml chicken stock (or vegetable)
250ml tomato passata

Mix all the ingredients for the yoghurt in a medium bowl with a pinch of salt, and set aside.

In a second bowl, mix the aubergine with two tablespoons of oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan on a high flame and, once it’s very hot, add half the aubergine, turn down the heat to medium-high and fry, stirring regularly (and adding a bit more oil, if need be), for eight minutes, until golden-brown all over. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle over an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Repeat with the remaining aubergine, heating another two tablespoons of oil before you fry.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high flame and, once hot, saute the onion and thyme for eight minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bulgur, allspice, chilli flakes and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, pour over the stock and passata, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan with a clean tea towel, clap on the lid, and collect and lift the edges of the towel over the top of the lid, so they don’t catch light. Leave the sealed pot to cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, then take off the heat and leave, still covered, to rest for five minutes. Gently stir the aubergines into the bulgur mix and serve with the cucumber yoghurt on the side.

Chicken meatballs with molokhia, garlic and coriander

For the molokhia sauce
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 strips of finely shaved lemon zest
250ml chicken stock
800g frozen molokhia (or fresh or frozen spinach)

First make the meatballs. Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl and add enough water to cover. Stir, then drain through a colander and squeeze out most of the moisture. Mix in a large bowl with the chicken, garlic, spices, herbs, a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Using your hands, shape into about 40 small balls, each about 20g in weight and 3cm wide.

On a medium-high flame, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large, nonstick sauté pan for which you have a lid. Once hot, fry half the meatballs for three to four minutes, turning them regularly, until golden-brown all over. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.

Divide the meatballs and sauce between six shallow bowls, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.