oh Ottolenghi … Buttermilk Garlic Sauce (with roasted eggplant and spiced lamb)

The summer of 2011, I was in Southwest France for the first time, about to start a stagiere at the Michelin stared restaurant of Chef Dany Chambon, Le Pont De l’Ouysse. I’d met him the previous fall at a food and wine event in Bangkok and when he offered to come work in his restaurant, I did. It changed my life. For the first few days, I stayed in a little b&b in the tiny town of LaCave. The owner was a very opinionated woman, who proceeded to tell me much of what I knew about French cooking, particularly that of the Dordogne Valley, was wrong. I kept my mouth shut and let her lecture me because I found it amusing but one morning she proudly presented a cookbook with a strange padded cover and declared it the best thing ever. It was by Yotom Ottolenghi, a strange name I’d never heard of and couldn’t pronounce. I took the book up to my room that night and never looked back. That book was Plenty.

Upon my return several weeks later I immediately got my hands on that book. The US cover was different than the one she had, with a gorgeous photo of halved eggplants topped with a brilliant white sauce and bright red pomegranate seeds. I don’t remember why but it seemed revolutionary at the time though the unusual padded cover, an Ottolenghi trademark, may have had something to do with that. I read it cover to cover and made the caramelized garlic and goat cheese tart the b&b owner raved about. It was good – really good in fact, if a little involved. But that cover recipe kept calling to me. Of all the exotic sounding recipes filling the pages, this is the one I kept coming back to again and again. So I made it; a few times actually. The white sauce was a deceptively simple mixture of buttermilk, plain yogurt, garlic and olive oil. I put it on everything. It was, and is, crazy stupid delicious.

Since that book (and actually one before it that for some reason didn’t release in the US until after Plenty), Ottolenghi has gone on to be unarguably one of the best selling cookbook authors of the last decade and he’s on track to do it again. His baking book, Sweet: Desserts from London’s Ottolenghi, releases in the US today so prepare for the onslaught of breathless excitement from various Instagram accounts and food bloggers in 3 … 2 … 1.

In fact, the press has been well under way for a few weeks and reminded me again of that buttermilk sauce. It had been a while. I pulled my copy of Plenty off the shelf and admired the cover photo yet again. I’d recently harvested some perfect Little Finger eggplants from my garden plot that I’d carefully coddled all summer (I’ve never had much success growing eggplants before so this was a major accomplishment.) I wanted to honor those eggplants I’d worked so hard for and this recipe was perfect.

I love the way they’re cooked – halved lengthwise, crosshatched, brushed with a bunch of olive oil and roasted until soft and tender and silky. So lovely with that gorgeous sauce, the pop of a bright pomegranate seed, and a good sprinkle of za’atar that gorgeous mix of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, hyssop, and oregano that makes everything delicious. I often joke that most households have a jar each of za’atar and sumac, both with a ¼ teaspoon less from their Ottolenghi adventures and obsessions. I’m no exception.

This time though, I wanted something a bit more substantial so I topped the eggplants with a spiced lamb mixture, redolent of garlic and exotic spices. I used a Moroccan spice mixture called ras-el-hanout, a combination of fragrant spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cayenne, cumin and coriander. You can buy it here or quickly mix up a small batch of your own. I did exactly that in a few minutes when I couldn’t seem to find that small bag I bought at the Spice House a while ago. Where things go, I’ll never know.

I loved the dish before but I really loved it with the spiced lamb mixture. The silky eggplant complemented the spiced meat and the creamy garlic sauce brought it all together. I ate an obscene amount all by myself and was perfectly happy about it.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: PURE JOY. I love this sauce so very much. It is really fantastic on this eggplant but on just about everything else too. It’s great on kebabs and various pita sandwich type things, like falafel. I’ve used it as a salad dressing, it’s a great dipping sauce for roast meats and kebabs and also a lovely stand in for tzaziki. Mr. Ottolenghi has a way with flavors, taking simple things (and even long ingredient lists) and turning them into wonderful dishes. I can’t recall a miss with one of his dishes yet. Chances are good you know all about the Ottolenghi empire but if you don’t, Plenty or another of his books, Jerusalem, are great places to start. And if you’re in London, I highly recommend stopping in one of his eponymous shops. The food is delicious but the displays are breathtaking. These are people that know how to merchandise food and it is spectacular.

Eight years ago: Apple Pear Crisp
Seven years ago: Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Turnovers
Six years ago: Plum Kuchen
Five years ago: Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
Four years ago: Roasted Ratatouille with Sweet Corn Polenta
Three years ago: Aunt Patti’s Cornbread
Two years ago: Small Batch Spiced Plum Butter
Last year: German Apple Cheese Torte

BUTTERMILK GARIC SAUCE WITH ROASTED EGGPLANT AND SPICED LAMB
Serves 4 as a starter
The buttermilk sauce will make far more than you need but, like me, you might find yourself putting it on everything so either go with it, or halve the recipe. You can buy ras-el-hanout, a Moroccn spice blend, online or make your own from the recipe below.

for the buttermilk garlic sauce:
¾ cup buttermilk
1 7-ounce container plain Greek yogurt (I prefer full fat Fage brand)
1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
pinch of kosher salt

for the eggplants:
12 little eggplants or 2 large and long Japanese eggplants
1/3 cup olive oil
kosher salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
1 teaspoon za’atar

for the spiced lamb:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
½ pound ground lamb
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons ras-el-hanout*
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely minced (or ¾ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled)
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, finely minced (or 1 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled)

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. To make the sauce: Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Taste for seasoning, then keep refrigerate until needed.
3. For the eggplants: cut the eggplants in half lengthways, cutting straight through the stalk (the stalk is for looks; don’t eat it).
4. With a sharp paring knife, make three or four parallel incisions diagonally in the cut side of each eggplant half, without cutting through to the skin.
5. Repeat at a 45° angle for a diamond-shaped pattern.
6. Place the eggplant halves, cut-side up, on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
7. Brush the cut sides with olive oil, multiple times until all of the oil has been absorbed. Don’t skimp – use all the oil. Gently pinch the eggplants to open up the crosshatches while brushing so the oil gets inside the cuts.
8. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
9. Roast 25-30 minutes for small eggplants, closer to 40-45 minutes for larger eggplants, rotating the pans halfway through. The flesh should be soft, silky and nicely browned.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
11. For the spiced lamb: heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.
12. Add lamb and sauté, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes.
13. Add the garlic, ras-el-hanout, pepper, cinnamon, oregano and mint and sauté, stirring, 1 minute until fragrant.
14. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the salt if needed.
15. To serve: arrange the eggplant, cut side up, on a serving platter. Top with a pinch of za’atar then a spoonful of buttermilk sauce, a spoonful of the spiced lamb and a few pomegranate seeds.
16. Serve at room temperature.

ras-el-hanout*
makes 2 Tablespoons
This Moroccan spice blend is excellent with lamb and chicken, particularly lamb burgers or roast chicken or kebabs. The recipe is from the website Kitchn, there are many versions out there but I found this one the easiest and made from things I had in my spice drawer.

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place.

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