Yotam Ottolenghi
Vegetarian and frugal it may be, but the chickpea is one of the most versatile ingredients you could keep in your cupboards.
Like all rice, black rice is great at absorbing flavours, but it's just as happy to act as a satiny bed for a poached egg, say, if you want to keep things simple.
Middle Eastern cuisine has the same depth of ingredients and processes as other cuisines. They just haven't had as much exposure.
Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.
The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.
Healthy is in the eye of the beholder.
A lemon, boiled whole and blitzed, makes a useful base for all sorts of dressings.
Barberries, or zereshk, are tiny dried red fruit with a tremendously sharp flavour. They come from Iran, where they're used to add freshness to rice and chicken dishes.
The most important thing for me is to walk the little alleys of the city, to find the little alcove where someone is cooking something, and just watch them do it. That's my idea of fun.
For my money, celery hasn't got a mean bit of fibre in its body, and we all need to start being much nicer to it.
Amaranth, the world's most nutritious grain, is available from health food stores.
Every era has its own list of ingredients that are considered exotic and then, 15 years later, they're not.
I used to have a very unmediated experience of food but, because of the recipe testing, I've lost that now. I can't switch it off even when I'm on holiday.
I like to add something unusual to a dish.
Fish cakes are perceived as being quite British, and they're always a bit brown and a little dull.
My dad makes food with very few delicate flavours.
Dad likes my food, but he probably thinks it's too busy. He is a wonderful cook but only uses three ingredients. My mum rips out my articles and makes my recipes.
Tel Aviv is the most exciting place to eat in Israel.
There is nothing like a good old recipe. If it has lasted, then it is good.
I can't stand recipes that don't have background.
My maternal grandmother made fantastic ox tongue with velvety roasted potatoes. She cooked sweet red cabbage and lovely cauliflower with butter and bread crumbs.
If I am honest, my food is actually quite far removed from both the food of my mother and my father.
Even in the busiest kitchen, there's always a point at the end of the day when you go home.
Vegetarians in general don't like me.
The kitchen is tough. It's one of the last bastions in civilized culture that sets out to crush the spirit.
In certain European cuisines, vegetables are cooked a long time. I take the term 'al dente' and use it for vegetables.
Too many books are full of recipes that aren't doable at home. They are purely aspirational. They are quite frightening, even for me.
Mothers and grandmothers: these are the people that I admire most, not so much chefs.Collection: Mother
You can be vegetarian and eat fish. Its your choice, just say: I am what I am. There are no hardcore divisions anymore.Collection: Choices
Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes, and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.Collection: Vegetables
For me, the end of childhood came when the number of candles on my birthday cake no longer reflected my age, around 19 or 20. From then on, each candle came to represent an entire decade.Collection: Birthday
It is more than twenty years since we left the city. This is a serious chunk of time, longer than the years we spent living there. Yet we still think of Jerusalem as our home. Not home in the sense of the place that you conduct your daily life or constantly return to. In fact, Jerusalem is our home almost against our wills. It is our home because it defines us, whether we like it or not.Collection: Home
You dont need a machine to make pasta: a rolling pin and a fast hand can create a smooth, if thick, sheet.Collection: Hands