Yotam Ottolenghi

“For those, like me, who can't rely on being given a home smoker this Christmas, you can build your own approximation with just a roll of tin foil and a big wok or pan for which you have a li...”

“Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.”

“Pomegranate molasses is ubiquitous in Arabic cooking: it's sweet, sour and adds depth.”

“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.”

“Chinese sausage, which is widely available from Asian grocers and online, is sweet, rich, and enticingly smoky. I add it to steamed rice with strips of omelette and a few baby veg stir-fried...”

“Good asparagus needs minimal treatment and is best eaten with few other ingredients.”

“Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.”

“Speaking as someone who didn't go through the U.K. school system, with all the culinary baggage that entails, I am inordinately fond of custard in any shape or form.”

“Way back when I was a junior pastry chef, I'd bake loads of muffins every morning, as many as 120 or so, while operating on autopilot.”

“Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.”

“I keep returning to the combination of artichoke, broad beans and lemon. The freshness of young beans and the lemon juice 'lifts' the artichoke and balances its hearty nature.”

“The moment to tell my barber I was gay just never came up.”

“Though not a true cereal but a fruit, buckwheat seeds resemble cereal grains and are often used in a similar way to rice, barley, bulgar or quinoa, usually as a side dish.”

“I rarely cook traditional risotto, but I love other grains cooked similarly - barley, spelt or split wheat. I find they have more character than rice and absorb other flavours more wholehear...”

“Barley and mushroom is a soothing combination. It's mainly a textural thing, with the barley both gently breaking and enhancing the mushroomy gloopiness.”

“Pot barley takes longer to cook than pearl, but an overnight soak in water will speed things along. It's a robust grain that, if overcooked, won't collapse but will become more tender.”

“Forget mung beans' reputation as healthy yet bland - used right, they soak up loads of flavour.”

“Having grown up in the Middle East, eating beans for breakfast always seemed like a bizarre British eccentricity.”

“Popping broad beans out of their skins can be therapeutic, but it isn't everybody's favourite waste of time.”

“Most fish require a short cooking time, but cephalopods are the exception to this fishy rule. As with some cuts of larger land beasts, the longer they're cooked, the more tender they get.”