Name: Celeriac purée with spiced cauliflower and quail’s eggs
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 60ml of olive oil, plus 1 tbsp to serve; 1 large onion, roughly diced (160g); 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 2 bay leaves; 1 large celeriac, peeled and cut roughly into 2cm pieces (600g); 500ml of vegetable stock; 2 tbsp of tahini; 2 tbsp of lemon juice; 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 1/2 tsp ground coriander; 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika; coarse sea salt to taste; black pepper to taste; 2 tbsp of olive oil; 1 large onion, finely sliced (160g); 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced; 2 tsp ras el hanout; 1 cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely grated (650g); 2 tbsp of preserved lemon, finely diced; 90g of almonds, skin on, toasted and roughly chopped; 50g of chopped parsley; 2 1/2 tbsp of olive oil; quail egg, 6 or 12

Starter
Easy
6
60 minutes

PT1H

Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully share their recipe for a North African inspired starter using the hot and sweet spice blend ras el hanout with the gentler, earthier flavours of cauliflower and celeriac. The main elements of this dish can be made in advance and the quail eggs added just before serving.

Celeriac purée

60ml of olive oil, plus 1 tbsp to serve
1 large onion , roughly diced (160g)
2 garlic cloves , roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large celeriac , peeled and cut roughly into 2cm pieces (600g)
500ml of vegetable stock
2 tbsp of tahini
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
coarse sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Spiced cauliflower

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion , finely sliced (160g)
3 garlic cloves , finely sliced
2 tsp ras el hanout
1 cauliflower , trimmed and coarsely grated (650g)
2 tbsp of preserved lemon , finely diced
90g of almonds , skin on, toasted and roughly chopped
50g of chopped parsley

Quail’s eggs

2 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
quail egg , 6 or 12

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First make the celeriac purée. Place the 60ml of olive oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry for 5–6 minutes, stirring often, until soft and starting to caramelise

Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for another minute before adding the celeriac. Fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, so that all sides are golden brown

Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer on a medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the celeriac is cooked through

Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves and transfer to a blender or food processor. Blitz to form a smooth purée before adding the tahini, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Set aside until ready to serve

Put the oil for the spiced cauliflower into a large sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then add the ras el hanout and cook for another minute

Pour over 100ml of water and stir through for a minute before removing from the heat. Fold in the cauliflower, preserved lemon, almonds, half of the parsley and 1 teaspoon of salt and set aside to cool

When ready to serve, divide the purée between six plates. Drizzle half a teaspoon of oil over each portion, spread the cauliflower on top and sprinkle over the smoked paprika and remaining parsley

To fry the quail eggs, place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, crack each egg individually into the pan and fry for 30–60 seconds. Season with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper, then place an egg or two on top of each portion of cauliflower and serve at once

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Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully

Yotam Ottolenghi is a cookery writer and chef-patron of the Ottolenghi delis and NOPI restaurant. Ramael Scully moved to NOPI as head chef when the restaurant opened in 2011.