Make Ahead

Ottolenghi food is all about freshness. Herbs and leaves don’t like to sit around after they’ve been chopped or dressed. A lot of baked things like to be eaten soon after they come out of the oven. There are all sorts of ways, though, to get ahead with the meal you’re making without compromising on how fresh it is.

Many things, for example, are happy to be made a day or two ahead and kept in the fridge, ready to be warmed through or brought back to room temperature before serving. Spreads and sauces, dips and dressings. The freezer is also your friend. It’s often as easy to make double the amount of a pasta sauce or stew that a recipe calls for, for example, as it is to make the amount you need for one meal. That way you can just freeze half, have your next meal ready and waiting and feel disproportionately pleased with yourself in the process.