Ottolenghi’s Fish and Caper Kebabs, made into a wrap
I rediscovered my love of Ottolenghi’s recipes earlier in the week. I dug out my copies of Ottolenghi, Plenty and Jerusalem to try to find something to do with the huge bottle of pomegranate molasses I have in the cupboard, and ended up spending a couple of hours leafing through the books, marking many pages with pink post-its for later.
This recipe, especially, caught my eye. Although the London heatwave is now over and the city much cooler, I am still in the mood for bright summery food and this combination of fish, capers, dill and citrus just seemed to do the trick. The simple process of mixing the ingredients, chilling the ‘kebabs’ and frying appeals to even the laziest cook.
The recipe suggests this as a starter: three ‘kebabs’ per person served with a dollop of the burnt aubergine. I preferred instead to put the whole lot inside a wrap with some salad. One wrap would do for a nice lunch, two would make a more substantial dinner.
Fish and Caper Kebabs Wrap with Burnt Aubergine
Serves four as a light lunch or two for a dinner; adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi
For the burnt aubergine
2 medium aubergines
2 tbsp greek yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper
For the kebabs
400g white fish fillet, skinless and boneless
30g breadcrumbs
1/2 a medium egg, beaten
20g capers, chopped
20g dill, chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
¾ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground white pepper
To assemble
Sunflower oil, for frying
4 corn tortillas or flatbreads
Rocket
Start by making the burnt aubergines. Cook the aubergines directly over the gas flame of a cooker, turning occasionally. The skin will blister and the flesh will become soft inside. It will take 5-10 minutes per aubergine. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
Once cooled, scoop out the flesh and transfer to a sieve. Gently press the flesh with the back of a spoon to squeeze out any excess moisture. Roughly chop and place in a medium bowl. To this bowl, add the yoghurt, garlic, parsley, 1tsp salt and a good amount of black pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
Finely chop the fish fillet and place in a large bowl. Ad the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 12 equal pieces and shape into ovals with your hands. Place on a plate and refridgerate for at least half an hour.
Pour a small amount of oil into a large frying pan, about 1mm deep and cook the fish balls for three minutes on each side, or until well-browned. Drain on kitchen paper.
Put some rocket and a couple of spoonfuls of burnt aubergine on the tortilla, then add three fish balls and roll up. Add some hot sauce if you wish.
Six Hundred and Seven Square Miles 