This Middle Eastern Mac & Cheese Breaks All the Rules | Food52 + Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:55 First Up: Fried Onions
00:01:43 Pick Your Pasta
00:03:44 Herby Garlicky, Za’atar Pesto
00:08:39 Let’s Talk Cheese
00:11:24 Serving/Tasting

PREP TIME: 25 minutes
SERVES: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

Mac & Cheese
10 1/2 ounces (300g) dried cavatappi or fusilli pasta
2 1/2 cups to 3 cups (600 to 700 milliliters) whole milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, roughly cut into 1 1/4-inch/3cm cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle
5 tablespoons (75 grams) heavy cream
1 1/3 cups (160 grams) coarsely grated mature cheddar
6 1/3 ounces (180 grams) Greek feta, roughly crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (45 grams) crispy onions or shallots, store-bought or homemade

Za'atar Pesto
1 large lemon
3 tablespoons za'atar
1 cup (20 grams) cilantro, leaves and stems both, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup (40 grams) pine nuts, lightly toasted
6 tablespoons (90 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil

Recipe excerpted with permission from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi, published by Clarkson Potter © 2021.

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[GregCurtin]

Thank you Food52 and Ottoleghi. Yotam and Noor are both charming and educational. I love their detailed instruction from adjusting the heat to substitutions. As one of the few who dislikes Mac & Cheese I would like to make and sample this. Great teachers who are entusiastic are hard to find in cooking videos. Please bring this team back many more times.

[Shelsight]

They have such relaxed chemistry together - I love it. It’s so informative but so chilled to watch…

[PineapplesFromHell]

Crazy how this channel grew in within less than fews years (especially in the last 12 months)! So happy to see collaborations with amazing chefs!

[ryannordheimer]

"It's all made in one pot"
*immediately brings out a second pan*

[lucindajane]

Really nice to see people being open minded in this comment section, rather than “this isn’t Mac and Cheese” type comments I’d usually see on pasta recipe videos.

Think this looked great!

[honarderakhshan]

Like 3 wow nice so yummy thanks for sharing my dear friend stay connected 👍👍👍👈👈🌷🌷🧡🧡🧡

[gabirehlefra]

It is so comforting and exciting to listen to you. I'm looking forward to zatar pesto. very dear thanks🙏🏼💚

[CookwithIpohbunny]

Tried the scoopable eggplant tomato tahini the other day with great success. This will be going on my menu very soon :) Love this duo, please keep them on regular rotation Food52!

[morganbeasley]

I made this last night with a bit of skepticism but it came out so good! Everyone loved it and it exceeded my expectations!

[josephinedavidson]

Let me tell you ! You are the best on Utube and I am totally addicted to watching, and follow up cooking it myself ! Bought the book and amazing, made the Mac and cheese and topped with chopped cinnamon almonds and crisp onions ! Wow

[fjordhellas]

I’ve just subscribed! I first got discover Middle Eastern food in Lebanon.. I was there for 18 months less than nine years ago.. boy that was a revelation! And ever since I came back home( Norway) I try to always make food from your wonderful region and I always look for restaurants and food shops from the Levantine countries. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gastronomy! Most Norwegians aren’t familiar with it and don’t realize that your food is twice better than Italian and French food.

[sarat]

Yotam’s calm demeanor reminds me so much of the late Anthony bourdan

[_ongjoco]

love OTK <3 also gorgeouuus kitchen n color coordination !!!

[Cheskaz]

Exceedingly delightful! Shouldn't have slept on this video!

[natalieharris]

I’m a traditionalist but sometimes rules can be broken.
What’s fun is couple cooking!

[benaviberkowitz]

I'm loving their chemistry in the OTK and it seems they are filling in the void that the BA test kitchen left.

[salishseaquest]

Not only do these two have great repartee, they also have great rapport. This recipe looks amazing -- taking the mundane and making it marvelous. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the great fashion that both Noor and Yottam are sporting. Thanks for the OTK team on Food52.

[fionajackson]

I'm loving these Ottolenghi videos! Wonderful recipes.

[cindyestrada]

You two work so well together. I hope to see more vegan fast meals with a middle eastern twist on here:) Keep this up it makes me happy to watch

[guydude]

I always love having another mac n cheese variation! 11/10 I love these people