Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style

February 12, 2025mayurisjikoni

Recipe: Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style

Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style is a must try salad. The dates, sumac, chilli flakes and marinated onion adds a bright, sweet, sour and slightly spicy taste. An excellent way to use up old pita bread, enjoy this salad as a meal or side dish.

A Bit About Yotam Ottolenghi’s Recipes

Ottolenghi’s recipes are so vibrant, colourful, fresh and super tempting. What I like about his recipes is that he makes use of seasonal produce, adds layers of flavours by using herbs, spices and umami ingredients. I have a couple of his books but sadly all packed up boxes from the time we moved from Kenya. Hopefully, this year I will be able to get them out and try out more of this Israeli British Chef’s recipes.

Sharing Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style Recipe With 2025 Alphabet Challenge Group

When I decided to focus on salads for this year’s Alphabet Challenge, Date Salad was the first one that I jotted down on my list. I had come across the recipe online and had wanted to try the salad out. This challenge presented the opportunity and I don’t regret it at all. Please do try this salad out. D for dill, daikon, dragon fruit, dark chocolate, dumplings, deviled eggs, dried fruits, dal,dosa, duck, etc.

D is for Dates.

Some Recipes With Dates That You May Like

DATE BARK

Date Bark is one of the easiest and quickest dessert recipe I have tried. Basically you need 4 basic ingredients to make this delicious and healthy sweet treat. It does taste a bit like Snickers without all that refined sugar.

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EGG-FREE DATE CAKE

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DATE PANEER CHEESECAKE

Usually cheesecakes are made from cream cheese but what do you use if you don't have any? Use paneer. Mixed with whipped cream, milk and flavourings, it makes a perfect cheesecake. Try out a naturally sweetened Date Paneer Cheesecake, perfect dessert treat for diabetics.

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DATE COCONUT ENERGY BALLS

Easy to make, gluten free and vegan Date Coconut Energy Balls make a healthy snack to enjoy any time of the day. Ideal as a lunch box treat, for gifting and for kids parties too.

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DATE BREAD

This Date Bread is made using fermented dough where I have added pureed dates, chopped nuts and dried fruits. It is a sweet bread that can be enjoyed for breakfast or at tea time on Christmas Day. Can bake it a few days before Christmas. Toast it or warm it up before serving.

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Sugar Free Date Chai Muffins

Date Chai Muffins are soft, delicious, fruity muffins without any refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. Instead, I've used dates, figs, raisins and apricots to add the required sweetness to these wholewheat muffins. Healthy and nutritious, Date Chai Muffins make a good breakfast or tea time treat for both kids and adults.

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BATHEETH

Batheeth is a date and spice based Emirati dessert that is usually served with Arabic Qahwa or Black Coffee. Serve it in the crumb form or as balls.

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3 ESSENTIAL CHUTNEY RECIPES

3 Essential Chutneys that are common for the Indian Cuisine are the green, date tamarind and garlic chutneys. These 3 chutneys are an essential part of any chaat recipe. Also these chutneys and hot fresh snacks go hand in hand.

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NO BAKE BLOSSOMS

The nuts and chocolate lovers will adore this delectable treat that comes together in a jiffy. No refined sugar used and no sort of cooking required, these No Bake Blossoms are perfect as a snack or to take care of your sweet tooth. Nuts and chocolate kisses are used for this easy peasy recipe.

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D Recipes By Members Of The Group

Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Double Dark Chocolate Waffles
Blogghetti: Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl
Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Dutch Macaroni
Mayuri’s Jikoni: Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style
A Messy Kitchen: Sugarplum Date Balls
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Chicken with Dates
Palatable Pastime: Balkan Lamb and Rice Casserole (Djuvec)
Magical Ingredients: Dill Pickle Dip
Food Lust People Love:Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam
Sneha’s Recipe: Dal Sultani
Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Sun-Dried Tomato Dip with Italian Seasoning

2025 Alphabet Challenge Journey So Far

AVOCADO, BEAN & MANGO SALAD

Avocado, Bean & Mango Salad is a zesty, nutritious, filling and delicious salad bursting with colours. Like me if you are a lover of both avocado and mango then this salad is just right for you. With homemade Cilantro Dressing, we love to have this salad as a light meal. I

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BARLEY SALAD WITH GREEK LEMON HONEY DRESSING

Barley Salad with a Greek lemony dressing is easy to make, ideal potluck salad and makes a healthy meal. Add vegetables of your choice. What I like about this salad is that it stays fresh for at least 3 days in the fridge

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CHICKPEA CHAAT SALAD

Chickpea Chaat Salad is a tasty, gluten free, vegan, slightly sweet, a bit spicy and tangy kind of salad. The star ingredient is boiled chickpeas. Add salad vegetables of your choice. This salad is a version of the popular Indian street food Chana Chaat.

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Ingredients Required For Date Salad, Ottolenghi Style

Dates

Soft Medjool dates or any variety of soft dates. Some popular ones available in the market are kimia, mazafati. For this recipe we need approximately 50g of dates. Pit the dates (remove the seeds) and cut them into quarters lengthwise.

Red Onion

Peel and thinly slice lengthwise. We need about ¼ of a medium size onion.

White Vinegar

Any white vinegar you have in your pantry. I used white wine vinegar. Need a small quantity to marinate the onion and date slices.

Baby Spinach

Washed and pat dried. Need about 75g.

Almonds

Around 35-40g, chop the almonds into big pieces. I chopped them into halves. Toast them lightly along with the pita bread pieces.

Pita Bread

I took about 50g of brown pita bread i.e. one normal round flatbread. Tear it up into pieces. Roast them with some butter over low heat till it becomes crispy.

Butter

Yes, this salad recipe calls for butter. I loved the flavour of it so I personally would not substitute it will oil. Need about 15g to roast the pita and almonds.

Olive Oil

Need a little to add along with the butter.

Sumac

Easily available online and in Middle Eastern shops. The main flavour of this salad comes from the sumac.

Red Chilli Flakes

Add according to your taste. But don’t make the salad too spicy as other flavours may not pop up.

Lemon Juice

Yes, we need a bit of lemon juice and preferably fresh. At first I was a bit apprehensive as I thought vinegar and sumac would be sufficient for the sour flavour. But by adding lemon juice, the sour flavour was just perfect.

Salt

I like to use pink salt. But feel free to use any salt of your choice. Add according to your taste. If like me you’re using salted butter, then be careful as the butter and pita already have salt.

Pomegranate

I had some pomegranate arils and couldn’t resist adding some to the salad. It is an optional ingredient.