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8 Ottolenghi brunch recipes to try this weekend

by Jessica Lockyer-Palmer

published on 3 July 2025

Whatever your brunch dish of choice, be it a classic shakshuka, a doorstop slice of toasted banana bread, or a classic avocado on toast, there’s an Ottolenghi recipe that promises to elevate it with a few clever ingredient additions and creative touches. Discover eight of our favourite recipes to kick your weekend off, Ottolenghi style.

Braised Eggs with Leek and Za’atar

Braised Eggs with Leek and Za’atar

from Simple

This one-pan egg dish from Ottolenghi SIMPLE all about layering bold flavours; sweet leeks softened in butter, fragrant preserved lemon, rich oozing eggs, tangy feta, and a sprinkling of za’atar.

Fried Upma with Poached Egg

Ottolenghi’s Fried Upma with Poached Egg

Upma is a thick, gently-spiced semolina-based porridge popular in South India. In this recipe, Ottolenghi leaves the upma to set, slices it into squares and then fries them in butter to create a crisp, golden exterior. Finally, he suggests topping your upma with a perfectly runny poached egg and serving it with lime pickle on the side.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Avocado Butter On Toast with Tomato Salsa

from Simple

In true Ottolenghi fashion, this recipe takes a well-known classic and transforms it with a few clever ingredient additions. Adding butter to the avocado creates a silky spread that glides across your toast, and with none of the sliminess sometimes associated with the fruit. The avocado butter is then offset with plenty of fresh lime juice and zest, tarragon, dill, and a zingy tomato and caper salsa. We also particularly love the final, pan con tomate-inspired touch of rubbing garlic on your sourdough. There’s avocado toast and then there’s the Ottolenghi version. You’ll never look back.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Grilled Banana Bread with Tahini and Honeycomb

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Grilled Banana Bread with Tahini and Honeycomb

Grilled banana bread is one of our favourite sweet brunch options and this recipe is full of Ottolenghi flourishes. From the “incredibly perfect” banana bread itself, which is packed with roasted pecans, to the tahini, honeycomb and flaky salt topping, this is banana bread but make it Ottolenghi.

Ottolenghi’s Slow-cooked Chickpeas on Toast with Poached Egg

Diversify your toast toppings and try out this recipe, featuring chickpeas cooked in a smoky tomato and pepper sauce. A true labour of love, this dish is the perfect brunch for a slow Sunday morning.

Sweet Potato Shakshuka

The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s Sweet Potato Shakshuka with Sriracha Butter and Pickled Onions

by The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Team

If shakshuka is your brunch dish of choice, you’ve just struck gold. A bold departure from the classic dish, this version is a clever reimagining, with the eggs nestled in a cheesy sweet potato mash rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and finished with a punchy sriracha butter and piquant pickled onions. If you’re after a classic shakshuka, of course Ottolenghi has a recipe for that too.

From the book

Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Courgette and Ciabatta Frittata

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Courgette and Ciabatta Frittata

from Simple

Ottolenghi describes this perfectly puffed up ciabatta and courgette frittata as a regular in his weekend cooking repertoire, especially when he’s hosting. Serve with a crisp salad.

Smoky Frittata

Smoky Frittata

from Plenty

This frittata is made with cauliflower and smoked scamorza, an Italian cheese similar to mozzarella but with an extra depth of flavour. Seasoned with smoked paprika, this frittata is a delicious take on a classic Italian dish.

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