Ottolenghi's Cheeseball Lemon Rice with Chilli Butter
by Yotem Ottolenghi
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Easy
There’s something really reassuring about a rice traybake. Add the right amount of water, seal the dish well, pop it into the oven, and forget about it. This is as comforting and delicious as you’d expect cheesy, briny, chilli-butter-doused rice to be. It’s the perfect side to something simple like a roast chicken, or else can be eaten as a main, with some wilted greens.
Getting ahead: The rice wants to be eaten fresh out of the oven but can be taken up to the point just before the hot water and aromatics are added, if you want to get ahead.
Extracted from Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press, £30). All photography by Jonathan Lovekin.
Ingredients for Cheeseball Lemon Rice
- 8 cloves
- 6 cardamom pods, bashed
- 1 lemon: shave the skin into strips, then juice to get 2 tbsp
- 125g ricotta
- 150g feta, crumbled
- 125g hard mozzarella, grated 25g Parmesan, grated
- 1 egg, beaten
- 400g basmati rice, rinsed and drained well
- 75g pitted green olives, cut in half 100g unsalted butter
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- ¾ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes
- ½ tsp sumac
- 5 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal into 1cm pieces (50g)
- salt
Method for Cheeseball Lemon Rice
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
- Pour 750ml of water into a medium saucepan and add the cloves, cardamom pods, lemon strips and 1½ teaspoons of salt. Place on a medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, put the four cheeses and the egg into a medium bowl and mix well. Using your hands, divide the mixture into 12 portions and roll them roughly into balls, approximately 40g each. They don’t need to be perfect, as they will spread once in the rice.
- Scatter the rice on the bottom of a high-sided baking tray or dish, 24cm x 32cm (or a 28cm ovenproof sauté pan, for which you have a lid), and scatter over the olives. Pour over the hot water and aromatics. Shake the tray gently to spread the rice evenly, then deposit the cheese balls in the rice. Cover the tray tightly with foil (or lid), to keep the steam in, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to settle, covered, for 10 minutes.
- While the rice is resting, melt the butter in a medium saucepan on a medium heat. Add the chilli flakes, Aleppo flakes and sumac and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the spring onions and cook for a further 20 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and set aside.
- Uncover the rice and spoon the chilli butter all over just before serving.
About the author
Yotam Ottolenghi is the chef and food writer who transformed the way Britain eats—bringing bold Middle Eastern flavors to home kitchens and championing vegetables in ways that feel both vibrant and indulgent. A best-selling cookbook author, he has co-written and published eight cookbooks, from the game-changing Plenty and Jerusalem to SIMPLE, FLAVOUR, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, and his latest, Ottolenghi COMFORT—a heartfelt tribute to the power of food in shaping identity, belonging, and, of course, sheer pleasure. He also shares his culinary insights as a regular columnist for The Guardian.
Before becoming Britain’s go-to name for colorful, spice-laden cooking, Ottolenghi’s path looked quite different. He earned a Master’s degree in philosophy and literature and worked in journalism at an Israeli daily before moving to London in 1997. But the pull of the kitchen proved stronger. He began his culinary career as a pastry chef at The Capital, then honed his craft at some of London’s top restaurants, including Kensington Place, Launceston Place, Maison Blanc, and Baker & Spice.
Alongside business partner Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi launched his eponymous group of delis and restaurants, now beloved fixtures in Notting Hill, Islington, Belgravia, and Kensington. In 2011, he opened NOPI in Piccadilly, followed by ROVI in Fitzrovia in 2018—both embodying his signature approach: bold flavors, fresh produce, and a deep love for the joy of eating.
