A griddle pan is the key, but you can also get similar results on a gas flame, in an oven and even on an induction hobAsk Ottolenghi: send in your kitchen questionsI love chargrilled vegetables, but don’t have a barbecue – any ideas on getting that unique smoky flavour with a standard cooker? Sophie, Glasgow You love chargrilled vegetables and vegetables...

Creamy green peppers with a zippy jalapeño salsa, and spicy chipotle chicken with black-eyed bean salsaSalt, fat, acid, heat, as US food writer Samin Nosrat put it. Or, put differently: salt, avocado, lime juice, chillies. Or salt, soured cream, lime juice, green peppers. The ingredients will change, but often the reason Mexican food is so appealing...

There are a few rules of thumb for selecting the best blade for youGot something to ask the Ottolenghi test kitchen team? Send in your questionsI need a new chef’s knife – any recommendations? Nothing too expensive, though. Alex, Quebec, CanadaMy main recommendation would be to buy it in person rather than online. The feel of a knife, its weight and...

See in the new season Italian-style: lemon sole with spring vegetables and a sweet-sour dressing, and orecchiette with broccoli, anchovy and cuminSpring took rather a long time to arrive this year. Consequently, I’m planning to go all out on green veg at every opportunity from here on in. Five shades of green in just one dish (or six, if you include...

No, but it does make it more tasty, says Yotam Got something to ask the Ottolenghi test kitchen team? Send in your questionsI’ve often read about cooking meat briefly over high heat to sear it and “seal in the juices”, but I suspect this is unscientific because, as I understand it, high heat constricts the meat fibres and squeezes out the juices. Norman...

Golden fried boiled eggs in a salty-sour curry sauce with a crunchy toasted coconut topping, and Thai baked chicken in a coconut sambal sauceThai New Year, or Songkran, is celebrated next weekend. Traditionally, water symbolises happiness and purity across the kingdom, and the festivities culminate in a huge nationwide water fight. If there’s an end-of-festival...