Ottolenghi inspirations

I am a huge fan of Yotam Ottolenghi.  Twice recently I have watched him on the television and been inspired to rush off and make one of his dishes.  The first was a traditional Cretan dish which I served for Harriet's birthday.  It doesn't sound so exciting on paper but it was inspirational to watch and sensational to eat. 
This recipe uses a traditional Cretan dried bread, dakos, which I couldn't find.  Yotam suggest substituting Swedish krisprolls or Italian friselle.  I broke 400g of staleish sourdough into chunks and baked on a tray at 100 until they were dried out completely but not coloured. About 20 minutes.
To serve 6-8, grate half a kilo of ripe tomatoes into a bowl.  This sounds tricky but basically grate on a box grate until you are left with a piece of skin in your hand.  It is a bit messy.  Chop another kilo of tomatoes into 1 cm dice.  Mix with 1 diced red onion, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper.  In another bowl mix together 200ml olive oil, 100ml red wine vinegar, salt & pepper.  This may seem like a lot of oil but you will want this much.  In a pan lightly saute 2 cans of chickpeas with a little olive oil, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin & a little salt.  Spread your dried bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them snugly in a single layer.  Pour over the oil and vinegar mix, then spoon over the tomato mix. Next cover with the chickpeas.  Dot with chunks of feta (300g).  Scatter over basil & drizzle with a little olive oil.  Bake at 200 for 25 minutes until the feta starts to colour. Delicious!
The second was inspired by a meal made in Jerusalem on a Plate - split wheat and chard with pomegranate molasses.  I am not sure what exactly split wheat is but I have some freekeh in the cupboard and this was good or you could even use pearl barley but cook it longer.  For four, start by softening 2 thinly sliced leeks in olive oil.  Add the finely chopped stalks from about 600g chard.  After a couple of minutes add the sliced chard leaves.  Cook for a couple of minutes then add 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 200g of whatever wheat or grain you are using, 500g chicken stock and season.  Bring to a simmer, cover & cook about an hour. At the end of cooking remove the lid and cook down until all the liquid has evaporated and the molasses & sugar are beginning to caramelise.  You could add more molasses at the end.
You could have this as a light meal on it own but it was delicious with pork and courgette patties.  The recipe was for turkey but we had pork mince in the freezer.  I reaslised aftrewards it may not have been quite the thing because this was either a Jewish or Palestinian muslim dish.  Neither of those cultures eat pork but we do and it worked very well.  Use whatever mince you like.  First make a sour cream sauce by mixing 100g sour cream, 150g thick greek yoghurt, 1tsp lemoin juice, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 tbsp olive oiul, 1tsp sumac, salt & pepper.  Set aside.
For the patties, in a large bowl mix 500g turkey, chicken or pork mince, 1 coarsely grated courgette, 3 finely sliced spring onions, 1 egg, 2 tbsp each chopped mint and parsley, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, salt & pepper. Shape into patties and rest.  If the mix is too wet, add some breadcrumbs or  something to help it hold together.  I used bulgar wheat, but you need to soak it in cold water for 10 minutes first, then drain and squeeze out excess moisture.  To cook the patties sear on both sides in a frying pan then finish in a hot oven (220) for 6-8 minutes.  Serve with the wheat and yoghurt sauce.  This is a meal you will want to make again.