Yotam Ottolenghi tastes and rates baklava, baba ganoush, falafel, hummus, tabbouleh and stuffed vine leaves
Baklava
Selfridges
Arabica Baklava Selection
450g, £15, selfridges.com
The layers of pastry are held together beautifully, creating a really lovely texture. The flavour is good too - nutty and not too sickly sweet. A five-star example of baklava.
★★★★★
Harrods
Bateel Baklava
£3.60 per 100g, harrods.com
A well-presented, nice, varied selection. The pastry is crisp, the nuts are generous but they are slightly hit and miss - the pistachio needed to be sweeter.
★★★★
Waitrose
Waitrose Fresh Baklava
Sold individually, 46-49p each, waitrose.com
A decent baklava, but the pastry isn't crisp enough, the flavours are not outstanding and the presentation lacks finesse.
★★★
Wholefoods
Persis Baklava
£2 each, wholefoodsmarket.com
Not the bite-sized baklava I like - these are far too big. All the nut varieties taste pretty much the same and they are very stodgy. The pastry also has a rather rough look to it.
★
Baba ganoush
Selfridges
Arabica Smoked Aubergine
100g, £2.65, selfridges.com
I like this because there's not much going on except for the aubergine and a little bit of tahini. It sings! Could do with being a little smokier.
★★★★
Harrods
Moutabel
£2.20 per 100g, harrods.com
This is a tahini-based variant and tastes pretty good, although it's very heavy on the tahini and a bit too lemony. Again, I want it more smoky.
★★★
Waitrose
Aubergine dip with lemon & paprika topping
170g, £2.49, waitrose.com
This contains dairy and it's very acidic. The aubergine taste doesn't come through fully.
★
Ocado
Gnosh Babaghanoush
150g, £2.49, ocado.com
Oooff! So sharp! And spicy! It's even sweet. In short, it's completely wrong for me. Weirdly, it even contains onions.
★
Falafel
Sainsbury's
By Sainsbury's Falafel
200g, £2.50 (for 12), sainsburys.co.uk
Falafel should be eaten fresh from the fryer, but that said these are the most enjoyable. They are moist and the herb flavour helps along reheated falafel.
★★★★
Marks and Spencer
Falafel
144g, £2.19, marksandspencer.com
The chickpeas have been overprocessed, which makes the texture dry. The flavour is good - a nice balance of cumin and chickpeas.
★★★
Selfridges
Arabica Damascan Falafel
75p each, selfridges.com
These are dry and taste uncooked in the centre - they need more cooking. The flavour is OK but texture is of the utmost importance.
★★
Wholefoods
Wholefoods Falafel
250g, £1.99, wholefoodsmarket.com
Nothing about this says "falafel". They are stodgy flat patties, and a turmeric yellow, more Indian than Middle Eastern.
No stars
Hummus
Morrisons
Classic Houmus
200g, 99p, morrisons.com
Hummus should be creamy, not bitty, and this one is the creamiest of the bunch. The flavour is not too acidic or lemony.
★★★★
Tesco
Organic Houmous
200g, £1, tesco.com
I think there's sugar here, which makes it delicious but not the real deal. The texture is nice, not too bitty, but it loses points on the authenticity front.
★★★
Lidl
Meadowfresh Houmous
300g, 95p, lidl.co.uk
Not bad – rather acidic and too bitty. I am getting a lot of lemon – which I hope really is lemon and not citric acid.
★★★
Waitrose
Waitrose Organic Houmous
200g, £1.25, waitrose.com
I can't taste anything but salt. What about the chickpeas? Lemon? Tahini and garlic? This is the opposite of the smooth texture I am looking for. I hate the bittiness.
★
Tabbouleh
Harrods
Tabbouleh
£2.20 per 100g, harrods.com
Looks better than the rest. It's obviously been made recently by someone who knows about tabbouleh: a parsley salad with just a touch of bulgur wheat. Needs more lemon.
★★★★★
Selfridges
Arabica Village Style Tabbouleh
100g, £3.65, selfridges.com
This has bits of lemon rind, which I like. It isn't traditional but introduces the lemon flavour. There's too much bulgur and not enough parsley but the touch of mint is good.
★★★★
Marks and Spencer
Tabbouleh Salad
190g, £2, marksandspencer.com
Has some nice spices but I think they've added vinegar, which isn't very nice. As a whole it isn't completely unpleasant.
★★
Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Tabbouleh Salad
250g, £2, sainsburys.co.uk
Just not a tabbouleh. The bulgur is too soft, the veg doesn't taste fresh. The vinegar acidity masks how bad it is.
No stars
Stuffed vine leaves
Harrods
Warak Enab
£1.40 each, harrods.com
I like that the rice has texture and that there's tomato in there. The rice is slightly too dry but the flavours are good. The leaf also has good body and bite.
★★★★
Marks and Spencer
Stuffed Vine Leaves
225g, £3.19, marksandspencer.com
These look handmade. The rice has excellent texture, and there's a lot of vine leaf which has good flavour. I'd add sugar to break down the acidity.
★★★
Sainsbury's
By Sainsbury's Stuffed Vine Leaves
220g, £2.30, sainsburys.co.uk
Tastes tinned. The rice is overcooked and powdery in texture and the flavour is generally bitter and sharp. Not appetising.
★★
Lidl
Eridanous Stuffed Vine Leaves
230g, £1.69, lidl.co.uk
Looks good, but there's something wrong with the taste. There's overcooked rice, without acidity to match. Just too bland.
★