Ottolenghi and Waitrose are kicking off the festive season in suitably delicious style with a series of new launches spanning spice, citrus and chocolate. This is the very first festive launch as part of the Ottolenghi Pantry range available in Waitrose and the very first time Ottolenghi Mince Pies and Christmas Puddings will be available on supermarket shelves nationwide.
This autumn, six new products are being added to the range for the festive season: Orange Harissa, Sweet Spice, Valencian Orange Roasting Glaze, Cranberry, Apple & Pomegranate Sauce, Spiced Mince Pies and Chocolate & Clementine Christmas Pudding. The new products will all land at Waitrose between now and mid-November, joining the recently launched Ottolenghi x Citizens of Soil Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The new products, developed by Yotam and the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen (OTK) team, have been developed to work alongside the classic Christmas dishes – bringing Ottolenghi flavours to the Christmas table. Pomegranate, a long-running Ottolenghi signature flavour, threads through the cranberry sauce; Valencian orange carries across the roasting glaze; and the brand’s new Sweet Spice blend seasons both the mince pies and the Christmas pudding, tying the whole range together.
Orange Harissa is a citrus-led take on the brand’s Great Taste Award-winning Pomegranate, Rose and Preserved Lemon Harissa. Marinate chicken or lamb before roasting, spoon over fish, stir through butter beans, swirl into yoghurt. Wherever you’d use harissa, this works – and then some.
Sweet Spice is Ottolenghi’s own take on a mixed spice: cinnamon and cardamom do most of the heavy lifting, with star anise adding a gentle anise warmth and sumac bringing a subtle tartness. Sprinkle it, bake it into cakes and biscuits, roast it with fruit, or stir it through porridge or warm drinks.
Valencian Orange Roasting Glaze is built around Valencian orange, white miso and Aleppo chilli. The brightness of the orange and the saltiness of the miso do something particularly good to anything going into a hot oven, caramelising as it roasts into something sticky and deeply savoury. Works with ham, sausages and salmon, and is especially good with carrots and parsnips.
Cranberry, Apple & Pomegranate Sauce gets its sour edge from pomegranate molasses, which cuts through the sweetness and gives it a sharpness that makes it useful well beyond Christmas. Bramley apples give it body, ginger keeps it alive. Spoon it over roast meats, stir it into sandwiches and toasties, or add it to a cheeseboard.
No Christmas is complete without a mince pie – or two! Ottolenghi’s Spiced Mince Pies rework the classic with brown butter shortcrust pastry wrapped around a spiced pineapple mincemeat, seasoned with the brand’s Sweet Spice blendShort and a good hit of dark rum and brandy to keep things merry. Eat warm, with a spoon of brandy butter, or standing up with a glass of something mulled.
Chocolate & Clementine Christmas Pudding offers a richer alternative to a traditional fruit pudding, built on dates, dark rum and Madagascan chocolate, with candied clementines and Sweet Spice tying it back into the citrus and spice running through the rest of the range.
Yotam Ottolenghi comments: “Christmas is when I want my cooking to feel most generous, with a few big flavours doing most of the work for me. I used the new orange roasting glaze on my own ham last Christmas, while we were still developing it, and it worked perfectly. That’s the idea behind these new products: keeping all the flavours people look forward to, but with a little extra brightness and surprise.”
Laura Tudor, Branded Trading Manager at Waitrose, says: “We’re delighted to be expanding the Ottolenghi range into our Christmas offering for food lovers this year. Yotam’s signature approach – vibrant flavours, unexpected twists on classic dishes, and high quality ingredients – is built for festive entertaining. From showstopping Christmas puddings to thoughtful foodie gifts, this expanded lineup delivers the exceptional taste and culinary innovation our customers look for, making it easier than ever to bring chef-quality magic to the Christmas table.”
Together, the new launches reflect the way Ottolenghi food is often built – through contrast, colour and layers of flavour – now made easy to bring to the Christmas table.
Available now:
- Ottolenghi Orange Harissa (165g) – RRP: £5.10
- Ottolenghi x Citizens of Soil Extra Virgin Olive Oil (500ml) – RRP: £24.00
Available soon:
- Ottolenghi Chocolate & Clementine Christmas Pudding (800g) – RRP: £20 – from 21 September
- Ottolenghi Sweet Spice (45g) – RRP: £4 – from 26 October
- Ottolenghi Spiced Mince Pies (68g x 4) – RRP: £5.50 – from 2 November
- Ottolenghi Valencian Orange Roasting Glaze (270g) – RRP: £5 – from 8 November
- Ottolenghi Cranberry, Apple & Pomegranate Sauce (170g) – RRP: £5 – from 8 November
The full range will be available in Waitrose stores and at waitrose.com as well as ottolenghi.co.uk
