Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Feast

Yotam travels to the stunning French island of Corsica, where he discovers how the lush green landscape, called the maquis, flavours and infuses the food, from charcuterie and olive oil to cheese and honey. Yotam meets some of the island's most celebrated chefs and food producers and discovers what makes the food uniquely Corsican. He prepares a roasted fish with aromatic Corsican olive oil; Swiss chard and herb tart with local cheeses; honey and apricot trifle with walnuts and lavender; and chestnut cake, a classic island staple. And to celebrate Corsica's love affair with meat, Yotam makes a rich veal stew with olives, pancetta and a roasted pepper salsa.

Yotam searches for authentic local cuisine, discovering wonderful local ingredients including ruby red prawns - the star ingredient in his deconstructed paella. Yotam leaves the busy beaches behind as he heads inland discovering a wonderful larder of local ingredients, including roast suckling pig slow-cooked in a bread oven; tomatoes sweetened on the vine; and oranges ripened in the island sun. Yotam creates a Mediterranean feast of Spanish and Moorish origin: salt-crusted fish stuffed with aromatic fennel; a sweet and salty salad of caramelised oranges with goats cheese; and a deliciously rich dessert of apricots, almonds and raisins.

Yotam visits Crete and explores its rich and complex culinary history. In the ancient capital of Heraklion, Yotam makes a variation of the Cretan meze dakos, a marriage of tomatoes, crumbled feta, olives and oregano. In the fishing port of Agios Nikolaos, he marries octopus marinaded in wine with tender baby squid, stuffed with tomatoes and okra. On a trip inland, Yotam uses feta for a cheesecake with a ripe cherry compote. He also prepares a feast of spit-roasted pork souvlaki, served with his twist on tzatziki.

Yotam travels to Sardinia to explore the island's unique food traditions and flavours. In the beautiful fishing port of Bosa, he cooks one of the Mediterranean's greatest meals: freshly caught lobster roasted on an open fire. Leaving the coast behind, Yotam travels deep into Sardinia's rugged heartland, sharing a meal of spit-roasted lamb and a salad of figs and roasted radicchio, with three generations of shepherds. And on a mountain top at dawn he learns the secret of producing silky soft cheese for a dessert of ricotta fritters drizzled with golden honey and orange zest.