Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

As far as I

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Generally speaking, the best gravies are made by deglazing a joint’s cooking juices in the roasting tin, but, with a brined bird, the liquid it gives off is just too salty; you can’t use more than 2–3 tablespoonfuls. You could, of course, simply drain off the excess, but given the stress of Christmas Day, making the gravy in a saucepan is a better route: you avoid the smoking you can get from a roasting tin on the hob; and you can make it all ahead — the stovetop will be quite busy enough as it is.

Nigella Lawson

I have been making this delicate, fragrant cake for over two decades now, and it never disappoints. It’s not showy — the only adornment is a light dusting of icing sugar — but it doesn’t need to shout: the proof of et cetera, et cetera; this is a cake that underpromises but overdelivers. I love this mostly as a cake for pudding (though there is nothing wrong at all with a slice with a cup of tea) when I also serve it with raspberries, or whatever fruit is on hand, depending on the season. Don’t panic about the fact that no raising agent is used: the cake doesn’t need it. Though I have made a small recent adjustment to the recipe: you will note that I have given an option of replacing the regular flour with rice flour. I did this in order to make the cake gluten-free for a friend of mine, and I have (even though I am on excellent terms with gluten myself) rather got into the habit of baking it this way. So I happily give you the choice.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is an Anglo-Italian hybrid: the syllabub is entirely English, though the liqueur makes it Italian in the extreme. The crumbled amaretti biscuits give a trifle-like contrast of soaked sponge and soft cream. Utterly delicious, and the work of moments, this is something you can pull out any time you want to end a dinner party with aplomb.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These are those thick, spongy American pancakes that are often eaten with warm maple syrup and crisp fried bacon. I love them with the syrup alone, but if you do want bacon, I think streaky is best. You can easily cook these pancakes by dolloping the batter onto a hot griddle (smooth, not ridged, side) or heavy based pan.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

While American pancakes with syrup are undeniably a supermom-with-kids breakfast cliche, they are also undeniably good, and in my book that alone argues forcefully for their inclusion here. They are anyway very easy to make, easier than thinner English pancakes or crepes, and it

Nigella Lawson

Now this is what I call a cocktail! For all that genever means juniper in Dutch, that it’s often known as Dutch gin, and is, in fact, a precursor to gin, it doesn’t actually taste like gin. The “Zeer Oude”, that’s to say Very Old, Genever (and ‘old’ here doesn’t refer to its age, but the method that’s used to make it) I use here in fact tastes more like vodka with a drop of malt whisky in it. And that’s indeed what you could replace it with, should you not have any Old Genever to hand. I wish I could say that I came up with this, but credit for both the cocktail and its brilliant appellation must go to Lee Clarke and Difford’s Guide.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

I came across this while on book tour in America many moons ago, and it showed be just how good granola could be. I am enormously grateful to Andy Rolleri for supplying the recipe. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I love the tangy fire of Thai cooking; I love equally the traditional English partnership of lamb with redcurrant and mint. I just happened, one day, because of what I had in the kitchen, to bring the two together. Consider it an ovine reworking of those hot and sour beef salads of south east Asia. Redcurrant jelly stands in for the sweetness of jaggery or palm sugar and I use rice vinegar (always to hand in my store cupboard) instead of lime juice. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This, I tell you, is the trifle to end all trifles.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Kuchen, in this context, may be simply "cake" in German, but what it means in America, taken there by German refugees, is a sweet, but not too sweet, yeasted dough, baked in a slab and topped as desired with fruit, nuts, or both or neither — to be eaten at breakfast or any time with a cup of coffee. If making yeast dough at breakfast time seems unfathomably demanding, relax in the knowledge that you can make this before you go to bed in the evening, leaving it to rise slowly in the fridge overnight. That way, all you need to do in the morning is preheat the oven, take the dough out of the fridge, then knock it back and press it out over the tin, following on from there.

Nigella Lawson

There are few things I find more satisfying in the kitchen than using up produce: the very notion of waste sends shivers down my spine. So, when I noticed a couple of apples wilting in the fruit bowl, I seized the opportunity to use them up. The result: these fruity, cinnamon-spiced, almond-topped muffins. I like to use spelt flour, with its rough-hewn nuttiness, here but you can use regular plain flour instead; the muffins won’t have the same wholesome heft, but there’s nothing wrong with a lighter-crumb either...

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

In How to Eat, I suggested this as a recipe for two. Yes, my portions are always generous, but the thing is, on certain days, we just ate this, the two of us, for supper in its entirety. Or almost: I always had custard to pour over, too. Cooked more traditionally, it’s enough for 3 comfortably, and if you have small children eating with you, then it’ll stretch to 4. If you don’t have marsala to hand, do use rum; if you want to do without the alcohol altogether, then use apple juice to plump up the sultanas. I use an oval pie dish for this, squat dish, rather than wide and shallow with a capacity of just under a litre / 4 cups. You can go smaller, but don’t go larger.

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Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

There is no doubt that this recipe is an undertaking, what with cooking the apples, making the crepes and some Calvados-flavored sauce. But if you want, you could do away with the sauce and crepes, and serve the buttery, almost caramelized apples over good vanilla ice cream. And even though you need to rustle up the three components, it is an easy choice when you have guests over, as everything can be made in advance. The apples and sauce can be reheated at the last minute and their warmth heats up the thin, pliable crepes.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This recipe is such a favourite of mine, and so I’m particularly happy to share it with you here. It’s one of those simple stalwarts I rustle up for supper when I want something substantial but uplifting at the same time. While it might be straightforward to make, it is rewardingly complex in flavour: the allspice added to the apple juice in the pan when you deglaze it brings comforting warmth, and the sharp tangle of sauerkraut – itself a refreshing contrast to the rich meat – is also aromatically tempered by caraway seeds and a tiny pinch of ground cloves. I urge you, once you’ve drained the sauerkraut, not to throw away the sour brine but to drink it: there’s so much goodness in that ferment-tangy liquid. I adore it, I must say, though it is fierce! I drink it just as it is, but it does really offer itself up as a Pickleback, which involves drinking a shot of Bourbon (though I don’t see why you couldn’t use any spirit you wanted) followed by a shot of brine. That should put hairs on your chest!

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

This is my idea of a perfect cake: simple, beautiful, fragrant and beguiling. This is invitingly easy to make, and while I love the poetry of its ingredients, the cake doesn’t overwhelm with its Thousand-and-One-Nights scent. Rosewater can be a tricky ingredient: a little, and it’s all exotic promise; a fraction too much and we’re in bubblebath territory. One of the things that makes this so easy, is that you can throw all the ingredients into a food processor. But if you don’t have one, simply chop the prepared dried apricots and cardamom seeds very finely and then beat together with the remaining cake ingredients.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Enjoy Nigella Lawson's famous Arabian Pancakes with Orange-Flower Syrup from her Nigella Summer cookbook. A perfect, light dessert to follow a Middle-Eastern-style dinner.

Nigella Lawson

There is slightly more stock in this reworking of the How To Eat original, but it remains a real favourite supper for one greedy person, or a pair of more modest eaters.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

As with all stews, this is even better made in advance and reheated; for me, this only makes things easier.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Fleshy green asparagus, as fresh as you can; sweet new season’s baby potatoes; juicy, pepper-hot radishes: this simple but sensational salad is made just by steaming the potatoes, roasting the asparagus, halving the radishes, tossing everything together gently with some tarragon, before dressing them lightly but fragrantly in a herb-thick buttermilk vinaigrette. This is a paean to Springtime in edible form, and I can’t stop making it. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

There is no reason on earth why this, adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, has to be a birthday cake, but since the first two times I made it were for my sister-in-law

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I remember, when I was in the south of Italy, eating aubergines that had been roughly chopped, sprinkled with dried wild oregano, doused with olive oil and then roasted with a little garlic and a lot of red onions. This below, is my version: quicker, yes, but I also like the way it can be eaten as a starter or part of an antipasti table, and even as a main course, sprinkled with some ricotta salata or crumbled feta, or as an accompaniment to meat and fish. If you are adding cheese, then sprinkle it over before topping with the onions, which are turned a glorious, luminescent puce by their red wine vinegar marinade.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I don’t deny bacon in brownies sounds weird, but it does really work in a quite straightforward way. Even people who shrink from the very idea find the actual outcome all-too-compelling. I like to use American-style bacon (which you can now get in UK supermarkets) for this, but if you can’t find it, then just be sure to get streaky bacon that is cut very thin, without the rind, and snip it up into small shards. You don’t really want chewy pieces of bacon, but rather nuggets of intense saltiness within the rich, gooey chocolate squares.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

It might sound odd to introduce this as a baked pasta for summer, but that’s how I’ve always thought of it. Actually, I’d all but forgotten about it, but it popped into my mind recently, and I have returned to it happily. I’ve cooked it a few times in quick succession recently, and I feel it will be a mainstay of the summer which I hope is to come. True, I wouldn’t necessarily want to make this during a heatwave, but it’s perfect for an al fresco supper or weekend lunch when the air is balmy and the mood mellow. It is a simpler recipe than you might presume, in the sense that no part of it is difficult, though I admit it’s fairly process-heavy: you need to make the tomato sauce; mix up the filling; boil the pasta shells for 5 minutes; stuff them and cover them with the sauce before it all goes into the oven to bake. It feels like less of an undertaking, I find, if you’ve made the tomato sauce ahead of time and also if you use frozen rather than fresh spinach. (Indeed, I’ve decided to specify just the frozen in the ingredients list, as it

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

If you want to forgo the grilled radicchio alongside, then do and just make a tomato salad to go with it, but the combination, as it stands, is perfect: the heat-wilted radicchio loses some of its bitterness, but keeps just enough perfectly to offset the delicate, not-quite-blandness of the ricotta. The summer-scentedness of thyme deliciously permeates both.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is so temple-achingly sweet that one small marked-out diamond, or maybe two, is enough. But even so, I love its perfumed sugariness — as much as I love the tender, rose-shot green of its equally fragrant nubbly interior.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I know this sounds like a mad idea, but I came across this in a ringbound book I bought off the internet in the middle of the night called The Joy of Muffins. Joy indeed, for what do you know, these taste so good: gooey, crunchy, soft and filling; sticky buns for the slapdash cook.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Whenever I

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

White chocolate morsels can be used in place of the butterscotch ones and my children seem to love both with equal fervour, though I

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It can be hard to adopt other countries’ Christmas traditions and cherish them like our own, but when it comes to this Dutch log of almond paste, encased in puff pastry, I have no problem whatsoever! Rather than make long logs (or, indeed wreathes or letters, as they do in the Netherlands) I cut them into short lengths before baking, which rather gives them a look of sweet sausage rolls. They should, in this form, a Dutch friend tells me, more properly be called banketstaafstukjes, though I’ve settled on Banket Bars instead. They make a great alternative to mince pies for those who shudder at the very idea of dried fruit, and a most desirable addition for the rest of us. They are reassuringly easy to rustle up. No need to make your own puff pastry, but you do need to make your own almond paste. However, it’s not hard to make almond paste: in a processor it’s the work of lazy minutes. (And by the way, almond paste and marzipan are not quite the same thing.) The only thing you need to remember is to make it a day (or up to 3 days) before you go a-baking, but since the puff pastry is best thawed for a day in the fridge, too, you can have both in the fridge ready and waiting for you at the same time. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

I love the way a handful of mournfully overripe, positively unprepossessing bananas give rise to this vulgarly triumphant cha-cha-cha of a cheesecake. Well, it is a cheesecake, but the texture is not the usual smooth cream; rather, it is aerated and moussy and as light as its perfume is, contrariwise, compellingly heady. You can make the toffee sauce while the cheesecake is cooking or cooling. Either way, you want the sauce completely cold, but it shouldn

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

You might think that nuts, untampered with, are perfect picking food as they are, and up to a point you

Nigella Lawson

I have a particular fondness for Bara Brith, the traditional Welsh fruit-speckled tea bread. My late sister Thomasina lived and worked in Wales, and my first taste of it came courtesy of her next door neighbour, Dai, over 30 years ago. It’s extraordinarily simple to make: you steep dried fruits and treacly sugar in hot tea overnight, then the next day you simply stir in an egg and some flour and pop it in the oven. As Dai did, I add a couple of teaspoons of mixed spice (though you can easily substitute dried ground ginger or cinnamon alone if you prefer) though I choose to add it to the steeping fruits rather than the flour. The only difficult thing about any of this is having to wait a day after baking before eating it. But this is a counsel of perfection: you can eat it as soon as it’s cooled, but to taste Bara Brith at its best, I would beg you to be patient. You may have noticed there’s no butter (or any fat) in the recipe: this isn’t a mistake: the butter comes in later, when it is essential. Believe me, there is nothing better mid-afternoon than a thick slice of Bara Brith spread generously with butter, so generously that the Danes would recognise it approvingly as tandsmør — which is to say, butter spread thickly enough that you leave teeth marks in it after taking a bite! And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Where do I start with this cheesecake? Easy to make, luscious to eat, this crustless cheesecake — soft under its scorched tortoiseshell top — is a total joy. It’s best to eat this (first time out, at least) on the day you’ve made it; I reckon it takes around 3 hours to cool to room temperature. If you must refrigerate it before its grand unveiling, try not to do so for more than 30 minutes before eating it, as you don’t want it to set too solid, losing its oh-so-tender texture. Having said that, I really don’t think there is a bad way to eat this. Speaking of which, while this is wonderful just with some berries (or paired with a rhubarb compote) for me there was no turning back once I ate the version from Sabor in London, where the sublime Basque chef, Nieves Barragán Mohacho drapes it with an intense and darkly glinting liquorice sauce. She was kind enough to tell me how she made it, and I include the recipe here, but obviously if you are a loather rather than a lover of liquorice, just leave it out. Just a couple more things before I leave you to make this: first, you absolutely must make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you start; and you have to believe me that you need to take the cheesecake out of the oven when, underneath the burnt top, it seems far too jiggly still.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

While I think of this as a salad, you might consider it simply a vegetable dish served at room temperature. No matter: it’s a glorious summer dish whichever way you look at it: green and yellow courgettes/zucchini, cut into batons, oil-dressed and oven-roasted; jade-glowing broad beans/fava beans and deep emerald fine beans, both lightly boiled then refreshed in a bowl of icy water to keep their verdant intensity. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking

Served nacho-style with crispy pitta chips, Nigella Lawson's Middle Eastern-inspired Beef and Aubergine Fatteh, as seen on her BBC series, At My Table, makes a sumptuous dinner.

Nigella Lawson

This comes from the children’s food chapter of How to Eat, but it should certainly not be confined to the Kids’ Menu. It is a de-stressingly easy, fabulous tasting, one-pot meal that provides instant comfort. When my children were little, I didn’t add any parsley to this (one of them had nothing but affronted disdain for Green Bits) but please add a scattering of freshly chopped parsley to serve if you wish. And I pour over mine some fierce and glowingly orange chilli oil.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

The anchovies really just provide flavourfulness, certainly not fishiness: there is no need to mention their presence if you are feeding people who might take against the idea. This, as with most stews, is at its best if you cook it, cool it, chill it, then reheat the next day. This version is slightly different from how it started out in How To Eat, but the taste is as good as ever.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is a gloriously Germanic feast: pork knuckles, rubbed in salt, garlic and caraway seeds, then roast in the oven with onions apples and potatoes and beer. You need to go to a good butcher, ask for uncured meat, so that you, essentially, are getting pork not ham, and make sure to get the rind scored for you. That’s all you need to know before you start. As for once you get going, it’s as simple as it is splendid: I love this kind of cooking — everything in one tin, left to cook (save some casual basting with beer) slowly on its own in the oven.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

It's hard to imagine an easier salad than one of chopped cooked beets, vinegar-steeped onion and crumbled Danish blue cheese. It must surely become one of your summer stalwarts.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This beet and ginger soup is a snap to make. Many people believe that beets cleanse the liver and that ginger wards off colds, but even if you give no credence to such beliefs, it doesn't matter: this soup is just plain good to eat. I like to make things easy for myself and do no more than blend drained canned beets with additive- and sodium-free broth and grated fresh ginger. The soup can be wonderful at room temperature, or, if you like your soup piping hot, you can heat everything in a pan. But I never do. I just blend and drink. This must be the quickest route to a restoring bowl or mug of something on record.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

While I don’t go in for starters, even if I have friends to dinner, I am — as I mention often — a dips-with-drinks devotee. This is a new addition to my stable of regulars: the beetroot not only turns the chickpeas a quite ridiculously uplifting pink, but its earthy sweetness is smokily tempered by the tahini and, furthermore, it helps create a smooth and soft texture, all the better for dipping a baby carrot, a radish or, indeed, a tortilla chip in. And I generally bring it out as a pair with the Coriander and Jalapeño Salsa: I can never resist the combination of pink and green, but more, the sharpness of the green sauce is perfect with the luscious creaminess and depth of the pink one. I tend to use the Spanish chickpeas (along with the gloop they sit in) that come in jars, though they are admittedly a lot more expensive than canned, but have such a soft and velvety texture. All too often canned chick peas have a resistant pebbliness which can never quite be blitzed smooth. Still, by far the most economical option if you want soft and creamy chick peas is to soak and cook 300g/ 1⅔ cups dried ones, though remember to keep some of their cooking liquid to add while blending. (If you have a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, you wouldn’t even need to soak them.) I do have to insist you use a beetroot you’ve roasted yourself which, while easy enough, does take more time than one ever imagines; I cannot, I’m afraid, recommend ready-cooked beetroot here. I must also recommend you get the more fluid and less claggy proper Middle Eastern tahini. But this is not just a dip: when I first started making it, I did think of it as Beetroot Hummus, but then I decided that perhaps it was too mutant a version to be worthy of the name. But still, I eat it, too, just as I would a traditional hummus; it is very fine spread thickly on bread or toast, topped with long skinny wedges of avocado, spritzed with lime and sprinkled with sea salt and those fairy fronds of dill. And, splodged vibrantly on a plate of dry-fried halloumi slices sitting saltily on peppery rocket/arugula, sharply dressed and dotted with capers, chopped fresh mint scattered over the lot, it makes for a fabulous light lunch or supper. However you eat it, I can promise it will brighten up any day!

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This is a fresh, tangy salad, loaded with sweet-sour flavor and given a good crunch by toasted hazelnuts. The bitter endive and peppery watercress complement each other beautifully, and it’s all tarted up with a citrusy dressing. It’s easy, and delicious.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This cake — simple and homespun, and not above using Bird

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Although I make the most of the Seville orange season (December to February), that bitter orange taste is too good to forsake during the long months that Seville oranges are not about. Then I simply try to recreate their floral sharpness by using regular orange and lime juices in something approximating a 2:1 ratio. If you want to do the same, then use 60ml / ¼ cup lime juice (from 2-3 limes) and 140ml / ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon orange juice (from 1 large or 2 medium oranges). I have to say, that when Seville oranges are in season, this tart looks like a disc of winter sunshine on the plate — and tastes like it, too. I must also add that the curd is just as fabulous spread over toasted crumpets or proper white bread.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

When I included these black pudding meatballs in Cook, Eat, Repeat, I thought they would be a niche choice, but I have been gratifyingly overwhelmed by the number of people who have made and loved these. Even when I thought take-up would be small, there was never a chance I would have left them out of the book: I love them far too much for that. I included them in the Loving Defence of Brown Food chapter, even if they are too cheery in their tomato sauce to count as brown food, exactly, as I felt they probably were going to be fully appreciated by true brown-food lovers. Even unapologetic meat eaters can be disgusted by the dark mysteries of blood. And while it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is unlike anything else: the texture is soft set, so you know it

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I feel, in the interests of fair trading, I should probably name this Blackberry Soggy, since what is so more-ish about it is its butter-fudgy topping. But since "crisp" is what these kinds of non-crumble pies are known as, I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is really a free-form pizza-like tart, which I made for the first time while we were doing the photography for How To Be A Domestic Goddess. We happened to have some polenta pastry left over and some spare blackberries in the fridge and I, suddenly rebelling against the planning and rule-following necessary to get all the food photographed, played around. This was the result. And really, you could use any fruit. I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Yes, I know you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I am addicted to these, and so is everyone I give them to. Although they

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is quick to make, absurdly easy in fact. The strange thing is that it is as easy to eat, even first thing. I can wolf this stuff down.

Nigella Lawson

I feel festively a-glow just saying the words Breakfast Trifle! And while I would never wish to dissuade you from waddling over to the fridge to scoop some leftover dessert trifle into a cereal bowl for your breakfast — it is Christmas, after all — this is really what I want for my matitudinal pick-me-up. It’s simple, celebratory and, unlike me first thing in the morning, full of zingy brightness. It involves no more than a little laid-back layering-up, and creates something utterly luscious. Furthermore, at this time of year (at least in these parts) the steeping sponge fingers and festively flavoured fruit can be left out in the kitchen overnight — a real boon when fridge space is at a premium.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This colorful dish is great on a dreary day, or any other time for that matter. It doesn’t take long and can be a side for any chicken or fish dish – or, as Nigella Lawson originally suggested, as a perfect accompaniment to her recipe for dal, a red lentil stew spiced with turmeric, chili and ginger, and colored with sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I use frozen broccoli; actually, frozen organic broccoli, if that makes you feel better. In fact, this is better when made with frozen, and certainly more convenient for an impromptu standby. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

There’s not a form of mashed potato that doesn’t speak deeply to me, but this Colcannon with Brown Butter is just on another level. The colcannon itself doesn’t really veer from the traditional Irish dish of mash and kale or cabbage, but instead of having a melted pool of golden butter on top, along with the also traditional scallions (that’s to say, spring onions) I brown the butter first, so that it is deep, caramelly and nutty. But then, brown butter is one of life’s great joys. It’s easy enough to make: all you need to do is heat butter in a (preferably light-coloured, such as stainless steel) pan until it turns the colour of a hazelnut, which for the amount here should take around seven minutes. And yes, there is a lot of butter, and feel free to reduce it if it appals you, but do remember that colcannon is not just a dish that celebrates potatoes but also exults in, not apologises for, the butter. I wish I could use good Irish potatoes, such as Kerr

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

There is nothing like a brown rice and seaweed salad for setting the scene for a more virtuous-feeling new year. Brown rice just seems righteous and pure, and I somehow believe that eating it makes me a better person. And just the word "seaweed" is promising: It may sound like the culinary equivalent of a hair shirt, but imagine this hair shirt lined with cashmere, so delicious and flavorsome is this salad. There is not the faintest whiff of penance about it.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

The sprout recipe below is really only a slight detour from the traditional route. By all means, stick to the orthodox if you prefer by adding only buttery chestnuts to the Brussels sprouts, but what follows is now my own traditional way of cooking them. There is a lot of parsley, I know, but think of it as another vegetable ingredient rather than a garnish. Obviously, if you can’t get your hands on pancetta, it’s fine to use bacon. Just scissor it up, and fry it in a little more oil than you need for the pancetta, before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This bulgur wheat salad is loosely based on tabbouleh, only using coriander in place of the parsley, lime in place of the lemon and omitting the tomatoes and adding the chilli and some raw, diced courgettes. Coriander is so much more headily aromatic than parsley that I

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

I get many requests for this decidedly brown dip of silky savouriness, the first recipe in my chapter A Loving Defence of Brown Food in Cook, Eat, Repeat, so creamy that you would never guess it’s actually dairy-free and, indeed, vegan. True, anyone in the habit of changing nappies regularly might not find it the most appetising of sights, but one taste of it — full of rich, deep smokiness — and even those not immediately attracted come back for more. I’ve called it a dip, but actually it lends itself as well to a spread on toast or a sauce for pasta; in this latter case, you’ll need to mix in some of the starchy pasta water when you toss the pasta with it, and I like to add some chilli flakes and a little extra squeeze of lemon, too. But as a dip, it is luscious, and if I have a lot of people round, I serve the Beetroot and Chickpea Dip and the Coriander and Jalapeño Salsa alongside; the pink, green and muted ochre like tonally-tinkered-with traffic lights on the table. But it’s a sensational solo act, so there is no need to add anything alongside save for some tortilla chips (if you can get blue corn ones, I urge you to) or whatever else you want to dip into it. If you don

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

It’s not hard to make biscuits that hold their shape well while cooking; it’s not hard to make biscuits that taste good and have a melting, buttery texture: what’s hard is to find a biscuit that does all of these things together. This one does it all, and with ease. Like all doughs, it freezes well, so it makes sense — in a smug, domestic kind of a way — to wrap half of this in clingfilm and stash it in the deep freeze until next needed. It’s hard to specify exactly how much icing you’ll need, but you might end up using more than specified below if you’re using a lot of different colours. As my children grew up, I always cut out the newly acquired age of each child on his or her birthday. My children couldn’t have contemplated a birthday party without them, and nor could I. Since then, I have found them deliciously invaluable to say and celebrate anything I

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

A roast, boned, butterflied leg of lamb is just about the easiest, speediest way to cook a joint of meat. Plus, you dispense with all the difficult carving (I am an embarrassingly inept carver myself) as all you need to do is slice the boned meat once it’s cooked, which even I can manage without stress. The heat of the oven, with the sugar in the vinegar, does mean that you will get scorched, even blackened, spots on the tin. This doesn’t bother me unduly, but you might want to line the tin with foil first.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is a comforting, deeply flavoured meal of a soup. I love an Italian minestrone, and I wanted to make a soup that drew on that, but within a different flavour range. So here the sweetness of onion and butternut is countered by the aromatic sourness of preserved lemons — if you don’t have them, you could add some finely grated zest of a regular lemon after cooking the onion, and add a spritz of juice along with the stock — and, in place of pasta, I add bulgur wheat. Like many soups it thickens on standing, in which case you can you can either add more liquid, or just eat it as a stew. Either way, it is fragrant and filling, and is in reassuringly regular rotation in my house.

Nigella Lawson

While these are not actually burgers, there is something meaty about a slice of roasted butternut squash that lends itself to this way of eating, and the salty halloumi, welded on by the heat of the oven, is the perfect foil to the squash

Nigella Lawson

This is a robust and bolstering soup — I make it for lunch when it’s cold and I want to cook something easy and comforting, but with some distracting chopping involved. If you don

Nigella Lawson

This is a rambunctiously vibrant curry, both to look at and eat. It is rich, sweet and hearty, with tomatoes providing a balancing acidity and the curry paste bringing uncompromising fire. I like the drama of black Venus rice with this, but by all means serve any rice you want alongside.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Ever since I overcame my prejudices about buying pre-chopped fruit and veg, my cooking life has got a lot simpler. And you should know that in Italian markets, storeholders regularly sell peeled and prepared vegetables bagged up to make their customers

Nigella Lawson

This is the vegan version of my Indonesian-Inspired Chicken Biryani, although it is splendid enough in its own right. Still, this is how it came to be, though I thought it would be easier for you to have it as a standalone recipe. For even though most of the recipe is exactly the same as for the chicken — apart from replacing the chicken with butternut squash, the regular plain yogurt with coconut milk yogurt, and adding some chickpeas — you do cook the initial stage a little differently. I should say, too, that I’ve also made this in exactly the same way with cauliflower, and very good it was, too, though I feel the butternut gives it more of a party feel. And by the way, even if you wish this to be vegetarian rather than vegan, I would still advise using coconut-milk yogurt as I think it needs that extra richness. For maximum pleasure — and isn’t that the aim in life? — serve with the Pineapple-Plus Salad with Rujak Dressing, replacing the fermented shrimp paste with 1 teaspoon of miso and a drop of vegan ‘fish’ sauce. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Although this started off as a Christmas-time recipe, I have found that I cook it pretty much year round: the sweet squash is tangily countered by the blue cheese and the nuts bring gorgeous crunch, though the gentler rubble of toasted pine nuts can be happily substituted.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

If ever you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

When I was a child, my idea of a treat beyond measure was butterscotch Angel Delight, a chemical-tasting mousse in a packet, made by whisking milk into its tipped-out contents of flour, flavourings and God knows what else; my fondly remembered love of which says more about the romance of nostalgia than it does about the pudding itself. Still, inspiration comes in many forms, and this one has created a silky, richly smooth caramel custard pudding, with something childishly comforting about it.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Syllabub is one of those ethereal, dreamy confections which seem at odds with the description

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

I love the delicate silkiness of string-thin capellini, but you do need to act fast when you cook with it, as the fine strands can overcook all too easily. I take my wok with the scallops, once they’re cooked, over to sit by the sink, so that I can mix sauce and capellini immediately the pasta’s drained. And life is made very much easier, too, if you have one of those pasta pans with an insert. Obviously, if you’re using one of these sorts of pans, you don’t need to take the ½ cupful of pasta cooking liquid out before draining, as it will be waiting for you in the pan. Capellini take around 2 minutes to cook, which is why I make the sauce first. Should you have to use spaghetti or other longer-cooking pasta then start on the sauce when there’s about 4 minutes’ cooking time left for the pasta. I think you need a little fire with the tender sweetness of the scallops, so I don’t de-seed the chilli. If you wish to, though, be my guest. More euphoniously, in Italian this is capellini con le cappesante. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration

This Cappuccino Pavlova from Nigella Lawson's Nigellissima cookbook is an incredible dessert recipe featuring coffee, cream and meringue.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I always think that some of the best recipes come from the thrifty refusal to throw anything away. Certainly, I made this one Monday evening because I had two stale croissants left over from the weekend and just knew they could be put to good use. Now, adding cream and bourbon is probably a lot less thrifty than throwing some stale bread away in the first place, but this is such a fabulous pudding that I now think it should be every Monday night

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

These skewer-threaded chunks of pineapple are sprinkled with sugar and blitzed on the barbecue or under the grill.

Nigella Lawson · Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food

Nigella Lawson's Caramelized Garlic Hummus recipe makes for the perfect starter or appetiser, enjoyed with crudités or pitas.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

There is something about cooking the classics that feels like coming home and this comforting Belgian casserole is a reassuringly simple recipe — I scarcely bother to sear the meat — that feeds a huge tableful of people cosily. And — always music to my ears — it is at its best if cooked ahead, cooled and then refrigerated before being reheated. A final note: it is the shin of beef that makes this stew so sweetly succulent; by all means substitute regular stewing beef, if you must, but it will never cook to the melting softness of shin.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is a reworking of my grandmother

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

This has perfectly balanced oomph: the sweetness of the carrots, that particular herbal freshness of fennel, the mellow citrus tang of satsuma (though the zest of half an orange, along with 2 tablespoons of juice, would do) and the aromatic heat of harissa.

Nigella Lawson

I first came across this in a tapas bar in Barcelona about 100 years ago. Rather different than, say, Italian bruschetta, where the tomatoes are chopped and tumbled on toast, Pa amb tomaquet (as this is in Catalan) can be at its simplest, just a piece of toasted country bread, rubbed with garlic and then the cut side of a halved tomato. More familiarly, though, the tomato is pushed through a grater, and the bread merely anointed with this fuzzy mush. I prefer to grate the tomato directly into a little bowl, rather than onto the toast, mince in a clove of garlic, then stir in a little olive oil before proceeding with the toast. But all that matters, really, is that you start off with a properly good, properly ripe and flavoursome tomato. Out of one 150g/6oz tomato, I get ½ cup, that

Nigella Lawson

My suggestion would be to serve this just as it is, but with some pillowy naan warmed up in the oven for dippage as you eat. But if you want to, by all means rustle up some rice or — let me be a middle-class cliche — quinoa. This is, anyway, what you could term a Multi-Culti Curry: it fuses Thai and Indian flavours (and you could indeed use an Indian curry paste in the place of the Thai one here) but with honourable intent, and to most pleasing effect.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Packed full of vegetables and phytonutrients, it is undeniably true that this soup is both soothing and bolstering as well as easy and gratifying to eat. Baking the garlic gives a lot of depth while taking away any potential for bitter heat; strangely, the turmeric seems to assuage, if not remove, the school corridors smell of the cooking cauliflower. And the colour, an almost acid gold, is glorious. Written for The Royal Marsden Cancer Cookbook, published by Kyle Books. Photography by Georgia Glynn-Smith.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This might seem odd to Italians but it works beautifully: the starchy rice, the sharp Cheddar, both are the perfect counterpoint for each other. I make this on days when I need to escape to the kitchen and have a good, quiet, relaxing and mindless 20 minutes staring into the middle distance and stirring. I heartily recommend it.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

The cheese blintz is a wonderful thing: a pancake cooked on one side only, filled with a mixture of curd cheese, lemon zest, vanilla and egg yolk, folded into a parcel and then fried in butter before being splodged with some cold sour cream and perhaps some sharp fruit sauce. This is the traditional way, as eaten by generations of central Europeans. My version is not so different. I’ve added some cream cheese to the curd, to make for a less grainy filling, and I’ve baked the pancakes rather than fry them. I could pretend this is to make the pudding more compatible with modern eating habits but it would scarcely be the truth. The reason is that it is a lot simpler. I love these with the sour cream alone, but the blueberry sauce takes this pudding to another realm and, what’s more, it’s a doddle to make. If you’re using frozen blueberries, by the way, don’t thaw them before cooking them.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Make a vat of this, and supply nothing other than fruit afterwards or, at most, a little palate-tickling sorbet.

Nigella Lawson

This is a new variant of an old and easy party favourite. The dough is mixed up in the processor and rolls out easily. It may crack a bit for the first roll-out, but just resquidge together and roll out again like Play-Doh. Unlike other pastries, you don’t have to be afraid of handling it. I keep rolling and re-rolling to the bitter end. You can use any cutter, but I’m a sucker for stars. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is the picnic food of fondest imagination, although I’m not much of a picnic-person, so to ensure they get the number of outings they deserve and I need, I’ve always made them for more conventional indoor eating! I love them as much cold as warm, which is why I’ve suggested you make eight. The trick, if trick it be, is to use spring onions, which have all the flavour but none of the BO-ey breath of the usual onion, as in cheese & onion, component. It also cuts down on cooking time. I use Yorkshire pudding tins, with their wide, shallow indentations, for these, but if you wanted to use individual flan tins, of course you could. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This started off as something of a culinary conceit: I wanted to recreate the flavour of cheesecake in ice-cream form. I don

Nigella Lawson

This is the perfect end to a midweek dinner or any impromptu eating occasion when prep time is scant to non-existent. Not that you need the excuse of guests to make this speedy pud! You simply chop strawberries, crush digestive biscuits and whip cream cheese and cream, then layer up quickly in some waiting glasses. Like this, they can stand for about an hour, so you can make them up just before you sit down for supper. If you want to make this in advance — and it’s a versatile recipe that doesn’t need to be made last minute — simply leave the glasses in the fridge, layered up with the digestive crumbs and cream cheese mixture and cover with clingfilm, topping with the strawberries on serving.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I have mentioned my cookie-cutter collection elsewhere, and knowing of children

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I have a nostalgic fondness for this yellow slab punctuated by waxy halves of scarlet cherries — the cake we called station cake at home — but this is best with those dark and glossy natural-coloured glace cherries.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is not the trad baked cheesecake that requires patience and lots of spare time. No, this is fresh, quick, simple and — best of all — irresistibly scrumptious! Even in the spirit of retro-accuracy, please do not be tempted to open a jar of cherry pie filling over the cake. I use some French cherry concoction that seems to be pretty universally available and has no added sugar, but anything labelled "conserve" as opposed to "jam" should be safe. And, if you feel like it, when cherries are in season, strew the top with a couple of handfuls of beautiful fruit.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Ease and aesthetics leans me now more towards those mixed bags of many-coloured designer salad leaves.

Nigella Lawson

There is no doubt about it, anything with chestnuts in it, even if they come vacuum-packed or canned and are perennially available, is so right for this time of year. The chestnuts are present, in the form of a gritty, grainy sweetened purée: some to add to the biscuit base; some to fold through the plain cheesecake filling before baking; and yet more — well, it is Christmas — to drip in a thick syrup over the cake when served. And yet, you know, the chestnuttiness is not blaring: there is something undeniably festive about this, but not in a full-on, party hat kind of a way. As with all cheesecakes, you need to bake this the day before you want to serve it.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I loved making these pies for my children when they were little, not that it makes me any less happy to make them now. I think it’s safe to say that — for most of us — a pie is always a blessing. And I know that the very many steps of the recipe that follows might seem to indicate that these are difficult, but they

Nigella Lawson

I thought I had exhausted the culinary possibilities of a pack of frozen peas, but my friend, and excellent cook, Alex Andreou, led me by the hand — it does take a leap of faith — to his method of using them, still frozen, as the first layer of a traybake. It’s a life-changer. The peas become soft and sweet in the heat — duller in colour, but so much more vibrant in flavour — and the steam they produce as they bake makes the chicken beautifully tender, its skin crackly and crisp on top. What’s key here is the size of the roasting tin. I wouldn’t go any smaller — measuring from inside rim to inside rim — than about 38 x 28cm / 15 x 11inches (a little larger is fine) as there needs to be space around the chicken thighs for the magic to happen. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Nigella Lawson

This thick, creamy pottage, somewhere cosily between a stew and a slightly soupy, sticky risotto, offers instant comfort. This is the sort of food that gets left behind in the Instagram age: not pretty to look at, but gratifyingly reassuring to eat. It

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I am very much in favour of a bit of DIY at the table, and in my experience it’s always particularly popular with any children you might be feeding, too. Fajitas (properly pronounced “faheetas”, though we favour the Kath’n’Kim pronunciation “fadge-eye-ters” in my house) are a Tex-Mex joy, and although I am perfectly happy to acknowledge that this may not be an authentic rendition, I have tried to preserve the flavours and brio it’s had when I’ve eaten it on my travels. I’ve included a list of suggested accompaniments in the ingredients list (and do look at it before you go shopping for the wherewithal to make these) but I haven’t added salsa. So let me give you a trio of choices here. You can go for the tomato salsa that accompanies the Tortilla Lasagne, my Jumbo Chilli Sauce or that house favourite, Coriander/Cilantro and Jalapeño Salsa. But no one is going to come and knock at your door if you choose to go salsa-less!

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is a dish, a family favourite, that I cooked moreorless straight after I’d got off the plane after two months on the road, to signal and celebrate that I was truly home. It’s a simple one pot dish that brings comfort and joy, and it is my pleasure to share that with you. It’s so hard to be utterly precise and specific with this kind of cooking: if you’re feeding small children, for example, you may not want to add the chilli flakes. Similarly, you may want to use just one lemon, rather than the two I like. Your chicken may weigh more or less: the ones I get tend to vary between 1.5kg and 1.7kg / 3½lb and 3¾lbs. And although I have specified the casserole I have used, and always use, you obviously will use the one you have, which will make a difference to how quickly everything cooks, how much evaporation there will be, and so on. Don’t let these things trouble you unduly: this is a simple recipe that brings profound pleasure.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is one of those fast and easy suppers that makes you — and whoever else is eating it — purr with delight. You don

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I know the world is full of good parents who never give their children food with salt or sugar, and this recipe (among others) proves conclusively that I am not one of them. Oh, and on top of these dietary failings, the following also contains alcohol. There

Nigella Lawson · Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food

This easy chicken traybake with bitter orange and fennel recipe from Nigella Lawson's Simply Nigella is a perfect dish for a busy weekend.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

When I was young, this old French classic was still — though in a quiet way — very much in vogue. I dare to say it was because the novelty of using so many garlic cloves had not worn off; it seemed somehow dangerously excessive. Even so, I don

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This is a proper supper, but a speedy one. And though it

Nigella Lawson

There is something old-fashioned and comforting about a cream sauce. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is both sprightly and comforting, a combination I find highly satisfactory! I normally prefer the brown meat, but here go for what are generally called mini-fillets of chicken breast, which take hardly any time to cook. What

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking

Nigella Lawson's Chicken with Red Grapes and Marsala recipe, as seen on BBC series, At My Table, is an easy dinner perfect for cold evenings.

Nigella Lawson

The sauce borrows from the idea of tsatsiki and all those Middle-Eastern yogurt salads — it is a cool, pungent accompaniment to the tender, but not strongly flavoured, chicken.

Nigella Lawson

Tarragon, the gorgeously named “dragoncello”, is actually little used in Italy, despite the country’s immoderate passion for all things anise. You find tarragon used only here and there, mainly in Tuscany; indeed, it is sometimes referred to as erba di Siena, the herb of Siena. Its chief appearance in those parts is in the salsa al dragoncello, where the herb is pounded with breadcrumbs and garlic and then emulsified with olive oil to produce a fragrant sauce customarily served with plain boiled meats. To be honest, I’m not sure I had that in mind when I first made this: all I wanted was to create a version of that fabulously spiky Italian green sauce, tweaked to suit chicken, which for me (and I hope this display of frankly French influence is forgiven in Italy) means tarragon.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This came about the way most of my favourite food has come about, by greedy opportunism. I had some cold chicken in the fridge, a huge bunch of parsley in a jug by the stove and had recently opened a packet of flaked almonds and I was just too hungry to think further. The important thing is to leave the parsley whole and unchopped — just tear the leaves off the stalks and heap them on the plate in a rough jumble — and to toast the almonds, which just means tossing them about over medium heat in an oil-less pan until they take on colour, at the last minute. I want the heat from them as well as the crunch.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This started off life as a reworking of Coronation Chicken, that mixture of cold chicken, mayo, mango chutney, curry powder and apricot puree (or that

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Even the word pie is comforting. But then, it would be hard to deny the very real lure of pastry, especially when, as here, you know you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is not quite a stir-fry, though I do cook it in my wok. The chickpeas get soused with the sherry and infused with cumin, and the tangle of deep green peppery rocket wilts leggily in the pan.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

There is a hint of the days-gone-by sweet trolley about this: it

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Garlic bread — a damp-centred, often bendy, stick of it — was a dominating feature of my eating life in the

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Although I call this chilli jam, I don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I tend to think of muffins as a grab-and-go refuelling treat or something you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is a reassuringly easy cake to make, and very popular in my house, requiring nothing more taxing than beating wet ingredients into dry: in other words, just a bowl and wooden spoon number. And while you certainly don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

In the past, I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I use a sour cherry preserve (or conserve) for this, but if you

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This is a not-very-sweet, very grown up chocolate mousse, and it is quite easy to make. If you prefer the idea of a chocolate orange mousse, substitute Cointreau. Rum works well, too. Or you could use coffee in place of the alcohol. In any case, eating it is an example of living well.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This is another of my maternal grandmother

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

My children love a chocolate chip cookie so gooey on the inside that I can’t really make the outside firm enough to let the cookies keep integrity of form. This, then, is the solution: a cookie dough you bake in a little dish, and then eat with a spoon, dolloped with ice cream or crème fraîche as desired. I love them with a few sea salt flakes sprinkled over the top. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

It seems strange that I’ve managed to write seven books without one plain chocolate chip cookie (by which I mean a plain cookie with chocolate chips in it). It’s true that the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie made an appearance once, and it’s only buoyed up by its success that I’ve felt confident enough to create this one. For here’s the thing: you’d think a plain cookie with a few chocolate chips folded into the mixture would be a simple matter. It’s not. It’s never difficult to make, just difficult to get right. I may be picky, but to my mind, or my mouth, a cookie that’s too crisp feels dry and disappointing and a cookie that’s too chewy tastes like dough. I want a bit of tender, fudgy chewiness but an edge of crisp bite, too.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

On days when I want the warmth of the hearth rather than the hurly burly of the city streets I stay in and read cookery books, and this recipe comes from just the sort of book that gives most succour, Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax. The cake itself is as richly and rewardingly sustaining: a melting, dark, flourless, chocolate base, the sort that sinks damply on cooling; the fallen centre then cloudily filled with softly whipped cream and sprinkled with cocoa powder. As Richard Sax says, "intensity, then relief, in each bite".

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

First, let me say that if I can do this, you can. As I have never tried to hide, I have no patience and even less dexterity. But this is child

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is the perfect cut-and-come again cake for any time of the year. It lasts for a fortnight, but has the squidgy fabulousness of something so much less serviceable-sounding. I know there are a lot of ingredients listed, but you don’t have to do much more than bung them in a pan and stir, and even then only lightly. The hardest thing you have to do for this recipe is wrap the tin with brown paper. And I’m not being disingenuous: it is the sort of task that makes a klutz like me hyperventilate, but I find there is nearly always someone around who can deal with that part with magnificent ease.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This is the sort of cake you

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

I’d never come across a chocolate gingerbread, and after making this one for the first time, I wondered why not. There’s something about the glottally thickening wodge of chocolate chip and cocoa that just intensifies the rich spices of gingerbread. The chocolate chips add texture and nubbly treat within. This is very rich, very strong: not for children, but perfect for the rest of us.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

For me, a chocolate cake is the basic unit of celebration. The chocolate Guinness cake here is simple but deeply pleasurable, and has earned its place as a stand-alone treat.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

My inspiration here was a sweet — those chocolate limes I ate in my childhood. The base is rich and dark and perfectly counters the light, tender cream-cheese custard above it, itself kept all the more delicately smooth by being baked in a water bath (and this is easy: don

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

This is one of those cakes that you make pretending it’s for the children. And of course they love it — and I have had more messages from people telling me that they’ve been under strict instructions to make this cake every single year for a child’s birthday more than just about any other cake — but it is no less enjoyed than by any adults hovering by the table, ready to snatch a slice. The maltiness is not overpowering, but subtly present (I always use the original Horlicks and not, categorically not, the one labelled ‘light” and the Maltesers — or Malt Balls if you are Stateside — make for a beautiful if ramshackle crown. And, by the way, the 15g (1 tablespoon) butter in the list of ingredients for the cake part is not a misprint!

Nigella Lawson

This is a favourite from a time, far in the distant past, when I went in for dinner parties! My late sister Thomasina brought it into my life about 40 years ago, and I still love it. Don

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is my version of after dinner mints. These don

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Although I first came up with this recipe because I had someone coming for supper who — genuinely — couldn

Nigella Lawson

I first came across a version of this voluptuously soft, rich chocolate mousse at Morito, one of my favourite places to eat in London. Then — as these things tend to happen — I started finding it everywhere. The olive oil doesn’t just bring its resonant flavour to the mousse, it creates its smooth, soft texture. Go for a smooth but still spicy rather than raspingly peppery extra-virgin olive oil, and use the absolute best quality you can. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Over the years, I’ve made many different cakes for my children’s birthdays, but for some time now this has been the chosen one, the cake of cakes, elected to celebrate many special occasions, and with good reason. The cake itself is dark, damp and divinely chocolatey — and an easy, melt-everything-in-the-pan number — but it

Nigella Lawson

This is not for the faint-hearted. Unashamed indulgence, wallowingly so, is what this recipe is all about: think Reese

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is the ultimate ice cream sundae. Obviously, if you

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

These are really a homespun version of the famous Reese’s confection of the same name, embellished with gold to give a touch of glitz. Pressing the peanut butter layer into the petit-four cases is not a hard job, just a boring one, and I find once I’ve accepted that, the mindless, repetitive activity can be positively therapeutic. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is a cross between Pears Belle Helene and Eve

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I am willing to believe that a confectioner wouldn

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

When you eat this cooled, it is like chocolate satin cream and almost shocking in its pleasurable intensity.

Nigella Lawson

Christmas pudding isn’t for everyone and, even though I have faith in my pudding’s ability to convert, there’s no point nagging or, indeed, fighting against real, die-hard antipathies. Besides, I have never met a child who likes Christmas pudding, and it seems unfair not to give a treat to everyone. The joy of this is that you can mix it all up in a processor while the Christmas pudding’s in mid-steam (I dash into the kitchen in the middle of lunch to do just that, with ingredients measured out and ready, and basin prepared) then put it into the top part of the steamer, while the Christmas pud steams in the bottom part. Obviously, you can steam it in a separate pan if you want.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

You just cannot beat a pav in my book, and I glory in particular this dark beauty. The crisp and chewy chocolate meringue base, rich in cocoa and beaded nuggets of chopped plain chocolate, provides a sombre, almost purple-brown layer beneath the fat whiteness of the cream and matt, glowering crimson raspberries on top: it is a killer combination.

Nigella Lawson

I call this a pudding cake because its texture is simply a mixture between pudding and cake, though lighter by far than that could ever imply. Think, rather, of a mousse without fluffiness: this is dense but delicate with it. And it’s heavenly at blood heat, when the gooey chocolate sits warmly around the sour-sweet juicy raspberries embedded in the cake, like glinting, mud-covered garnets. This should be eaten an hour or so after it comes out of the oven. It gets more solid when cold, and loses some of that spectacular texture. If you have any left, wrap it in foil and heat it up in the oven, or warm it up a slice at a time in the microwave before eating it. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

I do love to plant this chocolate bed of Rice Krispies with flowers! Sugarcraft shops, and some supermarkets, sell sugar or crystallised flowers; and the foil tray I use measures 32 x 20cm, but you could use any receptacle of approx. 30 x 20 x 5cm (approx. 13 x 9 x 2 inches) or 23cm (approx. 9 inches) square. If sugar flowers elude you, please don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I’ve encountered quite a few versions of chocolate salame in Italy — coming to the conclusion that it’s really an Italian version of our chocolate refrigerator cake — and although I am not normally a huge fan of the culinary pun, Christmas does seem the right time of year for such whimsical enterprises. And, I admit, the chocolate salame does have a certain charm, especially when dusted with icing sugar, tied like a proper salame with string. (I am grateful here to Jacob Kenedy for his instructions on how to string up a finocchiona in the Bocca Cookbook.) If I can do the stringing up, then you can, honestly, but if you prefer, you can just dust the unstrung salame with icing sugar and leave it picturesquely on a board. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I love an American sheet cake — it’s a great way to feed a lot of people and, in my book, the more people get to eat cake, the better. I’ve simplified what is an already simple approach, so that both cake, and icing/frosting are made in saucepans on the stovetop: in other words, no creaming and multi-stepped process, just melting, stirring and pouring. It’s also easily transportable, making it great — in particular — for bake sales, but also to be borne in mind when you want to go armed to a friend’s house with something sweet. Add any decoration you like to this crackle-glazed, fudgy cake. I’ve used white chocolate stars here, but consider hundreds and thousands, chocolate vermicelli, any manner of sprinkles or even an exotic scattering of pistachios and rose petals.

Nigella Lawson

I love the subtly rich smokiness of tahini, but I have only enjoyed cooking with it since I turned away from the spoon-bendingly thick stuff from my local supermarket, in favour of the more fluid variety, with its more delicate nutty flavour, from a Middle-Eastern shop near me, or online. For those of you yet to discover the joys of tahini, I suppose you could think of this as a chocolate peanut butter banana bread, only made with sesame butter (which is what tahini is, in a manner of speaking) instead. This, for me, is the perfect, not-too-sweet, darkly chocolatey banana bread. You can make a vegan version of this by omitting the egg, and upping the bananas to 350g / generous 1 cup and the tahini to 75g / ⅓ cup. The bread will not rise a lot without the egg, but the taste is still magnificent. Dark chocolate chips should be dairy-free, but do check the packet.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

I can never throw away old, overripe bananas, and although I have many recipes for using them up, I enjoy coming up with new ways, and really wanted, here, a proper cake — delicious though any banana bread is. I used rum in the topping, but you could easily use all water, dispensing with the rum altogether. Similarly, should you have no brown sugar to hand, just use regular white sugar.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

The pomegranate juice mentioned here is out of a bottle, but if you

Nigella Lawson

This is a real feast of a store-cupboard standby. I do know that chorizo isn’t a kitchen-cupboard item, but it tends to have a long fridge-life, so I always have some to hand just in case. It’s full of flavour and absurdly fast to rustle up. One to keep in your back pocket!

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is the perfect supper on those days when a knife and fork seem like just too much work. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

I love these dark, fat patties of chocolate shortbread exuberantly topped with festive sprinkles. There’s something so cheering about the sight of them, but they have more in their favour than looks: they are a doddle to make, and meltingly gorgeous to eat.

Nigella Lawson

Chutney is not the most obviously festive, seasonally indulgent, must-have foodstuff, but it is the cornerstone of my Christmas pantry. I begin to hyperventilate, now as I write, even at the idea of not having a stock of it. Cold cuts and Christmas Day leftovers are impossible to contemplate without chutney (and the Christmas ham first-time-out must have it as well); and since it is easy to prepare a lot at one time, you can get a tidy number of presents seen to out of one under-an-hour stint in the kitchen, too. This unsubtly named Christmas Chutney — in jars decorated as they are here, with squidgy, cut-out snowflake ribbon — is just so full of Christmassiness, crammed as it is with dates, cranberries and clementines, and spiced with cloves and cinnamon. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I don’t need to tell you how beautiful this is: you can see. It’s extravagant, certainly, but it’s meant to be. And it feels like a treat, breaking through that gilt-tortoiseshell crust to the voluptuous depths of egg-nog-scented cream beneath. The tip of freezing the bowl before pouring in the smooth cream-custard I culled from Simon Hopkinson, for which and for whom I am always grateful.

Nigella Lawson

For parties or any type of seasonal entertaining, I like a cocktail that gets poured together in a jug rather than mixed up by the glass. And this is the perfect drink for Christmas: the fizzy white wine (any dry white will do) adds sparkle, while the cherry brandy brings a tongue-in-cheek touch of great-aunt’s tipple and the ginger ale provides the perfect seasonal spiciness. Obviously, you can fiddle with the proportions if you want to make the wine stretch more, but this is my starting point. And I can get all the component parts from my local supermarket.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These beauties also make a very good alternative to mince pies. I buy the icing ready made and dyed (which is why it isn’t a very convincing colour for holly, let’s be frank) and use cranberries as the holly berries. The cake underneath is somewhere between chocolate and gingerbread. If you’re thinking of taking anything to friends’ houses, may I suggest these? And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I can’t tell you how long I’ve yearned for a Christmas loaf cake, nor why I’ve come up with one only now. But I won’t waste my time or yours by lamenting the lost years without it; I’d rather concentrate on the happiness that it’s in my life now. I certainly don’t disavow all my traditionally shaped round Christmas cakes but I’ve always felt that a loaf of fruit cake would cut into the perfect slices, especially pleasing when eaten with cheese (Kirkham’s Lancashire or a good Wensleydale for choice) and this is, indeed, the case – emphatically so. Form alone would not be enough, though: flavour is what food is about, and this little beauty certainly rewards on that front; boosted by brandy and warmly infused with ginger, every slice is a seasonal taste sensation. I’m not saying you couldn’t make it with rum or whisky but, on the basis of my testing and retesting, I came to the conclusion that it was only brandy that gave it the flavour I wanted; ginger needs a partner sprightly enough to stand up to it! While the recipe below is for a 2lb/900g loaf tin I’ve also used the mixture to make two little 1lb/450g loaves very successfully. (And do see Additional Notes, below.)  In theory, I see no reason why you couldn’t halve the mixture to make just one 1lb loaf, but even if you want just one little cake yourself, it feels more in the Christmas spirit to give the other one away as a present.

Nigella Lawson

I have never quite understood how people can go in for vast, rich breakfasts on Christmas morning. I am hardly a modest eater by anyone

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

These are delectable little bonbons made by mixing up cooked and cooled Christmas pudding (see Additional Information below), liquor, syrup and melted chocolate, rolling them into small balls, then dripping melted white chocolate on them and arranging small pieces of red and green glacé cherries on top. And, although they look like miniature Christmas puddings, they taste like meltingly rich, spiced chocolate truffles. These babies have got everything going for them. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It’s not that I felt my usual Rocky Road Crunch Bars needed any improvement (though fiddling with recipes is one of life’s pleasures) but I thought they would benefit from some seasonal adjustment. So, out go the Rich Tea biscuits and in come amaretti and — in the seasonal spirit — I’ve crammed in some Brazil nuts and glacé cherries (as red as Rudolph’s nose), along with snowy mini marshmallows. The fresh snowfall of icing sugar on top might seem seasonal enough, but not for me. So I add some edible glitter in Disco Hologram White.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities

A crisp winter salad recipe from Nigella Lawson's cookbook Nigella Christmas, packed with pomegranate and peppers.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

I love a fallen chocolate cake, and have found most everyone else does too. The cakes are so called because they are compact and flourless and, when cooling out of the oven, their rich centres drop and dip a little. It is into this dip, not so dramatic as to be called a crater, that you drop or scatter the sticky nut topping. I serve this with Cointreau Cream, made simply by whisking 250ml double cream until softly whipped, whisking in about 45ml of Cointreau (or Triple sec or Grand Marnier, of course) to taste at the end. Despite the name, this cake is for all-year-round delectation.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Most of the time I refer to this as my Cider and 5-Spice Gingerbread, but I changed the name out of concern for those who expect a little more gingeriness from their gingerbead (although anyone is free to boost the amount of ginger at will). But, actually, the tender crumb has the lightness of a cake rather than the damp heaviness (gorgeous though that is) of a gingerbread. Besides, I felt it only proper to accord the magnificently aromatic 5-spice seasoning its star role. I have since found that there are many variants of 5-spice powder out there. While generally I presume on a mixture of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds, I also love the versions that have liquorice and dried mandarin peel. But what I’ve found is that all types work, even the one or two brands that erroneously add garlic: a couple of people (one here, and one in the States) have made it with this version, and both vouch that the garlic is not detectable. Still, when you’re shopping, it’s best to check the ingredients label and go for one without garlic if you can. Either way, this is wonderful enough plain as it is, though I have something of a faiblesse for the gleaming accompaniment of Salted Caramel Sauce.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is just a more poetic and old-fashioned name for honeycomb – ‘cinder’ presumably referring to the splintered texture made by the whoosh of air introduced by the bicarb.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

You could think of these cinnamon squares as the wintry brother of tangy, summery lemon bars, but what they really are is shortbread topped with a cinnamon-infused glaze, perfect with a cup of tea or a mug of coffee. And it is a reassuringly straightforward recipe. Make the crust and press it into a pan, bake it and let it cool. Drizzle a warm cinnamon glaze over it, cut and serve. Inhaling is wonderful; eating is even better.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Seafood, pork and sherry: three ingredients, one fantastic but simple Spanish-inspired meal. I adore the plain sweetness of some steamed baby new potatoes alongside — each small, pebbly potato to be pronged by a fork and dipped into the headily aromatic liquid — but am happy, too, with nothing more than some bread to tear off and dunk into the rich juices.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This, an adaption of Claudia Roden

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

If you want to have something hot to pass around on a tray, then cocktail sausages are what you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These are a very English kind of macaroon, the sort you always used to see displayed in bakers

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

If you live near a store that sells good coconut ice cream, then please buy a tub to serve alongside. But these days I am all restraint and go simply for a jeweled scattering of raspberries.

Nigella Lawson

Coconut shrimp is an American delicacy, and so I prefer to retain native terminology. I don

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

If you are afraid of tackling fish in general, and of cooking seafood in particular, just reading this recipe will show you how easy it is, but doing it is even better. This is one of those simple but essentially last-minute recipes that is easier to cook for one or two (or, at a pinch, four) than a huge tableful of waiting people. I

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Neither of my grandmothers, nor indeed my mother, was a baker but this cake is nonetheless the cake of my childhood. When I was little, I used to make it for my younger sister

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I know that the essence of shortbread is its buttery plainness, and that adding coffee should be all wrong, but it is – convincingly – so very, very right. Instant espresso powder (a baking essential for me) is needed for these; regular coffee granules would not melt in properly, though you could bash them to a powder, if that

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This is a subtle cake: the coffee tempers the sweetness, and the buttery sweetness keeps it all mellow. Even if you don't make cakes, this one is a cinch. Don't be alarmed if the two sponge layers look thin when you unmold them. They are meant to be, because the cake gains a lot of height with its frosting. This cake is all about old-fashioned, homespun charm, so don't worry about how messy it looks: however the frosting goes on is fine. If you want to fully cover the sides of the cake, make a double batch of the frosting.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

The centerpiece of a summer solstice menu created in 2005 for The Times, this dish alludes to gravlax — the Scandinavian dish of cured salmon — with the spices used to poach the salmon and the sweet mustard sauce. The cooking technique here yields the most tender flesh you may ever encounter with salmon.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

The chicken stew here does have an authentic origin, but I have lightened it a little by dispensing with the cream that would be added luxuriously in its country of origin. And you can cheerfully use a dry or semi-dry from anywhere in the world. I have nothing against the regular coq au vin, but I might actually prefer this sprightlier version. It's certainly easier to make: in place of all those whole baby onions, which have to be peeled one by one, you can just chop your onions the usual and considerably less bothersome way. And since I always think that the breast meat of a chicken can be a bit stringy when cooked for a long time, I instead choose thigh portions. So no dismembering of a carcass is required either.

Nigella Lawson

Known simply as Green Sauce, this is a constant in my house: I just wouldn

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

There are few more welcome sights than a big vat of chilli. The cornbread topping is a glorious golden touch, that everyone can crumble into the spiced meat as they eat, for ballast and crunchy contrast. It makes your life easier and the chilli better if you make the meat up in advance, adding the topping and baking the lot just before you serve.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Bear with me — as telephonists like to say — while I gush for a bit. This has to be the world

Nigella Lawson

I couldn’t help myself. I can’t have a party without some cocktail sausages and wanted to make them just a little bit differently from usual. The inspiration comes from a Cosmopolitan cocktail: in place of the triple sec I used fine-shred marmalade; to stand in for the cranberry juice, I used a dollop of some shop-bought cranberry sauce; the lime juice remains the same. The shot of vodka is an optional extra.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is a wonderful pie for those of you who don

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

I know the word fritter conjures up a complex world of deep-frying and dense-eating, but these are light, simple babies — just grated courgettes, mixed with feta, herbs and spring onions, stirred up with flour and eggs and dolloped into a frying pan to make little vegetable pancakes which, unlike most fried food, are best eaten not straight out of the pan, but left to cool to room temperature. This takes any slaving over a hot stove element out of the equation: you just spoon serenely away over your pan before anyone

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Although a regular coxinha is more the size and shape of a bulbous, dumpy pear, these are mini versions, like fat little figs, and you can get a fabulous 70 of these emblematically Brazilian chicken croquettes out of not much more than three small chicken breasts (although I feel I should have used 6 chicken thigh fillets instead, given the name of this dish) and a great deal of flour. Yes, they are time-consuming to make, but if you get a bunch of friends together and get a little conveyer belt going, it is enormously companionable. I have given measurements below, but I find it easier to think in terms of ratios: in other words, for each cup of chopped cooked chicken, you will need a cup of flour and a cup of liquid. By the way, I find a small chicken breast fillet yields one cup of chopped meat. I ate many of these when I was in Brazil, and I

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Now that I can find good, fresh tubs of crab meat at the supermarket I can really rely on this as a table-and-tummy filler when I don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is the most luscious of treats: rich, to be sure, but somehow delicate at the same time. Smoked paprika and crab (a 50/50 mixture of both white and brown meat) give an almost honeyed depth to the velvety cheese sauce, which is made with nutty and sweet gruyere. The combination is just sumptuous, like a cross between a mac’n’cheese and a bisque. I stray further from tradition in that I use pasta shells rather than macaroni, and I don’t scatter more cheese on top and brown it in the oven, and indeed advise sternly against it. I find a freckling of Aleppo pepper (though you could use paprika) more than makes up for the familiar heat-scorched finish. It would be remiss of me not to let you know that if you bump up the milk in the sauce recipe to 300ml / 1¼ cups, it makes for sensational seafood nachos: warm tortilla chips in the oven, then pour the sauce over them, and top with sliced red chillies and chopped chives or whatever you please.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

A fundamental part of any feast is abundance that is shared, and for Nigella Lawson, who brought this recipe to The Times in 2004, one way is to make up little packages of cookies and give them as gifts. These cranberry and white chocolate cookies are a favorite. They are easy to make and a wonderful end to a meal, or an after-school indulgence. Don't overbake them.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

My not entirely orthodox way of turning out this otherwise classic dish of cream-softened potatoes has a lot going for it.

Nigella Lawson

I love a sugar-cookie, as they’re easy to make, roll out forgivingly and keep their form very precisely as they bake. This makes them perfect for shaped cutters, and these here are creepy only for the shapes in question. A mixed set of Halloween cutters normally includes ghosts, witches, pumpkins and possibly bats, though you don’t need to buy a set especially; instead, cut out cookies with a round cutter and apply white royal icing (I buy instant) and use a tube of black decorating icing, such as Wilton’s, to draw on a spooky spider’s web. Similarly, if you go down the Halloween cutter route but don’t have time (or the food colouring pastes) to make the witch’s hat black, the pumpkin orange and so forth, simply coat all cookies with white icing again, and just scatter over some seasonal sprinkles. Instant Royal Icing can be tricky to find in the US, in which case you can make your own Royal Icing by mixing 2½ cups confectioners

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

The first thing you should know about creme brulee is that it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Although thick, fluffy American pancakes seem to predominate in my house, I couldn

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is probably the queen of retro desserts and deservedly so. My version is a speeded-up and simplified one by virtue of using shop-bought crepes. But there is no need to feel this is a cop-out. For one, they can be incredibly good but, more pertinently, by the time they

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I’m no good at playing favourites, but this is certainly the salad I make the most on a regular basis and, every time I eat it, I am reminded afresh of how good a salad can be. I suppose that stands to reason: I wouldn’t make it so often unless it hit the spot so perfectly for me in the first place. Yes, it’s just a simple side salad, but simple is what I want in a salad and, besides, I relish its crispness, its briny tang and herbal leafiness. If you love capers as much as I do, then I can’t imagine you wouldn’t feel the same way. I often add dill along with the parsley and, indeed, sometimes instead of it, and you should really feel free to use whichever herbs you fancy here. Ditto with the choice of lettuce: I go for Dolce Romana, which tastes like a cross between cos (ie Romaine) and iceberg, but there is no law that says you have to, as well; Romaine hearts, or a whole Romaine, work splendidly here, too. And if your lettuces don’t feel very lively, leave the leaves in a bowl of iced water for 10-20 minutes before draining and drying them, then tearing them into pieces. One last thing: if the Moscatel vinegar I stipulate below eludes you, then use any sweetish vinegar you have, though I do need to tell you that Moscatel vinegar, with its deep honeyed grapiness, when mixed with the sprightly sharpness of apple cider vinegar, is the key to a simply superior salad!

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

The joy of these, particularly, is that they are wonderful eaten cold as well, their pink juiciness trapped within their eggy parmesan coating. If you don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I have Hettie Potter to thank for these, and for so much else. I suppose they are a mixture of roast and baked potatoes: the tops crisp and cook to a beautiful gold, but you still have the fluffiness underneath. If you want the skins to be crunchy, then pour a little olive oil into your hand and rub this onto the skins before you bake.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Like many good brunch recipes, this is also just the ticket for an early evening supper, the sort you eat in your dressing gown before sophisticated adults feel it is entirely proper to dine. The joy of this is that you make up the mustardy ham and gruyere sandwiches and cover with beaten eggs the night before, and just let them sit in the fridge melding into one savoury, gooey pudding overnight. The next morning goes as follows: oven on, egg-and-bread dish in; brunch effortlessly served.

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Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I could have called these Cornflake-Crunchy Chicken Cutlets as the crisp coating is provided not by breadcrumbs, but by cornflakes. This is particularly handy if you want a gluten-free crunch, though do check the cornflake packet to be sure. You can buy chicken escalopes already beaten, but otherwise just buy a couple of chicken breasts and, one at a time, place them on a chopping board lined with clingfilm, cover the chicken with another layer of clingfilm and bash the living daylights out of them with a rolling pin. This is a gratifying way to de-stress at the end of a long day.

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is one of those salads I love to have around to pick at from the fridge or tub up to take with me for brightening food on the move. It

Nigella Lawson

Think of this as a cheese toastie, only without the bread.

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Like poor Becky Sharp biting into a green chilli thinking it looked so cool and refreshing, it is easy to be lulled by the soothing greenness of this — the salving avocado, the juicy cucumber — but do not overlook the fierce flecks, made even more zingy by the lime’s acid rasp.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It occurred to me — while cleaning out my spice drawer, a task I soon abandoned — that it might be interesting to use cumin in place of the caraway in a traditional seed cake. It really works: the toasted cumin gives a subtle spiciness but does nothing to rupture the calm of a classic plain cake. Interestingly, caraway did used to be known as Persian cumin, and in many languages both cumin and caraway are known by the same name. Some ideas are just meant to be...

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

At about the time I started getting into top cupcake mode, ostensibly for children, I noticed that the people who really seemed to get excited by them were the children

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

If you want to make this with fresh vegetables rather than frozen, then up the water (keeping the amount of stock concentrate the same) and indeed I would double it to 500ml / 2 cups. But if using frozen — which is how I make this 99% of the time, and why it is a great storecupboard standby — I find it easier to use a cappuccino cup, or similar, and measure out 1 ½ cups of each frozen green veg rather than weigh it. This is what to cook when you find out mid-afternoon that you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

I have what I like to think of as a Wildean thing about reproducing artifice by more natural means. Thus, in How To Eat, I gave a recipe for digestive biscuits, and now I find myself propelled towards the homely accomplishment of the custard cream, hitherto — at least in my lifetime — only known in its packet form. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I came across Beatrice Ojakangas’ joyfully easy way of making Danish pastry in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Julia. I’ve adapted it to fit my practice and prejudices, but her idea of mixing everything in the food processor is liberating. It’s good to know, indeed crucial, that this still produces an authentic Danish pastry. Beatrice Ojakangas helpfully writes, “Don’t think you’re cheating by taking the fast track – this is the way it’s done these days all over Denmark.” And I’m particularly pleased to have a Cheese Danish, as they are my favourite, and I don’t see them in bakeries, so have to make my own! By the way, when I say cheese, don’t think of it in a savoury way but, rather, as in cheesecake.

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This cake. It confounds me. It delights me. I never ever thought I would be in raptures about the joyfulness of a — yes — vegan chocolate cake. I now make this as my chocolate cake of choice for people where dietary restrictions are not an issue, and I don’t even need to explain it’s vegan. No need to offer explanations: you just need to offer the cake. On top of everything else, it’s incredibly simple to make. My version has coconut oil in the cake, and coconut butter in the icing, but of course you can use vegetable oil in the cake, and vegan butter/margarine for the icing if you prefer. Both the coconut oil and coconut butter need to stand out of the fridge for a good couple of hours before using. I often take them out the night before, as then they are easier to measure out. Please check the labelling on the chocolate you buy. It needs, whatever your concerns, to be dark (minimum 70% cocoa solids for my taste), but if you need this to be absolutely dairy-free or vegan, make sure it says so on the packet.

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This cake tastes like Christmas pudding — a very, very good Christmas pudding — the sort the Quakers (as I’m fond of quoting) once magnificently condemned as “the invention of the scarlet whore of Babylon”. It’s rich, damp, treacly and so heady, it doesn’t even need the traditional alcohol in it. It also happens to be gluten- and dairy-free, and is a last-minute cake, so very useful if you haven’t got round to making that family recipe that needs to be baked ahead and fed with brandy for 6 months. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Forget the name, this cake is heavenly. The crumb is tender, the filling and frosting luscious. When I made it one Friday, I expected my children, resident food critics much in the mould of the Grim eater, to find it too dark, too rich, not sweet enough: you get the gist. Instead, I came down on Saturday morning to find nothing but an empty, chocolate-smeared cake stand and a trail of crumbs. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

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I cannot begin to tell you how good these are. There’s not much that can get me squeezing a fancy-nozzled icing bag, but I can’t get enough of these — and nor can those I make them for. Yes, they are retro, but they are no culinary exercise in irony. And while they are a bit fiddly to make, they’re not hard, and they are immensely rewarding. In order to help the yolk keep centred as they cook, I leave them lying on their sides in a dish (rather than sitting upright in their boxes) overnight out of the fridge before cooking them. It’s not a fail-safe guarantee, but it does seem to make a difference.

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I don’t want to nominate favourites, but even so, I have to say this is a pie I am ecstatic about – perhaps because it’s so far removed from what I’ve spent my life cooking. The notion of putting Cheddar in the pastry of an apple pie is not a new one but I was pleased all the same to see how well it worked. I’ve used a Springform tin (learning a lesson from the pizza rustica), which makes this a good, hefty, sliceable pie. The double-apple element – Coxes to hold their shape, Bramleys to make for an appley-velvet background – does entail quite a bit of work, but it isn’t difficult work, just moderately time-consuming. Anyone who’s hanging about the house claiming to want to help should be handed a vegetable peeler and an apple corer without delay.

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While there is no shortage of chocolate cookies on this site (from the Mine-all-Mine Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cookies to the Christmas Chocolate Cookies, taking in the gluten-free Triple Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies, the Chocolate Mint Cookies and, of course, the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies) these deep, dark, pumpkin-seed-studded beauties are a most deserving addition to your repertoire. It may sound strange to describe any cookies as chic, but there is something about their bittersweet combination of elegance and sumptuousness that earns them that accolade, despite their undeniably rough-hewn appearance. If you like your chocolate salted — as I very much do — add somewhere between ¼ and ½ teaspoon of sea salt flakes to the cookie dough, and sprinkle another ¼-½ teaspoon sea salt over the formed cookies, just before they go into the oven. It might be wise to start with the smaller amount — not everyone has as salty a tooth as I do.

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While I believe most emphatically that one should never cook to impress, but rather to delight, the fact remains that this is undeniably a high-impact dessert and, at the same gratifying time, an encouragingly low-effort one. The dramatic dark base comes courtesy of crushed Oreos and butter, which need no more than to be pressed into a shallow flan tin. What makes this a double chocolate tart is the white chocolate, which is gently melted, then folded into a soft mixture of double cream and cream cheese, and chilled in the lined tart tin before being topped with ripe, sweet strawberries and a few wisps of finely shredded mint.

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

I first made this for a piece I was writing for Vogue on the mood-enhancing properties of carbohydrates, as promoted by such books as - and how

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

My weaknesses are mainly savoury — think salt and vinegar crisps or cheese and biscuits — but there are times when only a doughnut will do. This craving can get desperate late at night when the shops are shut, and even if they weren

Nigella Lawson

Every time I write a recipe for chicken wings it gets a little hotter, and this one — as its name suggests — positively breathes fire. If you want to reduce the heat, simply use fewer chillies, but I can promise you, while this certainly has zing and fiery flavour, that you don

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

The general explanation given why Thai drunken noodles are so called is that they have enough chilli in them to shake you out of even the worst hangover. This is my simplified version. I

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This is my idea of perfect dinner party food: it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I’ve only ever eaten Dutch babies in the States, where they are brought out to you at the table with great pomp: great pancakes puffed up and golden, still in the cast-iron skillets they were cooked in. Obviously, I had to make my own at home. Not being a restaurant, I don’t want to be juggling with heavy pans, giving each person their own, so I’ve made mine a giant one for sharing; this ain’t no baby, that’s for sure. The "Dutch" of the title doesn

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The Dutch do love their mussels, honoured there as zwarte goud — black gold — although it’s true that their neighbours the Belgians unfairly get more credit for them. Of course, you don’t need to make these with actual Dutch mussels: this recipe is so-called more for the beer I cook them in. The first time I ordered mussels cooked in beer — at a restaurant in Amsterdam, many years ago — I worried that the bitterness might be intrusive, but that first mouthful of deep, rich broth put me right. The key, I feel, and it’s how I cook them, is to use butter, and lots of it: it balances the bitterness of the beer, and seems to help thicken the broth sweetly as the mussels steam. The fennel I cook in said butter before adding the mussels to the pan is also what you might call a Dutch touch: it’s a combination much favoured there — and elsewhere, too, it’s true: its gentle aniseed flavour softens on cooking to provide a light herbal sweetness that highlights the bolstering brininess of the mussels. It’s a classic combination for a reason. Fennelphobes could, of course, use shallots instead, but the aniseed flavour is sufficiently muted for all but the most aniseed-antagonistic palates. But I, very much a fennelphile, punch up the aniseed element with an exuberant amount of fresh dill, along with an equally enthusiastic scattering of parsley and chives. The mussels themselves take no more than a few minutes to cook, and the fennel and garlic that are called on to provide their aromatic flavours first hardly need a great deal of time in the pan, making this a sumptuous speedy feast.

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On the whole, I’m not a person much given to cutesiness but, given these cookies, I wouldn’t blame you for not believing me. I just couldn’t help myself: every single Easter, I’ve dreamed of making them, and now I have the egg-shaped cookie cutters, there was nothing to stop me, and I adore them as much in reality as I did in anticipation. Yes, I love how they look, but that’s never enough – these have a melting tenderness that would win me over regardless of their enchanting appearance, and the apricot jam at the centre is the perfect match for the buttery, almond-rich dough. Yet while the biscuits, once baked, have a flutteringly light texture, the dough itself is admirably robust: you can roll and re-roll with impunity, and trust the cut-out cookies to keep their shape tenaciously. The egg-shaped cutter does all the heavy lifting in this regard. As for the hole you need to make in the top cookie, I use the wide end of my Tala icing nozzle, which has a diameter of 2.5cm / 1 inch. A metal bottle top could also do the trick.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

It is, I hope, the acceptable face of culinary cute: a chocolaty flourless cake that falls on cooling. The sides crack, forming the outside of the nest, and into the cake's sunken cavity you spread a soft, voluptuous mixture of whipped cream and melted chocolate. And on top of this you drop small, sugar-coated candy Easter eggs. It's ease itself — especially as you can make the cake the day before, and given that the cracks and crevices are part of its charm, you don't need to be filled with perfectionist angst. And if not complying with the traditions of this holiday, you can fill the crater instead with cream whipped with a teaspoon of vanilla, and dust the top, cappuccino-style, with some cocoa pushed through a strainer. I've used both bittersweet and semisweet chocolate in this cake. Either way it works, either way it seduces. It has the denseness of a chocolate cake, but the lightness of a mousse. Even those who customarily push dessert away, smugly claiming not to eat sweets, wil

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Yes, these are cute; yes, they are kitsch, but I love them all the same. I used to make them with my children when they were little. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

You just will not get the marzipan to ooze into the cake batter if it starts off fridge-cold. In dire straits, I have cubed it and given it a quick whirl in the microwave. And if you wanted to replace the vanilla extract with the zest of an orange, I wouldn

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This is just what you want for a Sunday lunch, cosy and comforting and indulgent. You might need a brisk walk afterwards!

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I just throw everything into a pan, let the heat from the stove send buttery rum and citrus juices permeating into the currants, sultanas and raisins, add flour and eggs, a can of chestnut purée to give grainy, Christmassy depth, bung the lot into a cake tin and let this stand in a low oven to produce a cake that is as dense, aromatic and fruity as you could hope for. The input from you is mimimal. Culinary self esteem — and Christmas spirit — never came at so low an emotional cost. You can decorate as you wish, but here I have tried to get a bit artistic and have used my Smooth Hatbox Icing, cutting out snowflakes with my cookie cutters.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It wasn’t until my first visit to the States, in my early 20s, that I first ate meatloaf. It took me many years to get over it. But a couple of decades or so later, I ate this meatloaf, cooked for me by agent and friend, the late, great Ed Victor according to his mother’s recipe, and it was love. I knew I had to have the recipe. And although I did get my hands on it and, indeed, it appeared in my 2010 book, Kitchen, it is only now that it has found its way to nigella.com. It is a bit of a process to make, I don’t deny, but it is so worth it. Make it on a day when you’re not racing against the clock, and you can potter about in the kitchen, actually enjoying every step. It’s not as if it’s difficult to make, but it is time-consuming. And while this makes a large meatloaf which can happily feed 8-10, I make it even when there are just the three of us at home to eat it, as leftover meatloaf — cold, not reheated — makes for some of the best sandwiches in the world. In an ideal world, it should come with mash for its first time out, and you may well consider gravy essential. I don’t, and am perfectly content just to have the juices that drip from the meatloaf as it cooks; use a high-sided baking tin and you will end up with more of these gorgeous pan drippings. These may be too fatty for some tastes, so feel free to remove some of the fat from the pan, and then heat what remains with a splosh of red vermouth and some beef stock. If you want a thicker gravy, just stir a little flour into the pan juices before adding any liquid.

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities

Ed's Victorious Turkey Hash from Nigella Lawson's Christmas cookbook. A brilliant recipe for using up turkey leftovers on Boxing Day 2025.

Nigella Lawson

I couldn’t have Christmas without these, or at least, not happily. Rituals are essential to give us meaning, a sense of ceremony, and making these peppery, gingerbready edible decorations is how I have always marked with my children that Christmas has begun. If you can’t find Instant Royal Icing, you can make your own by mixing 2 tablespoons of egg white powder (meringue powder in the States) with 500g (3½ cups) of icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar) and 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of warm water. Or you can use 1 large egg white with the same amount of icing sugar and a teaspoon or two of water. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the icing has thickened and forms soft peaks.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This recipe (which started off as Boxing Day Pie) comes from Beryl Scoffield, the mother of one of my oldest friends, and a woman with a reputation for her pies. It’s wonderfully old-fashioned and comforting. It is undeniably good over the holidays when you easily use chopped slices of your Christmas ham, but I have since come to the conclusion that it’s at its best in the summer months, when a slice of cold pie is a deeply appealing proposition (and very much worth bearing in mind for picnics). But having said that, I love it all year round. And I must tell you that it makes for a pretty unsurpassed breakfast! I leave the pie unglazed, which gives it a plain, pale crust, but if you wish it to have a more burnished, golden appearance, keep a little of the beaten eggs back (a tablespoon should do) and mix with a little full fat milk then gently brush this glaze over the top of the pie before it goes in the oven.

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Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

The traditional sauce for Christmas pudding is a "hard sauce", that

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Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson

There is something about this easy and quick dish of eggs that just hits the spot when you

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

I found this salad in a lovely little book —

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson's Elderflower and Passionfruit Cooler is the perfect refreshing addition to any hot summer day.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This recipe, for want of a better word, comes from a rhinestone gem of a cookbook Are You Hungry Tonight?, a collection of Elvis Presley

Nigella Lawson

This is for those times you urgently need a brownie, but don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This recipe uses bottled fresh pomegranate juice to encourage the strawberries to ooze out their fragrant summery juices. If you

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

I know a lot of people are hesitant about cooking fish, and I do understand why, but this, my friends, is the recipe to allay your anxieties and free you from fear. Your fissues will be a thing of the past. Because, here, the fish is cooked only very briefly in the aromatic sauce and then left to stand for a couple of minutes or so in the pan but off the heat, it stays succulent and tender. And I very often make the sauce up ahead of time — it should be fine in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months — which means all you need do is heat up the sauce (and I add 60ml/ quarter cup of water on reheating) and add the fish at the last minute, which can be very useful when you have people over. Still, the tomato sauce itself — fragrant with mace, ginger and turmeric, and thickened and deepened with sweet potato — shouldn

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Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Since feta is the main ingredient here, it really does make a difference if you can get hold of chunky fresh feta from a deli or a Middle-Eastern store, but this still works with good-quality feta in packages. A bowl of baby spinach salad on the side is, along with puffy — rather than crisp — Turkish flatbread (or side), my favourite accompaniment. Steeping the onions in vinegar — and old trick of mine, which many of you may recognise — not only takes away the acrid rasp of raw onion, but also turns the red strips to a lambent crimson or, further, a positive puce if left to steep long enough. Two hours is optimum: longer is even better, and it does keep. If time is short, 20 minutes should be enough, in which case double the amount of vinegar, letting the onion drown rather than bathe in it.

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The fact that this is quick to make is far from its only charm: I return to it, again and again, in one guise or other when I feel a bit of a midweek feast is called for. The rich earthiness of the black beans is such a gorgeous contrast with the sweet onions, the bright tomatoes, and the fierce, salty rasp of the feta. Talking of which, if you need this to be vegan rather than vegetarian, you could replace the feta with olives (or, indeed, a feta-style plant-based cheese). And if you have half an orange about the place, you can, of course, use that in place of the clementine. Similarly, do feel free to use other beans or chick peas in place of the canned black beans I’ve used here.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I often give homemade chutneys to Italian friends when I visit, as I’m proud of our traditional recipes and know that an English chutney can pair magnificently with an Italian cheese. Italians themselves are not averse to a condiment or two of their own, either. But I love bringing the two strands of our differing cultures together — and this fig and olive chutney is a marriage made in paradiso. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

This is so simple — scarcely a recipe really — but so good. Unless you get figs straight from the tree they sometimes need the blistering heat of an oven or grill to bring out all their honeyed sweetness. This is the pudding to end a slow-grazing, long-picking dinner eaten outside on a warm, balmy night. If you haven

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

If you’d asked me any time up until recently whether I’d ever thought I’d bring out a book with a fish finger recipe in it, I’d have been fairly certain the answer would be no. Thank goodness we live and learn. Not that I have anything against fish fingers — a fish finger sandwich is right up there on my list of most-savoured comfort foods — but I hadn’t thought they were the stuff of recipes. And then I learnt about the Bird’s Eye Bhorta on the journalist Ash Sarkar’s Twitter feed, and everything changed for me. As it will for you if you try this. Onions are cooked until soft, with garlic, ginger and chillies, dolloped with mustard, and with crisp edged fish fingers mashed into the pan at the end, with coriander, spinach and lime. It is my absolute go-to when the need for vibrant sustenance and delicious comfort hits.

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While I make no claim that these be tacos quite as you might eat them in Mexico, I can confidently assure you that they have their own, undeniable charm: soft corn tortillas (and one day I plan to start making them myself, rather than getting them out of a packet), warmed in the oven, piled up with spiced and baked fish, quick-pickled onions, fiery mayonnaise, lime-spritzed avocado, corn relish and shredded lettuce. If you think of it in time, the onions will be even better steeped in lime juice (or use red wine vinegar, if you prefer) several hours ahead, or indeed the night before, but it’s fine enough just to get them submerged about half an hour before you start the rest of the recipe. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

When I was a child, steak houses always had something called minute steak - as in minnit - on the menu, economically attractive portions that needed a mere 60 seconds to cook through. In our house they were pronounced mynewt steaks, as if in baffled disappointment at the meagreness of the meat provided. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

However much people have eaten, there is always, I

Nigella Lawson

There is something about a flourless chocolate cake that makes it so divinely easy to eat. And, when you have friends round, it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

These little cookies — described by one friend as tasting like a cookie within a cookie — are really a mixture between a meringue and a cookie. Hence they

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

There is a wonderful poetry to the name of this pudding which, thankfully, once eaten could never be forgotten. It

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Think Bellini — that Venetian cocktail of prosecco and white peach purée — only with liquidised strawberries in place of the peaches. It’s the taste of lyrical, wide-skied, blossom-scented summer, hence my naming of it. In actual fact, it’s more properly known as a Rossini, but I choose the artist over the composer here! When strawberries are in season, ripe and juicy, you shouldn

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Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

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Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

These plums can also be made in advance (though remember to reheat gently so the fruit doesn't fall apart) and their berried cinnamon-scented syrup drenches the sweet French toast gloriously. If you wish, you can remove the cooked plums and let the syrup reduce for a more intense, stickier sauce.

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Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I’ve been making this gingerbread since the turn of the century — it was one of my go-to recipes for the countless bake sales at my children’s schools when they were little — and my love for it never fades. The lemon icing is hardly conventional, but its bright sourness is a wonderful foil for the deep, dark spiciness of the cake. This is the gingerbread (minus said icing) I advise you to use for the Advocaat and Ginger Cake should you not want to go the shop-bought route, and when I use it in this capacity, I tend to use the 2 teaspoons of ground ginger rather than the teaspoon of freshly grated ginger-root, though you could certainly use either — or both, indeed. And while I cut it into slabs when serving it iced, if you’re using it to layer up in the cake, make 3 cuts down with the gingerbread in landscape, as it were, so that you have 4 equal sized little loaves, and then cut each loaf into 12 slices. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Until I was in my mid-thirties, the only horseradish sauce I knew was the one that came out of jar. And while there is certainly nothing wrong with jarred horseradish sauce, the fresh stuff is just a world apart. And it’s even better when it’s crammed with finely chopped chives. I came across the combination in a wonderful Arabella Boxer recipe, as I wrote about in How To Eat, and this is a slight rejig of it. I have specified a whole horseradish root here even though you need grate only 5cm/2 inches (to start off with at least). Should you happen to have a bit of horseradish root knocking about the place, you don’t have to go out and buy (or pick) another one, but you do need enough left on it to be able to have something to grab onto while you grate. And you may well want to grate in more horseradish than I’ve specified; I like this best really strong, and grate more in with abandon. Please don’t think that this sauce’s only use is as an accompaniment to roast beef, heavenly though that is. It’s as wonderful with roast pork or smoked (and, indeed, fresh) mackerel, and I absolutely adore it in a baked potato or with beetroot. And I have lately started eating it as a dip, with blue corn chips, and it is out of this world. Actually, a dollop of this is a great way of zhuzzing up many vegetables, especially roast butternut or sweet potato, and you could easily use oat-milk crème fraiche to create a vegan version. Finally, I don’t think this is worth doing with ready-grated fresh horseradish (not that it’s very easy to find, anyway). If you can’t get a fresh horseradish root, stick to bottled. You do have quite a lot of sauce here, but I always find everyone eats so much more than you’d think. Besides, despite its many delicious applications, I do feel that the recipe has to yield enough for a proper roast beef lunch!

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

No one’s saying you have to make fresh pasta, but once you try, you’ll soon see that it’s not so difficult. I had a pasta machine for years before I was brave enough to use it; for some reason I thought it would be a performance. But I tried and it isn’t, and I rather like the mood of peaceful concentration the activity ushers forth. And it’s a great way of playing in the kitchen with children: they love turning the handle, which is actually a help, not often the case when the children are cooking with you. Quantities are easy so long as you remember you need 1 egg per 100g of 00 flour (now available at most supermarkets), and that, on average, one ‘egg’ of pasta, as it were, feeds two generously. I often make these Meatballs to go on top, which might appall Italians — pasta with meatballs being thought of as an American abomination in much of Italy — but the golden tagliatelle are a treat enough just with butter and freshly grated Parmesan.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Orange-fleshed fruits, blueberries and pomegranate are all known to be supercharged with antioxidants, which scientists and dietitians say are good for us. Well, they might or might not be right, but any way you mix it, a salad of fresh mango, blueberries and pomegranate seeds, squirted with a little fresh lime juice, makes you feel good. I know all the vitamins are most present when the salad is freshly made, but I like to have a container of this ready in the fridge. It tastes so juicily wonderful and looks so beautiful that you would never know there was any reason to eat it save for the pleasure alone.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I should come clean about my interest in the traditions of the Epiphany: it also happens to be my birthday, and I am more than ready to follow French tradition by eating this. The galette itself is simple: puff pastry covering a disc of damp frangipane, hidden within which is a china bean or charm; the person who gets this charm becomes king for the day and is crowned with the gold-paper crown which comes automatically with the cake as sold in French pâtisseries. Obviously you could make your own puff pastry but I generally use shop-bought puff pastry, though you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Of course, I

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It was in Australia — in Melbourne to be precise — that, under the auspices of George Calombaris, I ate the most fabulous chips: they’d been fried in garlicky oil and came sprinkled with dried mountain oregano and feta. It’s a sensational combo. Now, if you felt like doing some deep-frying, you could certainly make a panful of Tuscan Fries giving them this particular Greek spin by replacing the thyme, rosemary and sage with fresh oregano and scattering feta over them to serve, but for ease — and equal deliciousness — this is how I proceed. I chop unpeeled potatoes into small cubes, toss them in a shallow roasting tin — the shallowness is essential — with olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, and when they emerge from the oven burnished and crisp, I crumble feta over them and — should the season allow — and strew with fresh oregano. No deep-frying involved: deep happiness achieved.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I came across this Brittany butter cake in the wonderful Anne Willan’s Real Food, and as she says, it’s really a cross between shortbread and pound cake. It’s hard to decide whether it’s cake or pastry. I love a stubby slice of this any time, but it does make a perfect pudding with ice cream and berries served alongside. Use the best butter that you can find, for this is the platonic ideal of the plain cake at its simple best, and the taste of each of these few ingredients is crucial.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Julia Child wrote that the Gateau Reine de Saba was the first French cake she ever ate. My version is a bit simpler to make than hers. I melt the chocolate with liquid, and I use all ground almonds rather than the traditional mixture of flour and almonds. I like my Reine de Saba to be slightly more like pudding and voluptuously melting. As "Reine de Saba" is French for Queen of Sheba, this seems entirely fitting. It also makes this cake eminently suitable for those who are gluten-intolerant. A little of this cake goes very far. You can easily get 12 slices out of this cake, so each person isn't consuming a huge amount of sugar. But to be defensive is to end on the wrong footing. A cake this good does you good, both body and soul.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking

Nigella Lawson's Gemelli Pasta with Anchovies, Tomato and Mascarpone, as seen on her BBC series, At My Table, is a creamy, tangy pasta dish.

Nigella Lawson

Quick, simple and — much as I hate the word — tasty. I know no self-respecting Italian would let tomato seeds sully a sauce, but I do so very happily, and it’s the gloop inside the halved cherry tomatoes that adds cohesion to the spicy, tangy creaminess. Do use fusilli in place of the gemelli pasta if wished.

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

This recipe was inspired by the cuisine of Georgia, on the Black Sea. The stuffing is a simple affair of rice cooked with onions, garlic and dried sour cherries. Parsley is forked through before spooning the rice into the chickens. And yes, chickens: I take the view that one bird is a meal, two is a feast.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

OK, so this is my Meisterwerk. You can see how glorious it looks and you need to know now how easy it is to make. You just buy some Hallowe

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is so far from being the sort of jelly you

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking

Nigella Lawson's recipe for Ginger and Walnut Carrot Cake is topped with crystallised ginger, as seen on her BBC series, At My Table.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I do adore a trifle, enjoying the quiet ceremony of building the layers in advance quite as much as each luscious spoonful later. A good trifle doesn’t require a great deal of technique, but it does need time. So some long years ago, I came up with a quick version which I call a Plate Trifle, as its construction requires no more than a plate which you line with slices of sponge cake splashed up with booze, topped first with whipped cream, then fruit. It’s open to any number of iterations, and is a wonderful way of using up stale cake. However, I’ve stipulated shop-bought cake in the ingredients as this started life as a last-minute, no-time-to-cook trifle; obviously, feel free to bake your own cake if you prefer. The warming ginger wine and the acerbic but fragrant passionfruit are an exquisite combination, but this is the very antithesis of a precision-led recipe. In other words, let this assembly-job of a pud suit what you have in your drinks cupboard and kitchen! And bear in mind that, unlike with a traditional trifle, a plate trifle is very well suited to a modest number of eaters. And this recipe halves like a dream. Conversely, I must tell you that as simple it may be, it is also fabulously rich, so when you do need to feed a crowd, this always makes the most stress-free of treaty puds.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

This gammon is simply simmered in ginger ale and, although you need to strip off the rind to glaze it, the glaze is straightforward. And it is a very efficient way of cooking — depending on how many you have in your household to feed, you should be able to eke this out for several meals.  It won’t give that same crowning effect, but if you cannot get hold of ginger preserve, you could use ordinary orange marmalade and add a teaspoon of ground dried ginger or, indeed, grated fresh, as you heat it up. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Sometimes, it makes sense to use one’s obsessions to advantage. I know that most people don’t have trivial light-bulb moments when the notion pops into an already food-filled head to make a stuffing in which crumbled gingerbread cake replaces breadcrumbs, but that’s, unfathomably, how my mind works. You can use dark brown, dense gingerbread, or the lighter, sandier loaves. I buy spiced bread rather than make it and you will often find it sold, even still in loaf-shape, as ginger cake. It all works. Indeed any sweet, spiced bread, such as pannetone, would.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This recipe is a slight reworking of a Cambodian beef salad I often make; here the lime juice in the steeping mixture (which turns into the dressing) is supplemented with orange juice (Asian evocations of duck a l

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This gingery-hot duck salad recipe from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites cookbook is a twist on a classic Cambodian beef salad.

Nigella Lawson

I confess: it was the title that lured me. Tell me you don’t feel the same. I came across this in a recipe by Elinor Klivans, whom I often turn to for chocolatey solace, in her The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, which includes the wonderful phrase “let the chocolate chips fall where they will”. Although her recipes always work to the letter, my recipe is not hers. I am inspired by the digestive and chocolate base and coffee ice cream filling (though if you’re feeding children, I’d suggest vanilla) but I like a butterscotchy topping, which sets the minute it hits the ice cream. Sometimes bits of ice cream bubble up to the surface, making the top gloriously Florentined. And the joy of the girdlebuster (as it is known for short at home) is that, should there be any left, you can put it back into its dish and just stash in the freezer again for midnight feasts. Admittedly, this is not huge, but a small slice is all that’s needed. Do not let it “ripen” out of the freezer before slicing because it all gets too sticky and drippy and messy.

Nigella Lawson

This is an exquisite cheesecake, tangy and delicate, with the pronounced smokiness and subdued sweetness of the maple syrup. It has a fabulously light, smooth and voluptuous texture, and two things help ensure this: first, the cream cheese must sit out of the fridge for a good 2 hours before you make the cheesecake; second, you bake the cheesecake in a waterbath. This is very simple, and all is explained below.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

The glitz is provided by their utter fantabulousness and the scattering of honeycomb over the top.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

As you can see by looking at my Gluten-free Cakes my way of tackling gluten-free-baking is simply to exclude flour altogether but, inspired by

Nigella Lawson

I am a woman of my word, and I promised a gluten-free banana bread. Here, finally, it is. I took my time with it, because I wanted to get it right. I’m not interested in anything that is ‘good for gluten-free’: it has to offer universal delight. And I’m happy to say, this does. The crumb is tender and light — the Greek yogurt helps here, and also counters the sweetness of the banana with its tang — and the nubbliness of the walnuts and rich goo of the chopped chocolate make it a gorgeous treat. I can’t stop eating it. I’ve said to chop both walnuts and chocolate roughly: although you will of course get some shards and rubble, I keep most pieces chunky enough to make their presence proudly felt in each sumptuous bite. If you wish, you can easily halve everything and bake this in a 1lb loaf tin. I don’t find it takes appreciably less time to cook.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I make this gratin, for preference, with the so-called freshly made kind of gnocchi that can be found in the chill cabinet of the supermarket. They come (or do near me) in packets of 400g but, if you find them in packets of 500g, simply use two of those instead. I have even used three 400g-packets of gnocchi with the same amount of sauce without trouble. As for the sauce: I mix the mascarpone and milk in a bowl first — otherwise I risk spraying my stove with everything — but if you

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Whenever I hear someone say “I can’t be bothered to cook for myself” a deep sorrow descends upon me. It’s one of the most important things you can do; failing to accord yourself the care you give to others is nothing short of tragic. I insist on deliciousness daily, and not just when I have company. It’s quite the most relaxing way to cook, and being able to rustle up something special, simple and speedy for yourself when you’re in need of food that comforts is key to a contented existence. So it’s about time I let you into a secret: my trusty recipe (hence the “go-to”of the title) for a failsafe and fierily uplifting storecupboard solo supper. I always have the ingredients to hand, and suggest you do, too. Chief of these ingredients is gochujang, the magic Korean fermented pepper paste, which I’ve mentioned before as it’s a lifesaver in the kitchen, bringing depth, heat and a rich savouriness to anything it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This magnificent addition to my eating life comes courtesy of Yasmin Othman (who has brought much deliciousness my way over the years) and I glow with gratitude every time I eat it. This — called masak lemak telur in Malaysian — is very far removed from the egg curries I remember from my early youth, and would much prefer to forget. What we have here are eggs poached in a rich, aromatic, turmeric-tinted, tamarind-sharp, coconutty sauce or soup. This has definite heat, but not eye-wateringly so. If you’d like it a bit milder, do not pierce the three whole finger chillies. And if you’d like it a lot milder, then you could de-seed the finger chilli that goes in the paste, and dispense with the whole ones in the soup. But even if, like me, you love fiery food, I don’t advise eating the whole chillies. I won’t stop you, but you have been warned.

Nigella Lawson

My very earliest kitchen memories are of making proper mayonnaise by hand under my mother’s strict instructions; making it any other way has always felt sacrilegious. Besides, the result always seemed to have more in common with mayonnaise out of a jar, so why not stick with that or make the real stuff? And then I came across J. Kenji López-Alt’s method for blender mayonnaise, and everything changed. It’s a true kitchen blessing: the one-minute mayo with the texture you can normally only get by very slowly drip-dripping oil into egg yolks and whisking by hand. I immediately adopted it to make what has become the house mayonnaise, bright with saffron and brazen with garlic. For optimal eating pleasure, leave this in the fridge overnight before giving a good stir and dolloping it onto everything. And follow the method to the letter! Keep covered in the fridge for no more than a week. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

A fresh reworking of traditional Coronation Chicken from Nigella Lawson, this golden jubilee chicken makes an ideal light summer lunch recipe.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is for those days or evenings when you want to usher a little something out of the kitchen that makes you thrill at the sheer pleasure you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

This is the fruity blonde sister to that brunette temptress, my chocolate fruit cake from Nigella Christmas. It delivers, as promised, a cake of apricot-pear-and-ginger goldenness and goodness, so squidgy and fresh-tasting, which comes perhaps not only from the amount of fruit in it, but also the lack of flour: this is a gluten-free treat for the greedy; fruit cake with the emphasis firmly on the first word. The lack of flour makes for an exquisitely damp cake, but it does mean that unless you cut it into quite fat slices, it can break into fruity pieces rather than geometrically precise triangles. This is why it tastes so good of course. And, what’s more, it makes a fantastic pudding at the end of a seasonal supper. This recipe is perfect for those of you who would prefer a change from the usual marzipan and icing covered Christmas Cake.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Goujons have fallen from grace, but it is hard to work out why. The crunch of the breadcrumb casing, the tender, yielding softness of the white fish within: this is a fish finger taken to the highest level. If you can find the Japanese seasoned breadcrumbs, panko, then get them: they create an almost feathery but crunchy casing. The traditional accompaniment is a sauce tartare, but my favourite sauce is a dill mayonnaise, with perhaps some cornichons heaped on a plate nearby. Consider these a fabulously quick starter when you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

One quick gulp of a cold, sharp margarita and I feel I

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

A Greek Salad in the summertime is one of those classic dishes that needs no tinkering. And yet, I confess tinkering is just what I have done here. The only substantial alteration I’ve made to the traditional recipe is to substitute the cucumber with fennel. I find the cucumbers one gets here are all too often tasteless and watery and end up contributing little, making the lettuce soggy to boot. But I also do my usual trick of steeping the onion (here, in vinegar and a little dried oregano) to lessen its rasp. Please bear in mind that this should be done at least two hours in advance, though you could easily set them a-steeping in the morning for lunch or dinner that day, or even the night before. And I add oil at the same time, which really means your dressing is done and ready. But otherwise, it’s a Greek Salad as you might expect and desire: full of crunch and flavour and punctured by salinity, which is provided generously by both the feta and the olives. If you can get hold of a good cucumber, by all means go for it, although I know I’d miss the gently aniseed crispness of the fennel. But then, I’ve been making it my way for so long, it’s hardly surprising I feel like this. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

The aniseed flavour that underscores this fabulously-easy baked squid and orzo pasta dish is gentle enough not to frighten away any but hardcore fennelphobes and, even then, I have surprised those who profess aniseed-antagonism with just how well it goes down. And it’s joyously simple to make, too: all it takes is a little desultory chopping and stirring, and then it cooks itself in the oven, until the squid is so tender that the lightest touch of a spoon cuts through it.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Strictly speaking, I don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This weekend breakfast favourite can, frankly, be eaten at any time of the day with equal relish and has also in its favour that children (who in my experience would probably eat anything if it had pesto in it) love it. This is entirely proper, of course, given that — very obviously — the recipe is inspired by Dr Seuss.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration

This easy pasta recipe from Nigella Lawson's Nigellissima, features a mix of blue cheese, baby spinach and chopped pistachio nuts.

Nigella Lawson

I’m often to be found, bowl in front of me, stick blender in hand, mixing up a green tahini sauce: it turns any plate of vegetables into a feast, though its robust earthiness is particularly glorious with those at the sweeter end of the spectrum. In the picture here, indeed, you see it accompanying some sweet potatoes, which have simply been cut into chunks and roasted with a little oil in a 220ºC/200ºC Fan/420ºF oven for 30 or so minutes, but I just as often serve it with roasted carrots or butternut, or splodged over a plate of sliced beetroot. And it is quite fabulous stirred into, or squiggled fatly on top of, a bowl of vegetable soup. Not that this sauce has to be considered just for meatfree meals — I pair it often with slow-roast lamb or plain white fish — but it comes particularly into its own when I’m cooking up a vegan-friendly feast! I don’t make it exactly the same way every time: depending on what I have to hand or how I’m feeling, I vary the herbs; so feel free to substitute the coriander/cilantro with flatleaf parsley (I use wild garlic when it’s in season) or throw in some fresh mint or dill (or whatever herbs are in the fridge staring limply up at you) when you blitz. You can, however make this by hand: stir the lemon juice, followed by the water, into the tahini (it will stiffen at first, but relax as you proceed) then finely chop the herbs by hand, and mince the garlic, and add these, along with the salt, to the bowl, too.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

You can griddle these aubergines, grill them or just blitz them in the heat of the barbecue: it

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

By grilled cheese, of course, I mean a grilled cheese sandwich — a toastie in fact — and I add the slaw, both because I love it and because, that way, I don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

There is something about fresh, really fresh, grilled sardines that reminds me instantly of those long holiday lunches in rented summer houses abroad. But if neither sardines, nor a fishmonger to fillet them, are available, know that this lemon salsa is terrific with any fish — and indeed most meats.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This guacamole doesn’t include tomatoes. It makes such a difference: it’s fresh and sharp, a perfect buttery-yellow and jade clay. You can do some chopping in advance, but the actual avocado mixture must be made at the last minute, to ensure it keeps its colour.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

These are great for a gathering, for all that they can be a bit messy to eat! While they

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This vegetarian recipe for halloumi with chilli from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites can be grilled on the barbecue or simply fried in a pan.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Studded with colored candies (delicious if they are peanut-filled, too), these treats are an amazing way to end a grown-up supper, and a very useful way to keep a roomful of boisterous children happy.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

“Eternity”, lamented Dorothy Parker, “is a ham and two people.” Now, for me the Christmas Ham is all-important, and the leftovers from it essential; I couldn’t tire of them no matter how many days on the trot I ceremonially unwrap the ever more crinkled foil parcel to cut another slice for a sandwich or shred the salty pink meat to drop into soup or a salad. But a proper joint of gammon does call, at least on its first magisterial outing, for a tableful of people, and I can see that those celebrating a smaller Christmas might find themselves subscribing to Parker’s acerbic view. Abundance is a wonderful thing, but wastefulness is most certainly not. And this, my friends, is where the ham hock comes in. If you’re having a very small Christmas, a fat and stubby ham hock will provide a modest feast for two, but that’s living a bit too dangerously for me, as you run the risk of not having the wherewithal for festive sandwiches on the days ahead. But a hock is such an economical cut, that I feel I can I advise a pair of them even if there are only two of you, and you’ll still have a reassuringly festive supply of ham should there be four of you round the table. And while we’re on the subject of festive reassurance, these hocks could hardly be simpler to cook. I don’t boil them first then roast them afterwards, as I fear the nuggets of intensely flavoured meat will start unfurling and then fall apart in the bubbling liquid which, on some occasions, hardly matters, but won’t do at all if you want to glaze and burnish them, so that they can stand resplendent on board or platter, a proper Christmassy offering. I cook them in the oven throughout, initially over low-ish heat with water, before brushing them with an easy glaze and studding them with cloves with the oven turned way up high. Now, you’ll never get elegantly thin, pink slices out of a hock, but the meat is fabulously intense and juicy, and you can carve it in parts, then cut the rest from the bone in fat chunks that just burst with supercharged savouriness. What’s more, the collagen-rich meat makes for a rich, jellied stock which, should you soak the hocks as stipulated, should not be too salty to turn into a cosy pea and ham soup afterwards. Soak 500g / 1 lb green split peas, then add enough water to the scant, strong stock to take it up to 2 litres / 1 ¾ quarts of liquid. Pour into a large pot along with the drained, soaked split peas, add the ham bones and cook until the split peas are very soft and rather less green, adding some little pieces or shreds of leftover ham to the pot to heat through before serving. A note on a few specifics: while you could use smoked ham hocks, I feel green (or unsmoked) is very much better for this recipe; the meat is more tender, and the stock it makes less overwhelming. I haven’t given a weight for the hocks, as they just come as they come, though they tend to have an average weight of 1.5 kilos / 3 ½ lbs each. I have specified bitter orange marmalade below, as although sweetness pairs so well with the saltiness of the meat, we don’t want all out jamminess; for the record, I use Tiptree Tawny Orange Marmalade. As for the other element in the glaze, I feel the heat of proper strong English mustard is called for here, as well as in the easy stir-together sauce that I serve with it. As for other accompaniments, I go for peas and potatoes – baked if I’m eating this on Boxing Day, or just plain steamed (or boiled) smaller spuds if it’s Christmas Eve – and I strongly recommend some crunchy pickled red cabbage on the table, too. Finally, I must tell you that these hocks are not just for those celebrating small-scale this year: should you be spending your Christmas away from home, you can also roast a hock or two like this when you get back so that you’re not left in the awful position of having no Christmas ham in the fridge for the remainder of the season. For those in the US, you may struggle to find cured but unsmoked ham hocks. I wouldn’t recommend using a smoked one in its place – the standard US smoke is too intense for this recipe.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Only those who have never tried this raise an eyebrow at the idea. Don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Forgive the tweeness of the title, but this is a soup of such sunny, mood-enhancing yellowness that it overcomes even the most pervasively innate cynicism. To eat this is to feel cheered; even cooking it gives me a lift. It

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

I think of these Swedish roast potatoes as being rather like sauteed potatoes on the stem: each one is cut into thin slices across almost right through, but not quite, and then roasted in buttery oil; as they cook, the potatoes fan out, like slightly fleshy crisps with their bottoms still attached. Traditionally, maincrop potatoes are used, but I love these made with new potatoes, too; in which case, Charlotte or Ratte, which are waxy-fleshed and taperingly oval in shape, are best. If you

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

It is not quite normal to feel as joyous as I do when saying the words “Brussels sprouts”, but this recipe does not merely use said much-denigrated ingredient, it also celebrates it. Sprouts are nutty, fresh, gorgeous, and I regard this recipe as their seasonal showcase. Not Italian, you might say. Well, my inspiration for it is the one authentically defining dish of Valtellina, in Lombardy, up towards the Swiss border. That dish is pizzoccheri, a traditional winter-warmer hotchpotch of homemade buckwheat tagliatelle, potatoes, Savoy cabbage and Taleggio or fontina cheese, baked and flavoured with sage, garlic and Parmesan. You can buy pizzoccheri in boxes, with dried short lengths of buckwheat pasta, but for me it is too gummy and tastes nothing like the pizzoccheri I’ve eaten in Italy. I thought it better to do an Anglo version and very happy I am with it indeed. If you don’t have garlic oil to hand, then add a minced garlic clove or two to the ricotta and cheese in Step 3, and in step 4 simply substitute regular olive oil. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · NYT Cooking

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is relaxingly simple to make: a quick blitz with a stick blender, and you have an upliftingly fragrant, gloriously green paste which you coat the lamb with before roasting and, once cooked, gives a soft, fresh-flavoured crust. You don’t exactly get a gravy out of the liquid at the bottom of the tin (the water stops the tin from burning and keeps the meat gorgeously tender) but taste it once the lamb’s rested, to see if you want to add a little freshly boiled water, and possibly a drop or two of honey, to give you some juices to pour over the carved meat. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

I love these sweet and meaty quail, conker-shiny in their vaguely Chinesey marinade. As often as not, I grill them rather than barbecue them; even a blitz in a very hot oven will do. The thing is to marinate them for a good long time — at least 24 hours — so that they keep fleshy and juicy and meltingly tender no matter how brutally you cook them.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Hokey pokey is a Cornish term for honeycomb. It is wonderful eaten in golden shards or crumbled into the best vanilla ice cream. It is also the perfect present to take to a dinner party. Better than flowers, as they need to be put into a vase, better than chocolate, which people tend to smile politely at, but put away in a drawer: no one can resist a bit of hokey pokey I

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

A warming, welcoming pud full of seasonal spice that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Truly a pudding to give thanks for. As for the eggnog cream, by all means add a grating of nutmeg if you would like — I don

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I find this a real life-saver. I make a container full of this and then I just have to whisk in egg, milk and melted butter whenever I need a breakfast

Nigella Lawson

I love crackling; I love pork scratchings, even in their junk-food-packaged over-salted incarnation, too: this, here, is perhaps the best of both worlds. In fact, these make me so suffused with greedy pleasure, I do grasp why, for some, gluttony is considered a sin. For me, though, it is a blessing. Occasions of joy in life should be greeted with gratitude, not with guilt. A degree of caution is warranted, but only for practical — rather than spiritual — reasons. I’m assuming you won’t be eating these, anyway, if you have concerns about fat or salt; but also, as it says on the packets of pork scratchings I buy, these are “only recommended for people with strong, healthy teeth”. You need to go to a butcher to get the pork rind, so you may as well ask for it to be scored at the same time, to help it crisp up nicely in the oven. Your only responsibility where the rind is concerned, is to store it well. Plastic wrap of any sort will make it soggy, so either put it on the bottom shelf of the fridge still in the butcher’s “peach” paper, or wrapped loosely in greaseproof paper or baking parchment, or just leave it open, in a roasting tin, on the bottom shelf of the fridge and away from other foods. While these are gorgeous to crunch on with nothing more alongside than a cold beer or glass of wine, I do urge you to make the Apple and Mustard Sauce for dippage, too.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is the cake to make for Rosh Hashanah. Indeed, you couldn’t proceed without it. Many people give them as presents over the Jewish New Year and you are quite likely to end up with more than one of them if you’ve invited people over for dinner. And each one will be a little different from the last. This recipe comes from Michelle Guish, and is her mother’s recipe, and hence is known as Mish-Gish’s Mother’s honey cake in my house. I have to say, I am amused by honey cake that doesn’t have a drop of honey in it. You can eat this cake just as it is — but I love it drizzled with butterscotch sauce.