Recipes

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is revolutionary: you put the raw chipped potatoes into cold oil, then heat it up. It sounds crazy, but it works. You’d think it would make them unbearably greasy but in fact you end up with crisp, oil-free fries of utter fabulousness.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

I know it might sound a bit of a faff, but take it from me that stuffing a whole double breast joint is very much easier than stuffing and rolling a single breast joint, as is more commonly found in supermarkets. Basically, all you’re doing here is opening out your boneless turkey joint, smothering it with stuffing and folding it over. What you end up with, for all the ease of its creation, is nothing short of a showstopper. You need to go to a butcher to get a whole breast joint and you need to ask for it to be butterflied and boned and make sure the skin is left on.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

I love recipes using up leftovers, and this is a particular favourite because it suddenly goes off on another tangent, so to speak. The zingy South-East Asian flavours certainly give new life to the old bird!

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

I have never really thought of myself as a person who could wrap, fold or fiddle about with food or felt that way inclined. But you know, when you get into it, it

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This has always been the Italian antipasto, and though you are more likely to come across it as the traditional combination of tonno and cannellini, I love the flecked terracotta of borlotti beans, giving you the colours of Tuscany on a plate. This makes a simple, speedy supper for two; all I

Nigella Lawson

This is a wonderful cake: amusing but no joke; the velvety sponge is dark, moist and gently fragranced. Go easy on the essence/extract in the icing, though, or it will be just too Hawaiian Tropic. Should you not have any Malibu, which for those who have never come across it is coconut rum, do use any rum in its stead. But if you have none of that either or you simply prefer not to use alcohol in this cake, then just use two spoonfuls of the (usually apple) juice the pineapple was canned in. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

For those of you not yet familiar with the term procrastibaking, this is a prime example of the genre, and while I have certainly pioneered the practice, the brilliant coinage is one Aya Reina’s — I feel it deserves wider circulation. I was in the middle of the photo shoot for Simply Nigella when I first made these — I was putting off typing up some recipe changes and was suddenly gripped by an urgent need to make these cookies. The star here is the buckwheat, not only because it makes these cookies gluten-free, but mainly because I feel it brings its own nutty flavour and unique texture, creating a cookie that has softness and a shortbready bite, as well as a subtle smokiness. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

If you are lactose-intolerant, turn away now. This is, sadly, not for you. This triple threat of dairy desserts is Latin American in origin, though which country in Latin America is contested (there is also, incidentally, an Albanian version known as Trilece) and the Tres Leches of the title indicate the three milks you need to make it: sweetened condensed milk; evaporated milk; and either cream or milk, though I use both. On this information alone, it hardly sounds appealing, I concede, but you’re just going to have to trust me when I tell you it tastes utterly ambrosial. In the US, where the Tres Leches Cake is much more familiarly known, differently flavoured versions abound, and I’ve played around with some myself, but the traditional iteration is the one I keep coming back to. I have tweaked it slightly though: I add finely grated lemon zest to the cake itself, and mascarpone to the cream topping. Both additions beautifully temper the sweetness, and the mascarpone also helps stabilise the cream. I know the recipe looks forbiddingly long, but it’s not hard to make at all. It’s just that there are a number of processes, all of them straightforward: the making then baking of the sponge; the patient ladling over of the milky mixture to drench the cooled cake, followed by its long soaking time in the fridge; the whisking and application of the creamy topping. Yes, you do need to start making this two days before you plan to eat it, but a dessert that’s made in advance is a positive boon as far as I’m concerned. You might be assuming that a cake soaked in a vatful of liquid would turn to mush. Miraculously it doesn’t. Its texture is a dream, and the cream and mascarpone topping just adds to the lusciousness. You may want to serve some sharp berries alongside and, indeed, I sometimes do, but it is simply perfection as it is. One final note: I always make this in an oblong cake tin measuring 33 x 23 x 5 cm / 13 x 9 x 2 inches (mine’s the Rectangular USA Pan, if that helps). I know plonking a metal tin on the table when serving is not the most elegant way to go, but once your guests have had their very first bite, I can assure you no one will be fretting over anything. And nor should you.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Much as I adore a proper, old-fashioned treacle tart, when my need is greatest I’m less likely to have the energy and patience required for rolling out pastry neatly and all that goes with it. This is where this treacle slice comes in: you simply throw everything for the dough into a processor if you have one (and if you don’t, it’s still no trouble) then press it into a shallow oblong tin, pop it into the oven, and stir up the syrup, butter, breadcrumbs and egg while it bakes until ready to receive the sweet nubbly topping. For those unfamiliar with treacle tart, I should explain that it’s Golden Syrup that’s actually the key ingredient; if you can’t get hold of it where you are, I dare say you could use honey, but I urge you to seek the authentic ingredient, often known abroad just as Lyle’s. I have to be strict about using homemade breadcrumbs (see the intro to the Queen of Puddings, and I suggest you start with 200g of bread) and I find it more accurate to use American cup measures for this (you need 2 and a quarter cups) or fill a measuring jug up to the 550ml rather than weighing them. And yes, I know that’s a lot of breadcrumbs, but once they’ve soaked up the buttery, lemony syrup, what you get is a gorgeous chewiness, more fluffy than heavy. And if the topping is temple-achingly sweet, the base is plain to the point of dourness: that is exactly how a treacle tart should always be. This brings me to the clotted cream, my accompaniment of choice here: mad though it sounds, its lusciousness seems to temper the sweetness with cool efficiency. Still, those who’d prefer to eat this not as a cream-topped slice, but swathed with custard and spooned out of a bowl will not find any argument from me. And there is definitely a good case to be made for vanilla ice cream alongside, too. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson