Recipes

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

This is a bit before my time, but I have vague nursery memories of a friend of my grandmother

Nigella Lawson

This is my riff on a gorgeous Indonesian street-food snack, although it is really the dressing itself that contains the essence of it. And what a dressing it is! Once you have the ingredients in the cupboard, you’ll be calling on it often: it’s glorious with halved cherry tomatoes, grilled aubergine, roasted vegetables, and so much more. If you can’t get hold of the Indonesian shrimp paste, you could always add a drop of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of miso in its place, but whatever you do, don’t be tempted to leave out the fresh mint.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Soft, sweetly soused, slow-braised red cabbage is one of the great comforts of winter, but its rich intensity – I think of it rather as the vegetable equivalent of goose, which it partners magnificently – disqualifies it from regular rotation. This absurdly magenta pickle is a different matter altogether: its satisfying crunch and enlivening tang make it an everyday delight. It’s barely any work to make and is so much better than the pickled red cabbage that you buy from a shop. I do think it makes a difference using the raw, unfiltered vinegar, which is labelled rather tautologically ‘apple cider vinegar’, but if all you have is regular cider vinegar, go ahead; indeed, any vinegar would work here. I pair the cider vinegar with actual cider but should you need this to be alcohol-free, then just use apple juice in its place. This doesn’t make a huge amount, but it’s a condiment rather than a side dish, and is just the thing with roast pork or other desirably fatty meats; it’s also wonderful with cheese, rich stews, in a burger, taco or a fried chicken sandwich or, indeed, with any leftovers that might need a bit of a zhuzh.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Needs must and all that, so I have always been an open anti-perfectionist, but in truth (and I’m sorry to repeat what I’ve said before) it is impossible to cook roast potatoes without needing them to be perfect, which to me means sweet and soft inside and a golden-brown carapace of crunch without. And, strangely, no matter how many tricksy things you may succeed at in cooking, no matter what techniques you may master, nothing gives quite the contented glow of achievement that cooking a good tray of roast potatoes does. There are three crucial things that I think make the difference: the first is the heat of the fat – if it’s not searingly hot, you don’t stand a chance, and since goose fat has a very high smoking point and tastes good, it is my annual choice here; the second is the size of your potatoes — you want them relatively small, so that the ratio of crunchy outside to fluffy interior is optimized; and, finally, I think dredging the potatoes — and this is a family practice, inherited through the maternal line — in semolina rather than flour after parboiling, then really rattling the pan around to make the potatoes a bit mashed on the surface so they catch more in the hot fat, is a major aid.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Bites

This is really a vegetarian take on that classic combination of charred, peeled peppers and anchovies. This pepper and feta combo, with a rocket (or other green) salad, some griddled aubergines dressed with pomegranate and mint (or just a bowl of shop-bought hummus) and a pile of warmed pitta breads, would make the perfect Saturday lunch, vegetarians or no.

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

Those of my vintage may remember this dish from the eighties fondly as Tataki of Tuna: a log of ludicrously rubied fish, rolled in pepper, briefly seared and eaten finely sliced with shredded spring onions and twiggy strips of cucumber. Dunk in soy as you eat or make up a few blobs of sinus-clearing wasabi. If you do have some wasabi to hand, you can use this for smearing over the tuna, before coating it with peppercorns, in place of the English mustard stipulated below. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

This is in one sense wholly un-Italian, and yet the inspiration for it is the traditional pasta alla Norma, which combines aubergines with ricotta salata. This semi-dry salty cheese is hard to come by in the UK and so I thought to substitute it with that supermarket standby, feta. I also sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over the aubergine as I cook it, which counters and brings out its gorgeous earthiness. Tomatoes and chilli flakes bring brightness and zing.

Nigella Lawson

As with all dishes that find their way into a country

Nigella Lawson

This is somewhat of an Anglo-American enterprise. I have taken a pecan pie, and added other nuts, simply because for me, the English festive season means bowls of mixed nuts and the memory of my grandfather being able to crack them, pressing two against each other, in his bare hands. I don’t crack them myself here even with a nutcracker, I’m afraid. But I do make sure I buy good fresh (check the dates on the packet) natural ones — that’s to say unsalted and free of additives — that come together in a pack comprising Brazils, natural (unblanched) almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts. I should also tell you that the pie