Recipes

Nigella Lawson

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 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

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

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

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Express

Nigella Lawson

Without getting into the vexed complexities of colonial history, there is a reason why Indonesian — or, more correctly, Dutch-Indonesian — food plays such an important part in the cultural life of Amsterdam. Dutch traders went to what is now Indonesia at the end of the 16th century — and stayed on, and from 1816 to 1941 it became a colony of the Netherlands government — the Dutch East Indies. It was when I first went to Amsterdam in my twenties, that I encountered (and ate a lot of) Rijstaffel, perhaps the most famous of all Dutch-Indonesian food, from the point of view of the hungry tourist at any rate, and which features rice with a staggering array of little dishes — up to 40, sometimes — which does not make it exactly cut out for a stress-free Christmas feast. But then I remembered a gorgeous Indonesian Biryani by Sri Owen (from her magisterial Rice Book) and thus inspired, I settled on a simplified version that is nonetheless a real party piece. I know a biryani sounds like a daunting undertaking, but it really doesn’t have to be. For one thing, you cook the chicken a day (or up to a couple of days) in advance, which breaks up the process into manageable tasks. Furthermore, not only will the flavours deepen and mellow overnight, but the chicken will be gorgeously tender. On top of which, it leaves you to do no more on the day itself than cook the rice — and for just two minutes! — then layer it up in a pan with the gently reheated chicken and steam it. And the marinade you start the chicken off with is an easy affair that relies predominantly on the punchy Indonesian chilli sauce Sambal Oelek and treacly Kecap Manis (see Additional Information, below). Sorry if I sound stern, but the chicken thighs absolutely must be on the bone, even if you plan to debone them before layering up them up with the rice: if you use thigh fillets the texture will be disappointingly dry and stringy. You have been warned! On a sunnier note, I absolutely urge you to make the Pineapple-Plus Salad with Rujak Dressing as an accompaniment. Its tangy freshness is the perfect complement to the sumptuous biryani. And should you want a vegan version, I have one for you in the form of my beautiful Butternut Biryani!   Please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

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 Lawson

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

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

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

Nigella Lawson · Nigella Summer

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 Bites

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson