Authors: Nigella Lawson
MacMillan, Norma.
In a Shaker Kitchen
. Pavilion, 1995.
Morris, Nicki, ed.
The Women Chefs of Britain
. Absolute Press, 1990.
Palmer, Leonie.
Noosa Cook Book
. The Blue Group, 1996.
Patten, Marguerite.
Classic British Dishes
. Bloomsbury, 1994.
Richfield, Patricia.
Japanese Vegetarian Cooking
. Crossing Press, 1996.
Roden, Claudia.
The
Book of Jewish Food
. Knopf, 1996.
——.
A New Book of Middle Eastern Food
. Viking, 1985.
Ross, Rory.
Gastrodrome Cookbook
. Pavilion, 1995.
Rushdie, Sameen.
Indian Cookery
. Century, 1988.
Saleh, Nada.
Fragrance of the Earth: Lebanese Home Cooking
. International Specialized Book Service, 1997.
Saunders, Steven.
Short Cuts
. Trans-Atlantic Publications, 1998.
Sheraton, Mimi.
From My Mother’s Kitchen
. HarperCollins, 1991.
Slater, Nigel.
Real Cooking
. Michael Joseph, 1997.
Taruschio, Franco, and Ann Taruschio.
Leaves from the Walnut Tree Inn
. Pavilion, 1993.
Thomas, Anna.
From Anna’s Kitchen: Plain and Fancy Vegetarian Menus
. Penguin, 1996.
Wells, Patricia.
At Home in Provence
. Scribner, 1996.
Whittington, Richard, with Martin Webb.
Quaglino’s: The Cookbook
. Overlook Press, 1997.
Willan, Ann.
Real Food: Fifty Years of Good Eating
. Macmillan, 1988.
Wolfert, Paula.
The
Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean
. HarperCollins, 1994.
I’d like to thank all those whose recipes I’ve used or adapted in this book. They are mentioned by name in the text and listed in the bibliography. I’d like also to thank John Armit, and Alexandra Shulman, editor of
Vogue
, where some of these recipes started off, as did my life as a cookery writer, and Rebecca Willis, my editor there.
Thanks, too, to everyone who worked on the book at Chatto & Windus, especially Penny, Hoare, Caz Hildebrand, and Eugenie Boyd, for whose steadying calm I am particularly grateful; as I am also to Jonathan Burnham, to my agent, Ed Victor, and to Arthur Boehm, for the forbearance, intelligence, and wit he brought to bear on the American edition. Inés Alfillé double-checked recipes for me with serenity and efficiency, a rare combination. It’s also important for me to express my appreciation of my butcher, David Lidgate; my greengrocer’s Michanicou Brothers (and David) as well as Macken & Collins; and my fishmonger’s, Chalmers & Gray.
Deepest thanks to Paul Golding, on whose judgment and friendship I have relied throughout; to Lucy Heller, Olivia Lichtenstein, Reggie Nadelson, Justine Picardie, and Tracey Scoffield; and to Sharon Raeburn and Cheryl Robertson, without whom I could not have written this book.
To John, whose idea this book was and whose title it is, who has remained so encouraging despite being cruelly unable to eat the food. I can’t say thank you enough. You know.
For invaluable help in the preparation of the American edition of this book, the editor wishes to thank Nick Malgieri for sharing his compendious culinary knowledge; Cara Tannenbaum, for her diligent recipe testing and sweet friendship; and Jenny Scott, for her astute attention to so many queries, and for companionship, too. Thanks also to Miriam Brickman, to Judy Gingold—just because—and to Helen Rogan and Alfred Gingold. To Nigella Lawson, a poem, as yet uncomposed, on the delight of shared effort, and deep appreciation for her kind friendship.
The great success of
How to Eat
in its own land isn’t hard to fathom. Rooted firmly in the pleasures of home cooking, the book also encourages readers to be themselves in the kitchen—to trust and nurture their own relationship to food and the pleasures of the table. It’s a message people relish.
In “translating”
How to Eat
for American cooks, I’ve tried, whenever possible, to remain faithful to the book’s spirit of spontaneity. The author’s intention was to make the recipes easy to follow and reliable—they are—and also to allow cooks the freedom needed to gain pleasure and confidence in the kitchen. Thus, bossing and too much quantifying have been avoided; dish yields, for example, are given where necessary, but left otherwise to the judgment of the cook.
British readers have found
How to Eat
a new kitchen staple. I know its American audience will, too.
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
Almonds
Bakewell tart with fresh raspberries, 264–65
cake, and orange blossom, 115–16, 357
macaroons, 19
Anchovies, 196, 376
beef fillet with red wine, garlic, thyme and, 343, 344–45
beef stew with thyme and, 100, 265
dressing, 354
mayonnaise, rosemary and, 257–58
and peppers, 86
salad niçoise, 127–28
salsa verde, 181–83
sauce, pasta with, 148–49
steak mirabeau, 190–91
Apples
baked caramel, 228–29
buttered, 180
crumble, 41
crumble, and walnut, 156–57
tart, butterscotch, 285
tart, translucent, 277–78
Apricots
poached, 218
poached, stuffed with crème fraîche, pistachio-sprinkled, 320
Asparagus, 45
roasted, 45, 233, 376
Avgolemono sauce, 200
Avocado
guacamole, 321, 322
pea, and mint salad, 343
Baby food, 411–16
Bacon
freezing, 68–69
linguine with, 146
pheasant with mushrooms and, braised, 101
and salmon salad, 127
and scallops, 128
spaghetti carbonara, 146–47
spinach and raw mushroom salad, 262
veal, and liver pie, 432–34
Bakewell tart with fresh raspberries, 264–65
Baking sheet liners, 18
Banana custard, 225–26
Barbados cream, 117, 250
Barley, pea orzotto, 318–19
Basil
oil, 233
Thai, 388
unpestoed pesto, pasta with, 148
Bass, sea, baked, with rosemary, 263–64
Beans, 164, 309
and beef with pasta, 434
cannellini or cranberry, with garlic and sage, warm, 258–59
children’s recipes, 416–17, 437–38, 444
chile con carne, clove-hot, 437–38
and fish, 416–17
and lamb braise, 139–40
minestrone, 214, 215–17
miso dressing, thick, for, 395
soaking, 78
soup, black, 81–82
soup, and pasta, 444
tuna and, 196, 416
See also
Chickpeas; Green beans
Béarnaise, 16–17
steak, 136
Béchamel, 19–21
Beef
and beans with pasta, 434
braised in beer, 397–98
carpaccio of, 137–38
chile con carne, clove-hot, 437–38
chili, noodle soup, aromatic, 381–82
fillet with red wine, anchovies, garlic, and thyme, 343, 344–45
meatballs in tomato sauce, 434–37
roast, 249, 252
cold fillet of, 257
top rump of, 260
salad, hot-and-sour, Cambodian, 385
shepherd’s pie, 429–32
steak, 378–79
béarnaise, 136
and kidney beef, 223–25
Mirabeau, 190–91
au poivre, 136–37
stew with anchovies and thyme, 100, 265
stroganoff, 170
tagliata, 343, 345
Beer
beef braised in, 397–98
oxtail with marjoram and stout, 92–93
Beets
greens and buckwheat noodles, 390–91
salad, shredded, with yogurt, 391–92
soup, 392
Bell peppers.
See
Peppers
Berries, 401, 403
frozen, 167, 198–99
slump, summer, 280
See also
specific berries
Birthday cake, 25–27, 452–53
Biscuits, digestive, 447–48
Black bean soup, 81–82
Blackberries
butterscotch tart, 285
and cream, 281
crumble, 41
Blini, 152–54
Blueberries
in Barbados cream, 250
crumble, 41
Brandy butter (hard sauce), 59–60
Bread, 196–97
biscuits, digestive, 447–48
and cheese, 122
cheese stars, 446–47
freezing, 69
gypsy toast, 422–23
sauce, 58–59
white, basic, 28–30
Bread crumbs, drying, 22–23
Brussels sprouts
bubble and squeak, 61
and chestnuts, 57–58
Bubble and squeak, 61
Bulghur, 102
tabbouleh, 236–37, 290
Butter, brandy (hard sauce), 59–60
Butternut squash and pasta soup, 144
Butterscotch
apple tart, 285
sauce, 275
Cabbage
with caraway, 180
red, in Viennese fashion, 283, 284
sour-sweet, Japanese-flavored, 390
sweet-and-sour, 335
Caesar salad, 307–8
Cakes
almond and orange blossom, 115–16, 357
birthday, 25–27, 452–53
children’s party, 452–53
chocolate raspberry pudding, 316–17
clementine, 66–67
fairy, 448–49
fancy, 27–28
gingerbread, stem ginger, 114–15
hazelnut, 321, 324–25
Victoria sponge, 24–25
Calves liver.
See
Liver
Cambodian hot-and-sour beef salad, 385
Caper sauce for roast lamb, 281–82
Caramel apples, baked, 228–29
Cauliflower, 376, 428–29
Caviar, 152–53
Cawl, 94–95
Ceviche with hot garlic potatoes, 314–15
Chanterelles, sole with, 172–73
Cheese, 195
and baked potato, 373–74
with bitter salad, 204
bread and, 122
cauliflower, 428–29
macaroni and, 427–28
sauce, 20
stars, 446–47
See also specific cheeses
Cherries
couscous, and chickpeas, 186
pie, 294–95
Chestnuts
and Brussels sprouts, 57–58
and lentil soup, 64
and pancetta salad, 326–27
stuffing, 54
Chicken
breasts, marinated grilled, 165
breasts, with pesto, grilled, 165
and chickpea tagine, 99
children’s recipes, 423, 439–41
coq au vin, half-, 398–99
drumsticks, marinated, 441
lemon, 199–200