The many fans of Nigella Lawson’s television shows will welcome this newest entry in the ever-growing series of cookbooks the ingenious and pneumatic kitchen diva has produced. Lawson is at home with any number of different cuisines, including Japanese, Italian, South African, Mexican, Australian, Thai, Korean, and her own native British cookery. In the last category she presents a spatchcocked Cornish game hen and intense gingerbread enriched with Guinness stout. She favors hearty meats such as lamb shanks and ham hocks. And she has special affection for dishes that one can easily serve at parties, ennobling even humble “pigs in blankets” with some decidedly sophisticated puff pastry. Recipes emphasize meticulous preparation and freshness of ingredients. The book includes a series of useful kitchen tips that Lawson has collected over the years. They range from tea-stain removal to easy pasta measuring. Occasional Briticisms may puzzle American readers, but they are far from insurmountable.
Comprehensive, informative, and engaging, Nigella Kitchen offers feel-good food for cooks and eaters that is comforting yet always seductive, nostalgic but with a modern twist–whether super-fast exotic recipes for the weekday rush, leisurely slow-cook dishes for weekends and special occasions, or irresistible cakes and cookies in true “domestic goddess” style. Nigella Kitchen answers everyday cooking quandaries–what to feed a group of hungry teenagers, how to rustle up a spur-of-the-moment meal for friends, or how to treat yourself when you’re home alone–and since real cooking is so often about leftovers, here one recipe can morph into another . . . from ham hocks in cider to cidery pea soup, from “praised” chicken to Chinatown salad. This isn’t just about being thrifty; it’s about being creative and seeing how recipes evolve.
With 190 mouth watering and inspiring recipes, including more than 60 express-style recipes (30 minutes or under), Nigella Kitchen offers plenty of choice–from clams with chorizo to Guinness gingerbread, from Asian braised beef shank to chocolate key lime pie, from pasta alla genovese to Venetian carrot cake. In addition, Nigella presents her no-nonsense kitchen kit must-haves (and, crucially, what isn’t needed) in the way of equipment and magical standby ingredients. But above all, she reminds the reader how much pleasure there is to be had in real food and in reclaiming the traditional rhythms of the kitchen, as she cooks to the beat of the heart of the home, creating simple, delicious recipes to make life less complicated.
Gorgeously illustrated, this expansive, lively narrative, with its rich feast of food, is destined to be a 21st-century classic.
About the Author
Nigella Lawson is the author of bestselling the books How to Eat, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, Nigella Bites, Nigella Fresh, Nigella Express, Feast, and Nigella Christmas, which, together with several successful TV series, including Nigella Kitchen, and her recent iPhone app, Nigella Quick Collection, have made hers a household name around the world. She lives in London with her family.
Just because food writer Nigella Lawson loves to cook, doesn’t mean she always has the time to cook. “I’d love to spend hours in the kitchen,” she tells NPR’s Steve Inskeep, but like many of us, she finds herself rushed at mealtime. “And I don’t want to eat less well just because I’ve got less time at my disposal,” she says. Lawson’s latest cookbook, Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home, includes a chapter titled Hurry Up! I’m Hungry, and is filled with quick, homey recipes for quality meals. – read more from NPR or listen to the segment below