Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many

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Cover the dish and bake in the hot oven until done, say 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm. Any residual juices left in the dish can be added to the sauce. Ah, you are too kind. This was a greatly appreciated gong. Oh golly, so many factors contributed to the time taken, not least building the confidence to realise that not all had been written about food as food evolves constantly as does cooking, ingredients and seasons. It took so long finding the path that would include, Mum and Dad, childhood, home, becoming a chef and the extraordinary learning curve required to acquire the knowledge to run a kitchen, write menus and find the produce with which to furnish the kitchen to produce the dishes. The book was not so different. It was also hugely impactful learning that writing a book and running a kitchen were not the easiest of bedfellows, played a considerable role in a lengthy delay. Lightly oil and season the skin side of the sardines, then lay them in the onion pan, skin side down, and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, until the flesh turns pale. Flip and cook for no more than 1 minute on the other side.

A glimpse at Lee’s bookshelves provided within the book give as good as clue as any to the kind of chef he is and the type of cooking that inspires him. While a few modern books can be seen – Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat​, Nuno Mendes’ Lisboeta​, and St John’s Complete Nose to Tail​ to name but three – his shelves sag under the weight of far older, well-thumbed books from the likes of Julia Child, Jane Grigson, Elizabeth David and Madhur Jaffrey. As he describes the recipes in Cooking​ himself, this is home cooking rediscovered after a lifetime spent in professional kitchens. Born in Orkney, this estimable woman wrote beautifully on the lore and cooking of Scotland. Had these books not been written, much might not have seen the light of day, such as cabbie claw, a soup of cod cooked in horseradish and parsley, and served with an egg sauce. Try The Scots Kitchen or The Scots Cellar for barley broth, hotch potch (mutton stew with vegetables) and nettle soup. The recipes in Cooking are arranged by favorite ingredients and occasions and include an introduction emphasizing the importance of the quality and provenance of ingredients. From plum compote with ricotta and hazelnuts to perfect anchovy dressing, this stunning collection of recipes is a love song to simple dishes crafted with the finest ingredients.From the Davids, the Grigsons and the Childs, another generation of women food writers blossomed, restoring an interest in regional cooking to an English-speaking readership. Alice Waters championed the local, seasonal movement in California and influenced future generations of American cooks, and many more besides around the globe. Arabella Boxer, who was an early champion of British and seasonal cooking, helped tear up the rigours of publishing with her extraordinary two-volume set of First Slice Your Cookbook, then, A Second Slice. Caroline Conran’s beautiful editing of four seminal chefs, Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Jean and Pierre Troisgros, finally loosened the tired grip of France’s haute cuisine. Lindsey Bareham’s books have a glorious approach, championing the potato, the onion, soup or tomatoes in a clear authoritative voice full of wit, charm and warmth. Insert a small knife into the cake for doneness; there should be no resistance. Remove the cake from the oven, press down lightly with a frying pan one last time, then let sit for 5 minutes. What are your three favourite recipes in the book or recipes that best represent your style of cooking for readers who might be new to your food?

It's not going to be a destination restaurant, just a bloody good pub” - Tom Kerridge on The Butcher's Tap Chelsea In a large bowl, beat together the whole eggs, then add the egg yolks. Slowly pour the milk on to the eggs, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, keeping any froth to a minimum. Let it stand for while, then pour the warm custard through a fine sieve. Spoon away any foam sitting on the surface. One vivid memory is of a great table of polished oak in our dining room, piled high with oranges and clementines, Mum being notorious for panic-buying citrus fruits. Another is the huge array of my mother’s extraordinary baking for the Christmas hols, surrounded by Christmas lights and candles and all manner of festive thingummyjigs. Especially cakes – and lots of them. One year I counted seven, and pointed out to Mum that we were only a family of six. Mum pointed to a cupboard where tins with more biscuits and cakes were piled high, and then, laughing merrily, pointed to the freezer, where she’d stashed even more “emergency rations for just in case”. Thank you. Tis such a great honour. And, well, as it happens, there is to be another ,4 th Estate having just commissioned a second book. We barely touched on puddings, and I can say no more as the scraps of paper covered in thoughts once again litter desk and floor at home.

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My parents liked to read, cook and eat, quite liked their brood and made efforts to have us all at the table every day. In the kitchen, a small pile of cookery books (pulled from laden shelves), with a pad and a pencil for notes, awaited my mother’s interest. Put the mould in a deep oven tray. Pour the custard into the mould then put the tray in the middle of the oven. Pour enough hot water into the tray to bring the level up to a few centimetres short of the surface of the custard. We follow with little chocolate turnovers and a creme caramel – a soothing, cooling custardy respite from all the cakes and pies. Look out for more yuletide recipes over the weekend. 1 Mincemeat meringue tart (main photo) Decorate with golden sugared almonds and candied mint leaves, if using, and serve. 2 Little chocolate turnovers