Harissa

This was great to make - much simpler than i thought, although it does take quite a lot of time to de-seed 20g of dried chillies.  I ended up adding a lot more spices than nigella recommends compared to chillis, because it was plenty hot enough for me.

- De-seed 20g dried chillies and cut into thin slices.
- Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 1 hour.
- Dry roast 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, in a hot, oil-less frying pan for a few mins.
- Add to a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder, then add to a processor.
- Pound 2 cloves garlic together with a desert spoon of coarse sea salt, then add this to the processor.
- Add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar and the drained chillies to the processor, then process together.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the mixture and blitz again so that you have a thick liquid.  If its too thick, add some of the water the chillies soaked in.

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Squid and clams with chilli

Some of nigella's most successful recipes are the simple asian flavour dishes and this another one of those.  Very and quick to make, with only a few key ingredients, and yet the end result has the flavour of a seemingly much more complex dish.  I recommend this to anyone to try.

- Rinse 600g clams under a cold tap, throwing any that are cracked, damaged or stay open.
- Slice 4 large squid or 10 small ones, into rings.
- Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a wide pan on a high heat, and when hot, add 4 cloves chopped garlic, and 1 chopped dried chilli.
- Stir, then add the squid, cooking for about 1 min.
- Add the clams along with 250ml sake and 250ml water.
- Cook with the lid on for 4-5 mins, shaking a couple of times.
- Check the clams have all opened, pour into a large bowl and serve sprinkled with parsley or thai basil.

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Guacamole with paprika-toasted potato skins

I've cooked potato skins before, and they were a revelation.  Much nicer than the ones you get in Mexican restaurants, because they were much crispier and less soggy and fatty.  They make a perfect dip for the guacomole. This was daniel's (my nephew) first try of guacamole, and his response was to say that he was going to try and make this at home as soon as possible - praise indeed!

- Cook 4 baking potatoes for 1 1/2 hours at 200C.
- Meanwhile, stone and peel 2 ripe avocados, put the flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork.
- Dissolve teaspoon salt in juice of a lime and pour it over the avocado flesh.
- Add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander, 2 finely chopped spring onions and 1/2 finely chopped green chilli and mash again until you have a rough lumpy mixture.
- When the potatoes are done, halve them lengthways and scoop out the innards with a spoon, leaving a thin layer.
- Halve them again lengthways so you have long quarters of potato.
- Pour 2 tablespoons olive into a bowl and use to brush the skins lightly on both sides.
- Mix a teaspoon paprika with a teaspoon fine sea salt, and sprinkle over the skin interiors.
- Bake in the oven for another 12-15 mins at 200C.

Nigella suggests a lot more lime, but i cut it down, because it seemed a crazy amount and any more than we had, would have had our tastebuds screaming.  We used the scooped out potato as mash potato to have with the dover sole below.



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Lemon ice-cream

I made this yesterday and we had most of it last night with fiona and j, together with an apple and orange cake that tara made for tea.  The rest of it - as you can see, not much! - we had with the poire belle helene.  I have my new ice-cream maker for xmas, but this recipe didn't even need it.  If you don't have an ice-cream maker, then this is the perfect ice-cream to make.

- Add the zest of 2 lemons to the juice of 3 lemons, and combine with 170g icing sugar.
- Leave to steep for 20-30 mins.
- Whip 420ml double cream with 3 tablespoons iced water, till soft peaks, then whisk into the lemon juice.
- Put into a container and freeze - no stirring, required.


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Chicken liver crostini

Mmmmm - i haven't had chicken liver for years.  It is cheap and very tasty - i bought the most expensive chicken liver i could find - organic, free range from waitrose - and its still only a few pounds.  And what great flavour you get from a recipe like this.  Definitely one to make.

- Remove any gristle from 200g chicken livers and put them in a dish covered with milk for about 10 mins.
- Chop 1/2 stick celery, 1 clove garlic, 1 shallot or spring onion, and 1 tablespoon parsley in a processor.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the vegetables and cook gently for about 5 mins.
- Drain and dry the chicken livers, chop them by hand, add to the pan and cook until pink.
- Add 1/2 tomato puree and cook for 1-2 mins, then add 4 tablespoons marsala or vermouth/sherry.
- Let this bubble away mostly, add salt and pepper, then turn down the heat and cook gently for a further 10 mins.
- Put the contents into the processor, add 1 teaspoon capers and 2 chopped anchovies, then quickly pulse together.
- Put back in the pan with 1 tablespoon butter and cook gently for another few mins.
- Let cool before serving as crostini sprinkled with parsley.
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White tiramisu

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Linguine with clams

Amanda is over from Los Angeles for a week or so and came over for sunday lunch.  I had finally managed to find clams in the newly opened fishmonger on Gloucester Avenue in Primrose Hill (thanks to nicola for the local knowledge!).  I cooked this linguine with clams to start with, followed by the rhubarb jelly and ice-cream.  I actually bought 2 types of clam - razor clams which are currently in season, and palourde.  The picture above is of the razor clams that i cooked separately, and then forgot to take a picture of the linguine.  However, linguine alla vongole is one of my new favourite things, and Nigella's is a great recipe for it, so i'll no doubt be making again soon.  The following serves 1:

- Soak 200g clams in cold water for around 30 mins.
- Cook 150g linguine until its nearly, but not quite, cooked.
- Finely slice 1 clove garlic and gently fry in 2 tablespoons olive oil without letting the garlic burn.
- Add 1/2 dried chilli pepper, finely sliced.
- Drain the clams (discard any that remain open) and add them to the pan.
- Add 80ml white wine or vermouth and cover.
- Cook for 2-3 mins until the clams open, then add the linguine and cook for a further 1-2 mins.
- Discard any clams which haven't opened, and serve sprinkle with parsley.

I used fresh linguine, so i figured that i would just cook the linguine in the pan.  Problem is that the linguine then absorbed a lot of the moisture in the pan, and it turned out a bit too dry, despite me adding more vermouth and water.  Next time, i'll stick with fresh pasta, but plunge it into boiling water for 30 secs, before adding it to the clams.



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Fish and porcini pie

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Beetroot salad

I bought some beetroot the other day, and we are off to france for xmas in a couple of days (assuming the eurostar starts up again!) so i needed to use them up.  This salad was simple, delicious and nutritious - i would highly recommend it - and i don't really like beetroot.  Just tara's kind of food as well - she loved it!

- Process good handfuls of mint and coriander together.
- Add the grating blade to the processor and grate 3-4 peeled beetroots.
- Toss these in a bowl with the herbs and the juice of a lemon.
- Top with greek yoghurt or creme fraiche and toasted mustard seeds.

Salmon in den miso

The black cod at E&O in notting hill is amazing - one of the best things to eat on any menu in London.  And a sister restaurant called XO has just opened down the road in Belsize Park, so we had the black cod only the other evening.  In fact it was over the black cod, that i gave Tara her new sparkly ring as a thank you for Marni.  This is nigella's approximation to black cod it and it works pretty well.  You can also try with cod, which i'm definitely going to, but nigella's suggest salmon because its easier to make work with the fattier fish.

- Mix 150g white miso (i used brown) with 2 tablespoons each of mirin, sake and sugar.
- Cook in a pan for 10 mins - nigella suggest 20 mins but mine was so sticky it was difficult to spread over the salmon.
- Marinade the salmon in the miso mixture for 1-3 days.
- Grill the salmon for a few mins on each side

This worked so well, that Tara said she's always going to cook salmon like this from now on. Praise indeed!

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Real custard

I've never made custard the proper way before, and this was so easy, i don't why we use packet custard.  There's no more to it than using packet custard anyway.

- Slowly heat 500ml single cream or half milk, half cream, in a pan with the seeds of 1 vanilla pod in it, and also adding the empty pod. Before it boils, take off the heat and leave to infuse for 10-20 mins
- Whisk 5 egg yolks with 40g sugar until creamy, then slowly add the cream, whisking continuosly.
- Put back on the heat for 5-10 mins, whisking or stirring all the time, until its at the thickness you like.



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Pea souffle

I've just made this for lunch for Tara and I. Not sure I've made a soufflé before and it went surprisingly well. It was slightly runny in the middle which I thought was quite nice - like pea version of a chocolate fondant!

- Grease a soufflé dish or casserole dish with butter and dust with grated parmesan (that what she says!?)
- Melt 15g butter in a pan and cook 120g peas in it until soft.
- Puree the peas together with 85g grated gruyere (i used cornish yarg and a french cheese i had left over)
-  Melt another 15g butter in a pan and stir in 15g flour.
- Cook for a few mins before slowly whisking in 125ml milk and cook for a further few mins.
- In a large bowl, whisk 3 egg whites until you get soft peaks.
- Beat 2 of the egg yolks into the white sauce, followed by the pea puree, followed by a dollop of the egg whites.
- Season to taste and grate in some nutmeg.
- Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites and add to the souffle dish.
- Cook at 180C for 25-30 mins.

I made it "pea-tastic" by having it with the pea, avocado and mint salad i've made before.







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Black Bean Soup

A lot of soups can have very flavours and textures - wholesome, earthy, etc.  This had a texture unlike most other soups you get.  This was light and fresh which surprised me for soup with beans in it.  The red peppers and lime juice lift it, and the beans are left whole.  Definitely one to try.

- Place 450g dried black beans in a pan with 2 bay leaves, cover with 2 litres water and simmer for 1 1/2 hours (or use tinned beans.which i did!)
- Saute 2 chopped red peppers, 2 chopped shallots, 2 chopped onions in 200ml olive oil for about 15 mins.
- Add 8 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, the zest of 1 lime and saute for a further 5 mins.
- Puree in a blender.
- Add the puree to the cooked beans (still should be covered in water) together with1/2 tablespoon muscovado sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and cook until tender for about 20-30 mins.
- Season and add 2 tablespoons dry sherry.
- Serve with bowls of chopped coriander, chopped red onion, quartered limes, and sour cream and tabasco, for people to add as they wish.

I made this for tara and I as a weekend lunch - an unexpected hit!

Clementine Cake

Having accidentally made Queen of Puddings instead of this clementine cake a few weeks ago, i thought i'd make this now for Marni's 5 week birthday.  Actually, i made the chocolate pudding for marni's 5 week birthday, but it was so awful, i made this as well!  This was more like it - if Marni could eat as well as suck, she would have loved it.

- Boil 4-5 whole clementines in a pan for 2 hours, then drain, cut each in half and remove the pips.
- Pulp everything in a processor.
- Beat 6 eggs and add 225g sugar, 250g ground almonds, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- Mix well and add the pulped clementines.
- Pour the mixture into a buttered/lined 20cm tin and cook for 1 hour at 190C.
- You may need to cover the top after 40 mins to stop it burning.

Nigella calls it the easiest cake she knows, but you wouldn't know it to taste it - delicious.  By the way, that's 50 recipes down - a pretty good start if i say so myself - deserves a glass of champagne!

Fine Pasta with Crab

Along with the dover sole and king prawns that we bbq'ed, we also bought a couple of crab from the fisherman's hut in east wittering.  It makes a perfect seaside lunch for 2.  

- Gently cook 1 chopped clove garlic, 1/2 finely sliced red chilli, 1 tablespoon coriander, grated zest 1/2 lime and 2-3 finely sliced spring onions, until soft.

- Add 35g brown crab meat, 150ml white wine and simmer for 10 mins until quite a thick texture.

- Cook some 150g linguine.
- Just before the pasta needs draining add 60g white meat to the brown meat, together with another tablespoon coriander, the zest of the other 1/2 lime and a squeeze of lime juice.
- Add about 1 mug of the pasta to the sauce, then drain the pasta, add to the crab and sprinkle with parsley.

The chilli gives a lovely bite, and the cooking of the brown meat, gives it a great strong flavour that is missing from some crab dishes - a great recipe.

This recipe also reminds me that with nigella's cooking, you really to have quite a lot of white and red wine on the go - best stock up on some cheap wine otherwise it gets expensive!

Cream of Chicken Soup

Having cooked this, I'm not sure i've ever had a proper cream of chicken soup before - ever! It's not something i've ever cooked before, i never order something like this in a restaurant, and no-one has ever served at a dinner party. The closest i have come is out of a packet, and that's not very close. I can heartily recommend it though - a true classic that is definitely under-represented on today's menus.

- Melt 30g butter and cook 200g finely sliced leeks in it for 10 mins or until soft.

- Put 300ml chicken stock and 300ml milk in a saucepan, add a clove of garlic, 2 bay leaves and a chicken breast and bring to the boil.

- Simmer until the chicken breast is just tender, probably only 5-10 mins after the mixture has boiled, then remove the chicken.

- Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the leeks, cook for a couple mins, then add the milk/stock mixture, keeping on the simmer.

- Finely shred the chicken, add this to the sauce, add a pinch of salt and cook for a further 5 mins.

- Add 15g butter and cook for a further 5 mins, adding extra milk if it starts to look like white sauce.

- Put it in a blender, and sieve into a saucepan.

- Put back on the heat, add an egg yolk and 3 tablespoons double cream.

It sounds quite complicated for a soup, but basically it's cook, blend, sieve. The chicken gives up its flavour really well and makes it taste delicious. It's worth it just to know what a proper cream of chicken soup tastes like.

Pea Risotto

Wow! This pea risotto is worth the additional effort. I think sauteeing the peas in butter to begin with certainly adds some flavour although at some calorie cost.

- Melt 20g butter in a pan, add 150g peas and cook for 2 mins.

- Remove half the peas and cook the remainder for 5 mins in a ladleful from 1 litre of hot stock.

- Puree this mixture in a blender with 1 tablespoon of parmesan, 20g butter, and some grated pepper and nutmeg.

- Melt another 20g of butter and cook a finely chopped onion (0r 2 small shallots) in it for a few minutes.

- Add 200g arborio or canaroli rice and stir until each grain is covered in the fat.

- Add 80ml of white wine or vermouth and let it be absorbed.

- Add a ladleful of stock and stir until absorbed, then add another, and so on for 10 mins.

- Add the sauteed peas and then continue adding ladles of stock for another 8 mins, by which time the rice should be cooked, the stock all absorbed and the mixture creamy.

- Stir in the puree mixture, season, add additional parmesan to taste and sprinkle with parsley.

As you can see, its a bit of a pffaff to saute the peas and puree half of them, but believe me, its worth it.

Pork Char Sui

This is basically a marinade for chinese style pork, and boy, does it work.

- 2 tablespoons soy sauce

- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

- 2 tablespoons ginger wine or sweet sherry

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 2 tablespoons of muscovado sugar

- Mix these together and add to a pork chop or tenderloin.

- Marinade for up to 24 hours

- Cook for 15 mins at 220c then 20 mins at 160c, basting regularly.

It gives a very authentic chinese tasting pork with a lovely sticky, chewy texture.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

I did this to go with the scallops and bacon, mainly because i had some cabbage in the fridge, not because i particularly thought it would go well. Luckily, it did! This is a very quick and easy way to cook cabbage, and you get quite a lot of bang for your buck , because it tastes quite sophisticated!

- Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar with 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

- Slice 1 large cabbage (green or white) finely.

- Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large pan or wok and toss the cabbage in it for 2 mins.

- Add some soy sauce and the vinegar mixture and toss again for 1 min.

- Serve whilst still hot and crunchy.

The result is delicious even for someone like me who is not normally that keen on sweet and sour tastes.

Pea, Mint and Avocado Salad

A deliciously simple salad that i think i'm going to be using a lot more from here on in.

- Make a dressing by combining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a handful of finely chopped mint.
- Cook 150-200g of fresh peas in salted boiling water for 2-3 mins so they retain some crunch.
- Add peas to dressing and allow to marinade for 1-24 hours.
- When ready, add to a bowl of salad leaves, some chicory, and an avocado.
- Add more olive oil and chopped mint to taste.

I actually used rocket, spinach and watercress for the salad leaves. If you, like me, can't find chicory (M & S - "what's chicory?") i suggest ruby chard leaves which they do have.