FOOD TO CELEBRATE

 

It's out of print, as coffee table cooking books tend to be

But nevertheless, when friend Bernadette loaned me her copy, I devoured it cover to cover.

It's a most extravagant book, in the gorgeous Nigella Lawson style, replete with feasts and banquets for eight or more, but I still found lots of great hints.

People tend to avoid looking at her recipes, being convinced they are based on cream and butter, but in fact not so.  There are a plethora of sweet things, but lots of meat-  and vegetable-based meals, too.

There are parsnips roasted in vegetable oil and drizzled with maple syrup.  Can't wait to try that!

Her roast potatoes are amazing. Parboiled, they are dredged in semolina, and roasted in oil, goose fat, or duck fat until crunchy.

I was really taken with this semolina idea.  In the past, it has been the ingredient, with milk and sugar, in a nursery pudding.  Sweet, soft, and comforting.  Not just toddler food -- I was once at a very fancy restaurant, being hosted to a banquet, and the dessert was semolina pudding, topped with half a poached pear.  I was assured it was gourmet grub, and indeed it was tasty, if somewhat unexpected.

But I had never thought of semolina as a substitute for flour.  I tried it out with fish, dredging my fillets of blue warehou in semolina before stirfrying with vegetable oil, onion, and bok choy, with a dash of chili, and a pour of soy sauce. Just a slight crunch on the fish, and a sauce that was just the right consistency,  Delicious.

Nigella does attend to fish -- by recommending that each portion should be served on a base of a half avocado, rocket or mesclun, baptised with a dash of good wine vinegar and a squirt of lemon juice.  I tried it, accompanied by a few of those little crunchy roast potatoes. Superb.

Brussells sprouts, once parboiled, can be roasted with cubes of pancetta and a can of chestnuts.  She adds a generous drizzle of Marsala, something that does not normally belong in my kitchen. A idea for the future.

But I did try her cauliflower cheese, which Bernadette particularly recommended.  The cauli is broken up, parboiled, put into an ovenware dish, and covered with a truly delicious sauce.  A roux of butter and flour (I will try semolina next time), milk whisked in, and then scads of strong grated cheese stirred into the mixture once it is the right thickness.  When thick and bubbly - and smelling divine - it is poured over the cauli, and then the dish shoved into a hot oven for about twenty minutes. A scatter of more cheese on the top gives it a nice appearance.

It was amazing.  If vegetarian friends are visiting, it would serve as the center of a wonderful dish, particularly if accompanied by those crunchy potatoes, and perhaps peas. 

Or even rocket and avocado.

An inspiring cook book.  Highly recommended.