Recipes By Nigella Lawson
145 recipes found
Coq au Riesling
The chicken stew here does have an authentic origin, but I have lightened it a little by dispensing with the cream that would be added luxuriously in its country of origin. And you can cheerfully use a dry or semi-dry from anywhere in the world. I have nothing against the regular coq au vin, but I might actually prefer this sprightlier version. It's certainly easier to make: in place of all those whole baby onions, which have to be peeled one by one, you can just chop your onions the usual and considerably less bothersome way. And since I always think that the breast meat of a chicken can be a bit stringy when cooked for a long time, I instead choose thigh portions. So no dismembering of a carcass is required either.
Spiced and Herbed Millet
Millet is an underused grain associated with rough-hewn, well-meaning vegetarianism: although we all think it might be good for us, we doubt it will be one of life's true pleasures. But when it is tossed in a little oil, well-seasoned and simmered in broth, it produces a toothsome graininess, not as nutty as bulgur but more interesting than couscous. Leftovers make a great grain salad the next day: think tabbouleh and add masses of freshly chopped herbs, a judicious amount of good olive oil and a spritz of lemon juice.
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
This is a warming rather than hot curry. You can taste the spices and enjoy their aromatic fullness. The ginger, chile and pepper flakes provide heat, while the coriander and cumin add a pleasurable earthiness. Meanwhile, the sweetness of the coconut milk, heightened by the soothing starchiness of the sweet potatoes, has as a counterpoint the fierce tang of tamarind. As a side dish, this recipe would be fine without the chickpeas, but as a meal, along with rice and maybe some steamed broccolini, they add heft and, if you're interested, protein.
Pork and Mushroom Stir-Fry
I have always had an aversion to the stir-fry. For me it has seemed a technique that sounds easier than it is. Everyone is always impressed that a stir-fried dish takes so little time to cook, but I saw endless chopping followed by frenzied last-minute activity at the stove that I felt unsuited for. I am a clumsy person, and there simply isn't a wok large enough for me to do a stir-fry and not end up with half the ingredients over all the burners. The recipe that won me over was this pork and mushroom dish. Marinating the pork keeps it wonderfully tender and makes the dish deeply flavorsome. And slicing mushrooms is never an effortful activity. Many Chinese cooks add a cornstarch paste at the end of cooking to create a binding sauce, but I love this one starch-free and light. You get depth but sprightliness.
Venison and Rice Stick Stir-Fry
Herbed and Butterflied Leg of Lamb
Eggplant and Chickpea Stew
Gateau Reine de Saba
Julia Child wrote that the Gateau Reine de Saba was the first French cake she ever ate. My version is a bit simpler to make than hers. I melt the chocolate with liquid, and I use all ground almonds rather than the traditional mixture of flour and almonds. I like my Reine de Saba to be slightly more like pudding and voluptuously melting. As "Reine de Saba" is French for Queen of Sheba, this seems entirely fitting. It also makes this cake eminently suitable for those who are gluten-intolerant. A little of this cake goes very far. You can easily get 12 slices out of this cake, so each person isn't consuming a huge amount of sugar. But to be defensive is to end on the wrong footing. A cake this good does you good, both body and soul.
Chocolate Cherry Mousse
This is a not-very-sweet, very grown up chocolate mousse, and it is quite easy to make. If you prefer the idea of a chocolate orange mousse, substitute Cointreau. Rum works well, too. Or you could use coffee in place of the alcohol. In any case, eating it is an example of living well.
Belgian Endive and Grain Mustard Salad
This is a fresh, tangy salad, loaded with sweet-sour flavor and given a good crunch by toasted hazelnuts. The bitter endive and peppery watercress complement each other beautifully, and it’s all tarted up with a citrusy dressing. It’s easy, and delicious.
Brown Rice and Seaweed Salad
There is nothing like a brown rice and seaweed salad for setting the scene for a more virtuous-feeling new year. Brown rice just seems righteous and pure, and I somehow believe that eating it makes me a better person. And just the word "seaweed" is promising: It may sound like the culinary equivalent of a hair shirt, but imagine this hair shirt lined with cashmere, so delicious and flavorsome is this salad. There is not the faintest whiff of penance about it.
Chocolate Guinness Cake
For me, a chocolate cake is the basic unit of celebration. The chocolate Guinness cake here is simple but deeply pleasurable, and has earned its place as a stand-alone treat.
Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies
A fundamental part of any feast is abundance that is shared, and for Nigella Lawson, who brought this recipe to The Times in 2004, one way is to make up little packages of cookies and give them as gifts. These cranberry and white chocolate cookies are a favorite. They are easy to make and a wonderful end to a meal, or an after-school indulgence. Don't overbake them.
Georgian Stuffed Chicken
This recipe was inspired by the cuisine of Georgia, on the Black Sea. The stuffing is a simple affair of rice cooked with onions, garlic and dried sour cherries. Parsley is forked through before spooning the rice into the chickens. And yes, chickens: I take the view that one bird is a meal, two is a feast.
Salmon Sandwiches
Coffee Walnut Layer Cake
This is a subtle cake: the coffee tempers the sweetness, and the buttery sweetness keeps it all mellow. Even if you don't make cakes, this one is a cinch. Don't be alarmed if the two sponge layers look thin when you unmold them. They are meant to be, because the cake gains a lot of height with its frosting. This cake is all about old-fashioned, homespun charm, so don't worry about how messy it looks: however the frosting goes on is fine. If you want to fully cover the sides of the cake, make a double batch of the frosting.
Kidney Bean, Red Onion And Tomato Salad
Duck Marinated In Red Wine And Orange
Salmon With Thyme, Lemon Butter and Almonds
Even seasoned cooks can be anxious about cooking fish, but nothing could be simpler than oiling a large piece of foil, setting the fish on it and then pressing a few scallions and some thyme into the cavity. Wrap it all into a tightly sealed parcel, put it on a baking sheet and roast it. In truth, any fish can be cooked like this, and you can play around with the herbs, depending on what is available. This is a very good-natured recipe.
Involtini
Involtini, or eggplant rollatini as it’s known to many Italian-Americans, is one of the dishes you'll find yourself making again and again in some style or other. Slice eggplant thinly, then oil and grill it. The vegetable’s oily blandness is perfectly countered by the salty, minty, raisin-and-pine-nut-studded filling. Best of all, the eggplant can be grilled and the filling can be made in advance, and then assembled about half an hour to an hour before serving. Enjoy the rolling up: It's like basket-weaving, only more useful.
Bang Bang Turkey
This fast-assembled salad, perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers, is nothing more than shredded turkey under a satay-like sauce of peanut butter, chile bean and Chinese vinegar, with some shredded lettuce and chopped cucumbers. It’s gloriously wolfable and easy as well.
Roast Pumpkin, Radicchio And Feta Salad
The sweetness of the oven-blasted pumpkin, together with the salty intensity of the feta, the bitterness of the radicchio and the sour, subtle heat of the red onion, is a model of harmonious simplicity.
Buttermilk Roast Chicken
Roast a chicken and you know you have a comfortable meal. Alter that a little by butterflying the chicken, a surprisingly simple task that can be carried out with a pair of kitchen scissors, and you have a quick dinner that carries with it the casual air of barbecue, without the bother. Here, buttermilk, which is usually associated with fried chicken, helps to tenderize the chicken and conveys the aromatics: you really get the full value of the rosemary, pepper and garlic. If you want to substitute maple syrup for the honey, you can. Best of all, you can leave the marinating bird in the fridge for up to two days; thus, it gets more tender and you know you have a dinner that needs no more than to be popped into the oven.
Cold Cure Soup
This soup started life as quite a different thing. I'd made a traditional Persian chicken, cinnamon and Seville-orange stew and realized that it was the scented broth I loved the most. So I cut to the chase. A supermarket packet of chicken wings, a stick of cinnamon, a carrot, an onion, a knob of ginger and the juice and zest of an orange left to simmer on the stove make a restorative broth that delights, soothes and helps fight off winter blues. I like it sprinkled with chopped cilantro and chilies, but you could make more of a meal of it by adding shredded chicken and noodles. (This recipe originally called for a Seville orange, but we've modified it so it can be made with a combination of orange and lime juice. If you have access to Seville oranges, all the better!)