Oh you protest too much, Nigella! lol she actually took the bus this week … heaven forfend! And, taking that many random children on a picnic where 2 items are packed with nuts? Sorry, but this series is kinda getting quite hilarious, lol. Loved the munching of the honeycomb hokey pokey in the taxi (yes, taxi, I mean you can’t take a bus all the time, can you?) though lol (and how much fun does that stuff look to make? lol).

Well, anyway I finally caved last night and bought the overpriced book which must surely prove not only that I really do like Nigella no matter what it might sound like here but also surely permits me to share the recipes with the handful of people who find this page lol.

“on the run”

buttermilk+pecan coleslaw
4 spring onions
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 sticks of celery
head of cabbage
200g mayo + 4T buttermilk
2T maple syrup
2tsp cider vinegar
salt, pepper
whisk, pour, mix well
100g pecans roughly chopped
toss

pea and pesto soup
3/4ltr boiling water
1/2tsp salt
375g peas
squirt, 1/2tsp lime juice
2 spring onions, whole, immersed (remove at the end)
heat till the peas are tender
pesto, 4T
blend

rapid fire homemade honeycomb hokey-pokey
100g caster sugar
4T golden syrup
stir (before heat)
heat
heat off
1 1/2 tsp bicarb
whisk
pour
set
break

(as to last week’s recipes, btw, just in case anyone was wondering … part laziness, but also part I decided they were all fairly self-explanatory and didn’t need any notes from me – I mean, I’d be pretty scared by the person who can’t at least approximate Eton Mess in the kitchen, lol)

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17th September:

I almost felt like not putting my notes here this week, Nigella’s message seems to be more and more, laziest way possible! So just go out and buy her book which going by tonight’s episode will just have a list of shops to go to where they have all the dishes pre-prepared to take home and dish up, lol (“It would take me hours, even days, to make this octopus salad; and I just wouldn’t do it!”) Ah, I still love her, don’t worry, but she better not get any more like Eddie from AbFab, lol. I guess I should shut up, it is actually nice to have a show that aims at a higher class of people at 8:30 on a Monday night, even if it’s obviously a class above my own lol.

Linguine with mushrooms garlic and thyme
Put the pasta on while preparing the sauce
100-125g chestnut mushrooms
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (she made a point about using the good stuff for once as you want the flavour)
mince or grate a clove of garlic
small lemon – zest and juice
teaspoon course salt (or half teasp table salt), pepper
thyme
keep some water from the pasta when you drain it (the starch helps the sauce emulsify later)
spaghetti to sauce, toss, and add the pasta water you saved
parmasan
parsley
toss
serve

Amaretto syllabub – now this sounds even better than last week’s mousse, and looks even easier to prepare!
80ml amaretto
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Gently whisk to soft peaks, gradually adding 284ml double cream
Crumble some ameretti biscuits into glass, pile on the cream, top with some more crumbled biscuits
refridgerate

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10th September:

“I can’t imagine how you do all this after work.”
“Well I find greed to be a great motivator.”

I was really helped out last week by this blogger making notes on Nigella’s new show, “Nigella Express”. Presumably since there’s a book out to accompany the series, the BBC have for once decided not to publish all the recipes on the show’s site – you only get a handful. These are the ones missing this week:

Flash fried steak and white bean mash
Okay, this one’s slightly self-explanatory, but I made notes so I’ll share them:
A 1/2cm sirloin steak – a “2-minute steak” – in olive oil
Into some garlic-infused oil (or olive oil with garlic minced in) grate some lemon zest – drain some cannellini beans and drop them in
Let the steak rest
Into its juices, squeeze the lemon’s juice – pour onto the steak
Push the beans into the warm oil till they disintegrate into a “messy, textured mash”.
“Warning: Instantly addictive.”
Garnish with mustard, oil, herbs (didn’t catch which one: I’m sure it’s not important).

Curry in a hurry
Wok oil – vegetable oil with sesame oil and ginger and garlic added
Spring onions instead of onions – snip them into the oil
Green curry paste – couple of dollops
Chicken thighs, not breast – 1kg
5 mins
Coconut milk – tin
Stock – concentrate, cube, whatever
Fish sauce – about a tablespoon
Take a walk around your frozen garden – soya beans, peas, (200g each), coriander chopped, green beans (handful – last, keep the crunch)
A bit more coriander at the last minute
Garnish with lime juice, serve with rice.

Instant chocolate mousse
Mini marshmallows 150g
50g unsalted butter
Chocolate buttons/chips 250g dark
4 tablespoons boiling water (recently boiled kettle)
Melt.
Leave to cool.
Beat 284ml of cream with a teaspoon of vanilla extract till it forms firm peaks
Combine, fold it all together.
Grate white chocolate over.

Of these I think personally I’ll be going with the mousse I’ll probably try the chorizo and scallop thing too – I’ve never had scallops but always intended to try them, and I love chorizo sausage.

Hope this is useful to someone … I’ll try to do the same next week unless somebody tells me I’m not allowed to lol.

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