Oh how I love Nigel Slater's books. Ripe, Tender, and Notes From The Larder are go to books when I am stumped about what to make for dinner. As a new cook I would not have liked his recipes, they are light on instructions and assume that the reader is comfortable in the kitchen. For instance, when I was first learning to cook, an instrutction that read, "brown on all sides" would have been a step that left me wondering the hell that meant. But once you have your feet solidly under you in the kitchen, Mr. slater's dishes provide you with concrete ideas, and tons of inspiration.
Having Mr. Slater's books in the kitchen is like having a best friend that cooks like a bad-ass and loves having you try new things. His newest book, Eat - the little book of fast food, is just the thing when a meal needs to be prepared, and time is short. If you picked up a few things at the market over the weekend, farmers or otherwise, you will find ideas to combine them with pantry staples to create a quick, delicious, fresh meal.
The format is a little different than most cookbooks. Each recipe starts with a small photo of the finished dish and a general ingredients list, no quantities. The quantities are provided in the instructions, and the instructions are brief. Many recipes include ideas for changing up ingredients and flavors. Each recipe ends with a note about how many it is intended to serve (usually 2 or 4), and a few choice words describing the dish.
The first thing you encounter in the book is a "quick guide by main ingredient". Here you will be able to easily find a recipe using whatever you happen to have in your kitchen. From there the book is broken up by preparation and serving methods: In the hand, In a bowl, In the frying pan, On the grill, On the stove, Little stews, In the oven, Under a crust, In a wok, On a plate, and Desserts.
As always, the photography is beautiful, and the writing is a treat to read. I have no doubt that a great deal of care and affection goes into each of his books, it makes the experience of reading and cooking feel shared. I can feel him looking over my shoulder into the pot and cheering me on.
Below is a good example of how the recipes are set up, and what to expect from the instructions.
Sausage Lasagne
sausages, dried lasagne, cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, Dijon mustard, heavy cream, Parmesan
Split open 1 1/2 pounds (750g) plump, tasty, fresh sausages, peel off their casing, and put sausage meat into a bowl. Rub a little olive oil on the bottom of a small baking dish. Add sheets of dried, oven-ready lasagne, broken into pieces to make them fir roughly into the dish. Coarsely chop 12 ounces (350g) cherry tomatoes and distribute half of them over the lasagne. Cover with half of the sausage meat and then another layer of lasagne. Add the remaining half of the tomatoes, then another layer of lasagne and the last of the sausage meat. Slice 2 large tomatoes and put them on top.
Stir a tablespoon of Dijon mustard into 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream, season lightly, then pour over the top. Cover with grated Parmesean. Bake in an oven set at 400F (200C) for 45 minutes.
For 4. Rich, luscious, and filling. A dish to keep out the cold.
The facing page includes instructions to change up the recipe using leftover chicken and some onions. A book full of recipes to get dinner on the table quickly and without too much fuss. For those times when you just want to eat.
**This book was provided to me by the publisher. No money changed hands and my opinions are my own.**
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