How to Cheat at Cooking by Delia Smith

  • Cracked potatoes with melting cheese and spring onions

    from Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking by Delia Smith

    • Categories: Quick / easy; Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: spring onions; packaged grated Gruyère cheese; packaged grated Parmesan cheese; frozen roast potatoes
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Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Burgundian braised pork with borlotti beans

    • redjanet on December 27, 2012

      I'm not really sure why Delia classifies this as a cheat's recipe. Not that it was difficult, in fact quite the opposite, but unlike a lot of other recipes in this book it didn't use a lot of pre-packaged ingredients (unless you count tinned tomatoes). It was a simple enough stew to throw together and then leave for a couple of hours while I got on with other things, so perfect for a Sunday. Overall, the results were okay, if a bit bland, so I was kind of disappointed. This didn't taste bad and was perfectly edible, but when I have something bubbling away in the oven for a couple of hours I generally expect something a bit tastier when it's ready.

  • Bangers with caramelised red onions and mustard mash

    • redjanet on December 27, 2012

      This is one of my OH's favourite dishes which I regularly make. It's a very easy way to make flavourful sausages by frying them in a pan and adding red wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, seasoning and caramelised onions from a jar and it comes out well every time no matter what type of sausage I have used. Delia gives instructions on how to make mash using frozen mashed potato, but I just make my own.

  • My mum's macaroni cheese

    • redjanet on December 27, 2012

      Aside from the ready-made cheese sauce this dish incorporates, I'm not really sure how much of a, "cheat's," recipe this really is considering I had three saucepans on the go on the hob as well as getting the grill ready for the final finish. That said, this was not a difficult recipe to make, and though the ready-made ingredients made it a bit more expensive than normal, it was really very tasty. Unlike Nigella's "Express" mac and cheese that I recently tried, the cheese in this recipe didn't coagulate and was still smooth and consistent throughout. I didn't add cherry tomatoes as suggested as I'm not really a fan of roast tomatoes and felt the dish had enough flavour anyway with the added bacon, onion and mushrooms.

  • Caribbean chicken with salsa

    • redjanet on December 27, 2012

      This was a bit different for my OH and me, but as it was pretty straightforward I thought I'd give it a go. The marinade on the chicken worked quite well and tasted better than I thought it would once it was cooked, as I was worried it might be a bit too sour with all the ginger and lime juice. The mango salsa was very nice, though maybe slightly too oniony. I left out the coriander as I don't really like it, and it wasn't missed. I stirred in the leftover black beans (unheated) with the basmati rice I made on the side as suggested and overall it was a colourful, flavourful dish which was very filling.

  • Sesame scallops with rice noodles

    • cook_fresco on December 01, 2021

      Really nice. Next time I wouldn’t toast the sesame seeds and only 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil. Used Amoy straight to wok medium rice noodles which worked well. Could sub prawns or squid for the scallops.

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  • ISBN 10 085223015X
  • ISBN 13 9780852230152
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 176
  • Language English
  • Edition 1st
  • Publisher Ebury

Publishers Text

In How to Cheat at Cooking, Delia has sourced a range of pre-prepared foods (from tins, chill cabinets, freezers and store cupboards) to help you short circuit cooking times and techniques. Readily available from supermarkets, delis, online food shops and farmers markets and of the very best quality these recipes using instant time savers will allow you to create fabulous food without the faff. How to Cheat is for people who don't want to cook, who think they can't cook, or simply don't have the time to cook. As Delia herself says, 'Cheating's come on a lot and there's much more available. The way it's going I can't think of anybody who wouldn't want it.'

This is Delia's first book in four years and it's been created with her characteristic attention to detail. Delia is Britain's most trusted food writer and her formidable track record of over 19 million book sold speaks for itself. Comprising over 150 easy-to-follow recipes and with a refreshing contemporary design, the book is a guaranteed bestseller, not least because 2008 will mark Delia's return to our screens with a six-part primetime BBC television series.

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