Notes about Recipes in this book

• Creamy roast chicken risotto

  • Jane on September 22, 2010

    If you like your risotto creamy and luscious this is the one for one - it is my go-to recipe whenever I have some leftover roast chicken.

  • scarlettchef on February 09, 2013

    Simple, luscious and truly delicious. And Nigel is right the chopped parsley does enhance the whole dish. It's now a circular dish, in that I use leftover roast chicken for the risotto and then use the carcass to make stock and freeze it ready for the next risotto. Genius!

• Grilled (or fried) chicken with chilli, lemon and mint

  • Jane on September 13, 2014

    Quick and easy marinade - just chuck chillies, mint, lemon juice, saffron, garlic in the blender then pour over chicken strips. I made double what I needed so the first night the marinade had been 30 mins but the second night it was 24 hours. Didn't detect a huge difference in flavoring between the two, probably because the strips are quite slim so a 30 min marinade works well . Lovely combination of flavors - also looks pretty with flecks of green, red and orange.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    11.14 Tasty - just don't dry out chicken.

• Pork with mushrooms and garlic

  • Fiona on September 24, 2014

    This was meant to be a quick evening meal that - took 90 mins to prepare! I must have been distracted as looking back at the recipe there's nothing complex or too time consuming - probably the evening news! Anyway, despite the hungry family having to wait, the general consensus was it was worth it. It was a wonderful way to do a pork fillet and great combination of flavours. Despite the pork cooking for longer than I would normally have done for a stir fry, it was beautifully tender. I did do the potato cakes as an accompaniment - I wouldn't have thought of combining Asian flavours with these, but worked really well. As it also did for my son's lunch the next day with rice.

  • fancett on May 21, 2016

    Don't think it is just you Fiona - our copy of this book has a note from my husband (aka chief cook) "Lots of preparation for this dish - allow plenty of time to prepare" and "Pleasant BUT!!"

• Pasta with four cheeses

  • rodillagra on January 11, 2010

    This was lovely eaten the minute it was cooked but it really doesn't reheat at all well.

• The perfect baked potato

  • rodillagra on January 13, 2010

    karate chop does work!

• Potato and smoked mackerel Dauphinoise

  • wester on January 01, 2010

    Creamy and very tasty fish pie variation. Easy to make.

  • laurafaire on June 14, 2010

    simple and fantastic - pure Nigel Slater

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 15, 2017

    Loved this years ago. Easy to make. Comfort food at its finest. Nigel Slater is brilliant.

  • JessicaRFisher on October 05, 2016

    This is one of my favourite 'go to' recipes. So comforting and a real treat!

  • Elbea on February 04, 2021

    Ridiculously easy and so, so tasty. I tend to up the amount of mackerel, use fewer potatoes and add plenty of wilted chopped spinach in to the mustard cream.

• Grilled lemongrass chicken

  • wester on March 09, 2011

    Nice & spicy. Wrapping the chicken in lettuce is a nice touch.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    Marinaded for 3 hours+ Flavours gorgeous - delish!

• Chicken with vermouth, tarragon and cream

  • wester on May 03, 2018

    A bit too sweet for me. Add some mustard? The same recipe also appears in The Kitchen Diaries.

  • RosieB on April 19, 2015

    This is an easy delicious week night meal but classy enogh for a dinner party. I have made this many times.

• Chicken braised with chicory and crème fraîche

  • wester on January 01, 2010

    Lovely home cooking. The chicken is brown and moist, the chicory is tender and the sauce is creamy but full of flavors. It does take some time but it's not really complicated. Things I've changed: I put in a bit more chicory and increased the sugar proportionally. I have taken the lid off after about half an hour to brown it a bit more.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    1.13 Used a thick lettuce - delish - def repeat - nice change - use mash next time.

• A really good, simple chicken supper

  • wester on January 01, 2010

    Chicken, wine, garlic and parsley. How can that go wrong? It doesn't, it's delicious. The chicken could use a slightly longer cooking time, though.

  • veronicafrance on July 14, 2013

    This is a default option for chicken pieces in our house. We always have the other ingredients to hand, and it is so easy to do, requiring no attention once you've put it in the oven.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    11.14 Tasty but I burnt mine too much - a bit charcoaly.

• Cauliflower cheese and mustard soup

  • wester on August 15, 2010

    This is a lovely soup with a good balance of creamy, acidic and pungent. That is, if you make sure you don't put too much water in. Nigel strangely enough never tells you how much to put in, and if you really add all the cooking water of the cauliflower it can easily end up quite watery, which would be a shame.

  • Emily Hope on July 30, 2011

    A really delicious soup--and very much like cauliflower cheese in a bowl! A bit rich. Great for a winter night (or a summer night in San Francisco, as the case may be...)

• Baked chicory with Parmesan

  • wester on September 03, 2010

    It didn't look like the photo at all, but it tasted fine, not too bitter but still like chicory, with crunchy cheese crumbs and a hint of garlic. I didn't mind that the children wouldn't eat it (well, it's still chicory) so I could eat it all on my own. However, I think next time I would put a lot more garlic in, as it roasts to a very mild flavor. Two cloves to each head of chicory doesn't feel like too much.

• Toad

  • EatPictures on January 06, 2012

    Very filling. Utterly delicious. Good for cold winter Sundays.

  • Jesmondgirl on April 04, 2020

    Could not get Italian sausages so used Gloucester old spot pork and leek. Really liked the addition of prosciutto .

• Browned onion and Madeira gravy

  • EatPictures on January 06, 2012

    Worth softening the onions really slowly - as the recipe says. If you cook this with patience it delivers a fabulously rich savoury gravy.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    10.12 Yum & easy - just need patience cooking the onions.

  • embk27 on June 01, 2017

    My favourite gravy - onions are amazing if you give them a lot of time. I make this with chicken stock and Madeira for a Christmas Day gravy.

  • Jesmondgirl on April 04, 2020

    Really rich and delicious! Used with toad in the hole

• Baked plaice with Parmesan crumbs

  • redjanet on December 27, 2012

    This was very quick and easy to prepare, and the combination of the parmesan and butter with the breadcrumbs on top of the plaice, which has a very distinctive taste, was very nice. I prefer baking breaded fish in the oven to frying as it tends to fall apart less. However, my plaice fillets were probably a bit thinner than Nigel would have suggested (the fault of my grocery delivery, not his), and the fish came out a bit mushy and fell apart quite easily when dishing up, despite my reducing the cooking time. Still, it did taste good still and went well with the baked potato wedges I did at the same time, as well as with a green salad.

• Chocolate espresso cake

  • jammydodger on June 22, 2014

    Made this yesterday. It's good,but a bit of a faff; I'm not sure it's good enough to justify the amount of folding you have to do. Reading the description, however, I may have overcooked it slightly, as it's meant to be fudgy in the centre. Note: my copy of the recipe calls for espresso itself, not beans -- I used espresso from our pod machine, but instant espresso would probably do as well. I probably won't make it again, to be honest. It's not particularly difficult, but it is a bit of faff for a chocolate cake which doesn't quite blow me away.

• Alastair Little's chicken with forty cloves of garlic

  • veronicafrance on May 31, 2014

    A good version of this classic dish, using fresh spring garlic.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    4.14 Scrummy - for when garlic is plenty.

• Coq au riesling

  • veronicafrance on July 14, 2013

    Classic Nigel: excellent, and quick and easy to do. Note, you don't need a whole chicken -- a pack of chicken thighs is perfect since it requires chicken pieces. Also, you don't need Riesling -- just use a not too dry white wine.

  • hirsheys on December 26, 2019

    Meh. Nothing special – the bacon overpowers the white wine. No need to cook again. (This was a miserable cook for me – had to double it for Christmas and it was a disaster, though it still came out tasty enough. Not good enough for a repeat, though. )

• Pasta with spicy sausage, basil and mustard

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 15, 2017

    This used to be another go to recipe when we lived in the UK. So easy and enjoyed by many people that I have made this for. May have to reintroduce it back... Not sure whether a gluten free and dairy version would be as nice though.

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    7.14 Tastier than it looks. 7.15 Quick and easy.

• Camembert baked in the box

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 15, 2017

    Just deliciously moreish! Flash backs to trips to France to bring back boxes of Camembert to ripen. Do try this.. great with hunks of French bread on a cold day.

• Goat's cheese tarts

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 15, 2017

    Favourites to make for a dinner party. Easy to prepare ahead and pop in the oven as your guests arrived. People have always loved them. I pop in rosemary if thyme is hard to get hold of.

• Gruyère and tarragon soufflé

  • SACarlson on December 26, 2020

    This was denser than most soufflés that I have made. The flavours were lovely (the mustard and tarragon are a good addition), but I think I'll take those ideas and use them in a better recipe for the soufflé base.

• Roast chicken with basil and lemon

  • valtaylor on April 30, 2014

    April 29, 2014. Love this recipe, adapted it so that I could cook on the camping stove. Used chicken breasts as that is what I had, added whole cloves of garlic to the olive oil and lemon juice in the pan and cooked slowly (forgot about the wine). Served with couscous. lovely.

• Roast new potato salad

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    2.15 Tasty - sherry vinegar gives it a distinct yummy flavour.

• Crushed potatoes with roast tomatoes and balsamic vinegar

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    3.15 6 x med/small (500g) Tasty - H didn't like

• Parsley and mustard mash

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    4.13 Scrummy - kids even liked. Serv

• Peter Gordon's sweet potato, rosemary and garlic mash

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    11.14 Scrummy - I cut butter back to 135g but could possibly cut back further.

• Peter Gordon's chicken, buckwheat noodle, garlic and coriander laksa

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    5.14 V mild - not v pretty but tasty.

• Nigella Lawson's chorizo with potatoes

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    1.14 Comfort food for me - H not so keen.

• Seasoned olives

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    5.13 Liquid didn't fill jar - prefer Annabel's recipe that bakes olives.

• Parmesan garlic bread

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    11.14 More than enough for 2 baguettes. H & boys loved.

• Chicken with roast onion and thyme gravy

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    5.13 Yummy - gravy good I/s of normal gravy.

• Thai spiced chicken wings

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    6.15 Yum-tasty. Sauce not pretty but delicious

• Potato cakes

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    9.13 Fry on low to cook through - H liked - quite buttery & oily - easier than rosti.

• Pork with cashews, lime and mint

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    5.14 Strong flavours but tasty - needs plain rice.

• Chicken satay sandwich

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    5.13 Great & quite easy satay recipe. Would be an awesome nibble on sliders.

• Leek and taleggio risotto

  • ithyt on September 24, 2015

    8.15 Kids loved - 2 leeks

• Garlic scallops

  • Botanybird on November 03, 2015

    Best way to do scallops ever.

• Chocolate apple betty

  • raybun on February 27, 2017

    I make this at least 3/4 times during the autumn and winter. You can adapt the fruit, I often combine pears and apples and I reduce the butter and sugar by half and it's absolutely delicious. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I forgot to put the timer on so it cooked for an extra 10 minutes.