I spend the weekend at home, being fed like a November turkey with all the luxe foods I rarely eat at university. There is crab, lobster and English breakfasts. A detour to see The Boy, with little time or inclination to cook, sees me making a sort of jumbalaya, pinched from this month's delicious. magazine. Comprising spicy chorizo, big juicy prawns, lime and spring onions, it is both comforting and lively, and oh-so-easy to put together.
Monday evening was spent with a fellow foodie student - a Jamie salmon dish and then some French cheeses, washed down with Tanqueray and a few (too many) glasses of wine. Perfect. Then a large lunch in the not-to-shabby campus 'cantine' leaves me too full to cook, though a delivery of the basics does arrive.
I absolutely adore Nigel Slater - he quietly rebukes the 'celeb chef' label, thus making him and his recipes by far the most approachable. I have devoured all of his books with as much gusto as many of his recipes, and his feel for writing matches perfectly his absolute sensitivity and appreciation for seasonal food cooked beautifully. In short, every single one of his recipes is a dish that I would love to cook and love to eat - something I have never come across before. What's more, unlike the Gordons and Ricks of this world, there is nothing of his that I could not afford to cook. Promise.
Tonight I cooked a dish inspired by one of his, from The Kitchen Diaries, a truly fabulous, read-it-as-a-novel sort of book. Hearty, healthy and a cinch to cook, it has left me feeling comforted and homely; even inspiring me to do a bit of pre-spring cleaning - unusual for me. I roasted a few good-quality, full-flavoured sausages whilst cooking some puy lentils on the hob. Meanwhile, I chopped a bit of garlic, halved some little plum tomatoes and grabbed a handful of baby spinach. After draining the lentils (and believe me, this is a far cry from any student-lentil associations anyone may have), I used the fat from the sausages to gently fry the garlic, and at the very end added the tomatoes and spinach. Just before it wilted, I tipped the whole lot onto a plate, plonked the sausages on top and scurried into my room to greedily devour the lot away from sight. Comfort food at its delicious and and inexpensive best.
Monday evening was spent with a fellow foodie student - a Jamie salmon dish and then some French cheeses, washed down with Tanqueray and a few (too many) glasses of wine. Perfect. Then a large lunch in the not-to-shabby campus 'cantine' leaves me too full to cook, though a delivery of the basics does arrive.
I absolutely adore Nigel Slater - he quietly rebukes the 'celeb chef' label, thus making him and his recipes by far the most approachable. I have devoured all of his books with as much gusto as many of his recipes, and his feel for writing matches perfectly his absolute sensitivity and appreciation for seasonal food cooked beautifully. In short, every single one of his recipes is a dish that I would love to cook and love to eat - something I have never come across before. What's more, unlike the Gordons and Ricks of this world, there is nothing of his that I could not afford to cook. Promise.
Tonight I cooked a dish inspired by one of his, from The Kitchen Diaries, a truly fabulous, read-it-as-a-novel sort of book. Hearty, healthy and a cinch to cook, it has left me feeling comforted and homely; even inspiring me to do a bit of pre-spring cleaning - unusual for me. I roasted a few good-quality, full-flavoured sausages whilst cooking some puy lentils on the hob. Meanwhile, I chopped a bit of garlic, halved some little plum tomatoes and grabbed a handful of baby spinach. After draining the lentils (and believe me, this is a far cry from any student-lentil associations anyone may have), I used the fat from the sausages to gently fry the garlic, and at the very end added the tomatoes and spinach. Just before it wilted, I tipped the whole lot onto a plate, plonked the sausages on top and scurried into my room to greedily devour the lot away from sight. Comfort food at its delicious and and inexpensive best.
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