Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many

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Featuring beloved Scots recipes from his childhood, along with timeless tips and anecdotes, Cooking will be a charmingly unusual classic food book. Lee soothes the present by bringing the past almost within touching distance and there is something about this that is strangely exciting. The Greek word ‘nistisima’ is used to describe foods that adhere to the Orthodox church’s fasting rules and are made without meat or dairy (people following the Orthodox faith may abstain from meat or dairy for up 210 days each year).

There are also useful sections about equipment, pantry or cupboard staples, supplier list and types of leaves and herbs.I somehow always worked in kitchens where we were encouraged to read cookbooks and we read them like thrillers. For the last 10 years, however, Quo Vadis has been under the careful stewardship of the Scottish chef Jeremy Lee. Recipes range from the intriguing (Stichelton ice cream with candied apple) to the straightforwardly pleasing (Lincolnshire poacher soufflé, which rose to the occasion when tested). There is no doubt that Cooking continues this tradition and captures a way of cooking, eating and living that many will hope to hold onto.

For those of us who prefer to put energy into the starter and main courses, this is precisely the sort of dessert to have up one’s sleeve. Having worked as a restaurant chef for so long, having the opportunity — no, the necessity — to cook at home gave me the spine I needed for the book. Instead, Higham encourages readers – especially those who are intimidated by baking and desserts – to approach desserts in the same way they would savoury dishes.

Lee made his bones under Simon Hopkinson and Alastair Little, among the architects of the renaissance in modern British cooking. I think it’s worth noting that it is a long time since I bought almonds already ground, preferring by far the resulting coarse crumb from grinding whole almonds myself. This feels a great basis to start understanding ingredients, how best to use them and what goes together rather than just blindly following recipes.

At the time of writing, three titles from Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson, the duo behind publishing sensations Pinch of Nom, were in Nielsen’s top 20, with Pinch of Nom Comfort Food being the top seller. Wash the salsify thoroughly, then peel and place in a bowl of cold water with a couple of slices of lemon. Jeremy Lee’s impressive and enjoyable debut book COOKING: SIMPLY AND WELL, FOR ONE OR MANY persuades me that this renowned and talented chef at Quo Vadis in London’s Soho also chose the right parents for his career in the kitchen. I usually cook it like spinach and was surprised to find that Lee had done so too until being put right by an Italian friend who told him that ‘chard is best when cooked to look good and ancient’.It is as much indebted to Lee’s Dundee childhood as his years at the stove in smart Sassenach restaurants. Steaming beetroot results in a delicately cooked vegetable, while roasting beetroot in foil or a diable results in a rich intensity. To make the pastry, put the cold butter, the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt into the bowl of a food processor and render to a fine crumb.