The 20 best Nigella Lawson recipes: part 3 | Nigella Lawson (2024)

This must be the fastest way there is to create a culinary sensation. You do scarcely a thing – just dibble some salmon steaks in a dark glossy potion, most of which you get out of a jar – and what you make tastes as if you had been dedicating half your life to achieving the perfect combination of sweet, savoury, tender and crisp.

If there are only two of you eating, I would be inclined to stick to the quantities given here, letting a couple of pieces or whatever you don’t eat get cold, as it makes a fantastic salad the next day.

Serves 4
mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine) 60ml
light brown sugar 50g
soy sauce 60ml
salmon 4 x 125g pieces, cut from the thick part of the fillet so that they are narrow but tall rather than wide and flat
rice vinegar 2 x 15ml tbsp
spring onions 1–2, halved and shredded into fine strips

Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will take all 4 pieces of salmon, and marinate the salmon in it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan on the hob.

Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn the salmon over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pour the dark, sweet, salty glaze over the salmon and top with the spring onion strips. Serve with rice or noodles as you wish, and consider putting some sushi ginger on the table, too.
From Nigella Express (Chatto & Windus, £20). To order a copy for £17, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99

Roast rib of beef with port and stilton gravy

Serves 8 (with leftovers), 14 (without)
Scotch or black Welsh beef forerib 3.8kg (a 4-rib joint)
onions 2, peeled and cut into 1cm rounds
garlic oil 2 x 15ml tbsp
Maldon salt 1½ tsp or ¾ tsp table salt
dried thyme 1 tsp
cayenne pepper ½ tsp

For the port and stilton gravy
fatty juices from the roast beef tin 2 x 15ml tbsp
plain flour 1 x 15ml tbsp
ruby port 125ml, plus 1 x 15ml tbsp
cooked onions from the roast beef tin (optional)
organic beef stock 500ml, “fresh” from a shop-bought tub
blue cheese 125g
redcurrant jelly 1 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
extra juices from the roast beef tin and carving board

Put the onion slices into a roasting tin and sit the rib of beef on top of them. Use the onion slices as props to help the rib sit up on its bones in an “L” shape.

Smear the oil over the white fat of the rib, and sprinkle with the salt, thyme and cayenne pepper.

When the beef comes out of the oven, remove to a carving board and allow to rest in a warm part of the kitchen under a tent of foil for 30 minutes before carving; or just leave, tented in its tin, for the same time.

Do not start clearing up the tin, even if you have taken out the beef, however, as you will need some of the pan juices and onions for the gravy.

For the gravy, make a roux by adding the 2 tablespoons of fatty juices from the beef tin to a saucepan, whisk in the flour, and then the 125ml of port, and keep heating and whisking over a fairly gentle heat, until thick and bubbling.

Take the saucepan off the heat, and gradually whisk in the beef stock. When all the stock’s added, put the pan back on the heat and cook, whisking to make sure any lumps are banished, over a medium heat for 2 minutes.

Crumble in the stilton, then drop in the redcurrant jelly and turn up the heat to let the gravy bubble for 5 minutes.

Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed, then the remaining tablespoon of port, along with any bloody juices – what we called red gravy when I was a child – from the carved beef. Pour into a warmed gravy boat.
From Nigella Christmas (Chatto & Windus, £20). To order a copy for £17, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99

Devilled roes on toast

Herring roes are cheap and plentiful, and, out of season, you can buy frozen roes. Although they come in 1-kilo blocks, any good fishmonger will cut off the amount you need, and you don’t need much. This is essentially an after-dinner savoury, which I like best eaten on its own. If you know what I’m talking about, you won’t need further encouragement. If you don’t, then please give it a go: this is such a lovely little supper for two.

Serves 2, modestly
cornflour 1 x 15ml tbsp
cayenne pepper ½ tsp
ground mace ½ tsp
soft herring roes 200g
unsalted butter 1 x 15ml tbsp (15g), plus more for the toast
regular olive oil a drop
good bread 2 fat slices (I like white sourdough)
lemon juice of ½
smoked sea salt flakes or regular sea salt flakes to sprinkle over
fresh chives (or other herb of your choice) 1 tsp, finely chopped, to sprinkle over

In a small cast-iron pan (I use one of 20cm diameter) or heavy-based, non-stick frying pan, melt the tablespoonful of butter and drop of oil, and when bubbling, add the herring roes and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning them gently a few times, so that they’re cooked through and bronzed in parts, but still keeping their shape.

Meanwhile, put the bread in the toaster, and butter (generously for me) when ready.

When the roes are cooked, spritz in the lemon juice, pushing the roes gently in the pan with a wooden spatula or whatever utensil you favour, then top the waiting pieces of buttered toast with the contents of the pan. Sprinkle with smoked sea salt flakes, should you be lucky enough to have some, or use regular sea salt flakes, and then scatter with the chopped chives. When I was a child, we ate this with a knife and fork, but now I like to cut the roe-topped toast in half and eat by hand.
From Simply Nigella (Chatto & Windus, £26). To order a copy for £20, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99

Pasta risotto with peas and pancetta

Serves 2 hungry grown-ups, or 4 small children
garlic oil 2 x 15ml tbsp
pancetta cubes 150g
frozen petit* pois 150g
orzo pasta 250g
boiling water 625ml
salt to taste
soft unsalted butter 1 x 15ml tbsp (15g)
grated parmesan 2 x 15ml tbsp
pepper to taste

Warm the oil in a heavy-based pan that will take everything later; a casserole or saucepan of 22cm diameter should be plenty big enough.

Cook the pancetta, stirring, until it becomes crisp and bronzed, then add the peas and stir for a minute or so until the frozen look leaves them.

Add the pasta and turn it about in the pancetta and peas then pour in the boiling water; I use cup measures – 2½ cups – for ease. Add salt (cautiously, especially if this is for children – the pancetta is salty, as is the parmesan later); then turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, though check on it a couple of times and give a stir or two, to stop it from sticking and to see if you need to add a little more water from the kettle.

When it’s ready, the pasta should be soft and starchy and the water absorbed. Beat the butter and parmesan into the pan, check the seasoning and serve immediately into warm waiting bowls.
From Nigellissima (Chatto & Windus, £20). To order a copy for £17, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99