This is what I make for my children’s birthday celebrations, for farewell suppers to send them off before they go away, and for the dinners to welcome them back when they come home again. It’s our family take on a traditional lasagne, though I’m not sure Italians would exactly welcome my deviations from the classical recipe. For one thing, I don’t make my own lasagne sheets; while I have in the past, I now routinely use dried ones out of a packet and, what’s more, I don’t boil them first. In order, then, to ensure they soften properly, I make a slightly more liquid meat sauce than is customary and, rather than have a covering of béchamel at the end, I finish with a layer of meat sauce, topped with chopped mozzarella on top. None of this is proper from a North Italian perspective, but the lasagne it yields is pleasure-giving and gratifyingly popular. I can’t say that this is exactly faff-free to make: but it is time-consuming rather than difficult. I adore pottering about the kitchen making it. What’s more, you can layer it up (bar the mozzarella topping) in advance (see notes) and bake when needed. And I make this even if there isn’t a whole tableful of people to eat it; I freeze leftovers in individual portions, to make for most superior ready-meals at a later date. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
A useful, no-hassle, chuck-everything-in-together dish, you don’t even need to brown the chicken (though make sure you sprinkle the skin with sea salt flakes, to help it crisp up). Find a dish that has about the right dimensions, to ensure that it works well. Don’t be afraid of assertive seasoning – rice dishes such as this need it – and don’t skip the step where you wash the rice, or it will end up sticky. A bowl of Greek yogurt is good on the side.
This recipe for Nigella Mushroom Pate is tasty, It is made with button mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and creamy ingredients like butter and cream cheese. It takes 2 hours to make and makes a delicious spread for 6 people.
Nigella Semolina Pudding is a tasty treat that only needs a few simple ingredients, like milk, semolina, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon. It takes 20 minutes to put together and can feed 4 people.
What's a party without a sausage roll? Especially when it comes to feeding the family at Christmas. Everyone loves these, warm from the oven and smelling of good times... Here I've customized a traditional sausage roll recipe with a festive twist. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Kebab shop ‘chips with mayo’ are the inspiration for this dish, although this version is a little more involved. There’s a generous sauce-to-potato ratio here, which is kind of naughty, but also what you really, truly want.
Nigella Spaghetti Bolognese is made with ground beef, bacon, onions, celery, garlic, tomatoes, beef broth, red wine, and spices. The recipe takes 60 minutes to cook and serves 4 people.
Nigella Vegetable Tagine recipe is made with wholesome ingredients like butternut pumpkin, eggplant, cauliflower, and chickpeas this recipe takes 90 minutes to cook and serves 6 people.
My absolute obsession is spicy noodles and if you've been on social media lately you'll see the noodles that have taken the world by storm! Biang Biang noodles are thick noodles that could double as a belt. It is said that one biang biang noodle can fill an entire rice bowl (and it's true!). Learn how to make these surprisingly easy noodles - I promise, you'll be as stunned as I was as to how fun and tasty they are!
This Nigella Lasagne of Love recipe is made with onions, olive oil, milk, tomato puree, carrots, celery, garlic, pancetta, parsley, thyme, chilli flakes, minced beef, minced pork, red wine, beef stock, chopped tomatoes, sea salt flakes, bay leaves, milk, butter, flour, mozzarella, and Parmesan. It takes about 3 hours to prepare and serves 6 people.
You can’t beat a pavlova recipe, especially a crisp-chewy meringue base, with nuggets of chocolate, created by Nigella Lawson. The meringue provides an enticing layer beneath the cream and crimson raspberries. From Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson (£16.99, Chatto & Windus).
Nigella Blackberry Jam Recipe is made with fresh blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin it takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare and yields 4 servings.
Pecans, buttermilk, and maple syrup, oh my!
Beef Bourguignon by Nigella is a rich stew with a bold red wine sauce, bacon, veggies, and tender pieces of meat. It's been slow-cooked for 2 hours, so it's nice and tender and full of flavor.
This is a dish, a family favourite, that I cooked moreorless straight after I’d got off the plane after two months on the road, to signal and celebrate that I was truly home. It’s a simple one pot dish that brings comfort and joy, and it is my pleasure to share that with you. It’s so hard to be utterly precise and specific with this kind of cooking: if you’re feeding small children, for example, you may not want to add the chilli flakes. Similarly, you may want to use just one lemon, rather than the two I like. Your chicken may weigh more or less: the ones I get tend to vary between 1.5kg and 1.7kg / 3½lb and 3¾lbs. And although I have specified the casserole I have used, and always use, you obviously will use the one you have, which will make a difference to how quickly everything cooks, how much evaporation there will be, and so on. Don’t let these things trouble you unduly: this is a simple recipe that brings profound pleasure. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Nigella Butter Chicken, featuring boneless chicken thighs marinated in yogurt and spices, promises a tantalizing feast. With a total preparation time of 25 minutes, this dish serves four hungry diners.
This cake is a sort of Anglo-Italian amalgam. The flat, plain disc is reminiscent of the confections that sit geometrically arranged in patisserie windows in Italy; the sharp, syrupy sogginess borrows from the classic English teatime favourite, the lemon drizzle cake. It is a good marriage: I love Italian cooking in all respects save one — I find their cakes both too dry and too sweet. Here, though, the flavoursome grittiness of the polenta and tender rubble of ground almonds provide so much better a foil for the wholly desirable dampness than does the usual flour. But there is more to it than that. By some alchemical process, the lemon highlights the eggy butteriness of the cake, making it rich and sharp at the same time. If you were to try to imagine what lemon curd would taste like in cake form, this would be it. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
This is a garlicky, lemony, ultra-fabulous, utterly addictive bean mash. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Some say, challenging more generally accepted ideas about the provenance, that tiramisu was invented in a casa chiusa (a house of ill repute) to give the working girls a pick-me-up, as the name (tira-mi-su) suggests. Whatever its inception, this one reverts to the original formulation - although in dinkier format. This is not because I am a huge fan of the cute — you know that — but because it means you have a tiramisu worth making for fewer people (you don't need a partyful), and in less time. By which I mean very much less time, since, unlike the big, trifle-style tiramisu, these tiramisini — think coffee-soaked Savoiardi sponge fingers, topped with the familiar, whipped Marsala-spiked mascarpone in small-portioned martini glasses — don't even need to sit overnight before being ready to eat. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
I could have called these Cornflake-Crunchy Chicken Cutlets as the crisp coating is provided not by breadcrumbs, but by cornflakes. This is particularly handy if you want a gluten-free crunch, though do check the cornflake packet to be sure. You can buy chicken escalopes already beaten, but otherwise just buy a couple of chicken breasts and, one at a time, place them on a chopping board lined with clingfilm, cover the chicken with another layer of clingfilm and bash the living daylights out of them with a rolling pin. This is a gratifying way to de-stress at the end of a long day. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Nigella Lawson's recipe for Chicken with Red Grapes and Marsala, as seen on her BBC series, At My Table, is an easy dinner perfect for colder evenings.
Nigella’s Flourless Brownies are made with dark chocolate, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, eggs, ground almonds, and chopped walnuts, and topped with a hot chocolate sauce resulting in a chocolatey treat that takes just 40 minutes to be ready!
Nigella Quick (express) Chilli is made with ground beef, onion, garlic, bell peppers, and kidney beans. This British fast Chilli takes about 40 minutes to prepare and serves up to 4 people.
When you haven't got time for overnight setting in the fridge or you don't want to use raw eggs, this mousse is perfect. In fact, at all times, constraints or not, it is chocaliciously gorgeous. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
Whip out this hearty, veggie, one-pot dish as the autumnal season is approaching. It's one of those meals that is super simple and has minimal ingredients, but offers guaranteed satisfaction and heartiness.
Nigella Chicken Shawarma Recipe features skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fresh lemons, olive oil, garlic, and a blend of spices like paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It requires 6 hours to marinate, 45 minutes to roast, and serves 4.
This recipe is for anyone who still isn't convinced of the wonders of tofu. With a crispy, pan-fried sesame-seed coating, anyone who insists tofu is bland and boring will think again. As with anything golden brown and crispy, you'll want something fresh or acidic to go with it. The herby, spicy, garlicky dipping sauce here fits the bill perfectly. Hot oil is poured over the minced garlic, chili flakes, and herbs to release and mellow their flavors before the other sauce ingredients are mixed in. This technique is common when making Chinese dipping sauces and dressings. Serve this tofu alongside some stir-fried greens and rice, and dinner is set.
Nigella Eggs in Purgatory is a delightful dish featuring olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, canned tomatoes, Maldon sea salt flakes, eggs, Parmesan cheese, chili oil, and bread. It takes 12 minutes to prepare and serves 1 to 2 people.
Nigella Broccoli and Stilton Soup is a creamy blend of fresh broccoli, onions, garlic, and Stilton cheese in a flavorful broth. Served hot, garnished with optional cream and herbs, this comforting soup recipe serves 6 and takes approximately 30 minutes to prepare.
Not all carrot cakes are created equal, especially where Nigella is concerned. This recipe, "originating from Venetian Jews, which sounds refreshingly medieval, made as it is from ground almonds, rather than flour, is enriched with eggs and olive oil and studded with rum-soaked sultanas." As she admits, "it's not much to look at'"– a golden disc about half the height of one layer of an ordinary cake – but it's incredibly moist and deliciously nutty, with a lovely citrus kick too. It's also gluten and lactose-free, for those who are sensitive to such things, but quite delicious in its own right. For a taller moister version, simply use a smaller 6-inch springform pan, cook it a little longer and the results are absolutely scrumptious. Gluten-Free Venetian Carrot Cake Serves 8-10 Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson Carrot cake: 3 tbsp pine nuts 2 medium carrots, about 8 oz 3 oz golden sultanas 2 1/4 fl oz rum 5 oz white granulated sugar 4 1/2 fl oz olive oil, plus extra for greasing 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 large eggs 9 oz ground almonds 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste 1/2 lemon, finely grated zest and juice Cream Cheese Frosting: 8 oz cream cheese 3 cups icing sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the base of a 9-inch round springform cake pan* with baking parchment and grease the sides with olive oil. Toast the pine nuts by browning in a dry frying pan, then set aside. Grate the carrots in a food processor or with a coarse grater, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel and wrap them, to soak up excess liquid, then set aside. Put the golden sultanas in a small saucepan with the rum, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk the sugar and oil until creamily and airily mixed, then add the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, golden sultanas with any rum that clings to them, and finally, the lemon zest and juice. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the cake and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then un-spring and leave it on the rack to cool. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese in a standing mixer, until smooth, then add the sugar and vanilla, and mix until light and fluffy. To assemble the cake, place the carrot cake on a serving platter and spread with cream cheese frosting, and serve. * NOTE: I used a 6-inch round springform pan for a taller cake and adjusted the baking time to 70 minutes, then turned off the oven and let the cake rest inside for another 10-15 minutes, so that the centre was cooked through.
Nigella Raspberry And White Chocolate Cake recipe is made with butter, caster sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, self raising flour, fresh raspberries, white chocolate chips, buttercream, icing sugar, white chocolate, milk, raspberry jam, freeze dried raspberries, and white chocolate curls this recipe takes 105 minutes to prepare and serves 16 people.
Another delicious recipe from Nigella is this American pancake recipe, made with baking powder, salt, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and plain flour. These pancakes can be made in just 30 minutes and serve 4 people, so they are a quick and easy choice for breakfast or dinner.
Nigella Coq Au Riesling recipe is made with chicken thighs, bacon lardons, leek, bay leaves, oyster mushrooms, Riesling wine, double cream, salt, pepper, and fresh dill this recipe requires a total time of 60 minutes and serves 6 people.
It's incredibly delicious. No, seriously.
With Bastille Day coming up on the 14th of July, I decided to share this French treat. This Parisian custard flan is all sorts of glorious. Thick and wobbly with a rich custard filling it is a flan for sharing with people or for serving up for a dinner party or special occasion.
Nigella Lawson's French Onion Soup has caramelized onions, beef stock, and melted cheese. Its velvety texture and sweet-savory flavors are exquisite. "French Onion Soup" comes from the classic French dish that has become a global comfort food.
Nigella Semolina Pudding recipe is made with milk, semolina, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon, creating a delicious and comforting dessert it Takes 20 minutes to prepare and serves 4.
