NIGEL'S RECIPES

Well if you're anything like us, you can't wait to get home and try out all of Nigel's wonderful recipes from his Thursday food slot on Drivetime.

This page will have details of all the dishes he makes on the show, with links to recipes and methods for bringing them to life yourself.

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Thursday 26 March

Anatra con melagrana (duck with pomegranate) and sautéed escarole
by Gennaro Contaldo from Saturday Kitchen

Serves 4
Preparation time less than 30 minsCooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients
4 skinless duck breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
plain flour, for dusting
40g/1½oz butter
4 tbsp olive oil
4 pomegranates
For the escarole
1 escarole, ( (or chicory, or radicchio), cleaned and leaves separated
5 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Season the duck breast with salt and freshly ground black pepper and dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
3. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan until the butter begins to foam. Add the duck and fry for two minutes on each side, then transfer to the oven to roast for 5-6 minutes, or until just cooked. The duck should be rare, but cook according to your preference.
4. Meanwhile, rub two of the whole pomegranates firmly on a work surface with the palm of your hand, then cut them in half and squeeze out the juice, as you would with a lemon, all over the cooked duck.
5. Open up the remaining pomegranates and remove the seeds. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the duck.
6. Place the duck onto a plate and drizzle with the juices and seeds from the pan. Let the duck rest for 2-3 minutes then slice on the diagonal.
7. For the escarole, blanch the escarole leaves for a couple of minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside.
8. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and fry for one minute, or until soft, then add the escarole and gently sauté for 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the escarole is tender.
9. To serve, place the escarole onto the plate alongside the duck and spoon any remaining pan juices over.

Lamb and Date Tagine
by Nigella Lawson
from Nigella's Christmas Kitchen from Feast

Serves 6-8
Preparation time less than 30 minsCooking time over 2 hours
Ingredients
3-4 tbsp goose fat or olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground allspice
1kg/2lb 3oz boneless leg of lamb, chopped into cubes
250g/9oz soft dried dates, stones removed, or Medjool dates, stones removed
250ml/9fl oz pomegranate juice
250ml/9fl oz water
2 tsp Maldon sea salt, or 1 tsp table salt

Method
1. Warm the goose fat (or oil) in a wide heavy-based pan with a lid. Add the onions and cook gently over a low heat for ten minutes, or until softened.
2. Add the ground cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cumin and allspice and mix well.
3. Turn up the heat and add the lamb, stirring often, until browned all over.
4. Add the dates, pomegranate juice, water and salt and bring to the boil. Cover with the lid and turn down the heat to very low to cook for two hours. (You can cook in the oven if you prefer, for two hours at 150C/300F/Gas 2.)
5. Serve in bowls.

Thursday 19 March

JANSSON'S Frestelse (TEMPTATION)

Jansson was a fervently religious Swede, who turned his back on a life of abstinence, so tempted was he by this enticing dish. Which is now a classic in his country.

Prep time 15 mins Cooking time 30-40 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients
50g tin anchovies in olive oil
1 large onion, peeled & sliced
400g King Edward or Desiree potatoes, or similar
3 tbsp double cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
2. Pour the oil from the tin of anchovies into a pan, on a medium heat.
3. Add the onion & fry until softened.
4. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes & grate them into thick matchsticks, using a grater or mandolin.
5. Add the spuds to the onion & let them sweat until they start to soften.
6. Remove from heat & stir in the cream.
7. Finely chop the anchovies & add.
8. Season with black pepper.
9. Pour the mixture into a small gratin dish, spread it out & bake for 20-25 minutes, until crusty & crispy.
10. If the potatoes aren’t tender & the top is browning up, cover the dish with foil & cook until the spuds are tender when pierced with a knife.

Thursday 12 March

Tripe with Chickpeas & Chorizo
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from The River Cottage Cookbook (Collins)

Home prepared tripe is very tripey indeed. The recipe below can equally easily be made with blanched ox tripe from the butcher’s or even the supermarket. I discovered this dish in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, and improvised it when I got home. The spiciness of the chorizo means that the distinctive flavour of the tripe is not too prominent. But it’s still a dish for, shall we say, enthusiasts.

Ingredients
750g blanched ox tripe
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 400g tins of tomatoes
225g chorizo, cut into slices 5mm thick
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, cut into thickish matchsticks
150ml white wine
300ml beef or chicken stock
2 teaspoons tomato puree
225g cooked chickpeas
A good pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method
Wash the tripe thoroughly & cut it into slices 2mm thick.
Heat all but ½ tablespoon of the oil in a pan & add the garlic.
Just before the garlic takes colour, add the tomatoes, then turn up the heat & allow them to bubble until most of the liquid had evaporated & the tomatoes are reduced to a thick, pulpy sauce.
Stir the tomatoes frequently while they are cooking to break them up & prevent the sauce catching on the bottom of the pan.
When you think you cannot reduce them any further without risk of burning, remove from the heat & set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a separate pan & fry the chorizo gently until it is lightly browned & some of the fat has been released.
Add the onion & carrot & sweat for a few mins, until the onion has softened a little.
Add the wine, stock & tomato puree, bring to the boil & allow to bubble vigorously until the liquid is reduced by a third.
Then add the tripe, cooked chickpeas, cayenne & tomato sauce, mixing them all well together.
Turn down the heat & simmer gently for 25 mins, uncovered, until the tripe is tender.
Season with a little black pepper, & salt if necessary.

Serve in warmed soup bowls so that everyone gets plenty of sauce.

Tripe & Onions
By Fergus Henderson from Nose to Tail Eating, A Kind of British Cooking (Pan)

Do not let the tripe word deter you, let its soothing charms win you over & enjoy it as do those who always have!

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 litre milk
3 white onions, peeled & roughly chopped
A healthy pinch of mace blades
2kg white honeycomb tripe, cut into 4cm x 11cm strips
Sea salt & pepper
150g unsalted butter
200g plain flour

Method
In a pot large enough to fit all the ingredients place the milk, onions & mace.
Bring to a boil & reduce to a simmer for 20 mins.
Then add the tripe & season cautiously with salt & pepper (you can add more later).
Bring up to a gentle boil & reduce again to a simmer for a further 45 mins to 1hr, checking the tripe’s giving qualities with a sharp knife. Be careful, as if cooked too long tripe will just melt away.
Now, in another pan, melt the butter & add the flour.
Cook this, stirring to avoid browning until it smells biscuity.
Continue stirring vigorously (a whisk might be useful here) & add a couple of ladles of the liquor from the tripe pot.
Once thoroughly mixed & smooth, return this mixture to the tripe.
Stir in thoroughly & simmer for a further 15 mins to allow the dish to thicken slightly.
Adjust seasoning to taste & serve hot, using a slotted spoon, with mashed potato.

Visually, as well as gastronomically, there is a great serenity to a plate of tripe & onions.


Thursday 5 March

Roasted Ling with Clams, Perry & Curly Kale
by Lawrence Keogh
from Saturday Kitchen

Serves 2
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 x 150g/5oz ling fillets, skin on
300g/10oz clams
200ml/7fl oz perry (a cider-like drink made with pears)
1 shallot, finely chopped
150g/5oz unsalted butter
salt and white pepper
110g/4oz curly kale, stalks discarded
1 lemon, zest only
2 tsp finely chopped fresh chives

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Heat an ovenproof pan until hot and then add the rapeseed oil. Place the ling fillets into the pan and fry on each side until golden-brown.
3. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 6-7 minutes until just cooked.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside, in a warm place, to rest.
5. Wash the clams thoroughly, discarding any that have broken shells or fail to close when you tap them against the sink.
6. Heat a separate pan until hot and add the clams, most of the perry (bar a splash) and the shallot. Simmer with the lid off for 2-3 minutes, until the clams have opened and the liquid has reduced down slightly.
7. Drain the clams through a fine colander with a bowl below to retain the liquid. Pour the liquid back into the pan and set the clams aside. Discard any which haven't opened.
8. Return the pan to the boil and cook until reduced and thickened.
9. Add half of the butter to the pan and whisk to combine. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep the sauce warm while you cook the curly kale.
10. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the curly kale. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just tender.
11. Drain the kale well and transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining butter, lemon zest, and salt and white pepper, to taste.
12. To serve, share the kale between two plates and place the fish on top.
13. Add a splash of perry and the chopped chives to the clam sauce. Then spoon the mixture over the fish. Arrange the clams on top. Pour all the remaining sauce over and serve.

Thursday 26 February

Chicken, Leek & Tarragon Pie
From Pie by Angela Boggiano

Serves 4-6

For the pastry
400g/13oz rich shortcrust pastry – beaten egg to glaze

250g/9oz plain flour
¼ tsp salt
125g/5oz unsalted butter, cold
1 large egg beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp iced water

Mix together the flour & salt.
Chop the butter into cubes & add half of it to the flour.
Gently & swiftly rub the fat into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the rest of the butter & mix until it’s the size of small peas.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
Mix the beaten egg with the lemon juice & water & gradually pour into the well a little at a time, using a knife to mix the dough as you go.
If the mixture looks like it has sufficient liquid to form a dough, don’t add all the liquid as the absorbency of flours varies.
Turn out onto a floured board & knead lightly until smooth.
Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film & refrigerate for at least 30 mins before use.


For the filling
1.5kg/3lb free range chicken
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
4 sprigs tarragon
1 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
2 leeks, finely sliced
150ml/¼ pint white wine
2 tbsp plain flour
150ml/¼ pint single cream
grated zest of ½ lemon
salt & ground black pepper

Method
Place the chicken in a large saucepan with the carrot, celery, 1 of the onions & 3 tarragon sprigs.
Season with a little salt & pepper & cover with water.
Bring to the boil & simmer for 45 mins until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan & set aside to cool.
Return the stock to the hob & simmer gently for a further 30 mins until it is reduced by half.

Meanwhile heat the oil & butter in a large frying pan, add the leeks & the remaining onion & gently cook for about 5 mins until softened.
Turn up the heat to high, add the wine & simmer rapidly for 3-4 mins until reduced by half.
Stir in the flour & mix well in the pan for 1 min.
Pour in the cream, about 150ml/¼ pint of the reduced chicken stock & the lemon zest.
Season with a little salt & plenty of ground black pepper.

Remove the meat from the cooled chicken carcass & chop or shred into small pieces.
Add this & the remaining tarragon, chopped, to the leek & cream mixture & stir together. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat.

Line the base of a 30 x 20cm / 12 x 8in rectangular or 26cm/10½in round pie tin with two-thirds of the pastry & fill with the chicken mixture.
Brush the pastry edges with beaten egg.
Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid & lay over the filling, crimping the edges of the pastry with your fingertips to seal.
Trim away any excess & brush with beaten egg to glaze.
Place on the baking tray for 30-35 mins until the pastry is golden & crisp.

Thursday 19 Februaury

Crispy Pig’s Ears with Hugh’s tartare sauce
by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the River Cottage cookbook (Collins)

The slightly gristly texture of a pig’s ear may present a problem for the squeamish but the mustard & crumb treatment turns it into a real delicacy.
Serves 4-5 as a starter, or 10 as a snack. My own cheaty recipe for tartare sauce finishes it off nicely.

Ingredients

2 pig’s ears, with ear wax removed
2-3 tablespoons English mustard
fresh breadcrumbs for coating
50g butter, melted

onion - chopped
2 carrots - chopped
large bundle of fresh herbs – parsley, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram
muslin bag of spices – 1 teaspoon cloves, coriander & mixed peppercorns
juice of ½ lemon
salt & freshly ground black pepper

For Hugh’s Tartare Sauce

2 generous tablespoons mayonnaise (home-made ideally)
1-2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
2-3 gherkins, finely chopped
2 teaspoons capers, finely chopped
1 teaspoon English mustard

Method
For the tartare sauce, combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl

Place the ears in a large stockpot, cover with water & add the stock ingredients.
Bring slowly to a gentle simmer. For the first half hour of cooking, skim off any bubbly scum that rises to the surface.
Cook uncovered at a gentle simmer for 2½ hours
When cooked, lift out the ears, allow to cool & remove any hairs.
Slice the pig’s ears lengthways into into finger-sized pieces.
With a knife or pastry brush, give them a light coating of mustard, then roll them in breadcrumbs & brush or drizzle with the melted butter.
Place on a tray in an oven preheated to 220C/Gas Mark 7 for 30-40 minutes, until crisp & golden.
Serve immediately with the tartare sauce

Whole Pig’s Ear variation
This is a classic from the Parisian brasserie, La Coupole, which also serves the tail in the same way.

Take a whole cooked ear (or tail), as above, but forgo the mustard & breadcrumb treatment & simply whack it on a hot griddle, until it is blistered & blackened.
Serve whole with the tartare sauce. One ear serves one as a main course.
You’ll either fancy it, or you won’t.


Thursday 12th February

Steamed sea bass in hot beer and ginger lime sauce
byChing-He Huang
from Chinese Food Made Easy

Serves 2

Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins
Ingredients
For the sea bass
2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into long thin strips (juilienne)
1 spring onion, sliced into long strips
1 whole wild sea bass (about 550g/1¼lb), de-scaled, gutted, cleaned and skin scored several times with a sharp knife
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
For the hot ginger lime and beer sauce
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
1 lime, zest only
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
330ml/11½fl oz Chinese beer or other light beer
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 spring onion, sliced into long strips (juilienne)
1 large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
steamed wild basmati rice, to serve

Method
1. For the sea bass, sprinkle half of the ginger and spring onion strips across the fish, or tuck some into the scores made in the skin. Place the remaining ginger and spring onion into the fish cavity.
2. Transfer the fish to a heatproof plate or dish and pour the rice wine over. Place the plate into a large bamboo steamer and cover. Place the bamboo steamer on top of a pan of boiling water (making sure the water does not touch the base of the steamer). Steam the fish for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of the fish), or until the fish is cooked through (the flesh should flake easily when poked with chopsticks). Turn off the heat and leave the fish in the steamer to rest.
3. For the sauce, heat a wok until smoking and add the oil. Add the grated ginger, stir-frying for a few seconds. Stir in the lime zest, followed by the beer and soy sauce. As soon as the liquid comes to the boil, add the spring onions and coriander, then remove from the heat.
4. To serve, carefully remove the plate of fish from the bamboo steamer, pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately with steamed wild basmati rice.

The Constance Spry Boiled Dark Ginger Cake

Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 1hr 10 mins

Ingredients

120g butter
120g soft brown sugar
120g sultanas
2 tbsp water
300g treacle
2 level tsp ground/powdered ginger
2 large organic eggs
180g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
60g ground almonds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C
2. Put butter, sugar, sultanas, water & treacle into a large saucepan & bring to boil
3. Boil exactly 5 mins, set aside to cool until hand warm
4. Beat in eggs one by one into the cooled mixture
5. Sift in flour, ginger & bicarb
6. Add almonds & combine well
7. Grease with butter & line with baking parchment, a 20cm square tin, or a 900g/2lb(ish) loaf tin
8. Bake for 1hr until an inserted skewer comes out clean

• 2-3 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
• 6 pig's trotters
• Knuckle of pork
• About 4 or 5 'thumbs' of fresh ginger
• 3-4 large cloves of garlic, crushed slightly and slipped out of its skin
• 1l organic apple juice or enough to cover
• 75ml organic soy sauce
• 40ml organic cider vinegar
• 20g unrefined caster sugar
• 2 large, whole, fresh red chillies
• Freshly ground black pepper

• Fine noodles and wilted greens; chard is particularly good with this dish