Best 20 Nigella Lawson Recipes

NIGELLA LAWSON FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Steps:

• Put the whole orange or oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours or until soft.
• Drain, and when cool, cut the oranges in half and remove any big pips.
• Then pulp everything - pith, peel and all - in a food processor.
• Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C Butter and line a 20cm springform tin.
• Add the eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the orange in the food processor. Run the motor until you have a cohesive cake mixture, but slightly knobbly with the flecks of puréed orange.
• Pour and scrape into the cake tin and bake for an hour, by which time a cake tester should come out pretty well clean. Check after 45 minutes because you may have to cover with foil to prevent the cake burning before it is cooked through, or indeed it may need a little less than an hour; it all depends on your oven.
• Leave the cake to get cool in the tin, on a cooling rack. When the cake is cold you can take it out of the tin. Decorate with strips of orange peel or coarsely grated zest if you so wish, but it is darkly beautiful in its plain, unadorned state.

POTATO AND MUSHROOM GRATIN (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°; butter a shallow baking dish or gratin.
• Bring the sliced potatoes, milk, wine, salt, and pepper to a boil in a large pan, stirring occasionally; leave at a simmer while you get on with the mushrooms.
• Melt the butter and garlic oil in a skillet over med-high heat; add in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Pour the mushrooms and their garlicky juices into the pan of potatoes, stir to mix.
• Transfer to the gratin dish; bake for 45 minutes or until piping hot, and crisp on top.

ASIAN-SPICED SALMON KEDGEREE (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F Pour the water into a roasting pan, add the lime leaves and then the salmon. Cover the pan with foil, put in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, by which time the salmon should be tender. Remove the pan from the oven and drain the liquid off into a pitcher. Keep the fish warm simply by replacing the foil on the pan.
• Melt the butter in a wide, heavy saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid, and add the oil to stop the butter burning. Soften the onion in the pan and add the spices, then keep cooking till the onion is slightly translucent and suffused with soft perfume of the spices. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon so that it's all well coated. There's not enough onion to give a heavy coating: just make sure the rice is fragrantly slicked.
• Pour in the reserved liquid from the pitcher, about 2 1/4 cups, and stir before covering with the lid and cooking gently for 15 minutes.
• At the end of the cooking time, when the rice is tender and has lost all chalkiness, turn off the heat, remove the lid, cover the pan with a dish towel and then replace the lid. This will help absorb any extra moisture from the rice. It is also the best way to let the rice stand without getting sticky or cold.
• Just before you want to eat, drain off any extra liquid that's collected in the dish with the salmon, then flake the fish with a fork. Add to it the rice, egg, cilantro, lime juice and a drop or 2 of fish sauce. Stir gently to mix (use a couple of wooden paddles or spatulas) and taste to see if you want any more lime juice or fish sauce. Sprinkle over the zest from the 2 juiced halves of the lime and serve. You can garnish with lime segments and a small handful of freshly chopped cilantro.

CROQUE MONSIEUR BAKE (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Spread the mustard on the bread slices and make sandwiches with the fine slices of cheese and ham; place each slice of cheese against the mustardy bread, and the ham between them.
• Make the sandwich and cut each one in half, making two triangles.
• Squish the sandwiches into a baking dish, approx 10 ½ inches x 8 ¼ inches and 2 ¼ inches deep.
• Beat the eggs, salt, and milk together; then pour over the sandwiches tightly packed into the dish.
• Cover the dish with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning, preheat oven to 400°; take the dish out of the refrigerator and remove plastic wrap.
• Sprinkle over the grated cheese and Worcestershire sauce; bake for 25 minutes.

DENSE CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE - NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/gas5. Grease and line a 23x13x7cm cm (9x5x3in) loaf tin. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well.
• Next fold in the melted and cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but do not overbeat.
• You want the ingredients combined: you don't want a light airy mass. Gently add the flour, to which you've added the bicarb, alternately spoon by spoon, with 250 ml of boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter.
• Pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170C/gas mark 3 and cook for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.
• Plaace the loaf tin on a rack and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. It improves if left for a day or so before eating. This cake will probably sink in the middle because of its denseness.

NIGELLA LAWSON PEA, MINT AND AVOCADO SALAD

Steps:

• First make the dressing: put the oil and vinegar and a pinch of sugar into a large bowl and then put in a decent handful of chopped mint.
• Stir well so all is amalgamated.
• Cook the podded peas for a short time in salted boiling water, just so they are ready, but not soft.
• Taste after 2 minutes and then keep tasting.
• Pour peas in colander and then straight away into the bowl of dressing and let steep for an hour or up to a day.
• Just before serving, stir in about a packetful of mixed salad, the chicory which has been separated into it leaves and the avocado, which should be cut into bite size chunky slices.
• You may need to drizzle a bit more oil after tossing.
• serve this on a big plate.
• Sprinkle with more mint.

LIPTAUER CHEESE A LA NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Beat the cream cheese and cottage cheese together until they are very smooth. Add the capers, cornichons, paprika, salt, pepper, caraway seeds, and mustard. Mix together well and turn into a 1-quart bowl lined with plastic wrap for easier unmolding later. Smooth the top with a spatula and cover with the overhanging plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator to set.
• When it has become cold enough to turn out - a few hours should do it - unwrap the folded-over plastic wrap on top, place a plate over the now uncovered bowl, turn it over, and unmold. Pull the plastic wrap off and drizzle over a rust-red ooze made by mixing the oil with the paprika.
• Serve this with bread or poppy-seed bagels, gherkins, and, if you like, some chopped red onions.

GRAVLAX BY NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Place the salmon fillet, skin-side down, into a wide, shallow dish that fits the salmon snugly. (I used a 9X13 baking dish).
• Place the salt, sugar, mustard and gin into a small bowl and mix well until combined and a smooth paste is formed.
• Spread the mixture over the salmon to cover completely.
• Sprinkle the dill over the mustard paste. Press onto the paste so that no salmon flesh is visible.
• Carefully turn the fish over so that the skin is now facing up.
• Cover the dish with cling film/plastic wrap and press it down onto the top and edges of the fish before wrapping it around the sides of the dish. Repeat the process with another layer of cling film.
• Apply weight to the top of the fish to press it down into the dish, using filled jars or cans or any other weights.
• Transfer the fish to the fridge and leave for 2-3 days. (I did mine for the full 3 days).
• At serving time, remove the fish to a cutting board, skin-side down. Brush off the dill from the salmon.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully cut very thin diagonal slices of the salmon.
• Place on a serving dish and enjoy.
• Any remaining can be wrapped in cling film and refrigerated.

STICKY TOFFEE SAUCE - NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and slowly bring to the boil, allowing the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve.
• Let the mixture bubble for a couple of minutes before carefully adding the cream.
• Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce is thick, sticky and glossy.
• Serve with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

CHOCO-HOTO-POTS - NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Place a baking sheet in an preheated oven 400° Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.
• Using a microwave or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter,set aside to cool.
• In a bowl combine eggs,sugar and flour Add cooled chocolate mixture and mix well.
• Fold in white chips.
• Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet.
• Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey about 20 minutes.
• Serve on plates this is very hot.

PARSLEY SALAD ALA NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Place drained capers in a small bowl of cold water and let soak about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wash, stem, and drain parsley well.
• Set parsley on a large plate or small platter in a big mound.
• Slice as many red onion slivers as you like and sprinkle over the parsley.
• Drain capers again and sprinkle over the salad.
• Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon over the salad.
• Drizzle with a spalsh of good quality extra virgin olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper.
• No need to add any salt- the capers are salty enough.
• Do not toss.
• Wait 5 minutes, then serve.

NIGELLA LAWSON CAKE AND FROSTING

Steps:

• Take everything out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put all the cake ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
• Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25 minutes. Also, it might make sense to switch the 2 cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the frosting later.
• To make this icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing.
• While the chocolate and butter is cooling a little, sieve the confectioners' sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz to remove lumps.
• Add the corn syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved confectioners' sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor onto the powdered sugar, with the motor running.
• You may need to add a little boiling water, say a teaspoon or so, or indeed some more confectioners' sugar, depending on whether you need the frosting to be thiner or thicker. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
• Choose your cake stand or plate and cut 4 strips of baking parchment to form a square and sit 1 of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down.
• Spoon about 1/3 of the frosting onto the center of the cake-half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the 2 together.
• Spoon another 1/3 of the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with icing and leave a few minutes until set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.

NIGELLA LAWSON'S TAGLIATA FOR TWO

Steps:

• Heat a grill pan, or cast-iron or heavy non-stick frying pan.
• In a small dish that can take the steak snugly later, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, salt, and red wine vinegar. Oil the steak lightly and put it in the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, then remove it to the dish of spicy marinade and sit the cooked steak for 2 minutes a side in the dish. Your steak will be rare, but that's the way it's meant to be.
• Remove the steeped steak to a board, ready for slicing, and while it sits there, arrange the cherry tomatoes, cut-side down, in the marinade dish. Cut the steak into thin slices on the diagonal and arrange on a serving dish or 2 dinner plates.
• Smoosh the tomatoes around in the marinade, then pour them, and the marinade, over the ribbons of meat. Add a few leaves of fresh oregano, if you can get them, and serve immediately.

NIGELLA LAWSON ORANGE BREAKFAST MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200?C/gas mark 6.
• Melt the butter and set aside.
• Combine the flour, ground almonds, bicarb, baking powder, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl.
• Measure the orange juice and milk into a jug and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter.
• Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy but that's as it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined. The whole point of muffin mixture is that it must never be overworked.
• Spoon out the mixture equally into the muffin cases and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove, in their paper cases, to a wire rack and let cool slightly (but not completely) before devouring.

CHICKPEAS WITH CHILLI, GARLIC AND THYME ( NIGELLA LAWSON )

Steps:

• Put chickpeas in enough cold water to cover generously along with the flour, salt and baking soda.
• Leave for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours drain and rinse thoroughly.
• Put the chickpeas in a big pot, cover with cold water, add the halved onion, sprigs of thyme and olive oil. Cover, bring to boil then reduce to rolling simmer. Do not uncover for at least 1 and 1/2 hours (or less, see description note above).
• After 1 and 1/2 hours check for doneness. If done, reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid and drain the chickpeas. Remove the thyme and onion as best you can. Set chickpeas aside for a moment.
• Chop the onion and garlic roughly and remove the thyme leaves from the stem. Throw onion, garlic and thyme in food processor (or chop as finely as you possibly can). Whirl it to a pulp.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large deep fry pan then add pulp mixture, Sprinkle with salt and cook gently for 5 minutes.
• Add the chickpeas and half the cooking liquid, cover and heat gently til everything is hot and the chick peas are soft.
• If there is too much liquid, remove the lid and let some boil off. If you run out of liquid, add a bit more.
• Sprinkle with more salt, additional thyme or more olive oil and serve.

GRASSHOPPER PIE - NIGELLA LAWSON

Steps:

• Take out and set aside 1 biscuit.
• Process the rest of the biscuits and chocolate in a food processor until they start to break down into a crumb mixture, then add the butter and carry on processing until it starts to clump together.
• Press into a loose-based, high-sided tart tin and make a smooth base and sides with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put into the fridge to chill and harden.
• Melt the marshmallows in a saucepan with the milk over a gentle heat, once the milk starts to foam (not boil) take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows blend into the milk to make a smooth mixture.
• Pour the mixture out of the saucepan into a heatproof bowl, and then whisk in the crème de menthe and crème de cacao. Leave to cool.
• Whisk the cream until it starts to hold soft peaks then, still whisking, add the cooled marshmallow mix. This filling should be thick but still soft, not stiff or dry, so that it will eventually drop easily out of the bowl into the chilled pie crust. (NOTE - over whisking at this point can result in a 'separation' type effect and the mixture won't be so smooth - so if in doubt don't whisk too much.)
• Once the marshmallow mixture and cream are combined, add a few drops of food colouring (unless you prefer not to) and gently mix inches (remember earlier warning re over whisking!).
• Spread the filling into the chilled base tin, swirl it about with a palette knife or a spatula to fill evenly and put back in the fridge, covered, to chill overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours until firm.
• Crush the biscuit you put aside earlier and sprinkle over the top of the pie before slicing.
• The pie can be made 1-2 days ahead. When chilled and firm, tent with foil (try not to touch surface with foil as it will leave marks) and store in fridge. Decorate just before serving. The pie will keep 3-4 days total. Freeze Note The pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. Open-freeze undecorated pie just until solid, then wrap pie (still in its tart tin) in double layer of clingfilm and layer of foil. To defrost, unwrap pie and tent with foil (try not to touch surface with foil as it will leave marks), then defrost overnight in fridge. Decorate before serving.

HALLOUMI BITES (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Combine the oil, parsley, lime juice, and pepper (a good grinding) in a large shallow dish.
• Slice the drained halloumi into ¼-inch wide pieces, and then cut each slice in half again (don't worry if bits splinter as you cut).
• Heat a dry skillet and dry-fry the slices of cheese until golden on both sides; this should take only a minute or so in a hot pan.
• Put the fried halloumi into the shallow dish of other ingredients as you go, and then turn the halloumi about t coat each piece before turning into a serving dish.

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS / PANCAKES (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Coarsely grate the zucchini with either the grating blade in the food processor or by hand. Spread the little shards out on a tea towel and leave for about 20 minutes to get rid of any excess wetness.
• Put the chopped scallions in a bowl and crumble in the feta. Stir in the chopped parsley and mint, along with the dried mint and paprika. Add the flour and season well with salt and pepper. Gradually add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly before stirring in the drained, grated zucchini. Don't be alarmed by the unflowing straggly lumpiness of this batter; it's meant to be this way.
• Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and drop heaped dessertspoons of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening the little cakes down with the back of the spoon as you go. Cook these little patties for about 2 minutes each side until golden, and then transfer to a couple of waiting plates.
• Chop up the limes and tumble them about the edges of the plates. Sprinkle over a little more chopped mint and eat them just as they are, spritzed with lime juice as you go.

NIGELLA LAWSON STICKY RIBS MARINADE

Steps:

• Place all the ingredients and ribs into a large freezer bag and mix well.
• Seal the bag and place it on a dish so that it can lie flat then transfer the bag to the fridge and leave overnight to marinate.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Remove the ribs from the fridge and transfer them from the freezer bag to a roasting tin and cover loosely with aluminium foil.
• Transfer the roasting tin to the oven. Cook the ribs in the oven for an hour, turning them over after half an hour.
• Raise the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and remove the foil from the roasting tin.
• Cook for a further 15-30 minutes, or until the ribs are sticky and cooked through.

NIGELLA LAWSON TURKISH DELIGHT SYLLABUB

Steps:

• Mix the cointreau, lemon juice and sugar in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Slowly stir in the cream and then begin to whisk with an electric mixer.
• Whisk until the cream is fairly thick, but not thick enough to hold its shape.
• Sprinkle in the flower waters and keep whisking until you have a light and airy mixture that forms soft peaks.
• Be careful, it's better to have it a bit too runny than too thick.
• Spoon into small glasses, letting the mixture come up over the rim of the glass.
• Scatter finely chopped pistachios on top.