Enveloping This book is full of simple, hearty, and comforting recipes. It’s not complicated. Food doesn’t have to be scary. All the recipes are made to be shared, whether you’re gathering 10 people around a garden table on a Saturday or inviting one of your friends over for a quick snack on a Tuesday. We’ve covered the full gamut of cooking, from weekend dinner parties to weekday meals.
I grew up in a large family with my parents and four sisters. Every night we all sat around the table and ate together. Those were formative years for me, those stories around the table. Even as an adult, I like to be that way in social situations. I like to be the host in my friend group, and I take that role. Hosting a book can lean a little bit more towards a formal dinner party. I love those parties, but that’s not the food I like to cook. It’s more simple, less structured, more casual food.
Almost all of these recipes are suitable for beginners Plus, all the ingredients are readily available at any supermarket, and the recipes aren’t too “step-heavy” and only use basic techniques.
Let’s say a few friends are coming over and everything is arranged on short notice. I’ll probably have some tapas-style spreads on it. Cured meats, pickles, olives, fresh chilies – really tasty things. And some tasty veggie sides, maybe tomatoes this time of year with lots of olive oil and salt. I’ll also probably make Spanish tortillas, because they’re so easy to make and people are always impressed. All you need are potatoes, onions, eggs, a little salt and lots of olive oil. And remember, it’s totally fine to just buy some pre-made or pre-cooked stuff from the supermarket and just mix it up a bit.
There’s always something in my fridge. I always have parsley and Parmesan, and I also keep little packets of peels that I can use to flavour sauces and stocks. The condiment area is always pretty busy – it takes up about two shelves. I always have chilli oil. I’m also obsessed with snap peas at the moment – I love browning them in a frying pan with a little oil, then sprinkling on some flaky Maldon sea salt.
I love cookbooks. Nigella is someone I’ve been obsessed with since I was a little girl. Her approach to cooking, her generosity, her simplicity… it comes through on the page and has really influenced my own taste in food. I also love old-school Italian food writers like Anna Del Conte.
When it comes to food trends, it feels like the craze for vegetarian alternatives has calmed down a bit. Now it seems like the habit of using good quality meat, cooked well, is coming back. I still eat a lot of vegetarian food and I love seasonal vegetables with beans and chickpeas, but on the weekends I treat myself to good quality ethically sourced meat. Nothing beats a perfectly roasted chicken or, at this time of year, a fatty pork chop on the barbecue.
I hope that if people take anything away from my new book, it’s that cooking doesn’t have to be such a big, intimidating thing. If you’re cooking for a loved one, they’re probably there to spend time with you, not for some serious gastronomic experience. Delicious food can be made with simple ingredients, treated with care. So don’t be afraid to cook. Cooking can be a lot of fun and very easy.
