Ella Walker delivers her verdict on the first instalment in the food writer's new veg-focused cookbook series.
It is quite possible to never make a single recipe of Nigel Slater's, and to simply read his cookbooks cover to cover, like novels that comfort and nourish through words alone.
But that would leave you feeling unbelievably hungry, and when his food - often just the putting together of a few ingredients, with thought - is so reassuring and good, it's tough not to start pulling things from cupboards, and perusing the fridge for willing participants.
His new cookbook, part one of two (Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter will be out later in the year), looks to be as restorative and encouraging as ever...
The book: Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater
Who will love it? People who eat. Especially those who really like vegetables. And those who look forward to spring and summer, not solely for the weather, but more importantly for the way it changes how and what we scoff for dinner, and even where we eat it. This will have you carrying dishes outside to eat, whether you have a huge lawn or just a chair and a wedge of space on a balcony.
What is it trying to get us cooking? You never get the feeling Slater would try and get anyone to do anything, he's too gentle for that. Instead, he's simply providing options and ideas, based on what he himself would like to eat for dinner. However, the focus is very much veg. Slater is not vegetarian (taste trumps everything for him), but as he explains, vegetables rather than animals have been increasingly dominating dinnertime in his house, and it's a way of eating that more and more of us are adopting - so why not eat well while we're at it?
How easy is it to use? Slater's recipes are never not intuitive, and mostly, the ingredients lists are mercifully short - the same goes for Greenfeast. Nothing is fear-inducingly complicated, and the sections are broken into sensible areas: 'In a bowl', 'On the Grill', and 'Pudding' for instance. Plus, there's a picture of each dish, so you know what you're aiming for.
The best recipe is... Aubergine, Honey, Sheep's Cheese - it looks so luxurious, there'd be no sharing it.
The recipe we're most likely to post pictures of on Instagram is... Halloumi, Melon, Chilli - the bright pink of melon, the blazing red of chilli and tomatoes, a hunk of charred halloumi and green hits of coriander - it's a winner.
The dish we're least likely to try is... Fennel, Onions, Eggs - while we trust Slater's palate implicitly, this sounds marginally less appetising than say, Asparagus, Broad Beans, Eggs.
Overall rating: 8/10 - full of vibrancy and brilliantly simple ideas, it'll keep you going all summer. Our only question: Why are there no corn on the cob recipes?
How to make Nigel Slater's Miso, Mushrooms, Pak Choi
"Light, savoury, sustaining. A little bowl of calm."
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
150g sugar snap peas or shelled peas
750ml vegetable or chicken stock
4tbsp white miso paste
3 spring onions
125g pak choi
100g enoki mushrooms
Thai basil, a small bunch
1 lime
Light soy sauce
Method:
1. Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil. Add the sugar snaps or shelled peas and let them boil for two minutes, then lift them out with a draining spoon and drop them into a bowl of cold water.
2. Warm the stock in a large pan. When the stock is hot, add the miso, stirring until it has dissolved. The stock should be very hot but not boiling. Finely slice the spring onions and add half to the stock. Halve the pak choi and push them down into the stock. Remove and discard the roots from the enoki mushrooms, then add to the stock too.
3. Tear up the Thai basil leaves. Squeeze the juice from the lime. Divide the hot broth between four bowls, and add the remaining spring onions, the peas, basil leaves and the lime juice. Pass soy sauce around at the table, leaving everyone to season as they wish.
Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater is published by 4th Estate Books, priced £22. Photography Jonathan Lovekin. Available now.
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