‘Nigel is a bloody genius’ Jamie Oliver, ‘The greatest cookery writer of them all’ Guardian UK

From Nigel Slater, a beautiful and inspiring companion volume to his bestselling Kitchen Diaries. Includes recipes from the BBC TV series Simple Suppers and Simple Cooking.

Includes over 250 recipes!

“For years now I have kept notebooks, with scribbled shopping lists and early drafts of recipes in them. These notes form the basis of this second volume of The Kitchen Diaries. More than a diary, this is a collection of small kitchen celebrations, be it a casual, beer-fuelled supper of warm flatbreads with pieces of grilled lamb scattered with toasted pine kernels and blood-red pomegranate seeds or a quiet moment contemplating a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread.” Nigel Slater

Reviews

‘The best food writers combine beauty with practicality, and no one does it more elegantly than Nigel Slater’ Jane Shilling, Daily Mail – BOOKS OF THE YEAR
‘The pick of the bunch…bubbling with ideas, suggestions, hints and personal opinions that genuinely help you to make your own mind up about how and what to cook’ The Times
‘He's a genius’ Matthew Fort, Guardian
‘Slater remains the reigning champion, a writer incapable of uninspiring sentences' Daily Express
‘No one writes more temptingly about food' Independent
‘Nigel is a bloody genius’ Jamie Oliver
‘The greatest cookery writer of them all’ Guardian UK

SAMPLE RECIPES

Nigel Slater's orzo with courgettes and grana padano recipe (pictured left)
Try this mouthwatering dish for yourself – a fresh alternative to heavy pasta dishes with a satisfying al dente finish.

Here, the grains are held together with grated cheese. I have suggested the mild and nutty grana padano for a change. Use parmesan if you can't track it down.

Enough for 4
orzo 300g
pancetta in one piece, 150g
a large onion
olive oil 2 tbsp
white wine 250ml
courgettes 4 medium
grana padano or parmesan 50g, very coarsely grated

Bring a deep pan of water to the boil, salt generously, then add the orzo and boil for 9 minutes or until it is approaching softness. It should retain a certain bite. Drain.

Cut the pancetta into large dice. Peel and chop the onion. Fry it with the pancetta in the olive oil in a shallow, heavy-based pan over a moderate heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, till the onion is soft and translucent and the fat on the pancetta is pale amber.

Pour in the wine, turn up the heat slightly, then bubble till reduced by half.

Cut the courgettes lengthways, then into thick slices, and add to the pan. Season with salt and black pepper and continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes, until the courgettes are tender.

Stir in the drained orzo and the grana padano or parmesan. The cheese should melt slightly, bringing the whole dish together.

Nigel Slater's dark chocolate discs with rose petals recipe (pictured left)
A mouth-watering treat of melted dark chocolate and toasted nuts set off with the crunch of sea salt

There is a small cluster of jars with dark Bakelite lids that hold ingredients I value, but use only rarely. Precious things such as Italian candied peel, crystallised violets and sugared French rose petals. These jars rarely see the light of day. They must retain a sense of magic, mystery and preciousness.

dark chocolate 100g
flaked almonds 2 handfuls
caster sugar a big pinch
shelled pistachios a handful, roughly chopped
sea salt flakes a few hefty pinches
crystallised rose petals or candied peel

Line a baking tray with waxed or greaseproof paper. Snap the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a bowl set over simmering water. Avoid the temptation to stir. When the chocolate is half melted, turn the heat off and nudge the solid parts into the melted parts, letting it continue to melt in the residual heat.

Toast the flaked almonds with the sugar in a non-stick pan over a low-to-moderate heat until the sugar starts to melt and the nuts colour lightly.

Make discs of melted chocolate on the paper and scatter each one with chopped pistachios, sugared almonds, sea salt flakes and rose petals or candied peel.

Leave in a cool place or the fridge to set.

Nigel Slater's brussels sprouts, bacon and almonds recipe (pictured left)
Transform your expectations of the much-maligned brussels sprout with plenty of hot butter, cream and bacon, topped off with crunchy almonds.

I have been slowly coming round to the brussels sprout. Fried rather than boiled, partnered with the meat of the pig and slathered in cream, these are the sprouts for me. They never see water in this recipe – only hot butter, cream and bacon. The almonds were an inspiration.

Enough for 2 as a side dish, 4 as a main dish with brown rice
smoked streaky bacon 100g
an onion
brussels sprouts 400g
butter 50g
whole unskinned salted almonds 100g
double cream 250ml

Cut the bacon into finger-width strips and let them cook in a large, shallow pan over a moderate heat till the fat runs and colours to a pale gold.

Peel and thinly slice the onion. Trim the sprouts and cut each one in half. Place them cut-side down in a single layer in the pan, add the butter and let the sprouts brown very lightly, then add the onion.

Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, until the sprouts are softening and the onion is translucent. Add the almonds, then the cream. You don't need salt, because of the salted almonds and the bacon.

Leave to bubble briefly, then serve.