What the experts recommend
Nigella: a balm in troubled times
Nigel la Lawson has returned to our screens, says Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph – and tuning in to her new show is the “television equivalent of sinking into a heavenly bath”. That said, Cook, Eat, Repeat (BBC2) does feature some unusual-sounding recipes. Nigella kicks off the first episode with a bhorta (a fried dish from the Indian subcontinent) made from mashed fish fingers. She then shares a recent discovery: that banana skins, soaked in boiling water, make a delicious addition to a curry (“They just go so velvety and swell and soften...”). Although her “great gift” is making anything seem luxuriant, I’m not sure I’ll be trying all these dishes. Then again, her TV shows have never been just about the recipes. You watch not to learn how to cook, but also to be “soothed and coddled and to dream of a life in which you too have a kitchen decked out like a cocktail bar and a garden filled with twinkly fairy lights”. Over the years, the fantasy has evolved somewhat: gone now are the shots of Nigella eating with friends; she cuts a more solitary figure in these series. And yet it remains wonderful escapism. “Welcome back, Nigella. Your country needs you.”
Three of the best meal kits...
Taiwanese stuffed bao buns are perfect for sending through the post, said Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times. Bao’s kit for two, which costs £20 (plus £7 for nationwide delivery), contains the ingredients for six pork buns, which you assemble yourself. “Each bite is perfect” (baolondon.com/shop). London restaurant The Quality Chop House showcases British flavours in its £65 meal kit for two, which it ships nationwide on Wednesdays and Fridays, said Shekha Vyas on London Eater. Sample menu: cod roe and bread, bone-in sirloin with confit potatoes, plus dessert (thequalitychophouse.com). Finally Ottolenghi’s “convenient pouches” are perfect for those whose cooking skills are somewhat questionable – or who just don’t fancy slaving in the kitchen at the end of a long day, said Rebecca Cope in Tatler. Options include his signature shakshuka (just add eggs) and pulled lamb tagine. “The ultimate winter comfort food” (ottolenghi.co.uk).
...and pud in the post for dessert
Are you craving something sweet to eat, but anxious to avoid the “trauma of home baking”? Fortunately, plenty of companies will deliver “sugar-sweet post straight to your doorstep”, says Lucy Kehoe in The Spectator. From St Albans-based The Pudding Stop (thepuddingstop.com), you can choose from a range of oven-ready deserts – including sticky toffee pudding, apple crumble and melt-in-the-middle chocolate puds. London bakery Cutter & Squidge (cutterandsquidge.com) deliver their “greedily iced” handmade cakes throughout the UK, and they also do an afternoon tea kit for two. From Crème (creme.london), you can order luxuriantly thick cookies: “rugged slabs of goldenbaked dough” in four varieties – including a “euphorically squidgy banana dark chocolate combo” – and are posted in boxes of six or 12. And from The Proof (the-proof.com), Londoners can order a box of “devilishly decadent” Chantillyfilled profiteroles, replete with a rich dark chocolate sauce and a choice of toppings. Proof currently ships only to parts of east London, but is aiming to go city-wide soon.