Nigella spices up new cookbook with essays

COOK, EAT, REPEAT

Nigella Lawson Loot.co.za (R419) CHATTO & WINDUS

FANS of domestic goddess Nigella Lawson will be delighted she has a new book out: Cook, Eat, Repeat.

In some ways it is unlike her other cookbooks.

Most have been picture-andrecipe type books, but this time Nigella, aware that the lockdown would give many readers more time to read and cook, offers readers a combination of recipes illustrating her passion for food and essays which reflect her love of words and writing.

To fully appreciate Cook, Eat, Repeat, may I suggest a novel way of reading it?

First read all the essays – this will give context – and then approach the recipes.

If you read the book the way you do other cookbooks, you are likely to get impatient looking for the recipes.

“Food, for me, is a constant pleasure: I like to think greedily about it, reflect deeply on it, learn from it: it provided comfort, inspiration, meaning and beauty as well as sustenance and structure. More than just a mantra, ‘cook, eat, repeat’ is the story of my life.”

The chapters each have a variety of recipes in them: A is for Anchovies; Pleasures; A Loving Defence of Brown Food; Rhubarb; Much Depends on Dinner; and Christmas Comforts.

Nigella’s recipes show the home cook how to use good ingredients well and she encourages you, through cooking practice, to fill your pantry shelves with ingredients that are your favourites and that work for you.

The recipes are not designed for entertaining guests, but are tailored rather to cater for those family members who live in your “domestic bubble”.

There is much to enjoy recipewise in Cook, Eat, Repeat and its essays are enriching. Hopefully, we will soon be able to enjoy the accompanying TV series.