Celebrate the calming rituals of the kitchen

“It’s a strange thing to begin a book in one world and finish it in another,” muses Nigella Lawson halfway through her latest book, “Cook, Eat, Repeat” (Harpercollins, $31.99). The famed cooking show host and bestselling author had originally planned to call that chapter “How to Invite People for Supper Without Hating Them (or Yourself ).”

Then the pandemic happened. “I am almost winded by the inappropriateness of this title now,” she confesses.

That chapter — renamed “Much Depends on Dinner” — addresses the lofty expectations so many of us place upon ourselves, even in normal times, when planning a meal for company. All too often, she observes, the worry of falling short leaves us feeling emotionally exhausted even before the guests arrive.

The recipes and narratives that follow aim to help us replace those anxieties with a “sense of animated serenity” when we cook, whether company’s coming or not.

To Lawson, food is a constant, guilt-free pleasure, and repetitious rituals such as peeling, chopping and stirring can be “a balm for the buzzing brain.” The deeply personal, triedand-true recipes she shares are written to put us in that same frame of mind.

Soothingly lyrical essays seduce us into chapters extolling the virtues of anchovies (Spaghetti with Chard, Chiles and Anchovies), the “cozier, quieter pleasures” of brown food (Short Rib Stew for Two), the heart-lifting arrival of rhubarb in spring (Toasted Marshmallow and Rhubarb Cake), and the nostalgic comforts of Christmas (Linzer Cookies).

I tried her Fear-free Fish Stew, which begins with a leisurely spiced tomato base ready to accommodate a last-minute addition of seafood, and followed that dish with an equally delicious and easygoing Cherry and Almond Crumble.

The recipes are spelled out with painstaking precision, but Lawson also encourages spontaneity with simple ideas, such as a canape of butter-smeared bread draped with Spanish anchovies that she deems “better than the fanciest, most curlicued cocktail-party offering.”

While grounding us in structure, Lawson also nudges us to “break free and go with the flow.”