FROM
D IN N E R
IN
W IT H
N IG E L L A
Meet Nigella
Television personality and best-selling author
Nigella Lawson loves weekend cooking, f*One of
the benefits of the weekend is that you have the
luxury of time. It’s liberating to make something
that takes a long time to cook/* she says. And
when she entertains, her main focus is on
enjoying the process— making a delicious meal
and then sharing it with friends. uIt is very
important to enjoy the cooking and not to turn
it into drudgery
/ 7
she says* “Allow yourself
time to enjoy being in the kitchen
.77
Besides writing a number of best-selling
cookbooks* Nigella also hosts several cooking
shows. Her most recent book is
Nigella Kitchen:
Recipes fro m the H eart o f the Home.
Her Food
Network show by the same name will premier
this fall. Nigella lives in London with her family.
Avocado Quesadillas
prep
15 min.
cook
2 min./quesadilla
4
soft flour or corn tortillas
4
OZ. Manchego cheese, sliced
1
avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
16
canned or jarred jalapeno slices
1. Place 1
tortilla on
a
work
surface. Place about
a
quarter of the cheese on one half, not too near edge
so
cheese
will not
melt out as
it Cooks.
2. Top cheese with a quarter of the avocado
and
four jalapeno slices. Fold tortilla
in
half over filling
to form a semicircle.
3. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Slide
uncooked quesadilla onto the pan. Squish down
with a weight or just press briefly with a spatula.
Cook 1 minute, then flip the quesadilla and grill
1
minute more or until cheese is melted.
4. Transfer the quesadilla to a cutting board and
slice into
6
wedges. Serve immediately. Repeat with
remaining ingredients. Make 24 wedges.
e a c h
w e d g e
42 ectf 2 gfat, 3 fngchol, 109 mg
sodium14 g carbo, 1 gfiber, 1 gpro.
Mustard and Ginger
Cocktail Sausages
p r e p
15 min.
b a k e
25 min.
o v e n
350°F
If you can’t find the ginger conserve, substitute
orange marmalade adding
1
teaspoon ground
ginger and
2
teaspoons freshly grated ginger.
Vz
cup ginger conserve
Vi
cup whole grain mustard
1
Tbsp. garlic-flavor olive oil
1
Tbsp. soy sauce
I1/; to
1
V
a
lb. cooked or smoked cocktail sausages
1
. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a shallow baking pan
with aluminum foil, or use a disposable foil pan. In
a large bowl, whisk together the ginger conserve,
mustard, garlic-flavor oil, and soy sauce.
2
. Turn the sausages in the mustard mixture.
Arrange on prepared pan. Cook 25 to 30 minutes or
until browned, stirring once during cooking. Makes
6
servings +
leftovers.
e a c h
s e r v in g
249 cal, 18 gfat, 48 mgchol, 750 mg
sodium, 8 g car bo, 0 g fiber, 12 g pro.
Ruby Salad with Mustard-
Pot Dressing
s t a r t
t o
f in is h
15 min.
Nigella makes this dressing right in a mustard pot
or jar that's almost empty—it’s a great way to use
up all the remaining mustard in the pot. You can
also mix the ingredients together in any clean,
small jar, adding Dijon mustard.
5
cups arugula
6
cups ruby chard or other red-toned tender
leaf salad
One nearly empty Dijon mustard pot or jar
(or
Vi
tsp. Dijon mustard)
1
Tbsp. red wine vinegar
4
Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Vi
tsp. honey
1
*
Combine arugula and ruby chard in a salad bowl.
2
*
Pour vinegar, oil, and honey into the mustard
pot, and add a pinch of
salt
(Or add the vinegar, oil,
mustard, honev, and salt into ajar.) Top with the lid
and shake to mix the ingredients well*
4. Pour over salad greens; toss gently and
thoroughly to dress al) the greens. Serve at once.
Makes
6
servings +
leftovers,
each
serving
50
cal, 5 gfat, 0 mgchol, 59 mg
sodium, 2 g carbo
, I
gfiber, 1 gpro.
All recipes (excluding salad) from
Nigella
Kitchen
by Nigella Lawson. Copyright © 2010.
Published by Hyperion, Available wherever
books are sold. All Rights Reserved.
MADE TO ORDER
W h ile I have no
desire to be a short-
order chef, 1
rather like
sta n d in g c o m fo rta b ly
by m y stove g rillin g
quesadillas and
handing them
o u t
hot,”
N igella says. “ Ify o u
w a n t th e g rill m arks to
com e th ro u g h clearly,
it w ill help i f yo u w eigh
the quesadilla dow n
w ith a heavy' saucepan
o r a b ric k w rapped in
fo il as it cooks.”
LITTLE PIGGIES
H
can never resist
a c o c k ta il sausage
as an appetizer,
and I c o u ld n ’t q u ite
co n te m p la te a p a rty
w ith o u t th e m ”
N ig e lla says. “ I adore
the ric h p u n g e n t
heat o f th e g in g e r
conserve th a t— along
w ith th e sharp h it
o f m u s ta rd — w raps
its e lf lik e an a ro m a tic
b la n ke t a ro u n d th e
little sausages.”
