Chatting with Nigella Lawson
Posted by Madeline Miller on Edible TV.
The New York Daily News recently chatted with Nigella Lawson about her new book: Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast. The impetus for the book was Nigella’s busy schedule and her feeling that food is about more than providing sustenance: “Yes, I love us to eat food that I feel is good and fresh and to see them eating well,” she says, “but that’s only part of the equation. For me, it’s about spinning a protective, caring web.”
Nigella’s new cookbook is separated into chapters that include workday dinners, holiday snaps and instant calmers. It includes recipes for “salads of canned beans and smoked fish, flash-fried calamari with a garlicky dipping sauce or even no-cook ice cream and cold Asian noodle salads.”
She just doesn’t like to do the dishes, but she has “a really great housekeeper who is happy to pick up the slack the next morning if my work, the kids’ homework and other demands at home mean that I leave a little mess to greet her the next day!”
Here is her recipe for Quick Calamari with Garlic Mayonnaise. Check out the full article for recipes for Smoked Cod with Cannellini, Peanut Sesame Noodles, and No Churn Pomegranate Ice Cream.
QUICK CALAMARI WITH GARLIC MAYONNAISE
Serves 2
1 cup peanut oil or as needed, depending on the size of pan
1 pound frozen calamari (tubes and tentacles) to give 12 ounces unfrozen, thawed in the refrigerator
1/4 cup semolina
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (or use salt and paprika)
For the garlic mayonnaise:
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup best quality, preferably organic, mayonnaise
Heat the oil in a smallish saucepan, and, while it’s heating, cut the thawed calamari into 1/2-inch rings.
Put the semolina, cornstarch and seasoning into a plastic freezer bag.
Add the calamari rings and tentacles, and then toss to coat.
When the oil is hot enough, which is when it sizzles up fiercely when you drop in a small cube of bread, fry the calamari in batches to get the most golden crunchiness. A couple of minutes per batch is all you should need.
Lift the calamari from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Grate or crush the garlic. Stir well to mix into the mayonnaise and serve alongside the fried calamari.
