At the start of Lockdown 1 back in March 2020 I wrote a list of things I was absolutely, definitely going to accomplish during those “few months”. The list included starting the Couch to 5k programme, knit a second jumper, clear out my wardrobe and start a new Nigella Lawson cooking project, and a year later I am finally ticking one of these things off my list, just as restrictions are starting to lift. Reader, it is not the Couch to 5k.  

I purchased my first Nigella Lawson cookbook when I was at university, it was on offer and I had recently seen her on TV and thought I’d check it out. That book was Nigella Express. Admittedly I did not use that book much, if at all, throughout my time at university and my diet continued to exist of the basics… bolognaise sauces, frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets eaten from the baking tray to save washing up.

I did continue to buy Nigella’s books as they were released and then filled in the gaps of her earlier books when I was able. I have the full collection of twelve cookbooks, some I use much more that others, and one I admit I have not used once and it is merely on a shelf to complete a set. Nigella exudes glamour and a campness (sashaying to the fridge in a silk dressing gown for a slab of cake and cream at midnight, anyone?) in the kitchen that is enjoyable to view and when I am at a loss of something to watch, or I want a comfort watch of an evening with a hot chocolate or red wine, I very often go to a past episode (very, very often a Christmas one, regardless of the time of year). There’s a comfort in familiarity and the warmth of the aesthetic of her shows, and the food cooked therein. In her books too, I find that reading a recipe and the accompanying introduction is not just a “how to cook this”, it’s a history of the creation process, a backstory, and also an education in not only cooking, but language, and sometimes history. The descriptors used in both television and books can often verge on the comedic, eg. describing a cheesecake that has a “hint of inner thigh wibble”, but this just adds to the many reasons we have to love the self-proclaimed “irredeemably camp” home cook. 

From twelve cookbooks let’s say I’ve cooked on average eight to ten recipes per book. I have therefore cooked/baked/eaten around 110 (or there abouts) from a repertoire verging on two thousand published recipes. For years I have flicked through these books, seen the recipes, marked the pages, but never made the effort to go out of my way to actually try and create the majority of what has caught my eye. 

I’ve decided, therefore, to try and rectify that now. Each week, I will attempt to cook and create a recipe from one of Nigella’s twelve books. The recipe will be randomly selected using The Nigella Lawson Meal Wheel, (not actually a wheel, definitely just an Excel spreadsheet with every N.L. recipe loaded in). It just takes one click and then I’ll know the something I’ll have to cook/toss/grill/mix/other that week. 

Not only is this making up for all the times I haven’t used the books, but I’m also hoping that this project will allow me to discover more foods that I haven’t tried, or dismissed for not liking as a child, as well as new ways of cooking and using ingredients. I’ll always try and follow the recipe as closely as possible so I can experience the end result as intended, however there’s nothing then to stop me adding my own spin on these recipes going forward, adding in what I think would enhance, and removing something that, for me, simply doesn’t appeal to my taste buds. I’ve been told recipes are guidelines, you do not have to follow them 100% (however in baking you absolutely should follow recipes as written because science says so). 

There will be some weeks where the chosen recipes will not be viable due to certain ingredients being out of season, and unless there is a definitive alternative, I’ll put that bake on hold until it can be created as intended, I’m not savvy enough to swap ingredients in and out knowing how it’ll taste… yet! 

“Well Matt, what if you have to cook a Christmas ham in the middle of summer?”, well… then I shall do just that, the rules have been set, and from now… it’s the Law, son!