Sawalha - Fabulous Family Food: Easy, delicious recipes youll cook again and again

NADIA SAWALHA

Fabulous Family Food

NADIA SAWALHA

Fabulous Family Food

Easy, delicious recipes
youll cook again
and again

Food photography by Mark Adderley

MACMILLAN

This book is for my beautiful girls, Issy, Fleur, Maddie and Kiki-Bee. I love you with all my heart.

Note on Ingredients

Eggs: All eggs used in the recipes are medium unless otherwise stated.

Butter: Where I havent specified salted or unsalted butter in a recipe, you can use either.

Grating Lemons: A few of my recipes call for grated lemon. Make sure you grate lightly so you dont get any of the pith, which will make the recipe bitter.

CONTENTS

Food is my first love

Well, apart from my kids, dog, guinea pigs and fella just not necessarily in that order. (Guinea pigs must always come first!) I love buying it, eating it, smelling it, looking at it, reading, writing and talking about it, and of course I love cooking it. Ahhh, what a joy!

To cook something gorgeous for those I love (even for those I only like), is to utterly lose myself in my kitchen. Sometimes if I want something really show-offy Ill happily spend hours tinkering away getting everything just so. But thats only sometimes... because most of the time, what with the chaotic nature of modern family life, I just want and need to get gorgeous-tasting food on the table with as little fuss and nonsense as possible.

We all know great family food cooked simply is a recipe for success in any busy household... And I dont know about your house, but mine is insanely busy from the minute the dog lands on my head at the crack of dawn begging for her brekkie, the husband asks for the umpteenth time whether I can rustle up that lovely thing you do with bacon and avocado, right through till 2 a.m. when one of the teenagers will ring up for Mum and Dads mini-cab service invariably expecting a late night snack tucked into a Tupperware container as an accompaniment!

So, with all my family and friends to feed, my weekly food columns to invent for and numerous TV cookery shows to perform on, Im pretty much cooking round the clock! Hence I have a whole host of recipes at my fingertips that Ive tested and re-tested and that Im now very happy to share with you lucky lot.

By turning the page you will be opening the door into my very own family kitchen where Ive prepared a foodie answer to each and every one of your domestic culinary prayers. Promise!

If youve had the day from hell and fallen through the door half-starved with a famished family baying for your blood, I have a recipe to save you.

If youve forgotten that Auntie Gladys is coming round for tea and its only her Coo-ee at the door thats jogged your memory, I have a recipe to save you.

Even if youve had a slobbing-around-in-your-pyjamas day (yeah right, how often does that happen?!) and the kids have turned up with friends home for tea, never fear for I also have a recipe to save you.

As my hubby once said when he had to fend for himself and the kids in the kitchen for a week whilst I was away I wish I had some quick-fix recipes ready at my fingertips.

And thats precisely what this book is about. Whatever your familys culinary needs are, this lovingly put together book will hold your hand and guide you through over one hundred fabulous foodie answers to your prayers. So come on, put your pinny on and lets get cookin!

NO-FUSS FOOD

Fuss: verb show unnecessary or excessive concern

Synonym worry; fret; be agitated; be worried; take pains; make a big thing out of

Fussing in the kitchen is an accusation that people who dont know how to cook level at those of us who do know how to cook. Its a way of making out that we want to be stressed, that for some reason we want to be the centre of attention when all were really doing is trying to satisfy the grumbling tummies of impatiently hungry family members and friends.

How many times have you heard someone say no need to fuss, or dont worry, I dont want anything too fussy, or why all the fuss and nonsense? Its only dinner!?

If Im honest, the only fuss in my household is the fussiness of my diners! So consider this chapter your suit of armour, designed to protect you from any accusation of being a fuss in the kitchen. Knowing you have a handful of recipes up your sleeve that you can rely on, that you dont need to fret, worry, or make a big thing out of, is one of family lifes greatest comforts. By the end of this chapter youll be the proud owner of some wonderfully easy tasty recipes that you can cook any day of the week. These are the kinds of dishes you can call on for those evenings when you just want to pop open a nice cold bottle of something fizzy, get your comfies on and rustle something up that will keep everyone happy (and quiet) whilst you kick back and have the evening YOU wanted!

Whether its a simple supper recipe for those annoying we-thought-wed-just-pop-in friends who turn up at your door, a heart-warming midweek meal that all the family (even the picky eaters) will love, or better still, a romantic meal for two (your lucks in!) I guarantee, whatever the scenario, youll find the recipe to cater for your needs right here.

So how about gorgeously creamy cheese gnocchi, terrifically tasty tandoori chicken, or super savoury bread and butter pudding? These are just a few of the delights thatll be coming your way in this chapter. So, get your oven gloves on and let those corks start popping! By the time youve served up these dishes, the only fuss being made will be of you!

SESAME PORK ESCALOPES

My girls love to cook this dish because they love to get messy. Luckily for them, Mum is the messiest cook in the world so consequently doesnt give a flying banana how bad the kitchen gets. Go on, let your little angels make a mess too!

Serves 4

4 pork loin steaks, all fat removed

juice of lemon

large handful of plain flour

salt and pepper

2 free-range eggs, whisked

breadcrumbs made from 4 slices of bread

zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp sesame seeds

handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

vegetable oil for frying

Put the pork steaks between two pieces of clingfilm and gently flatten with a rolling pin. Rub lemon juice over them. Using three shallow bowls, put the flour in one and season well, then put the egg in another, and finally mix the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, sesame seeds, parsley, Parmesan and chilli (if using) together in the third. Season the pork, then dip in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Put the breaded pork into the fridge until ready to cook.

Heat a good couple of glugs of oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the escalopes for 23 minutes each side, until light golden brown on the outside and cooked through to the middle. Serve with spaghetti tossed in olive oil and chopped fresh tomatoes or with saut potatoes or rice.