Nigel Slater’s Dish of the Day episode 3: Nigel cooks seven delicious dishes, with simple recipes that make quality ingredients go further, proving we can treat ourselves without breaking the bank. Including chicken and leek pie, mushroom medley and raspberry and cinnamon meringue.
Nigel Slater shows how, with a bit of culinary creativity, he turns the contents of his weekly shop into seven delicious dishes – one for every day of the week. Nigel Slater OBE is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for The Observer Magazine for over a decade and is the principal writer for the Observer Food Monthly supplement. Prior to this, Slater was a food writer for Marie Claire for five years.
Nigel Slater’s Dish of the Day episode 3
Raspberry cinnamon meringue
Light, crisp balls of meringue topped with raspberries and dark chocolate.
Method:
- Preheat the oven on to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
- Pour the sugar into an oven tray and bake for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the egg whites while adding the warm sugar. Whisk well until the whites form a hard peak shape when the whisk is removed.
- Line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Spoon mounds of the egg white onto the baking tray in rough shapes approximately the size of a tennis ball. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a simmering pan of water.
- When the meringues are cooked, flatten the tops down. Evenly distribute the raspberries on each one.
- With a spoon, trickle the melted chocolate over the meringues and leave to cool until the chocolate is solid before serving.
Hot chorizo and mozzarella sandwich
Melting mozzarella, hot chorizo and baby spinach leaves in a baguette: sandwiches don’t get better than this.
Method:
- Place the chorizo slices in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. There is no need to use any oil or butter. Cook gently for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through, until the oil begins to escape from the sausage.
- Lay the slices of mozzarella on top of the chorizo, then carefully spoon some of the oil over the top.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the cheese to melt, then season with a few twists of freshly ground black pepper.
- Spoon the chorizo and mozzarella into the baguette, then spoon the juices from the pan over the top. Again, there is no need to butter the bread, as the pan juices will ensure the bread gets deliciously moist.
- Place a handful of spinach leaves inside the baguette. Give it a good squeeze, allowing all of the juices to soak into the bread, and the spinach to wilt a little.
- Slice the baguette in half and serve immediately.