Eat – The Little Book of Fast Food. Nigel Slater

paper. A new pan will stick initially. I get round this by heating a film of oil in it and letting it cool several times, then wiping it with paper. This provides a seal that will stop your omelettes and frittata sticking to the surface.

      A good, flat pan with a heavy base, whether stainless steel or cast iron, is a food friend to have in the kitchen. For the full English, of course, with its bacon and sausage, black pudding, tomatoes and egg, but for so much more. The pork steak or chop that needs to be watched as it cooks; the steak you don’t want to grill; the leftover steamed rice you are resuscitating as fried rice, and for vegetables, chicken and anything else that will cook in a few minutes. It’s the lifesaver pan. The one we all start with. The one Mum packs in our backpack when we leave home. Hopefully with a copy of this book.

       A few favourites

      Sole, asparagus, dill

      Melt a thick slice of butter in a non-stick pan and add a little olive oil. Add 6 asparagus spears, each spear cut in half then into 3 or 4 pieces, and let them cook for a minute or two. Scatter in a few roughly torn dill fronds, then lay 2 lemon sole fillets into the pan carefully, skin-side down and side by side, and spoon the asparagus and butter over them. Season, then continue cooking for 4 or 5 minutes, regularly spooning the hot butter and asparagus over the fish until the flesh becomes opaque.

      Salmon, spinach, garlic

      Fry a piece of salmon in a little oil in a shallow pan, seasoning it with salt as you go. Remove the salmon to a warm place (such as a warm plate with a cover). Put a clove of garlic, peeled and very finely sliced, in the fish pan, let it colour lightly, then add a couple of handfuls of spinach, toss them around in the hot pan, then add a slice of butter and a squeeze of lemon. Serve under the fish.

      A sweet, mildly spiced side dish for pretty much anything

      Coarsely grate about 400g carrots. Add a crushed clove of garlic, a grated thumb-sized lump of fresh ginger and a finely chopped hot chilli. Melt a little butter in a shallow pan then tip in the carrots, toss gently as they cook, then add a handful of chopped roasted cashews, 4 tablespoons of double cream and the same of yoghurt, then scatter with chopped coriander leaves.

      The sweetness of carrots, the coolness of mint

      Gently scrub 450g spring carrots, removing their leaves as you go, then cook them in a little oil in a shallow pan. Keep the heat low, rolling them over now and again and letting them brown very slightly in patches. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped mint and 3 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt to the pan. A side dish really, but satisfying enough with bread and cheese or cold cuts.

      Potato and mushroom rösti

      Grate some potatoes coarsely, then toss them with the beaten egg and flour. Season them with chopped thyme, shape into patties and fry in hot butter till lightly crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper for a few minutes, then top with fried sliced mushrooms and crème fraîche.

      Rösti and meat juices

      Potato rösti are wonderful slipped under grilled lamb steaks or a piece of fillet steak. Something sensational about the crisp tangled straws of potato when they pick up some of the meat juices.

      A mustard and tarragon sauce for steak

      Put a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, the juice of a lemon and about 20 tarragon leaves in a blender or food processor with 50ml olive oil and blitz to a thick purée. Whilst the cooked steak rests, tip the juices from the pan into the tarragon sauce, blend and serve with the steak.

      A red chilli and tomato sauce for steak

      While your cooked steak rests, add a deseeded and very finely chopped red chilli to the pan, soften over a moderate heat then add a few chopped tomatoes, some salt and let the tomatoes cook down to a spicy red slush. Crush with a fork, stir in a handful of chopped coriander and serve with the steak.

      Rice Cakes

      leftover chilled risotto, egg, dried breadcrumbs, Emmental or Gruyère, lemon

      Beat an egg lightly in a shallow dish. Tip a couple of handfuls of dried breadcrumbs on to a plate. Cut the Emmental or Gruyère into small dice and fold into your cold risotto. Take generously mounded serving spoons of the mixture and roll into balls or flat patties (the shape is up to you) then drop them into the beaten egg followed by the breadcrumbs.

      Heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan and fry the cakes a few at a time, till they are crisp on all sides, turning carefully (they are fragile) as you go. Serve 2 croquettes per person with lemon halves.

      Crunch and soft. Melting cheese.

      It is essential to chill the rice quickly for this. Once the risotto is made, cool it quickly, if necessary by putting the pan into a sink of cold water. Chill thoroughly in the fridge overnight.

      Beetroot with Sausage and Rosemary

      beetroot, sausages, carrots, garlic, rosemary, red wine vinegar

      Peel 650g raw beetroot, cut into thick segments, then cut each segment in half. Do the same with 150g carrots, but don’t peel them. Peel and slice 2 cloves of garlic. Roughly chop the needles from 3 sprigs of rosemary. Fry the sliced vegetables, garlic and rosemary in 3 tablespoons of groundnut oil over a moderate heat, till approaching tenderness (the vegetables need to retain a little crispness).

      Cut 400g good, herby butcher’s sausages into three, then add them to the pan, letting them brown nicely. When the beets and carrots are tender, pour in 2 tablespoons of sweetish red wine vinegar, check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as you wish.

      For 2–3. Sweet and sour, a sausage supper for an autumn night.

      Brussels sprouts, sausage and potato