Keep It Simple: A Fresh Look at Classic Cooking

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Simply printing recipes different in tone to those that had characterised food for a generation however would not, in all likelihood, have garnered Alastair Little the critical acclaim that he received though. This book is self-consciously polemical. Beginning by telling you what you should have in a kitchen (an unusual move for a chef not known from TV appearances) he preaches simplicity and seasonality in cooking. It is these points that people most probably mean when referring to the book's influence. The last of them was developed to a greater degree by another Glenfiddich Award winner: the thoroughly British The River Cottage Year. many people the word zabaglione conjures up images of the kind of trattoria where the host greets you with overpowering bonhomie. You sit at 'your' table (inevitably 'the best in the house', just next to the kitchen service doors) and grimly contemplate the cold antipasto - with its obligatory leaden aubergine - with growing foreboding. Forget all that. Here the zabaglione is cooked into a tart of apple and prunes held in a sweet crisp crust. I got the recipe from Rowley Leigh. He, in turn, had it from Yves Thuries, the French patissier. Preparation: Make the compote the day before: use a potato peeler to scrape off the zest from the lemon. A Provencal vegetable stew best served at room temperature, ratatouille should be a very basic preparation and not over-refined. Bad variations (vegetables diced too small, too much tomato, using dried herbs and so on) often debase one of the finest possible combinations of Mediterranean flavours. Cooking: Scatter the garlic in the prepared gratin dish. Then arrange the drained potatoes on top, cut sides upwards. Pour over the olive oil and dot with the butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Fusion food does make its mark in this book but it would be unfair to characterise the whole work as that; some dishes may be fusion inspired but others owe clear allegiance to a particular national culinary tradition. The vast array of those national culinary traditions does point in the same direction though: British, Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Morrocan flavours are all here in this publication. He eventually became assistant manager at Small’s before moving in 1974 to the Old Compton Wine Bar, where he took over as head chef when the previous one quit. With no professional training, he kept the menu simple and it was here that he began his practice of sourcing ingredients from the small shops and produce markets in Soho. Serving: Dust the cake with icing sugar and cut into wedges. Serve with seasonal fruit, or a Compote of Winter Fruit (recipe overleaf). Add another splash of olive oil to the pan, turn up the heat to medium and saute the peppers. They need to be cooked until slightly brown, not collapsing but with some residual bite. When done, transfer to the colander. Repeat with the aubergines, then finally the courgettes.

Everybody has a variation on the dauphinois theme. This version was first shown to me by Rowley Leigh who was taught how to cook this dish by the Roux brothers, so the pedigree is faultless. It is unfashionably rich, expensive and unhealthy, so very small portions please. At this point shout triumphantly as the caramel-glossed Tarte Tatin smiles at you in rustic perfection or, as may well be the case, burst into tears as overcooked apples cling tenaciously to the toffee in the pan and you contemplate an unattractive mess. I serve these seasonal fruits poached in a spicy red wine syrup with a slice of Sauternes and Olive Oil Cake to give a textured contrast. Make this compote at least a day ahead of serving; it will keep for a week or more in the fridge. A classic taste of late summer, this is one of the few dishes that uses sliced white bread to advantage. It is also one of the few English desserts admired by French and Italians alike. You should only make it when berries are both abundant and cheap (a proper summer pudding should never include strawberries). It has to be made at least the day before it is needed and is better for two or three days in the fridge. Serving: Scoop into balls with a spoon or ice- cream scoop and serve in the chilled glasses. I once went out after dark to get some mint from the garden of a friend's restaurant to garnish a sorbet. The portion was rapidly returned with the message that, no matter how authentic, the diner would prefer his sorbet without a caterpillar. So, as a general rule, do not decorate this sorbet with mint leaves.

This recipe I have based on an inspired idea of Alice Waters, chef proprietor of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. She is one of the masters of modern cooking, and her recipes have been among my most profound influences. After graduation, he flirted briefly with a career in film editing, but his much more lucrative evening job as a waiter at Small’s, a Knightsbridge cafe, took over. This book won the Glenfiddich Award in 1994 and I still sometimes hear it referred to reverentially as the godfather of modern British cooking. It is, and it isn't: it clearly marks a break from the French dominated nouvelle cuisine & cuisine classique that had lorded British gastronomy in the 1970s and 1980s; it equally clearly has influenced developments in British dining culture since then as well as in food writing and home cooking. What some people might have forgotten is that British cuisine, as it is today, did not emerge miraculously in its present form from under the tyranny of heavy sauces - there was the rebellious phase of fusion food marking the journey. Serving: Put a scoop of the ice-cream in the middle of each plate and arrange 4 figs around it, or put a spoonful of the ice-cream in the middle of each fig with the rest of the ice-cream in a bowl for people to help themselves. Prepare the broccoli: first put a large pan of lightly salted water on to heat - you need very little salt in the cooking water, as the florets retain salt and intensify the seasoning. I once had a review that said everything was lovely except the broccoli, which tasted as if it had been cooked in sea water. Point taken] Split the broccoli into florets and cut out the woody stems and discard. You can find caterpillar infestation, so watch out. Wash and leave to soak in a bowl of cold water. This will freshen the vegetable.

You can actually buy peach tea, which gives this ice-cream its unique flavour. However, if you cannot find any, use an aromatic and floral China tea such as jasmine. Preparation: First, the crumble topping: sift the flour into a bowl with the brown sugar and almonds and combine them using your fingers. Add the butter and continue to work for several minutes until the ingredients are thoroughly blended in and the mixture is very crumbly. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes.