Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many

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Food A-Z is the much anticipated first cook book from Jeremy Lee, celebrated head chef at London's Quo Vadis. Capturing all of Jeremy's favourite recipes and kitchen techniques, Food A-Z will cover everything from elevenses biscuits to warm salads and one pot dishes, at the same time giving advice on the best equipment for a home cook. Featuring beloved Scots recipes from his childhood, along with timeless tips and anecdotes, Food A-Z will be a charmingly unusual classic food book. Put the mould in a deep oven tray. Pour the custard into the mould then put the tray in the middle of the oven. Pour enough hot water into the tray to bring the level up to a few centimetres short of the surface of the custard.

Cover the dish and bake in the hot oven until done, say 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm. Any residual juices left in the dish can be added to the sauce. Jeremy Lee, photographed at his restaurant, Quo Vadis, in London. Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer Should the spirit be willing, making mincemeat is a lovely job done early on in December – you could even make a large batch, and keep any leftovers for next year. Make the pastry the night before you need the tart, or, alternatively, up to a week before and freeze it. A visit to the supermarket for golden sugared almonds and candied mint leaves is always worthwhile to jolly along a Christmas pie. You will need a 23cm-round tart tin.It’s impossible to not get on with Jeremy Lee. Anyone who has seen him chatting to diners at the tables in Quo Vadis knows what a warm, friendly personality he has. But it’s once you’ve tasted his cooking that you know you’ll be returning to his restaurant very soon. From a lifetime of cooking with some of the UK's greatest chefs – as well as lessons from his mother – Cooking is a book about good food honed from good ingredients, whether it is a particularly good bundle of asparagus or a great box of artichokes. The ingredients invariably spark the idea of what to cook next. It's time for another review from our series of Home Cooking Cookbooks. Jeremy Lee Cooking cookbook is the first book from one of the UK's most treasured chefs. Given Scottish chef Jeremy Lee's culinary career - Simon Hopkinson and the recently departed Alistair Little both appear on his CV - and his obvious mastery of prose it’s a wonder why it has taken him so long to pen his first book. Yet, with all good things, it is worth the wait.

Peel and core the apple, halve it, slice the halves thinly and toss in lemon juice. Lay these concentrically and fairly evenly over the pastry. Brush the apple with melted butter. Evenly sugar the apple slices. (These keep remarkably well in the fridge if necessary.) As anyone who has seen him laugh and charm his way through the room at Quo Vadis would expect, Lee is as generous in prose as he is when talking about the book, heaping praise on the close team who helped bring it all together. Lee and friends shot the photographs for the book at his home, for a true reflection of his cooking – the chocolate tart is a little spilled, the pastry a little blond, the plates and cookware his own. “It’s all very real,” he says. “We’re keen on that.”

Place on the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Lift the lid and remove the foil. Press the cake down lightly with the bottom of a frying pan, then cook for a further 30 minutes, until the edges of the cake have coloured deep gold. A beautifully written instant classic that is every bit as exuberant and delicious as the man himself!' Nigella Lawson A glimpse at Lee’s bookshelves provided within the book give as good as clue as any to the kind of chef he is and the type of cooking that inspires him. While a few modern books can be seen – Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat​, Nuno Mendes’ Lisboeta​, and St John’s Complete Nose to Tail​ to name but three – his shelves sag under the weight of far older, well-thumbed books from the likes of Julia Child, Jane Grigson, Elizabeth David and Madhur Jaffrey. As he describes the recipes in Cooking​ himself, this is home cooking rediscovered after a lifetime spent in professional kitchens. These bakes were all so good. When thinking of 12 puddings for Christmas, I tried to think of all the great classics that many people might enjoy. At the outset of the festive season, Mum would plunder the bookshelves for all her favourite recipes, and the pile of books by Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Claudia Roden and many more remained, throughout December, by the stool Mum always sat upon at the counter in the kitchen. The list of books I consult now are pretty similar, and I’ve called on them all to compile this list.

To make the meringue, in a clean bowl, whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Beat in half of the sugar until stiff peaks appear once more. Repeat with the rest of the sugar. With bold strokes, heap the meringue on the tart, creating a riot of swirls. Heat a cast-iron frying pan over a moderate heat. Liberally and evenly pepper the pork chop on both sides and lightly season with sea salt. Put the oil into the cast-iron pan, lay the pork chop on top and let cook undisturbed until deep mahogany in colour, roughly 8-10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. To assemble the tart, roughly spread the frangipane on the bottom of the pastry case. Strew with the pears then heap on enough mincemeat to just fill the tart. Put this in the fridge to settle. To make the pastry, cut the butter into small pieces and tip into a large bowl with the flour and sugar. Mix together to a fine crumb. Add the egg yolk and a little water. Gently work into a dough. Tip out on to a floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Form into a rough disc, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Have ready a ceramic or metal mould, roughly 28cm wide, 5cm deep.Decorate with golden sugared almonds and candied mint leaves, if using, and serve. 2 Little chocolate turnovers The sliced potatoes require clarified butter, which is easy enough to make. Melt some butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat and spoon away any foam or whey that rises. Carefully ladle the butter through muslin into a bowl, leaving behind the white solids.