Tender

The Aubergine seduces. No other vegetable can offer flesh so soft, silken and tender. You don't so much chew an aubergine as let it dissolve on your tongue.I fell in love at first taste: baked till its flesh had almost melted, heavy with olive oil, musky with cinnamon and allspice, cumin and ginger, sweet with golden sultanas. 

The introduction to Nigel Slater's chapter on aubergines in Tender, page 39.

Nigel has been a friend and saviour to me for some time now. In times of sorrow, when others may turn to god, wine, self-help books or chocolate, I turn to Nigel. I have many of his books including Real Food, Appetite, Kitchen Diaries and now Tender. I don't even need to read them, I can just sit on the couch flicking through the images of dusky apples, fresh asparagus shoots, nutty roasted pumpkin, or plump raspberries. 

I turn to him for seasonal guidance and inspiration. I don't always follow the recipe but garner inspiration on how to put together ingredients. So a roast leg of lamb may be served with a cumin and chickpea mash rather than beans and spuds (which also have their place). 

My one, minor, gripe to date is the amount of meat and cream that he uses. But with Tender it would seem, Mr Slater has turned a corner. My favourite sentence so far is;

 "While still enjoying my crackling pork roasts and chargrilled lamb, my baked mackerel and crab salad, I have become more interested than ever in the effect of a diet higher in 'greens' than it is in meat - both in terms of my own wellbeing and, more recently, those implications that go beyond me and those for whom I cook."

After nearly two years spent with my Vegan love, vegetables have a new place in my heart. I consider meals around a vegetable rather than a piece of meat. A glossy purple aubergine will be seasoned with coriander seeds, cumin and baked in a fresh tomato sauce, kidney beans will go in with onion and garlic and some chilli for heat and be served with fresh coriander, an entrée may just be steamed asparagus shoots served with lemon and salt. My kitchen cupboards are never without tins of beans or chickpeas and packets of almonds or cashews.

Cookbooks hold escapism as well as a sense of hope and opportunity. Nigel Slater is on the money with understanding the whole sensory experience of cooking - handling the vegetables, the fragrant scent of cooking and the pleasure in seeing your loved ones eat. I think the reason why I turn to him when my life feels troubled is that I am reminded of the simplest joy in my life.

The lovely thing about taking a cookbook with you on the bus, train or tram is that you can plan the evening meal as you travel. What a nice way to transition out of your work day and into your evening. 

Comments

[Beaut Commute]

Oh I love the meaty stuff as well I have to say. What stuff Nigel does with lamb, Mary likes. Love the title as well. The book is about his garden so it has tips on how to grow things as well as recipes.

[Jojo]

Yay, another Nige-o-phile. I slaver like an unrepentant carnivore over his meatier recipes, but I really must get my hands on a copy of Tender (and I love the pun in the title - have you seen pics of his lovely kitchen garden?).

[Beaut Commute]

Helen! I am envious of your life! A metal shop and pies! Heaven to a Kiwi is a shed to tinker in and a pie in the oven. Welcome comrade, we hope to see you often!

[Helen]

Mary, I loved how you wrote this blog. I KWYM with Nigel Slater. I love his work, too. Mmmm.. your aubergine dish sounds so yummy. I've recently used fennel seeds; so fragrant and tasty.
Happy transitions,
helen