Celebrity Chefs

Nigella’s Tips for Perfect Meat

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Nigella’s cooking advice has always been very practical for home cooks. Here are her secrets to handling meat, from her website

A 1 and three quarter kg chicken will take an hour and 15 minutes to roast in a 200°C oven.

Lamb needs 20 minutes per 500g at 200°C to make it pink but not rare. If you want your lamb better cooked, add another 20 minutes onto the overall cooking time.

Rare beef needs 15 minutes per 500g at 220°C. Add 5 minutes per 500g for medium, 10 minutes per 500g for well-done.

Pork needs 30 minutes per 500g at 200°C.

When boiling ham I reckon on 25 minutes per 500g plus 25 minutes for the pot.

Always let meat rest for at least 15 minutes when it comes out of the oven as the meat will be juicier and easier to carve.

The above timings are based on meat being at room temperature before it goes into the oven.

Nigella shares Childhood Recipe

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We love Nigella’s simple but elegant desserts — very doable for even ordinary cooks (though we’d never look half as good in an apron). Here she shares a recipe from her childhood. Get more from her website or her numerous cookbooks.

Ingredients

350g dark chocolate
3 Metric Cups (750ml) Cream
5 Dessert spoons Honey

Combine the chocolate, broken into pieces, the honey and 3/4 cup of cream over a barely simmering water bath. Stir until chocolate has just melted and combined with the cream and honey. Set aside to cool. While the mixture is cooling, whip the remaining 2 1/4 cups of cream to not quite firm, but a little more than soft peaks (this is exactly what I have written in my book). Gradually fold in the whipped cream to the now cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into one serving bowl or individual bowls if preferred (this makes a generous amount) and refrigerate. If using one large serving bowl, the mousse will probably take a good 3 hours to set.