Nigella reveals why she's supporting small, British suppliers in her recipes
We're huge fans of Nigella Lawson here at GH and we had the chance to speak to her about her latest partnership with online supermarket, Ocado.
The campaign is all about championing small, independent suppliers and Nigella has launched three brand new recipes, which are exclusive to Ocado, with each one showcasing a favourite independent supplier that Nigella personally loves.
The recipes include a sustainably sourced tinned sardine pasta dish, a vibrant British-grown venison steak salad, and our personal favourite – an amaretto jam and lemon curd-filled thumbprint cookie using a small batch preserve brand.
New research by Mortar reveals that 85% of the nation want to support small suppliers more, so we sat down with Nigella to find out why it’s important to her to highlight these suppliers, what seasonal ingredients she’s currently cooking with and how she keeps her recipes affordable.
Are the small producers you're working with predominantly British, and if so, how has it felt to champion locally grown, British brands?
Yes, they are predominantly. I didn't set out with this as a plan, although I'm very happy it turned out to be the case. It's quite good for us to dwell on what we have here and use the larder that's naturally all around us.
People are doing rather interesting things and the great advantage is partly down to the fact you can make these products in much smaller batches, so you have more quality control. You’re using ingredients and products that these smaller producers feel proud of, and they want to bring to people's attention, so it's a really special treat, and a true reflection of them.
When I cook with those sorts of ingredients it's always lovely, because often they work very hard. A particularly good ingredient, or a sauce, or something you might use - once you've got it at home, you really start thinking, "how else can I use it?" and "what can I do to make it go further?"
Say you have 15 minutes to mix up a cake and put it in the oven, you could do a very plain Victoria sponge recipe, which is what I did the other day. The same jar of passionfruit curd that I used for my thumbprint cookies, I then used to fill the middle of a layered cake. It was really great and as much as I do like making jams and curds from scratch- you don't need to when these products are that quality.
There's also a fermented sauce I've got with cocoa in it which sounds mad, but it’s really wonderful, and it gives a lot of depth when used. If you were making shepherd's pie or a Bloody Mary — it does add something wonderful and often those little drops suddenly taste like you've given something two hours of cooking when you haven't.
These things help your life as well as just being great, and even if you're just putting it on at the end and seeing how you can use things, the important thing is to experiment.
I never start off with a plan, I just start off with what I like the taste of — what I've been using in my cooking, what charms me or what I feel deserves a bigger spotlight for more people to know about, because sharing things you love is always a pleasure.
What seasonal ingredients are you currently loving?
I've been doing quite a bit with broad beans lately, which I always love. The other day I podded them, cooked them, shelled them, and this is how most salads go with me. I then grate some lemon zest over when they're still warm and add a little bit of salt, a bit of oil and some samphire (which I love for its saltiness) and add some rocket at the last minute.
I've actually got a fabulous summer recipe coming up in August, a really sensational summer salad and that's got peaches in it. Plus, there's a peach melba pavlova for dessert with that, and I'm also doing quite a lot with courgettes at the moment, too.
How did you work affordability into your recipe development so that people can champion smaller producers, without breaking the bank?
I think it's about having a balance. For example, the sardine spaghetti, I really wanted a recipe that didn't use an awful lot of stuff, other than what you might have already. And even then, if you don't, my recipe suggests oregano and chilli flakes, but people can use whatever herb they want, they don't have to go out and get dried oregano. I've done lots of sardine pastas before, often adding in extra things like pine nuts, a spring onion, or a bit of garlic. But really you could just use the sardines and the pasta cooking water to save time and for ease — and obviously, the fewer ingredients, the better the price is going to be.
But, I think it's just making sure there's always a range of my recipes to suit different budgets and different days — like my thumbprint cookie recipe; which is just butter, sugar, and flour. It doesn’t require an enormous quantity or size to make, and the oven is not on for a long time.
It's about finding a balance there, but it's also about the things I like to eat. I can't write a recipe as a speculative exercise. This is the food I eat and if I like it, it becomes a recipe, and if I don't, I rejig it until I do like it.
The latest additions to the Nigella Loves aisle at Ocado feature a diverse selection of her tried and tested independent supplier products. From Baron Bigod cheese, to Kim Kong Kimchi, Chika’s Black Pepper Cashews and VIVIR Tequila, you’ll find a broad range of fresh and store cupboard ingredients – a mixture of Nigella’s old favourites and new discoveries.
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