Real Food by Nigel Slater is the book that introduced me to food – and to the joys of a gorgeous cookbook. One of the best cookbooks ever written, a glorious harmony of recipes you want to stuff into your face and some of the best food writing available in English.
Check out my 90s version of the book ⬇︎
The photography is scrappy and full of blurry movement – huge zoomy closeups of melting cheese, crusts cracking, potatoes steaming, as well as moody, grainy still life photography of luscious ingredients. All swaddled in Nigel Slater’s evocative prose – relaxed, luscious, mouth-watering prose – full of joy for the endless delights of great food. Looking over the book again, twenty years after I first saw it, it makes me as hungry as ever. His food is natural, seasonal and resplendent with the kind of culinary decadence I practise in my own kitchen.
If I had to choose a seminal cookbook. This would be it.
On the dinner menu tonight is an old favourite, Mushroom and potato pie – a molten pot of mashed potato, butter, milk, eggs, cheese and garlic mushrooms. His Perfect baked potato, butter-saturated Parmesan garlic bread and umami Mushroom sandwich are all highly, highly recommended. As is essentially every other recipe in the book. It is of great comfort to me – a person whose meals are also full of potato, bread, pasta, garlic, cheese, ice cream and chocolate – to see these foods cherished and celebrated.
Halloumi ‘bacon’ and mushroom sandwich
The juicy, garlicky, mustardy mushrooms in his Hot mushroom sandwich inspired my Halloumi ‘bacon’ and mushroom sandwich (above) in How to Cook Halloumi – if you like halloumi, you will love this book!
