Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many

Product Information

Those spoilt types, like me, who are fortunate enough to eat occasionally at Quo Vadis will turn immediately to pies (“even the planet must have a crust”), knowing that no one on Earth makes a better one, before checking the index (I’ll save you the bother: it’s pages 144-5) for Lee’s smoked eel sandwich, for my money the greatest thing to appear on any menu (or cookbook page) since, yup, sliced bread. A fixture in the British culinary world due to successful stints running London restaurants, popular newspaper columns, and frequent television appearances, Jeremy Lee offers a beguiling combination of dishes which almost seem to be familiar but carry an aura of difference. They’re filled with books about food, from nouvelle cuisine pioneer Michel Guérard to current London pastry sensation Ravneet Gill. The great and good in food are all gushing about this book and as part of food’s upper tier it’s no surprise to see this praise for Mr Lee.

An inspiring collection of recipes and musings that have me wanting to cook every recipe and hang off every word!

Place the fillets of hake in a deep ovenproof dish, lightly season with salt and white pepper and lightly dress with a soup spoon of olive oil. Not only is Cooking the most beautiful cookery book in living memory (with illustrations by the great John Broadley), but it is also that very rare thing: a book, both magisterial and friendly, that immediately feels like it has always been a part of your life, even though it’s brand-new. Discard any excess fat from the pan, pour the red wine vinegar on to the chop, and turn it a few times to make sure it’s evenly coated.

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. It’s also a journey through Lee’s career, from his signature snack of baked salsify, back to a classic pommes anna from his time at the London club Boodles, as well as a tribute to peers, mentors and his food-loving parents, who would think nothing of driving across Scotland for hours to pick up a good lobster. Great work from, clearly, someone who doesn't need to sell books to pay the mortgage, although PLEASE come back on Saturday Kitchen. I had several such soup spoons, heavy EPNS jobs, knocking around at home - relics of long lost cutlery sets I imagine - so I use them when I am cooking one of these recipes. Anybody who has seen Jeremy Lee judge on the Great British Menu, or on one of his other rare TV appearances will know him to be a great raconteur, in addition to being a great cook.Place a potato slice in the centre of the skillet and lay the rest of the slices around, overlapping. Despite his slow start, in the end Lee over-delivered with his manuscript, and some favourite recipes were lost to the editing process. 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. God knows that this kind of thing is standing on the shoulders of the great and the many,” he says, gesturing to the shelves on all walls of his home.

We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. A chapter on blood oranges sits between Biscuits and Breadcrumbs, while Impromptu Dinners provides meals (such as a perfect pork chop and pan juices) that can be made for one or scaled up; and there are simple, joyous meals to feed a crowd (little meatballs, or fennel and lemon spaghetti). 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.Lightly oil and season the skin side of the sardines, then lay them in the onion pan, skin side down, and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, until the flesh turns pale. Everything is do-able (although some ingredients are a bit of a challenge if you want the best quality versions and live outside the major cities), it's well written, and engaging. The book, Cooking: Simply And Well, For One or Many, was the result of many years of work, on and off, and he wasn’t quite ready to face its reality.