Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
It’s a beautiful read. I find the recipes intensely inspiring. But I don’t follow them word for word. It’s the spirit of them, and the way they are written. Elizabeth David’s recipes give you a sense of place: I feel as if I am in France with her.
Your next choice is Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. Food writers always seem to love her, but for the rest of us is this more of a work of literature than a practical everyday cookbook?
It is a beautiful read. I find the recipes intensely inspiring. But I don’t follow them word for word. One of the things that very few people dare to mention about Elizabeth David is that some of her recipes don’t work. It’s heresy to say so, but they don’t. It’s the spirit of her recipes, and the way in which they’re written that’s inspiring. I find her very grounding. When you read chef’s recipes, and you suddenly think, ‘It’s all too fancy. I want to go back to basic good cooking!’ then I pick up French Provincial Cooking. Yes, there are complicated pâtés and terrines in there. But many of the recipes are quite quick – you can knock up one of her chicken sautés or a little pork au pruneaux very quickly. I think because of her descriptions and the way she writes, sometimes her recipes seem more complex than they are. Another thing I like about this book is the fact that it doesn’t date. A lot of books written in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, when you look at them, they’re almost caricatures: you find it difficult not to laugh. Whereas this book, it’s as relevant today as it was then. She was lucky – she got to that classic stuff before anybody else did…
And what’s your favourite recipe in French Provincial Cooking?
I think the poulet à l’estragon. I use that a lot. It’s a very simple chicken dish with butter and tarragon. Elizabeth David’s recipes give you a sense of place: I feel as if I’m in France with her. For somebody who was so bad-tempered and snarly, that she should be able to write so beautifully, it’s amazing.
You knew her?
I didn’t know her, but I had the odd communication with her. She was a regular customer in a shop I once worked in. She was quite bad-tempered, but she wrote magically.
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Nigel Slater is a cook who writes. He has been food columnist for The Observer for 16 years and is presenter of BBC1’s Simple Suppers. He has just been voted Food Personality of the Year at the BBC Food and Farming Awards. He is the author of eight cookery books, and his latest book is called Tender. Almost a thousand pages and four years in the making, it is published in two volumes. The first – the story of his vegetable patch – has just been published. The second volume is due in 2010.
