Nadiya Hussain’s carrot soup … and carrot and cod curry (pictured above)
Prep 8 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8
400g butter
4 tbsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground turmeric
12 garlic cloves, minced
2 onions, diced
4 tbsp salt
2 kg carrots, peeled and grated
2 medium–large potatoes, peeled and grated
4 oranges, zest and juice
2 litres water or vegetable stock
To serve
Chilli oil
Fresh coriander
Put the butter in a large stockpot or pan on a medium heat. As soon as the butter has melted, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and turmeric and heat through for a few minutes.
Add the garlic, onion, and salt and cook through until the onions are soft.
Then, add the grated carrot along with the grated potato and cook over a high heat, mixing to combine everything.
Add the orange juice and zest, then add the water or stock and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes. Turn the heat down and leave to simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes. As soon as the carrots are tender, puree with a blender to a smooth, creamy paste.
To serve, drizzle with chilli oil and sprinkle on the coriander.
Carrot and cod curry
Prep 5 min
Cook 54 min
Serves 8
Remaining half of the carrot soup
4 x 285g cod fillets, cut into chunks
4 tsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
Sprinkle of salt
1 tsp chilli powder
8 spring onions, sliced into thin strips
Rice and fresh coriander, to serve
Put half the carrot soup in a pan on a medium heat and allow to bubble away and reduce.
Put the cod chunks into a bowl, drizzle over the oil, salt and chilli powder, mix until the fish is coated.
Take a non-stick frying pan and place on a medium heat. Pour some oil into the pan, and as soon as it’s hot add the chunks of fish and cook until golden on each side. Do this in batches, so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Set aside when you’ve done them all.
Fry the spring onions and set aside with the fish. Add the fish and spring onions to the reduced carrot soup, carefully mix, cover and leave to cook for 20 minutes. As the curry cooks, the cod will flake and fall apart, which is perfect – all that delicious flavour will get into every opening of the cod pieces. Sprinkle over the coriander and serve with rice.
Freeze for up to three months.
• Cook Once, Eat Twice by Nadiya Hussain is published by Penguin Michael Joseph(£28), on 12 September. To support the Guardian and the Observer buy a copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply. Her series of the same name is coming to BBC Two and iPlayer shortly
Ravneet Gill’s Chocolate chip cookies
I always have a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer at home – and on the rare occasion I run out, I start to panic. People often come to my house expecting dessert, so having a batch of frozen cookie dough to hand really takes the pressure off. This recipe needs to be chilled or frozen first, so the dough has time to rest and for the butter to absorb the flour.
Prep 15-20 min
Rest overnight
Cook 10-12 min
Makes 14 cookies at 60g each
140g butter, softened
140g dark brown sugar
110g caster sugar
3g baking powder
4g bicarbarbonate of soda
3g Maldon salt
250g plain flour
1 egg
180g dark chocolate, chopped into large chunks
Cream the butter and sugars together in a food mixer or in a bowl with a wooden spoon, until pale. Do not mix for too long: you don’t want the butter and sugar to be super light and fluffy, as this will cause the cookie to deflate in the oven.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add the egg to the sugar mix and beat together quickly. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mix and quickly combine. Add the chocolate and mix until evenly distributed.
Separate the mixture into 60g balls, then place on a tray lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once they’re frozen you can store them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Or if you want to bake them the next day, ball them up in the same way but place them in the fridge.
Always rest your cookie dough overnight before you bake it – you will have a completely different texture if you bake on the same day without the dough having sufficient time to cool.
To bake, heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)350F/gas 4. Space the dough balls out on a baking tray lined with parchment. Bake for 12 minutes from chilled; allow 14 minutes if cooking from frozen.
Take the tray out of the oven and test: the middle should be slightly under-set, which makes for a better texture once cooled. If your oven isn’t particularly powerful, cook for an extra minute. Allow the cookies to rest and continue cooking.
Tom Kerridge’s Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons
People talk about batch cooking like it’s a new thing, but in the restaurant world, it’s a constant. At home, too, my wife and I batch cook often. This dish came into our house as a play on Middle Eastern flavours that I’m a real fan of: bitter-sweet preserved lemons and North African spices like saffron and ras el hanout.
It is in no way authentic but it captures the essence, and it’s a great one to reheat from the freezer. All of its flavours work really well: even once frozen they never seem to dull.
Prep 15-20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 12
2 tbsp olive oil
24 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 onions, cut into 2.5cm wedges
12 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ras el hanout
8 carrots, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces
1.2kg potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 litres chicken stock
A large pinch of saffron strands
240g green olives, drained
8 preserved lemons (from a jar), chopped
For the couscous
2 tsp olive oil
800g wholewheat giant couscous
1.2 litres chicken stock
To serve
A handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick saute pan over a high heat. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Lay six chicken thighs in the pan and cook, turning until golden brown on both sides, then remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining thighs.
Add the onions to the pan and cook over a medium heat for five minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Sprinkle in the ground ginger, cinnamon and ras el hanout and stir for 30 seconds. Add the carrots, potatoes, chicken stock and saffron. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan and add the olives and preserved lemons. Put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, for the couscous, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Tip in the couscous and toast gently, stirring occasionally, for 2–3 minutes until golden. Pour in the chicken stock and cook until the couscous is tender and the liquid has evaporated. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken with the couscous, scattered with chopped coriander.
To freeze the dish (but not the couscous), cool the chicken and portion into lidded foil trays. To cook, defrost fully in the fridge overnight. Cover loosely with foil, and reheat in an oven preheated to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 30 minutes or until piping hot. In the fridge, it’s best to keep the chicken and couscous separate. The couscous keeps for three days and can be used in other meals and salads, too.
Jamie and Buddy Oliver’s New potato and pesto focaccia
Buddy I love to make a big batch of focaccia dough with my dad on a Friday night, then put it in the fridge so we can use it over the weekend. It also freezes well. Then I can make whatever I like with it, or even stuff it with chocolate.
Jamie I agree with Buddy – I love the opportunity a batch of focaccia dough presents. We just take Bud’s recipe and double it. Putting the dough in the fridge means it proves slowly and develops this incredible flavour, which just makes cooking and eating it that much better. There’s something special about not quite knowing what it’s going to end up as.
A house filled with the smell of freshly baked bread is so good, so it’s perfect to have prepped for when guests pop in. Plus, you’ll never have any waste, because any leftover bits can be rolled up into dough balls for dipping.
Prep 35 mins plus proving time
Prove 2 hr
Cook 25 min
Serves 12
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
500g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
250g baby new potatoes
50g breadcrumbs
1 x 125g ball of mozzarella cheese
100g your favourite pesto
Sea salt and black pepper
Mix the yeast into 300ml of lukewarm water and leave for a few minutes. Tip the flour into a large bowl, add the sea salt, then make a well in the middle. Pour in the yeast mixture, then use a fork to bring in the flour from the outside to form a dough.
Knead on a flour-dusted surface for 10 minutes, or until smooth and springy. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, then cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Scrub the potatoes, halving any larger ones, then place in a pan of boiling salted water on a medium heat for 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain and leave to cool in a colander.
Lightly oil a 25cm x 30cm roasting tray, then scatter in the breadcrumbs and shake around so they stick to the oil.
Knead and punch the dough, knocking all the air out of it, then stretch it out to fill the tray. Use your fingers to gently push down and create lots of dips and wells.
Tip the potatoes into a mixing bowl and tear in the mozzarella, then add the pesto and toss together, breaking up some of the potatoes as you go. Spread the topping mixture evenly over the dough, drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil, then press the topping down into the dips and wells, seasoning from a height with sea salt and black pepper.
Cover the tray with a clean damp tea towel, then leave to prove in a warm place for one hour, or until doubled in size.
If you want to freeze some of your dough, place it between sheets of greaseproof paper or directly in the roasting tray until frozen solid. Wrap well and store in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost when you want to bake some, making sure it’s nice and bubbly, as per the recipe, before baking.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Very carefully – to keep the air in the dough – transfer the tray to the bottom of the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
To store the baked focaccia, wrap in greaseproof paper and keep at room temperature for up to three days or slice it and freeze for up to three months.
• Recipe from Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes for Kids by Buddy Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph (£20). Buddy’s new show, Cooking Buddies, is on BBC iPlayer now
Andi Oliver’s Chocolate curry goat
Having a pot of something on the stove is about more than practicality – it’s about food security and keeping your family safe. I can remember being a single parent in London in the 1980s. Even though we had no money, there was usually a batch of something bubbling away. And there’s no point in making a small pot of curry goat – you’re wasting your time as it takes so long to cook, so you might as well make a batch. Inspired by Mexican mole, I started to add dark chocolate to it a few years ago; with cinnamon and star anise, it brings silky depth to the pot.
Prep 20 min
Cook 3–4 hr
Serves 4–6
Neutral oil, such as rapeseed or sunflower oil, for frying
300g onion, blitzed in a food processor or finely chopped
70g garlic cloves, blitzed in a food processor
10g black cardamom pods, bashed
10g green cardamom pods, bashed
10g star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp whole cloves
20g ground cumin
20g ground coriander
1kg goat or mutton, preferably on the bone
2 Scotch bonnet chillies, finely chopped
100ml molasses, or treacle or carob molasses
2 sprigs thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
2 litres lamb stock
Splash of red wine
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
80g 70% dark (bittersweet) chocolate
1½ tbsp butter
To garnish
Handful chopped coriander
Handful chopped spring onions
Handful flat-leaf parsley
Add a splash of oil to a large, heavy-based saucepan and set on a low-medium heat. Chuck in the blitzed onions and garlic and let them sweat for a few minutes until slightly softened. Add the whole spices and fry for five minutes. Pour a little more oil in, then add the ground spices and fry for five minutes.
Add the meat, Scotch bonnets, molasses, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and a little more oil. Turn up the heat and cook for 15–20 minutes until the meat is brown and caramelised, stirring intermittently.
Add the stock, red wine, and tomatoes to the pan so that the liquid just covers the meat. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 2–3 hours until the meat is tender, add more stock if the liquid level gets too low. After the first 1–2 hours of cooking, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
When the meat is tender, check the seasoning again and adjust if needed. Add the chocolate and let it melt into the curry. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, then add the butter and stir through before serving.
Serve garnished with a handful of chopped coriander, spring onions and flat-leaf parsley.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. If refrigerated, the curry can be stored for up to three days. To freeze, ensure it has completely cooled before transferring to a freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag. It can be frozen for up to three months. When ready to eat, defrost and reheat on the stove on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. If needed, add a splash of water or stock to restore the sauce’s consistency.
• Recipe from The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table by Andi Oliver is published by DK (£27). To support the Guardian and the Observer buy a copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
Angela Hartnett’s Roasted Italian red peppers
I tend not to plan batch cooking, but if I happen to be making a stew or ragù, I’ll usually make more and freeze some. I do, though, plan to batch-make this recipe: peperoni sott’olio (peppers in oil), a northern Italian number that preserves the sweet long peppers from Piedmont so they can be enjoyed year-round, perhaps on bread, or on a plate with a bit more oil, a touch of vinegar, torn basil and anchovies.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8
4 large Italian red peppers
4 tbsp sherry vinegar
Sea salt
16 anchovy fillets, drained, oil reserved
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, bashed
Extra-virgin olive oil
20 basil leaves, torn
Either by heating your oven as hot as it will go, or over an open gas flame, scorch the peppers until the skins are brown and blackened in places, but not burnt, and are about three-quarters cooked.
Place them in a bowl and sprinkle them liberally with the sherry vinegar, sea salt and anchovy oil. Pop in the rosemary and thyme sprigs and the garlic, cover the bowl with a plate and leave to steam in the residual heat for 30 minutes, until the peppers are fully cooked through.
Slide off the blackened skins from the peppers and remove the seeds. Tear the peppers into six to eight pieces, depending on size, then strain the juices into a bowl. Stir in just enough olive oil to make a dressing. Discard the herbs and garlic.
If eating immediately, arrange the peppers on a serving dish, scatter over the anchovies and torn basil leaves and spoon over the dressing. Pack the rest into plastic bags and freeze for up to three months.
