Eat – The Little Book of Fast Food. Nigel Slater

      Fig and Goat’s Cheese Focaccia

      figs, goat’s cheese, honey, focaccia, rosemary

      Split a piece of focaccia, about 10cm x 15cm, horizontally to give two rectangles, then place them side by side in a shallow baking tin or oven tray. Set the oven at 200ºC/Gas 6.

      Pour 4 tablespoons of honey over the focaccia (if you are using thick honey then warm the jar first in a small pan of boiling water to make it runny). Slice 5 figs into four from top to bottom and place over the focaccia, then trickle over another tablespoon of honey and a few finely chopped rosemary leaves. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and turn the oven to the grill setting.

      Slice 10g goat’s cheese into thick rounds and place on top of the figs. Grill for 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Serve immediately.

      For 2. Crisp bread. Melting cheese. Sweet figs.

      Ricotta Burgers

      minced beef, ricotta, spring onions, capers, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, sherry vinegar, ciabatta

      Mix together 400g minced beef, 200g ricotta, 4 chopped spring onions, 1 tablespoon of capers and a little picked rosemary. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

      Shape the mixture into 6 thick burgers, about the diameter of a digestive biscuit, then leave for as long as you can in the fridge to firm up. Fry the burgers in a little olive oil in a shallow, non-stick pan for 6–8 minutes per side.

      For the relish, chop 100g sun-dried tomatoes (the sort that come in oil) and mix with a little of the oil from the jar. Add a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. When the patties are cooked, sandwich them between 6 ciabatta rolls spread with the relish.

      For 6. A fresh take on the classic burger.

      Jerk burger

      Season the burger opposite with a proprietary jerk seasoning – the best of them contain allspice, cloves, cinnamon, thyme and chilli. Fry the burgers, then serve in soft, toasted buns with a little cooked spinach, or if you are near a West Indian market try and get hold of some callaloo.

      Gorgonzola, the richest burger

      Instead of the ricotta, double up on the beef. Place each burger in your hand and press a ball of Gorgonzola into the centre, then squeeze the meat around it so it covers the cheese. Carefully flatten out into a thick patty then fry as opposite. Soft, toasted buns and slices of ripe tomato complete them.

      A burger with attitude

      Chop a gherkin. Not finely. Not coarsely. Add it to the mince. Stir in a sprinkling of sesame seeds, a little ketchup, salt and pepper and some hot French mustard. Shape and fry.

      Tomato Focaccia

      tomatoes, focaccia, ricotta, basil, olive oil

      Make a basil oil by whizzing 10 basil leaves and 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a blender or food processor till you have a bright green dressing. Slice a couple of large tomatoes in half and grill till soft and slightly charred at the edges.

      Split a rectangle of focaccia, about 10cm long, horizontally and brush with some of the basil oil. Grill till lightly crisp. Spread a large tablespoon of ricotta on top, then add the tomatoes and trickle over any spare dressing.

      For 1. High-summer lunch.

      The Sunday Roast Pork Sandwich

      leftover roast pork, roast potatoes, crackling and roasting juices, bread, apple sauce

      Slice the leftover pork very finely and salt it generously. Cut up the leftover roast potatoes and warm them in the juices from the roasting tin. Spread the bread – a panini would be spot on too – with apple sauce or mayonnaise. Add the hot roast potatoes, the slices of pork, a bit of crackling if you have it and then spoon over the warm roasting juices.

      The pork crackling sandwich

      Thin slices of roast pork, shredded crackling, a smear of apple sauce.

      Roast pork, cut as thick as a pound coin. A russet apple, sliced but not peeled. Gravy. Wholemeal bread, untoasted.

      The pork rib sandwich

      Slice the meat from last night’s barbecue ribs. You will probably get in a sticky mess. Cut the meat into thin shreds then stir into mayonnaise, together with a couple of tablespoons of the barbecue sauce, tasting as you go. Pile a piece of soft, good bread – ciabatta or a bap – with a little shredded carrot or some chopped apple, some tufts of watercress, then pile on top of the pork.

      A rare delight (let’s face it, it’s not that often you have leftover barbecue ribs), but one of the most memorable sandwiches I have ever eaten and one I felt I should share.

      Apple pork roll

      Finely chop a sweet apple, removing the core as you go. Warm the juices, fat and interesting bits from the roasting tin, then stir in the chopped apple, a dash of cider if needs be, or perhaps a little Marsala. Briefly add thinly sliced cold pork then stuff into a roll, letting the juices soak through the bread. Glorious.

      

      There is much pleasure to be found in a bowl of soup. Cradling our food is a great comfort, especially when it comes in the form of an aromatic liquid such as a steaming broth or thick soup. This is food that instantly soothes and satiates, warms and satisfies. Food that restores.

      There is something right about food in a bowl. The hot liquor on your spoon; the warmth of the bowl in your hands; the final scraping of spoon against china – they enable us to feel closer to what we eat. Unlike a plate on a table, we can feel the heat of our food through the porcelain.

      The shape of a bowl traps the smell of our food, like a wine glass. As we hold it in our hands and dip in our spoon, fork or chopsticks we experience more of its fragrance: the scent of sweet garlic, warm rice, hot milk, deep broth. Of course we can’t cut food in a bowl, and neither should we. The ingredients should be in small enough pieces that no knife is required.

      Meals in a bowl are probably at their best when they are simple. I have always loved rice in a bowl. Just plain, white rice. Pure and unsullied. You know you could, if needs be, survive on it. You feel you need nothing more.

      But there is more. Oh glory, yes. A little stew of chicken with herbs; a deep, salty broth of beef stock and green vegetables; a spicy laksa; a dahl thick with soft pulses and spice; a Vietnamese-style pho with slithery noodles and coriander. The simplicity of a bowl of golden chicken stock.

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