Legendary veg
It’s the centenary of Elizabeth David’s birth this year. David is the legendary cook who introduced a nation recovering from the war and food rationing to the delights of the Mediterranean: olive oil, grapes and real tomatoes. It’s David whom we have to thank for the rows of extra virgin oil in supermarkets these days, not to mention the incorporation into one’s diet of healthy fish, fresh herbs and garlic.
David, who formerly worked for fashion house Worth, wrote many cookbooks, renowned for their singular style and – very lucky if you own one – the illustrations by John Minton to be found in early editions. She tended to think in countries and seasons (hence her legacy of titles such as Mediterranean Food and Summer Cooking) but to celebrate this important birthday, Quadrille has brought out a stunning book containing 100 of her vegetable recipes. It’s the first time you can get her recipes for dishes such as Tuscan bean soup, tomato Provençal, aubergine pie and lentil and sorrel soup under one roof, as it were.
And this book is gorgeous to look at, too. Edited by food writer Jill Norman, the literary trustee of David’s estate, the book is divided into eight chapters on soups, salads, small and main dishes, and so on, interspersed with David’s short essays. A delightful book, and one that more than evokes David’s strongest belief – ‘faites simple’; cook nothing that is pretentious or fussy.
Elizabeth David On Vegetables, with photography by Kristin Perers, is published by Quadrille, priced £20.
Ingredients
Method
Rinse the mushrooms, wipe dry with a clean cloth, slice (but do not peel) them into quarters, or if they are large, into eighths. The stalks should be neatly trimmed. Squeeze over a little lemon juice.
In a heavy frying pan or sauté pan, warm the olive oil. Add the crushed coriander seeds. Let them heat for a few seconds. Keep the heat low. Add the mushrooms and the bay leaves. Add the seasoning. Let the mushrooms cook gently for a minute, cover the pan and leave them, still over a very low heat, for another 3 to 5 mins.
Uncover the pan. Decant the mushrooms – with all their juices – into a shallow serving dish and sprinkle them with fresh olive oil and lemon juice. Whether the mushrooms are to be served hot or cold, do not forget to put the bay leaf, which has cooked with them, into the serving dish. The combined scents of coriander and bay make up part of the true essence of the dish. Note that cultivated mushrooms should not be cooked for longer than the time specified. In larger quantities, the same dish can be made as a hot vegetable to be eaten with veal or chicken.
TipCooked mushrooms do not keep well, but a day or two in the fridge does no harm to this dish. Uncooked, cultivated mushrooms can be stored in a plastic box in the fridge for a couple of days.LENTIL SOUP WITH PASTA
Serves 6
Ingredients
Method
Fry the onion in olive oil, then add the tomatoes, the garlic, and the celery. After 5 mins add the lentils and stir them so that they absorb the oil. Season, and add the parsley or mint. Pour over the water and let the soup cook fairly fast for about an hour, when the lentils should be done. Throw in the pasta and cook for 10 mins more.
Ingredients
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When it is hot but not smoking, throw in the garlic. After a few seconds add the tomatoes. Let them cook for about 3 mins only. Season, then add the basil (or parsley). The sauce is now ready to be served with pasta, or with boiled rice or haricot beans. The amount of garlic used is a matter of taste, and those who like a faint flavour can remove it from the pan before adding the tomatoes, for it will already have scented the oil.
David, who formerly worked for fashion house Worth, wrote many cookbooks, renowned for their singular style and – very lucky if you own one – the illustrations by John Minton to be found in early editions. She tended to think in countries and seasons (hence her legacy of titles such as Mediterranean Food and Summer Cooking) but to celebrate this important birthday, Quadrille has brought out a stunning book containing 100 of her vegetable recipes. It’s the first time you can get her recipes for dishes such as Tuscan bean soup, tomato Provençal, aubergine pie and lentil and sorrel soup under one roof, as it were.
And this book is gorgeous to look at, too. Edited by food writer Jill Norman, the literary trustee of David’s estate, the book is divided into eight chapters on soups, salads, small and main dishes, and so on, interspersed with David’s short essays. A delightful book, and one that more than evokes David’s strongest belief – ‘faites simple’; cook nothing that is pretentious or fussy.
Elizabeth David On Vegetables, with photography by Kristin Perers, is published by Quadrille, priced £20.
CORIANDER MUSHROOMS (pictured above)
Serves 3Ingredients
- 175g firm, white, round and very fresh mushrooms
- Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed in a mortar
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- Salt, freshly milled pepper
Method
Rinse the mushrooms, wipe dry with a clean cloth, slice (but do not peel) them into quarters, or if they are large, into eighths. The stalks should be neatly trimmed. Squeeze over a little lemon juice.
In a heavy frying pan or sauté pan, warm the olive oil. Add the crushed coriander seeds. Let them heat for a few seconds. Keep the heat low. Add the mushrooms and the bay leaves. Add the seasoning. Let the mushrooms cook gently for a minute, cover the pan and leave them, still over a very low heat, for another 3 to 5 mins.
Uncover the pan. Decant the mushrooms – with all their juices – into a shallow serving dish and sprinkle them with fresh olive oil and lemon juice. Whether the mushrooms are to be served hot or cold, do not forget to put the bay leaf, which has cooked with them, into the serving dish. The combined scents of coriander and bay make up part of the true essence of the dish. Note that cultivated mushrooms should not be cooked for longer than the time specified. In larger quantities, the same dish can be made as a hot vegetable to be eaten with veal or chicken.
TipCooked mushrooms do not keep well, but a day or two in the fridge does no harm to this dish. Uncooked, cultivated mushrooms can be stored in a plastic box in the fridge for a couple of days.
LENTIL SOUP WITH PASTA
Serves 6 Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
- Olive oil
- 3 or 4 large tomatoes, peeled and quartered
- Several cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 stick of celery, cut into short lengths
- 175g brown lentils
- Salt and pepper
- A bunch of parsley or mint
- 2.2 litres water
- 60g pastine (pasta in the shape of long grains of rice), or broken-up spaghetti
Method
Fry the onion in olive oil, then add the tomatoes, the garlic, and the celery. After 5 mins add the lentils and stir them so that they absorb the oil. Season, and add the parsley or mint. Pour over the water and let the soup cook fairly fast for about an hour, when the lentils should be done. Throw in the pasta and cook for 10 mins more.
SAUCE OF TOMATOES
Serves 4 to 5Ingredients
- 4 to 5 tbsp olive oil
- A few cloves of garlic, sliced
- 750g ripe, skinned tomatoes, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh basil, coarsely chopped (or parsley)
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When it is hot but not smoking, throw in the garlic. After a few seconds add the tomatoes. Let them cook for about 3 mins only. Season, then add the basil (or parsley). The sauce is now ready to be served with pasta, or with boiled rice or haricot beans. The amount of garlic used is a matter of taste, and those who like a faint flavour can remove it from the pan before adding the tomatoes, for it will already have scented the oil.