Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

168 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

Youdon’thavetobeacheftomakegoodfoodfast,saysClaireThomson

ADVENTURES IN FOOD

C

hefandcookerybookwriter

ClaireThomsonthinkswe’re

allabit“stuck”.“We’reall

cookingthesamethingday

in,dayout,”shesays,while

roastingcourgettesand

crumblingfetaoverhalf-moonsofavocado

andhand-crumpledtortillachips.

Afterall,whystickwithasame-oldiceberg

lettuceandtomatosalad,whenyoucanhave

spicedcourgettesandtangycheese?Whynot

getunstuckfromyourusualculinaryhabits?

ThisistheessenceoftheBristol-basedfood

writer’slatestcookbook,NewKitchenBasics.

Init,sheaimstofreeusofourrelied-upon

staples,andzhuzhthemupwithoutincreasing

thedifficulty,andwithoutaskingyoutotrack

downoutofthenormingredients.

Shecallstherecipecollection–whichis

splitinto 10 corecomponents,eachfocusing

onadifferentingredient;lemons,chocolate,

cheese,mince,forexample–“amanifestoon

contemporaryeatingthatisn’ttooesoteric,

ortoodifficulttoachieve”.Andso,thereare

disheslikeasparaguscarbonara,meatball

pho,Stiltonandfigwholemealscones

andtomatofritters.Interestingtakeson

ingredientsyou’resuretohaveinthehouse.

“Thisbookisanattempttoreplicate

thesamefeelingyoumighthaveofneeding

dinnerfastandwantingtofallbackonthe

dishesyouknowwell,butgivingyouanew

arsenalofrecipes,”explainsThomson,who

youmayknowasthecapablepairofhands

behindthepopularblogandInstagram

account 5 O’ClockApron,whichseesthe

mum-of-threesharingthespeedysuppersand

mid-weekdinnersshemakesherfamily.

Buttheideaisnottointimidateyouwith

herownabilitiestofeedhundredsofchildren

ofaWednesdaynightwithnofuss,butto

showyouthatitcanbedone–chefornot.