Wintertestsmypatience.
I begin,aroundabout
November,byloving
it – mainlyasanexcusefornew
knitwear,piesforeverymeal,
andsloth.Butthenit goesonand
on,likea badvicarata wedding.
Roundaboutnow,I comeout
blinkingintothelight,indesperate
needofanemergencypedicure
andinordinatelygratefulfor
everysqueakygreen bud, every
frothofblossom.
Oneofwinter’sgreatbenefitsis
thatI canspendmostofit inthe
kitchen:“No,I reallycan’tcome
outtonightasI amperfectingmy
muhammara,sosorry,bye.”I put
anotherlogonthefire,postpone
combingmyhairasa treatfor
anotherdayandembracethe
restorativenatureofcooking.It’s
whatI callmyPrescriptionKitchen.
Forme,trulycomfortingfood–
asopposedtothatoverusedphrase,
‘comfortfood’– is carbs.Pasta
simplywithbutterandcheese,
potatoestransformedintochips,
hash,gratin,dauphinoisor
tartiflette.InthesouthofFrance,
I oncehada tartiflettepizza– pizza
toppedwithpotatoes,reblochon,
onionsandlardons– andI have
honestlyneverfeltmorealive.Who
amI kidding?It wastwice.I hadit
oneday,thenwentrightbackthe
next day and had it again.THECOMFORTOFCARBS
YasminKhan,thewriter,
broadcasterandauthorofthe
cookbookZaitoun, sharesmy
soul-liftingpassionfor
carbohydrates.“Forme,foodthat
I turntoforemotionalsoothinghas
tohavea fewkeycomponents.It
hastobewarmandsavoury,and
it needstoinvolvecarbs!A lightly
spicedmungbeandaalwithwhite
basmatiricealwayshitsthatspot.
Thereis somethingaboutthe
texture,thesoftness,thatsoothes
meinstantly.Andthereis a nod
totheculturesI grewupwith,
thatremindsmeofhome,with
my Pakistani dad and a mumwhosefamilywerericefarmers.”
Andthen,ofcourse,thereare
mashedpotatoes.Inhernovel
Heartburn, NoraEphronwrote(yes,
I knowI’malwaysgoingonabout
NoraEphron,butshereallywas
rightabouteverything):“Nothing
likemashedpotatoeswhenyou’re
feelingblue.Nothinglikegetting
intobedwitha bowlofhotmashed
potatoesalreadyloadedwithbutter,
andmethodicallyaddinga thin
coldsliceofbuttertoeveryforkful.
Theproblemwithmashedpotatoes
is thattheyrequirealmostasmuch
hardworkascrisppotatoes,and
whenyou’refeelingbluethelast
thingyoufeellikeis hardwork.Of
course,youcanalwaysgetsomeone
tomakethemashedpotatoesfor
you,butlet’sfaceit:thereason
you’re blue is that thereisn’t anyonetomakethemforyou.Asa result,
mostpeopledonothavenearly
enoughmashedpotatoesintheir
lives,andwhentheydo,it’salmost
always at the wrong time!”FOODFORTHEHEART
Therehasbeenmuchwrittenabout
foodsthatmayhaveaneffecton
mood– oilyfish,darkchocolate,
berries,leafygreens,almonds,oats,
chillies– thefashionableOcado
orderdenosjours.Forme,
PrescriptionKitchencanalsobeas
muchaboutthehowasthewhat.
Retreatingtothestovewheremy
handsandmyhearttakeover
frommyheadis thewayI work
outthementalknotsandstruggles
oftheday:rhythmicallykneading
dough,stirringcustard,simmering
bones for stock, whisking eggwhites,toastingspices,frying
onions,rollingsoftmeatballs
gentlybetweenmypalms...
wordlesslydoingthingsI have
donea thousandtimes,giving
myselfovertothesoothing,
meditativepowerofrepetition.
Memoryis powerful.Oneofmy
friends,onlearningshehadbreast
cancer,walkedstraightfromthe
doctor’ssurgerytothecornershop
andboughta tinofHeinztomato
soup.Sheis a cook-from-scratch
personandhadn’teatenit foryears,
butinthatsecond,shecravedthe
tinnedsoupshehadeatenwhen
shewaspoorlyasa child.Today
sheis fightingfit.I doubtshehas
eatenHeinztomatosoupsince,
butinthatmomentit was exactly
whatsheneeded.
Thedishesweassociatewithlove
aretheonesthatspeaktousmost
profoundly.ChetnaMakan,cook,
authorandBakeOff 2014 semi-
finalist,says,“TheonethingI cook
evenwithoutthinkingondays
I wantsomecomfortis dalchawal.
Thisis notjustanylentils,but
specificallytoordaltadka,cooked
justthewaymymumcooksit,
eatenwithsteaminghotriceand
yogurtontheside,somerawonion
slicesandmangopickle.Thishas
alwaysbeenthatonethingI make
everyMondaytostarttheweek
right,thefirstthingI makewhen
wegetbackhomefromholiday,
andwhatI makewhensomeone
isn’tfeelingwellor when I need
cheering up.”Retreatingtothe
stove,I workoutthe
mentalknotsand
strugglesoftheday,
wordlesslydoing
thingsI havedone
a thousand times
A NDYOU?
Whatarethe
foodsthatwarm
yourheart?What
doyoucooktofeel
better?Emailmeat
happyfood@
deborarobertson.
co.ukandtellme- I’ d love to know.
PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES
food for thought.