I'm a sucker for an easy recipe. Give me a handful of ingredients and a couple of easy steps to follow and I am automatically intrigued. I want recipes to be quick and reliable – and to yield food so delicious that you crave it for days after it's all eaten up. And if it looks insanely appetizing on top of all that? Forget about it.
Pretty sure that this was how home cooks operated for hundreds of years, before we went and made things all complicated for ourselves. Before takeout and prepared foods and restaurants on every block, before the mass exodus from kitchens across North America, people made the same food week after week, year after year. So it had to be fast. And it had to easy. And it had to taste darn good.
Being the sentimental soul that I am, I often get nostalgic for the days when dinner reigned supreme. In my home growing up, my mother cooked every night and we all sat down together. Her wholesome repertoire – a mix of rustic French country cooking, proper British fare and hippie health food – was the backdrop of our lives. The delicate bacon quiches and the creamy cauliflower soups, the rich shepherd's pies and egg custards, the tasty whole wheat pizzas and sprouted salads, it all infused the mundane routines of daily life with pleasure and comfort and beauty.
All of this is why I am determined to follow her lead. And what better way to do that than with her recipes? My mother's macaroni and cheese recipe was handed down from her mum – a wonderful home cook – and now she is passing it on to me. This dish is a firm favorite with the family, and it's super simple to throw together. I like to serve it with a fresh salad. Here's the easiest one I know.
This is humble home food and so one might be reluctant to serve it to guests. But you know what? If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years, it's that we are all starved for a little humble home food. So I'm never surprised when friends see this on the table and breathe a nice long sigh of relief.
Mum's mac & cheese
Serves 4 small portions
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup grated aged cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
1 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
chopped parsley, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, to taste
breadcrumbs, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Place a pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in separate saucepan and then stir in flour slowly, stirring. Brown slightly and take off heat. Stir in milk gradually.
3. Return to heat and stir continuously until it thickens into a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in cup of cheese. (By the way, for this dish, it's worth shelling out for top quality cheese.)
4. Cook pasta following directions on package, drain and stir in cheese sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into a baking dish.
5. Top with bread crumbs, extra cheddar, parmesan and parsley and place under broiler to melt until cheese bubbles and browns.
Insalata verde a.k.a. the easiest salad you'll ever make
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Rome: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World by Chuck Williams
Serves 4
5 cups of lettuce
3 green onions, white parts only, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Wash and dry greens.
2. Place onions in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then add vinegar, then oil.
3. Lay greens on top of dressing and sprinkle with a little more salt. Leave salad for an hour or so while you prepare the rest of the meal.
4. Just before serving, toss the salad well, making sure the leaves are coated in oil.
