We have to make a confession: Nigella Lawson is dreamy, like a food fairy godmother who never ages. Seriously, she’s got the skin of a newborn and oozes joy. We chatted with her about her love affair with food, including her favorite holiday eats and the last meal she'll probably eat a lot sooner.
Today is National Fast Food Day. So tell us, what’s your fast food guilty pleasure?
First, I don’t believe in feeling guilty about pleasure. You can’t enjoy the pleasure if you’re too busy feeling guilty. I really like hot dogs.
How do you like your hot dogs?
There’s no way I DON’T like my hot dogs. I like it with cheese, or, actually, chili dogs are my favorite, with a side of onion rings. The hot dogs from Shake Shack (in New York City) are fantastic. I also like it topped with greens, you know how you say “drag it through the garden?” I love that.
As a woman who loves food, what do you eat for a healthy snack?
I do love food. I make a fennel salad — a thinly sliced fennel bulb mixed with lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Fennel is fantastic for the skin. Fat is good too, if you don’t eat enough fat your skin dries up. Avocados are great for the hair and skin.
What do you think is the sexiest meal?
Spaghetti carbonara or the linguine with truffle oil that I made on [TODAY this morning]. The scent is so heady and intoxicating.
What would you choose for your last meal?
I don’t think you have enough space for everything I’d eat for my last meal. I’d have spaghetti with clams – no tomatoes, just a white wine sauce with chili and garlic; roasted chicken with a side of fries and roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes; blue cheese with French bread; blackberries with heavy cream and cookies on the side, in case I get hungry. Finally, a really great coffee with salted caramels. Now that I think about it, I don’t want to wait until my last meal to eat this. I’ll probably eat it a lot sooner.
Are there any foods that you don’t like?
This is going to be embarrassing…but there really isn’t. I guess I’d say soy milk. I don’t really think of it as food.
What are your favorite holiday food memories?
When I celebrate with my family, we make this delicious gingerbread stuffing with bacon, apples and onions, and I cook it on the side rather than stuffing it in the turkey. There’s something else I make that might sound repulsive to Americans. It’s a bread sauce, sort of a savory bread pudding. It’s milk infused with onions, cloves, mace, bay leaf and salt and pepper. I remove the bits and stir in stale bread. Then I cook it and serve it with turkey. It’s from the old days when protein was too expensive, but we still eat it because it’s part of our family’s tradition. It is the smell of the holidays: When I get the scent of the onions and cloves, I’m reminded of my mother cooking in the kitchen. That’s what the holidays are all about – the ritual and tradition.
More recipes from Nigella: