"little kitchen lifesavers" Nigel Slater
This is the last of my Nigel's A Cook's Book Essentials - a group of first recipes, and these two marinades are in fact the very first recipes in the book. I know there has been a bit of a Nigel Slater and Ottolenghi overload of late, so I am going to vow to have at least a week - next week - with no mention of the two. In fact I might even have a week of avoiding The Guardian and delicious. completely, maybe Taste too. In fact all of the big names, and try to focus on what ordinary bloggers have to offer. We'll see. I make a lot of resolutions and don't keep many of them.
But back to NIgel and his two marinades, which I suspect might also involve a certain amount of repetition of topics I have covered in the past.
I know I have written generally on marinades in the past, and I think I have even mentioned that it was not something we ever did at home as I was growing up. It was an unknown kitchen process. Ditto for my times in France, as I don't remember any of those French cooks marinading things either. These days everyone is familiar with the concept of course, and you can buy hundreds of ready made marinades in jars, and cartons, as well as pre-marinaded meat and fish in the chiller sections of the supermarkets. There is also some controversy over how long to marinade things with many saying it doesn't really make much difference about how long you marinade. Which I have also written about, and with which I disagree. I do think it makes a difference how long.
Re marinades in general Nigel has these introductory words to say:
"A quick, no messing way to transform your dinner into something really rather wonderful. I use two basic mixtures, using them to soak the ingredients for half an hour before cooking, but, just as importantly with which to baste them as they cook. Theu couldn't be simpler or more effective."
So true that it makes me wonder why even the most diffident of cooks doesn't give it a go. These days almost anything can be marinaded and almost anything can be turned into a marinade - 'a sloppy paste' as Nigel describes them.
Nigel's two marinades which he describes here are of the more trendy - but easily done - variety as they feature two 'modern' - at least to our western kitchens - ingredients - miso and za'atar.
Miso is number one. Miso is readily available in the supermarket and also keeps for ages, so buy some today and use it when you can. It has a variety of uses, not just in marinades. The picture at the top of the page is Nigel's basic marinade - used this time for chicken - which consists of 135ml mirin, 4 tbsp white miso paste, 4 tbsp honey and a splash of peanut or vegetable oil. Actually the online recipe for Grilled miso chicken omits the oil, which is interesting. The cooking method is the same though - under an oven grill in a foil-lined tray.
Online he has a slightly different version - just the addition of sesame oil, and the suggestion of maple syrup instead of honey. Grilled chicken with miso - 4 tbsp white miso paste, 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 3 tbsp peanut oil. I haven't tried this yet, but when the barbecue season is truly underway I think I'll give it a go.
I decided to see what the general opinion about miso marinades was, and was sort of surprised to see that there was not a huge range of innovation going on. I began with an authoratitive article on the Serious Eats website by Chichi Wang who told us how miso is made, the different types, etc. etc., including an interesting fact that a miso marinade was: "a technique that was traditionally used to preserve fish for its long journey inland. He/she? also gave this basic formula - which it seems that Nigel more or less conformed to - miso is low alcohol:
A miso marinade only ever needs three components: miso, alcohol, and some saccharine form such as mirin or sugar.
Many Asians will add sake - the alcohol component. Maybe sake is difficult to acquire in the UK. It probably is here, but you can easily get rice wine in the supermarket. It's cooking wine though, not drinking. Why?
"it differs from drinking wine in the following ways: Preservatives: Cooking wine is loaded with preservatives like potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite." Chef's Vision
Our Serious Eats writer, Chichi Wang, gave a recipe for use with scallops and steak. I have to say the photograph of them sitting in the marinade is not tempting at all, but then it's very beige. They call miso white, but it's really a beige colour. The finished product doesn't look bad though, and he/she was pleased with the result saying of the beef:
"The presence of the miso lent an aged taste to the beef, a desirable quality sought after in more expensive cuts of steak." and that "the scallops were sweet and velvety."
I did however, find a few more tempting examples of miso marinades: Chilli miso salmon with hot and sour eggplant from Bill Granger/delicious.; Corn with lemon myrtle miso - Joey Astorga/delicous.; Chilli miso lamb cutlets - Ken Yamada/The Guardian and Miso and maple wings - Phoeby Wood/delicious.
On to Nigel's second trendy ingredient - za'atar - very easily made, but not yet quite so easily found in the supermarket. I have tried this particular marinade - 50ml olive oil, the juice of one large lemon, 2 large cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of za'atar and found it to be 'pretty good, but not sensational', which I suspect just shows how high we have become used to tasty food from everywhere - home, restaurants, takeaway, the supermarket ... I'm sure if I had tasted this in my youth I would have thought it sensational.
Online Nigel has three recipes for za'atar marinated foods - with slight differences in each: Grilled chicken with za'atar and tahini - The Guardian - the actual marinade above; Za'atar chicken with chickpeas and garlic yoghurt - SBS ; Za'atar lamb - The Guardian which is even simpler - just za'atar and oil
Having now searched for recipes from elsewhere that use a za'atar marinade I was surprised not to find many. Za'atar itself is common, but mostly sprinkled over the top - even one of Ottolenghi's most famous roast chicken recipes, which does marinade the chicken does not include the za'atar in the marinade. Interesting. I did find these two however: Yoghurt-marinated lamb and aubergine with za'atar, Palestinian couscous, beetroot leaves and chickpeas - Tom Hunt/The Guardian and Buttermilk-marinated chicken with roasted grapes and za'atar - Danielle Alvarez/delicious.
So maybe Nigel is out on a limb here with the za'atar thing. He's not out on a limb about marinades in general however. And it's not just meat that can be marinated - fish and vegetables are also prime candidates particularly, in the case of vegetables, the more substantial ones - mostly leaves would not be candidates for example. They are fun to play with and a really good way to use up odds and ends you have in the fridge or the storecupboard. And if it doesn't work one day, don't give up, try something else another day.
Goodbye A Cooks' Book and an interesting range of little essentials. I'm pretty sure it's not goodbye to Nigel on the first recipe front however. This is my Nigel section of the bookshelves. But I promise to ignore him for a week at least.
YEARS GONE BY
November 16
2023 - I need a bigger table
2022 - What's in a name?
2021 - Marylands - duck ones
2020 - Spinach and cheese
2019 - Chapattis - a first recipe
2017 - Poached eggs
2016 - Nothing
To soak or not to soak that is the question that the marinade asks - and then as an afterthought... for jow long...Sorry that was the Chinese influence. And for How Long? Important questions in the quest for the ultimate taste! 🤣