Eat! Four easy recipes that spice up the classics

Great British Menu judge Nisha Katona turns up the heat with chilli, ’nduja … and Marmite

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/eat-4-easy-recipes-that-spice-up-the-classics-dwnqx0xfd

https://archive.li/FrtCi




Nisha Katona; the Bradford omelette, which contains cumin seeds, coriander and green chilli
Martin Poole, Gareth Morgans

snip

Katona was born and raised near Liverpool and before she opened her first restaurant in 2014, she was a child protection barrister. “In court, you’re speaking to a judge who is there to derail you. Great British Menu is like going to work with my siblings. Tom and Ed make me laugh.” A day’s filming begins at 5am. After hair and make-up, the judges taste 14 meals cooked by contestants. “When the chefs come in at the end to talk about their cooking, the tension is palpable. They’ve put so much emotion into it.” In between filming, Katona worked on her sixth book, Bold, which is full of recipes that bring an Asian vibe to British dishes. She adds Korean chilli paste to macaroni cheese and her bread and butter pudding is made with tahini. If you like omelette, wait until you try her Bradford-inspired version made with cumin, coriander and green chilli. “It’s all about having the courage to add unexpected ingredients that give you the flavours you want, just in a new way.”

’Nduja mussels

Serves 4



Add a punch of ’nduja spice –– your mussels will be out-of-this-world delicious.





Chilli crab mac ’n’ cheese

Serves 6



I’ve ramped up the often bland flavour of mac ’n’ cheese here with the bold punchy flavours of Korean chilli crab. Gochujang is a sweet and spicy fermented condiment, which is quite easy to find in supermarkets now.





The Bradford omelette

Serves 2



Take the humble omelette and give it some oomph with cumin seeds, verdant coriander and the fresh clean heat of green chilli. Bradford has a huge Asian population. I spent a lot of time there with friends as a child and this is what we would often have for breakfast.





Marmite caramel blondies