RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:
When we reached food writer Nigella Lawson recently, she was feeling a little under the weather.
MONTAGNE: I feel that the cold and flu thing that's going around now is a bit like one of those monsters in a 1950s sci-fi movie, whereby a many-tentacled creature comes out of the deep, and you think you've killed it, and then a bit later, another tentacle comes up and grabs you.
MONTAGNE: Even with a cold in chilly London, Nigella Lawson says she still finds warmth in those freezing days of winter. And no surprise it comes from the kitchen.
MONTAGNE: I never complain about the cold weather. For me, that just means soups, stews and something soothing and rich in carbohydrates. So for me, it's all positive.
MONTAGNE: As you say, you have soups and stews in your different cookbooks. There's one recipe for sweet corn chowder that is pretty easy to make.
MONTAGNE: Oh, it's incredibly easy to make. And it also - which is useful when one's busy - is one of those comfort foods that children like a lot as well. It's a kind of multi-generational comfort food. And the thing that's so easy about it is you just need to get a bag of frozen sweet corn, and it's little kind of niblets. And if you just put it in a colander and pour boiling water from a kettle over it, that will defrost it.
MONTAGNE: That is such a nice cheat.
MONTAGNE: You know, it's easier. What I do is, rather than make a soup and then blend it when you've got all those hot liquids going about - not in itself a comforting act juggling with, you know, small children and hot liquids. I process the sweet corn - and it doesn't really work when it's still frozen - and I just process that with some scallions and garlic, and I put a tiny bit of semolina. You know, sometimes people put flour to thicken soups, which I don't like. But semolina somehow echoes the corn-flavored yellowness of the actual corn I'm using. And then it's really just a question of just cooking that with some hot vegetable stock - and I don't make my own, I must own up, and I'm not ashamed of that. And then while that's cooking, I put some tortilla chips out of a packet and put a bit of grated cheese or sliced cheese or whatever you want on top that, and warm those in the oven. And then I just put a huge helping of toasted cheese tortilla chips on top of the soup, slightly submerged. And I suppose it's - in a way, you could say it's a North American version of a French onion soup. Very easy in a store-covered standby, which actually is a comfort as well. If, I know I've got things in my kitchen that will feed me when it's too cold to go out shopping, that makes me happy.
MONTAGNE: When it comes to a main dish.
MONTAGNE: Yes.
MONTAGNE: There - in the winter months, there is - is one dish that might just cry out comfort, and that is a version of chicken pie.
MONTAGNE: Oh, when I just hear the word pie, what amount of balm and comfort is there in that word, you know you're going to feel better. I make a pie which is really incredibly simple. I get an all-butter puff pastry - you know, already made and it comes frozen, and you can thaw it. And I just fry some bacon, and then that gives off such a fantastic flavorsome juice. And I just add a few mushrooms. Then I flour some chicken strips, a bit of dried thyme. I add a bit of stock. And I like to add Marsala, but, you know, it's just that sort of fortified wine from Italy. And I - you get a kind of thick gravy sauce. And all that needs then is be put in its little pots and roll out the thawed bought pastry, and put a little lid around. Into an oven just till the pastry itself is golden and puffy, and that's it. You've got a couple of very comforting pies with very little time expended.
MONTAGNE: Although, with that puff pastry, they do look a little elegant.
MONTAGNE: Mine never look terribly elegant, because they puff up in a rustic fashion, they don't puff up uniformly. So some suddenly look like a rather fantastic sort of toadstool that might have been found. And then, some look like elegant ruffled French pies.
MONTAGNE: I can smell it right now.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
MONTAGNE: You know, I must let folks know that there will be these recipes on the Web, so not to despair.
MONTAGNE: Yes, because of course, it helps to have measurements, and they're going to be online, so that's easier to follow.
MONTAGNE: Well, we have reached a point at which we could talk about - oh, the comfort of dessert and indulgence. Certainly, something you could, in a situation like this, actually curl up in bed with after it was done. Tell us about the chocolate pear pudding cake.
MONTAGNE: And everyone panics at this stage because it doesn't look like there's enough lovely, gorgeous, sort of Aztec brown batter to coat the pears, but there really is. You just put that on top of the pears, pop it in the oven. And what happens is, where the chocolate sponge hits the pears underneath, you get an almost - like a layer of sauce. It's slightly gungy there. You half spoon it, half cut it, it's that sort of texture. With that, you either could have some cream or some ice cream. You could make a rich chocolate sauce by melting dark chocolate into some heavy cream if you wanted - you don't need to.
MONTAGNE: Would it be just good with a cup of tea?
MONTAGNE: Oh, it would be very good with a cup of tea. I mean, I can't think of a bad way to eat it. But it is very much better warm.
MONTAGNE: Now, it's cold in London these days?
MONTAGNE: Very.
MONTAGNE: So what will you be having for dinner tonight?
MONTAGNE: Well actually, what I'm going to have for dinner tonight is an old standby of mine, because I've got people coming over for dinner. It - which is Thai curry with shrimp and salmon. If a bowl of curry doesn't sort my cold out, nothing is going to.
MONTAGNE: Nigella Lawson on wintertime comfort food. Her latest book is "Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast." And you can get her recipes, those that we've just heard for sweet corn chowder, chicken mushroom and bacon pie.
WERTHEIMER: And do not forget chocolate pear pudding cake.
MONTAGNE: Absolutely, no, it is there, npr.org. This is Morning Edition from NPR News. Bon appetit, I'm Renee Montagne.
WERTHEIMER: And I'm Linda Wertheimer.