Day 77: inviting comfort
Quite frankly, I think it’s an outrage that I’m not yet into double figures for the number of times I’ve made this, nevermind not having made it even once, not least because it contains everything I love (the chestnuts were new to me, mind), but also because Nigella introduces it with such soothing enthusiasm in Cook Eat Repeat. Even the celeriac or rice averse might struggle to resist a warming bowl of it.
It’s also photographed so beautifully by the talented - inspirational - Jonathan Lovekin (I believe!). So beautifully that I got quite frustrated with myself - and the lighting in my kitchen -for not being able to take a half-decent snap on my phone; personally, I find orange, brown and beige food to be particularly difficult to capture - especially at my (very) amateur level.
So, without further ado, and after months of admiring it in the book, I was thrilled to finally make Nigella’s Soupy Rice with Celeriac and Chestnuts.
Nigella’s Soupy Rice with Celeriac and Chesnuts
Whilst all that matters is that it tastes good and is enjoyed, I did feel like there was a little extra pressure (in a good way) in getting this one right - particularly as it’s such a special recipe for Nigella. If I was just cooking this to keep to myself, I would be fine, but knowing I would then need to take a picture of it and blog about it made me a little nervous. I really wanted to do its composer proud.
Quite honestly, I have never liked chestnuts. I’ve tried them many times (hot) at Christmas markets but they hold no allure for me. However, after opening the packet of these cooked and sealed (in a bag) chestnuts, I found myself eating quite a few and having to top up the amount I had already pre-weighed. Above anything, fresh off the fire, I don’t like their texture, but these cooled and bagged ones were (at least to me) much more palatable and less powdery.
The arborio rice I used did not hold its shape very well: halfway through cooking, it looked as if would disintegrate any minute, but it managed to hold firm(ish) until the sweet end. This is where I admit to you that that bag of rice has travelled across the UK with me for the past 10 years, and is, in fact, the same rice I used for making my first risotto on Day 43 of 365 Days of Nigella. Whilst the FSA may not approve my use of it, or that I encourage/condone anyone else to use out-of-date products, it’s perfectly fine for us.
Flavour musings
It brought joy, comfort and sustenance: everything one could need to get over the midweek hump. Introduced (and pictured) so invitingly in Cook Eat Eat Repeat, Nigella’s Soupy Rice with Celeriac and Chestnuts is the pure essence of comfort: the sweet, earthy-freshness of the celeriac, the calming woodsiness of the thyme, and the rich nuttiness of the marsala and chestnuts uniting to form one great big bowl of feel-good reassurance. Imagine yourself on a walk one late summer evening: the air is cooling, and the dampness setting in. You’re on the outskirts of a densely covered woodland - the sun flickering calmly through the gaps in the canopy above - and just a few metres away, you see open field. You walk up to the woodland edge, stop and take a deep breath. The smells of freshly mown grass and musky woodsiness fill your nostrils, and suddenly all is calm. Gleeful serenity.
Of course, equal analogies exist for the other three seasons, too!
I wonder if Nigella knows how many hugs of reassurance she’s delivered across the globe through her food and writings.
