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As part of the Fairmont Royal York’s Iconic Voices Book series, a dinner event was recently held to celebrate award winning food writer and television star Nigella Lawson’s new book – Kitchen: Recipes from the heart of the home..
Drawing from Nigella’s new book, the chefs at the Royal York created a series for canapés before a three course dinner in the Royal York’s Ballroom. The hors d’oeuvres consisted of dragon chicken – wings doused with red chilies, coriander and ginger.
I really enjoyed the crabcakes, mixed with coconut flakes and jalapeno chili peppers. A note from Nigella on the recipe. “I often put breadcrumbs in crab cakes, but it occurred to me one day that dessicated coconut might well do the same job, absorbing moisture and helping the cakes to set. It does, and rather better than the breadcrumbs. I like the faint tropical hint, like the memory of a Caribbean sky, and the less heavy, tender texture it lends the little patties”.
Continuing with the subtle Asian influences, I also liked the Thai roast scallops, a simple recipe that involves soaking diver scallops with a marinade of thai curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, and then roasting them for 15 minutes.
Dinner was split into three courses. First a sweetcorn “sunshine” soup – silky soup made with corn, peppers and garlic. Main was a duo of redcurrant and mint lamb cutlets served with mash, vegetables and jus. For dessert, Devil’s food cake topped with dark chocolate ice cream.
During dessert, Alison Fryer of The Cookbook store interviewed Nigella and opened the floor for Q&A. Here’s a clip from the interview.
The event was the latest edition of Iconic Voices Book Series, a culinary salon that celebrates authors and their accomplishments in the literary world. Ms. Lawson was the first cookbook author to be invited to the series, which is organized by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Fairmont Royal York
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