He tells of the first jam tart he made with his mum while standing on a chair trying to reach the Aga, through to what he is cooking now.
In this extract from the book, Slater shares his take on lamb cutlets.
In his column in The Observer he advised the onions cannot be hurried saying you need to keep the heat low and stir them often. They should not brown, but colour lightly. They are done only when they are soft enough to crush between thumb and finger.
Add the soured cream just before serving and don’t allow it to get too hot, otherwise it will "split".
The soured cream is a wonderful contrast to the sweet onions, but you could use creme fraiche or yoghurt if you prefer. Young spring cabbage could be used instead of the broad beans. Shred it finely, cook briefly in boiling water then drain before folding into the onions.
Serves 2
2 medium onions
3 T olive oil
600g broad beans (weight including pods) or 300g frozen
6-8 lamb cutlets
2 tsp thyme leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
100ml soured cream
Handful of parsley
Method
Peel the onions and slice thinly into rings. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, then fry the onions over a low heat for about 20-25 minutes. Stir them regularly, until they are soft, translucent and pale gold in colour.
Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil. While the onions are cooking, pod the broad beans, then cook them in the boiling water for about 7 minutes, depending on their size. Check them for tenderness, then drain. Pop the beans from their papery skins. I really think this is one time you shouldn’t skip this.
Warm a grill or griddle pan. Lightly oil the lamb cutlets and season with salt, pepper, the thyme and garlic and cook them until their fat is golden. (I like to press them down on the griddle with a heavy weight.) Inside, the lamb should be pink and juicy.
Remove the onions from the heat and strain off any excess olive oil. Fold the soured cream and most of the broad beans through the onions, and season with black pepper and a little chopped parsley.
Divide the onions and soured cream between two warm plates, settle the cutlets next to them and serve with the remaining beans.
