The Errant Æsthete

Simon Hopkinson’s “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” is one of those rare cookbooks that, once opened, becomes indispensable,” says Aleksandra Crapanzano of The NY Times “perhaps because it takes so many of the dishes you thought you had already mastered and, quite simply, does them that much better.

Foodies know it as the winner of the 1995 Glenfiddich award for best food book, and publishers know it as the book that trumped Harry Potter on Amazon.com’s British best-seller list. The British magazine Waitrose Food Illustrated named it the most useful cookbook ever. And if you’re not sure how your culinary skills rate against this gastronomical brilliance, Crapanzano assures us ‘Nothing here is too complicated for the novice or too basic for the professional chef.” For a test run, try the attached recipes on the following page.

A sampling:

“The alphabet notwithstanding, what ties this book together is Hopkinson’s singular affection for food. He almost anthropomorphizes his ingredients, bringing them to life with stories both tragic and comic. Take veal scallopini: “It is a pity that the ubiquitous escalope or scaloppina has had such a rough time in the past,” he writes. “Its life has been just one long trudge through soggy bread crumbs, cheese and ham slices and finally blanketed with thick, white sauces.” Turn the page and find veal’s chance at a better life — if only for the few moments it exists on the plate before being devoured — in the recipe for Hopkinson’s excellent saltimbocca alla romana.”

Roast Leg of Lamb With Anchovy, Garlic and Rosemary

1 4-pound bone-in leg of lamb

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thirds

20 anchovy fillets in oil, drained

1 bunch rosemary

6 tablespoons butter, softened

Freshly ground black pepper

1 2/3 cups white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt, as needed

1 small bunch of watercress, to garnish (optional).

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. With a small, sharp knife, make 12 incisions 2 inches deep into the fleshy side of the leg. Insert a piece of garlic, half an anchovy and a small sprig of rosemary into each incision. Push them in with your little finger.

2. Cream the butter with the remaining anchovies and smear it all over the meat. Sprinkle the meat generously with black pepper, place in a roasting pan and pour the wine around it. Tuck in any leftover sprigs of rosemary and pour the lemon juice over the meat.

3. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes; lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and roast for 1 hour more, basting from time to time with the juices. (Cook slightly longer, depending on how well done you like your meat.) Let rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes before carving.

4. Meanwhile, taste the juices, adding salt as needed. (It should not need much because of the anchovies.) If the gravy is too thin, simmer it in a skillet to thicken. If you choose, garnish the slices of lamb with sprigs of watercress. Serve with gravy and mashed potatoes or creamed eggplant. Serves 4.

Petit Pot au Chocolat

¾ cup heavy cream

Half a vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped

4 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6 tablespoons whole milk

2 medium egg yolks

1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon, confectioners’ sugar.

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Bring a kettle full of water to a boil.

2. Warm the cream with the vanilla bean and seeds to just before boiling, whisking to disperse the seeds. Remove from heat, cover and let infuse for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the chocolate in the milk. Beat together the egg yolks and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla cream and blend thoroughly. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and pour into 4 4-ounce ramekins or 6 3-ounce porcelain espresso cups.

4. Place the ramekins in an 8-inch baking pan. Fill the pan with enough hot water to rise halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in the oven until slightly puffed and spongy, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the pan to cool. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Bring back to room temperature before serving. Serves 4 to 6. All recipes adapted from “Roast Chicken and Other Stories,” by Simon Hopkinson.

Creamed Eggplant

2 11/2-pound eggplants, peeled and diced

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 large lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

11/2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon sesame paste (tahini)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the eggplants in a roasting pan with 1/2 cup of the olive oil and the lemon juice. Season all over with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven until completely collapsed, 1 to 2 hours.

2. Scrape the contents of the roasting pan into a blender. Add the cumin, garlic and sesame paste, and blend, adding the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil in a thin stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature with roast leg of lamb or as a dip with crunchy bread and pickled chilies. Serves 6 to 8.