Keep it Simple: Fresh Look at Classic Cooking

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By 2002, Little had left the partnership, losing the right to use his name on another business. [4] Little started a deli in Notting Hill, West London, called Tavola. [9]

a b c d e Chapman, Kit (1989). Great British Chefs. London: Pyramid Books (Octopus). pp.140–142. ISBN 1-871307-89-9. Preparation: Prepare the vegetables, keeping each vegetable separate: only peel the onion and garlic, but top and tail the aubergines and courgettes. Destalk and deseed the peppers. Scald the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 60 seconds, then refresh, peel and deseed. Cut all the vegetables into bite-sized chunks. (If using baby courgettes, leave them whole.) Serving: Serve hot or at room temperature. If chilled, return to a pan and warm gently in its own juices. Just before bringing to the table, stir in plenty of chopped dill.

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In 1985 Little opened his eponymous restaurant in London's Soho. It was ahead of its time: floorboards were bare, tablecloths were removed, and customers could see straight into the restaurant kitchen. According to an interview the chef gave to The Independent in 2003, the menu changed twice a day depending on ingredients Little would buy from the shops. The restaurant was named The Times Restaurant of the Year in 1993. By 2002, however, he had left the restaurant partnership. For most of the previous decade he had spent his summers running a cookery school near Orvieto in Umbria where, in 1995, he met Sharon Jacob, an Australian marketing manager whom he married in 2000. That restaurant was galvanic. It attracted young recruits such as Juliet Peston, Jeremy Lee and Dan Lepard, it was a beacon of adventure and delight in its range of offerings, and it operated in a style far removed from the hushed napery of candidates for Michelin. Cooking: Put immediately into the centre of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Do not open the door for at least 15 minutes. After 20 minutes, insert a small clean knife into the centre of the cake (I stress clean because I have on occasion tested with a garlic-tainted knife, which does nothing to improve the flavour). If it comes out clean the cake is done, so remove it; if the mixture clings to the knife, cook for a further 5 minutes, by which time it should be cooked - but there is no harm in testing again.

Remove the mixer bowl and, with the spatula, stir gently, starting from the centre at the bottom and working outwards and upwards while rotating the bowl one quarter-turn. Repeat 3 more times (which means the bowl will have been turned full circle). This is called 'folding' and is the best way of ensuring all the elements are thoroughly mixed without losing lightness by being heavy-handed. Little, Alastair; Whittington, Richard (1995). Food of the Sun: a fresh look at Mediterranean cooking. London: Quadrille. ISBN 189998805X. Cooking: Scatter the garlic in the prepared gratin dish. Then arrange the drained potatoes on top, cut sides upwards. Pour over the olive oil and dot with the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Thin and bearded, with a faint Lancashire accent and a high-pitched giggle, Little was not the most glamorous of chefs, but in his heyday in the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the country’s most recognisable. He appeared on the cover of Elle magazine and on television in shows such as Ready Steady Cook and Masterchef. A classic taste of late summer, this is one of the few dishes that uses sliced white bread to advantage. It is also one of the few English desserts admired by French and Italians alike. You should only make it when berries are both abundant and cheap (a proper summer pudding should never include strawberries). It has to be made at least the day before it is needed and is better for two or three days in the fridge.The tart is characterised by the use of halved apples baked in caramel with the pastry lid becoming the base when the cooked tart is inverted to be served still warm. It is one of those dishes that sounds simple and is actually difficult to get right. On average it takes a cook in my kitchen a week of trying before he or she produces a saleable tart. In the restaurant we use a frying pan rather than a cake pan, and I prefer crisp English apples such as Worcester Pearmain or Braemar to Le Golden, which the French choose as a matter of national honour. Alastair Little, who has died aged 72, was a leading figure in a new movement in London restaurants in the 1980s known as Modern British cooking, whereby intelligent, educated chefs employed French techniques but looked elsewhere for ideas and inspiration and featured simple, seasonal ingredients. Serving: Scoop into balls with a spoon or ice- cream scoop and serve in the chilled glasses. I once went out after dark to get some mint from the garden of a friend's restaurant to garnish a sorbet. The portion was rapidly returned with the message that, no matter how authentic, the diner would prefer his sorbet without a caterpillar. So, as a general rule, do not decorate this sorbet with mint leaves. Tom Parker Bowles said: “Such a lovely man. And what a cook. One of the most influential chefs of his generation. His books will endure forever.”

Cooking: Put about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large heavy pan, set over a medium heat and cook the onions, stirring. They must not colour. As they soften and go translucent, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the contents of the pan to a colander placed over a bowl.Soho's service model broke with multiple then-common dining norms. Little dispensed with cover charges and 'extras' for service and vegetables. The menu, which was restricted to soup, salad, fresh fish and meat, plus puddings, was changed twice a day, according to the availability of supplies. [4] [3] There were no tablecloths, the napkins were paper, and the kitchen could be seen from the dining room. [4] Drew Smith of the Good Food Guide described it as "the finest cafe in the country". [7] Fusion food does make its mark in this book but it would be unfair to characterise the whole work as that; some dishes may be fusion inspired but others owe clear allegiance to a particular national culinary tradition. The vast array of those national culinary traditions does point in the same direction though: British, Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Morrocan flavours are all here in this publication.

We met in the winter of 1980. I had taken over the lease of what had been known as L’Escargot Bienvenu at 48 Greek Street in London’s Soho and the builders were busy on its very necessary modernisation; the basement kitchens had been condemned on 44 counts by Westminster Council.He is survived by Sharon and their son Alexander, and by George and Frederika, his children with Pedersen. Roast for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, baste every 10 minutes until done. The potatoes will brown on top and crisp, fanning apart along the cut lines. Do not attempt to move the potatoes while they are cooking. a b Fort, Matthew (29 March 2008). "Around Britain With A Fork". Guardian Newspapers. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020 . Retrieved 28 July 2020.