Entertainment
Nigella Lawson fans are really upset over her ‘worst idea ever’-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro
The jury is still out.
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Nigella Lawson fans have branded a recipe including a controversial ingredient ‘posh culinary jackanory.’
The TV chef, 64, divided Saturday Kitchen viewers when she whipped up her spin on the Bangladeshi dish bhorta and added comfort food classic, fish fingers.
On X, some fans expressed disgust over Nigella’s creation, with @JustynBarnes writing: ‘Love you, Nigella, but this is your worst idea ever. One never mashes fish fingers. Ever. #SaturdayKitchen.’
Agreeing with their sentiment, @viewfromtheloo3 fumed: ‘Posh culinary jackanory on #SaturdayKitchen today.’
However, some BBC viewers gave the dish their seal of approval and liked the idea of munching on ‘fishfinger mash.’
As @Booneyboone on X put it: ‘Fishfinger mash? And this is why we love Nigella #saturdaykitchen.’
The addition of fish fingers in the bhorta divided viewers (Picture: BBC)
One fan said the inclusion of fish fingers was the ‘worst idea ever’ (Picture: BBC)
Nigella tucked into her fish finger bhorta during a segment on Saturday Kitchen (Picture: BBC)
We think the finished dish looks pretty delicious (Picture: BBC)
Personally, we think that bhorta, mashed up vegetables with herbs and spices, with the extra addition of fish fingers sounds delightful as they elevate any dish.
But, look, it is not the first time keyboard warriors have taken issue with Queen Nigella’s dishes.
Let’s not forget when Nigella shared her method for making the perfect avocado on toast on Simply Nigella with many disputing it was a recipe.
‘Is she really showing me how to mash an avocado and put it on toast?’ @Mandy166 raged on X at the time.
Nigella’s fish finger bhorta recipe
Ingredients
For the pink-pickled onions
½ red onion, thinly sliced
red wine vinegar or lime juice, to cover
For the bhorta
12 fish fingers
3 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed or vegetable oil
2 onions (approximately 300g/10½oz), thinly sliced
2 red chillies, seeds removed, if preferred, and thinly sliced
1 tbsp finely grated fresh root ginger
2 large garlic cloves, crushed or grated
2 tbsp English mustard
2 tsp sea salt flakes (or 1 tsp fine sea salt)
125g/4½oz young spinach
1 lime, juice only
3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander, plus more to garnish (optional)
Method
Make your pink-pickled onions as far in advance as you can: at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. Place the red onion in a jar with a lid, or simply into a bowl that you can cover. Pour over the red wine vinegar (or lime juice), pressing down on the onions until they are all just immersed. Put the lid on the jar or cover your bowl, and leave the onions to steep.
When you’re ready to make the bhorta, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Put the fish fingers on a baking tray and cook for approximately 20–25 minutes, which may be slightly longer than the packet directs, but ensures the breadcrumb coating is really crisp.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan (I use a wok-shaped stir-fry pan). Cook the onions over a medium–low heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until pale gold and soft. Add the chillies and cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the while. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook, still stirring, for another 2 minutes. Spoon in the mustard and salt, stirring to combine. Add the spinach and allow to wilt in the pan for 2–3 minutes, stirring regularly, then squeeze in the lime juice.
Take the pan off the heat while you get the fish fingers. Break them up a bit with a spatula and then add to the pan. Toss everything together, breaking them up further and mashing them into the pan, then sprinkle over the coriander.
Serve topped with the pink-pickled onions and extra coriander, if wished.
Recipe can be found on the BBC and Nigella’s official website.
However, her sultry presenting style with back-to-back innuendos never fails to make the audience crack a smile.
During her last Christmas special, viewers were thrilled when she had some macadamias ready to go in her ‘nut-bashing bag’ for her no-bake advocaat and ginger cake.
‘Oh the double entendres are glorious tonight. #NigellasAmsterdamChristmas,’ @SannyEmmy exclaimed on X after watching the episode.
Everyone was also in hysterics when Nigella spectacularly mispronounced a microwave as a ‘mee-cro-wah-vey’ becoming a much-shared meme in the process.
Some fans praised Nigella for her unique creation (Picture: BBC)
However, in December, Nigella sadly admitted she no longer calls the household appliance a ‘mee-cro-wah-vey’ any more.
She said on BBC Breakfast: ‘I wasn’t quite aware I’d said it because that’s what I’d call it at home.
‘What’s quite interesting is that a lot of people got in touch with me to tell me what their family mispronunciations are, because so many families do have that.’
Nigella continued: ‘It’s made me quite self-conscious now. I tend to refer to it as the you-know-what now.’
Saturday Kitchen airs from 10am on BBC One and Player.
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