A selection of the world's most famous and talked-about recipes that have changed the way we cook.
Can a recipe change the world? Well, perhaps not in the sense that a cure for cancer or discovery of life on Mars can change the world. But certainly recipes can change the way we think and feel about food, and dramatically transform the way we cook and eat.
Here, then, is my personal selection of 10 hugely influential recipes that have been much imitated, raved about and drooled over:
Delia Smith’s Chicken Basque
This chicken recipe is adored in the UK, like its author. It is a classic take on Spanish-style chicken, and was first published in Delia Smith’s ‘Summer Collection’.
Through this recipe, Delia Smith, like Elizabeth David before her, encouraged many people in the early 1990s to experiment with once-unusual, now-commonplace Mediterranean ingredients such as chorizo, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.
Get the recipe or buy the book
Jim Lahey’s Basic No-Knead Bread
It generated an astonishing amount of debate (which continues to this day), spawned countless versions and revolutionised home baking in America. It’s arguably the most influential recipe of the 21st century so far.
Hannah Glasse’s jugged hare
These days the only Hannah that young people are familiar with is one of Hannah Montana fame. But back in the 18th century, the Hannah that was making waves was English food writer Hannah Glasse.
Jugged hare revealed the technique of ‘jugging’ – an unusual method of preserving and cooking meat and fish. Her recipe, in which chopped marinated hare is cooked with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug placed in a water bath, wouldn’t look out of place in a modern chef’s kitchen.
The famous quote ‘first catch your hare’ is attributed to Glasse... but it turns out she never actually wrote it!
Mrs Beeton’s roly-poly jam pudding
Published in her legendary ‘Book of Household Management’ in 1861, this popular English pudding was a favourite recipe of the time and much-copied in cookery books of the day – and remains one of Mrs Beeton’s most loved recipes even today.
Auguste Escoffier’s tomato sauce
The legendary early 20th century chef and cookery writer Auguste Escoffier made elaborate, traditional French recipes accessible, and had key influence on the way upscale restaurants are run even to this day. Escoffier’s basic tomato sauce recipe unusually uses a roux base, and his classical techniques are a far cry from some of today’s instant dried-herbs-and-tinned tomato horrors.
Claudia Roden’s Orange and Almond Cake
Elizabeth David ’s Tarte a L’oignon
Elizabeth David is one of the great English cooks of the 20th century, and still boasts a loyal following among celebrity chefs today.
First published in ‘French Provincial Cooking’ in 1960, and more recently in the excellent ‘At Elizabeth David’s Table: Her very best everyday recipes', this delicious Alsatian speciality, created from little more than onions, eggs, cream and pastry, is one that chefs and food writers refer to time and again. Fans of the recipe include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Simon Schama.
Simon Hopkinson’s Roast Chicken
Simon Hopkinson is the author of the 1990s culinary bible ‘Roast Chicken and Other Stories’, which regularly tops the world’s best cookery books lists.
His roast chicken is a fuss-free recipe that’s become a modern classic. It is a benchmark against which roast chicken dishes are often judged; and Hopkinson’s relaxed, unpretentious style of cooking and writing has won many admirers.
Nobu Matsuhisa’s Black Cod with Miso
Another 90s classic, this celebrity favourite has become one of the most copied recipes ever – so much so that many South-East Asian eateries, seafood restaurants and even chip shops have some version of it on their menu.
The original, however, is fresh, revelatory and still beloved of Nobu-istas everywhere.
Ferran Adria’s Reverse Spherical Olives
More recently, this innovative, cutting-edge recipe for olives-that-are-not-quite-olives from the ‘molecular gastronomy’ canon has been hugely admired and copied by chefs and enthusiastic home cooks.
So which are YOUR all-time greatest recipes – the ones that have forever changed the way you cook?
Also worth your attention:
Elizabeth David: the woman who changed the way we cook