“Saffron-scented Chicken Pilaf” and “Slut-red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly” from “Forever Summer”

Miles: I like the chicken! But not the rice. I tried it but I didn’t like it. It was gross!

Ella: The chicken is amazing! Yummy! I’ve almost finished it. I have now. There was some rice on it and it went under my wobbly tooth. And now it’s hurting.

Miles: Ella, you don’t keep on eating protein. But I do. I’m going to grow bigger than you!

Ella: I don’t care. I like being short. You can fit through things that tall people can’t. I don’t want to be tall, otherwise I’ll have to be a defender on the netball team. I prefer being wing attack. It’s funner.

Anna: I liked being goalkeeper. You just stand about for a bit.

Ella: Mmm, the rice is good! I don’t know why, but it kind of tastes creamy.

Anna: Can you see it’s yellow? What do you think had made it yellow?

Ella: Eggs? Bananas? Lemon sorbet? Lemons? Is it an animal, a vegetable or a mineral?

Kirstin: A vegetable. Something called saffron.

Tom: It costs more than gold, pound for pound.

Anna: It’s one of the most prized spices in the world. Mmmm, this is good. How easy was it?

Kirstin: Really easy.

Ella: Can we grow saffron in our garden?

Kirstin: No. We are not growing saffron.

Miles: Look how big my leg is! My leg is even bigger than before! Because I have eaten lots of protein!

Anna: So, how healthy is this?

Kirstin: Well, there’s a bit of butter.

Anna: Is the rice cooked in stock?

Kirstin: Yes, and you put the saffron in it. It’s not as good as the Moro saffron rice, which is very similar. That has barberries in it.

Anna: What the hell is a barberry?

Kirstin: You have to get them from the Turkish supermarket. It’s a very small, dried cranberry-alike.

Anna: Is it really complicated?

Kirstin: Yes. You have to cut out bits of paper to fit the pan, to help cook the rice.

Tom: Well, you’ll be doing the Moro cookbook another month.

Anna: Yes, we’ll have to. (Sarcastically) It’s in the Observer top 50. With this recipe, the only thing that’s lacking for me is that I want it to be a bit more salty. I need a bit more oomph.

Tom: I know what you mean. It was a bit… wussy. But I still kept going back for more.

Anna: A bit bland. But it’s comforting. What gave you the idea of putting this salad with it?

Kirstin: It was what I had. Green leaves and avocados, with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. I made it up.

Anna: It was effortless!

Kirstin: (Sighs) (Brightly) Anybody ready for dessert? Here’s the thing with the dessert. You have to use a lot of bowls to make it. But it was actually very easy once you’d got over the whole washing up the bowls part.

Anna: In spite of all the bowls.

Kirstin: And I liked the fact that you could boil off all the alcohol in the Chardonnay if you wanted to, but I chose not to. And I liked the fact that I had to choose a fruity Chardonnay. I ended up texting Anna at a quarter to nine in the morning to help me decide which Chardonnay to choose in the supermarket. With zest, mango, lime, or peaches? It was a minefield.

Anna: I told you to go for zesty. Oh my god! That’s got lots of vanilla in it, right? I was not expecting vanilla! Oh my word! That is lovely! Do you think Nigella came up with this all on her own?

Kirstin: She says, and I quote: “This is heaven on the plate. If there is one pudding you make from this book, please, please make it this.” I even bought special bowls for this jelly. Because I figured that I would be making it again.

Anna (in raptures): Ah! My god. Mmm! I just wasn’t expecting the vanilla. Mmm! This is the most excited I’ve been about a pudding in a long while.

Kirstin: It was really easy. I will be making it again. And again. And again.

Tom: Was it a huge fiddle with the gelatine?

Kirstin: No. I’ve never used gelatine before, but I trusted Nigella, and it was fine. I wasn’t sure where to find it in the supermarket, but eventually asked someone and it was in the “home baking” section. It felt a bit odd cooking with Chardonnay at 9 o’clock in the morning, though.

Anna: Mmm! Yum! I’m loving this. Mmmmm! Oh, man. That was a satisfying dinner.

Kirstin: This might be the biggest success from this book! You’ve gone back and scraped that bowl several times. I have three more in the fridge. Do you want them?

(Peter: It tastes like a big wine gum.)