The London-based chef picks out a giant pestle & mortar and a very satisfying lemon squeezer and tells us about his current herb obsession
OBJECTS
Pestle & mortar »
Matthew picks out a chunky white pestle and mortar as one of his favourite kitchen objects. “It’s not actually that functional, but I like big pestle and mortars that you can really pound things with. I got this about 15 years ago in Divertimenti, in west London. They don’t make this exact one anymore – the one they do now is much flatter. I use this for crushing garlic, making pastes, mainly.” – Matthew
Hario V60 coffee dripper »
There is a whole shelf full of coffee gear in Matthew’s kitchen. He singles out a couple of things including a V60 coffee dripper with a serving jug. “You can’t beat a good pour-over coffee. This is my flatmate’s but I’m tempted to take it from him when he goes.”
Zassenhaus grinder »
“I used to love using this grinder. I don’t use it much anymore because it’s a real palaver, but sometimes it’s nice to have freshly ground coffee.”
Made in Cley lemon squeezer »
“I got this lemon squeezer in Norfolk from a pottery place called Made in Cley. It works so well and it’s really satisfying to use.”
INGREDIENTS
Sorrel
“I’m really interested in sorrel at the moment, for some reason. I made a sorrel butter for fish a while ago, and the first time I did it, it was the best thing I ever made in my life. But I can never recreate it. So frustrating! I think it’s down to the quality of sorrel. I’m going to try to grow some in my back garden this spring.
“I also want to grow orach, which is a purple-leafed plant related to spinach. I’ve been trying to get hold of it since I tried it at a restaurant in Paris. Everyone’s always on about foraging, but there are beautiful old-school leaves that you can’t get anymore. The only option is to grow it yourself.” – Matthew
Ravida olive oil »
Matthew uses this excellent olive oil in both of the dishes he makes. “It’s delicious. I stole it from a friend’s section at work – don’t tell her.”
BOOKSHELF
Appetite, Nigel Slater »
“This was the first cookbook I ever got and I remember becoming obsessed with the pumpkin and sage risotto. I really connected with Nigel Slater’s passion for ingredients and his way of describing what he was doing and eating, it just spoke to me. I’ve always liked his cookbooks – he’s got a nice, simple, homely attitude towards food.” – Matthew
Nose To Tail Eating, Fergus Henderson »
“When I was 24 or 25, I got into this cookbook. Once I bought a pig’s head and made a salad of deep-fried pig’s ears. It wasn’t very nice – I didn’t do them justice. But the ambition was there. If Nigel Slater got me interested in wholesome cooking, St John got me interested in cooking of a more extreme nature. I don’t look at the book much any more, but it is a great pedestal of a book. It’s more about the attitude than the food. It’s not hard to cook an ox tongue and put it with green sauce, but to put that recipe in a book takes attitude.”
The Nordic Cookbook, Magnus Nilsson »
“I don’t buy cookbooks that much anymore but I bought this because Magnus Nilsson is an interesting guy and I was curious to see what this was like. It’s actually very beautiful, simple cooking. He’s not trying too hard. But he’s so particular. You’ve got to have respect for the guy, he’s got pure passion for what he does.”
Cooking by Hand, Paul Bertolli »
“This is one of my favourites. When I started making pasta, this book really opened my eyes to what pasta was about. There are three sections in the book, one about pasta, one about tomatoes, one about charcuterie. How great to have a section that’s just about tomatoes!”
The Cooking of South West France, Paula Wolfert »
“Jonathan Jones from Anchor & Hope gave this book to me as a present one year. It’s a really great book with really rustic, old-school, indulgent French recipes. It’s got some great thoughts going on there.”
The Zuni Café Cookbook, Judy Rodgers »
“I also love Californian cooking so I love the Zuni cookbook. It’s one of my favourite books.”