Nadiya Hussain says she dreams of cooking on TV into old age – but that longevity in the industry isn’t afforded to everyone.
“I would like to have seen myself where Mary Berry is at 90 years old, still cooking on television, I would have loved that for myself,” says the 41-year-old, “But that’s a dream that I can’t live up to because I’m not white.”
The British-Bangladeshi chef, author and TV presenter, who won the Great British Bake Off in 2015 and was catapulted to fame, spent 10 years making cooking shows for the BBC, but the shows weren’t recommissioned last year – a decision she says “shocked” her.
The mum-of-three notes that it’s “really hard to pick a few” Muslim female chefs on TV. “Because we don’t have longevity. I can’t even find another Muslim woman to equate myself to, or stand shoulder-to-shoulder with.
“It’s hard not to feel like a token, because it’s almost like we’re allowed a certain amount of space, until that space no longer exists for us – when the box has been ticked. There’s this kind of show of, ‘Look, we’re inclusive’, until we’re not.”
The TV chef and cookery author has released her 11th cookbook, Nadiya’s Quick Comforts, celebrating the food she makes so often at home, which is fast to make and designed to be enjoyed slowly.
“This is exactly where I am and what I cook for my kids, because my eldest is moving out soon, and then my second will be moving out at the end of the year, and all they want is comfort food. All they want is yummy food that’s delicious.”
Hussain is entering a new era, without a TV show on the horizon, as she did for so long and “it’s scary”, she says.
Regularly publishing a cookbook, followed by a TV series, had become the norm for her. “I’d gone into autopilot where I was like, ‘I’ve got a book, of course I’m going to do a series’, and when that was taken away from me, I didn’t have a conversation with anyone, it was just taken away from me with no explanation.”
Last year, she published a cookbook about Ramadan, in which, for the first time, she “attached faith and food together”.
“Up to that point, I was the digestible version of myself for the general public,” she says, and now had become “too much” for some people. “I thought, you know what, in that case, I have not been enough.
“When the BBC cancelled the show, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I see what’s happening’. And so from that point, I got rid of my management. I needed to start from scratch. [I thought] I cannot become this manufactured caricature version of myself that everybody thinks is sellable as a brand. I need to be the version of myself that allows me to sleep at night, because right now I can’t sleep.”
So rather than a rejection, Hussain saw it as a wake-up call – and a chance to show her children what matters.
“I think what’s really important for the kids to see is integrity. And I look back at 10 years and going in that autopilot mode and just doing as I’m told, because that’s what will get you the book deals, and that’s what will get you the TV, and that’s where you just, just comply, comply, comply.
“My daughter’s struggle will be different as a Muslim woman in this society. My sons will have their own struggles, always less so because they’re men – her struggles will be greater. And what I’m trying to teach her is that being compliant and submissive is not the way you speak your truth, you speak your mind, and it may make you less rich, but you will sleep at night.”
Since that famous Bake Off win, where Hussain pulled on the nation’s heartstrings with an impassioned speech about believing in herself, she has come a long way. “You do a lot of self-reflection and growth in 11 years,” she notes. “I’ve changed so much, and this and every year, I feel like more myself than I ever have.
“It’s knowing yourself, and I think that shows in the way I cook. I’m not scared to just say, this is what I love to do. And I’m not scared to say I deep-fry three times a week, and that’s absolutely fine,” she laughs. “I could write an entire book on deep-fat frying, I absolutely would, because it gives you a texture that nothing else can give you.”
In a world that often encourages us to cut back on certain foods, Hussain is instead encouraging us to see food as warmth and safety. Whether that’s deep-frying cheese strings for her fried-cheese recipe or the corn pakoras she serves up instead of biscuits when people come round to her house for tea. You’ll find easy family-friendly tray bakes – like shawarma fries or frankfurter bacon sarnies – alongside an all-in-one-pan chicken roast dinner that takes less than an hour.
And if you thought crumpets were just for butter and jam, try Hussain’s savoury crumpet dish – torn and fried up with onions, chilli and egg, and sprinkled in coriander.
“We are so bound by rules and habit,” she notes, “but if you step out of your comfort zone, you actually do really wonderful things with simple ingredients. I’ve been having savoury crumpets for years.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be comfort food without dessert; think brown butter pecan coffee cake and croissant berry pudding slices.
With every book, and each year that passes, Hussain feels more comfortable being “unapologetically” herself. “I think once you get to your 40s, there’s a comfort in your own skin. I thought 30s was the decade. It’s not, it’s 40. I used to think 40 was really old, when I think back, but actually, I feel more alive now than I ever felt.”
And “I’m really excited about what that could mean for me in five or 10 years.” Or when she’s 90.
A BBC Spokesperson said: “After many wonderful series, we made the difficult decision not to commission another cookery show with Nadiya Hussain for the time being. We remain open to working with her in the future.”
Croissant berry pudding slices
“This is like a bread-and-butter pudding but – simply put – better,” says Hussain. “It’s made with an easy vanilla custard, which is baked around chunks of buttery croissant, laced with raspberries and white chocolate. It’s comforting, warm and really hits the spot.”
Serves: 8
Prep time: 8 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
4 large croissants
3 medium eggs
300ml double cream
100ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp caster sugar
100g fresh raspberries
50g white chocolate, chopped
Icing sugar, to dust
To serve:
Clotted cream
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan. Grease the inside of a 23cm cake tin.
2. Take a sheet of baking paper, large enough to cover the base and sides of the tin, scrunch it into a ball, then un-scrunch the paper, flatten it out, and fit it into the tin. Grease the inside of the paper.
3. Rip the croissants into small shreds and put them into the tin.
4. Put the eggs into a bowl and whisk until broken up. Add the double cream, whole milk, vanilla and caster sugar, and mix until really well combined.
5. Get a sieve, and strain the custard mix through the sieve, straight on to the croissants.
6. Put the fresh raspberries on top, sprinkle over the white chocolate, and bake for 35 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then chill in the fridge. Dust with icing sugar and serve cut into wedges, with clotted cream.
Fish and coconut curry
“I love a fish curry; I grew up on the stuff,” says Hussain. “Over the years I’ve learned to make it in lots of different ways. This version is rich and creamy and packed with coconut flavour. The addition of cashew nuts makes it extra special.”
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
100g whole cashews
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
2 medium onion, peeled and blended to a smooth paste
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp curry powder
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
400ml water
150g mangetout
80g baby spinach leaves
2 x 280g pieces of cod, cut into chunks
To serve:
Microwave rice
20g desiccated coconut, toasted
A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
Method:
1. Put a 5-litre pot on the stove on a medium heat.
2. Add the vegetable oil to the pot, and when the oil is hot, add the cashews and toast until golden. Now add the garlic and ginger paste, along with the onion paste from the blender.
3. Add the salt and cook for a few minutes, until the onions are just golden brown.
4. Add the turmeric, paprika and curry powder and cook for a few minutes. If the onion starts to stick, add a small splash of water.
5. Pour in the coconut milk, then use the empty can to measure out the 400ml of water and pour that in too. Bring to the boil and cook on a high heat for 5 minutes.
6. Add the mangetout, spinach leaves and cod chunks and cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid off.
7. Serve with rice, and sprinkle with toasted coconut, chopped coriander and chilli flakes.
Goat’s cheese and onion tart
“I love goat’s cheese with caramelised onions, and this recipe pairs that brilliant flavour combination with flaky puff pastry, another thing that I really, really love,” says Hussain. “I hope you love this too!”
Serves: 6
Prep time: 12 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
3 medium onions, peeled and sliced into rings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp caster sugar
150g goat’s cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
Honey, to drizzle
To serve:
Simple green salad
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan and line a 39cm baking tray with baking paper. Drizzle some oil over the paper and brush it all over in an even layer.
2. Lay the onion rings all over the paper and sprinkle all over with the salt and sugar.
3. Bake the onions for 10 minutes.
4. Take the tray out of the oven, dot all over with the goat’s cheese and sprinkle over the dried thyme.
5. Place the puff pastry sheet on top and bake for another 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
6. Take out of the oven and leave for 10 minutes, then flip out on to a board.
7. Drizzle with honey, cut and enjoy with a simple green salad.
‘Nadiya’s Quick Comforts’ by Nadiya Hussain (Penguin Michael Joseph, £28).