NADIYA Hussain is, without doubt, The Great British Bake Off's most successful winner. Two years ago this month, the Luton-born mother-of-three first appeared on our TV screens, all wide-eyes and eyebrows, and won the hearts of the viewing public as well as the competition.
Since then, from fronting her own TV programmes and appearing on talk shows, game shows and cookery shows, to releasing four cookbooks and being asked to bake a cake for the queen, she's had a decidedly busy 24 months.
"I can't believe it's been two years already," says the 32-year-old cook when we meet to discuss her latest project, a TV show and cookbook called Nadiya's British Food Adventure. "I've been so busy, it feels like a bit of a blur. It's all happened so fast. I'm having a blast though!"
She's as lovely in person as she comes across on TV. Those big brown eyes beaming back you as she talks so passionately about food and family life.
Cooking has always been a big part of Nadiya's life. She started around age eight, "copying her dad", who used to run restaurants, and asking her mum questions in the kitchen.
"My mum is an amazing cook. She was a stay-at-home mum who would cook for all of us [Nadiya has five siblings]. She never wanted us to learn how to cook. She always said, 'No, no, you will not be doomed with a life of cooking for your extended family. Do whatever you want, but don't cook'. She still doesn't enjoy it but she's amazing.
"For me, cooking is about being creative but sharing it as well," Nadiya adds. "That's the fun bit – knowing that somebody gets to eat something delicious."
Asked what it is that makes her so likeable, Nadiya is stuck for words. She shrugs her shoulders, cracks a beautiful open smile and says: "I don't know, I'm just me. Whether I'm talking to you, on telly or whatever it is I'm doing, I don't ever try to be anything other than myself. Perhaps that's what people see?
"Having kids means you've got to have a sunny disposition about everything too. I probably wasn't as happy as I am now, but since having them, I've learned to find the good in everything."
And she takes everything in her stride as and when it comes along. There's no life plan.
"Nah, I don't set myself any goals," she says, without hesitation. "What's happened over the last two years, I didn't plan for any of it."
She adds: "I don't believe anything's forever. We all have to go and, as morbid as that sounds, that's what makes me enjoy every single day. Life is too short to be doing something you don't love."
:: Nadiya's British Food Adventure by Nadiya Hussain is published by Michael Joseph, priced £20. The accompanying TV show is on BBC Two on Mondays, and also on BBC iPlayer. Below are two recipes from the book for you to try yourself.
BEEF SKEWERS WITH PUY LENTIL & CHICKPEA SALAD
(Serves 4)
For the beef skewers:
4 beef fillet steaks (approx 600g), very thinly sliced
4tbsp olive oil
Peeled rind and juice of 2 lemons
2 small green chillies
30g fresh coriander, chopped
1tsp salt
For the salad:
1 large clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 large red onion, diced
15g fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 small chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1tbsp wholegrain mustard
3tbsp olive oil
250g cooked puy lentils (buy a ready-cooked pouch)
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained
Juice of 1 lime
1/4tsp salt
Soak eight wooden skewers in cold water for 15 minutes. This will prevent them burning during cooking. Slice the steak lengthways as thinly as possible and set aside in a bowl. Put the oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, chillies, coriander and salt into a food processor. Blitz to a smooth paste, then add the paste to the bowl of steak pieces. Mix well, then cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salad. Put the garlic, onion, coriander, chilli, mustard and oil into a bowl and mix well. Add the lentils and chickpeas. Squeeze in the lime juice and mix through the salt, then cover and set aside. Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas 9 and lightly grease a roasting dish. Or if you prefer to cook your skewers on a griddle pan, grease it lightly and put it on a medium to high heat to start warming up.
Meanwhile, skewer the beef pieces in a zigzag pattern. Do this until you have filled all eight skewers. If you have any leftover marinade, just dab it on top of the beef. Line the skewers on to the greased roasting dish and bake for eight to 10 minutes, making sure to turn them over halfway through. Or, if griddling, put them on the hot pan and cook for three to four minutes on each side.
Once cooked, serve the warm beef skewers with the salad alongside.
SUMMER FRUIT SEMIFREDDO
(Serves 6)
400g frozen mixed summer fruits
100g caster sugar
3tbsp water
7 slices of white bread (about 170g), crusts removed, halved lengthways
600ml double cream
2tbsp golden syrup
Put the frozen fruit, sugar and water into a medium pan and bring to the boil, then take off the heat. You don't want the fruit to break down too much but you want to extract as much liquid as possible. Drain the fruit through a sieve, making sure to catch all the liquid in a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to push through as much liquid as possible. Then leave the liquid to cool completely.
Line a 20cm round Pyrex dish with cling film. Dip each piece of bread quickly into the fruit juice mixture and place around the edge of the dish vertically, slightly overlapping each piece with the next to prevent leaking. Do this all around the edges – you should have one piece left. Break that piece down to size, then dip it in the fruit juice and place it in the base of the dish. Set aside.
Whip the double cream to soft peaks, then add the golden syrup and mix well. Add the fruit and ripple through gently. Put the cream mixture into the lined bowl and spread it level on top. If any of the bread pieces come up higher than the top of the cream, simply fold them over. Cover the top with cling film and place in the freezer for three hours. To turn out, tip on to a plate and remove all the cling film. Cut into wedges and serve.
