Nigella Lawson's Go-To Comfort Meal Is Full Of Love

Nigella Lawson is one of the greatest, and most disarming, food celebrities. Known simply as Nigella in her native Britain, Lawson has garnered a great following from her winning combination of sensuality, fun, knowledge, and practical wisdom. As a feature piece in The Guardian put it, Lawson's approach is rooted "in pleasure: the pleasures of cooking, feeding, eating." Paradoxically, with Lawson, the food is a vehicle, rather than the end game. In Lawson-land, food is a metaphor for how to relate to life: experimenting, savoring, sharing, and doing it again. 

In a world focused on efficiency, where life and cooking shows put a premium on time, Lawson's approach is somewhat unique; urging us to look at food as a lovely, even leisurely, activity, notes Vogue. One of Lawson's many charms is her ability to take the stressful element out of putting meals on the table, encouraging her viewers and readers to embrace eating as an experience of adventure and delight, and food preparation as an intrinsic part of that.

Lawson's most recent cookbook — Cook, Eat, Repeat — sifts through her collection and offers up some of the best dishes that she and her family return to, again and again. One of the family's favorites is a tried and true pasta dish, which she cooks with love and eats... on great repeat.

This pasta dish is not a weeknight affair though — Lawson calls it lasagna of love, and she told Eating Well it's the lasagna she makes for all family occasions. What makes Lawson's lasagna so special is its flavor and its level of commitment. The Bolognese acquires a richness from its long simmer; the alternating layers of béchamel, noodles, and saucy meat guarantee substantial depth of flavor; and the time required to make it demonstrates an affection for those served. 

Nigella admits that "while it is a time-consuming recipe, it's not at all difficult to make." (Via Twitter). She loves it for any special occasion. As Lawson put it in an interview with Vogue, "It's important for people not to feel that cooking calls upon all these mysterious talents which people feel they don't have, because it's really just about responding to the ingredients in front of you." Lawsons lasagna of love takes time, effort, and a certain level of experience, but no particular expertise — sounds like a recipe that's onto something.