Q&A with Nigella Lawson

What are your top five desert-island utensils that you can't live without?

I'd not sure I'd want to think there were any utensils I couldn't live without, but there are certainly pieces of equipment that I turn to on a daily basis and that make my cooking life very much easier.

Microplane fine grater: Although Microplane do make a special grater for zesting, I much prefer this fine grater, not just for zesting citrus, but for grating ginger and garlic so finely, you have a puree, as well as for grating nutmeg. And it cleans up brilliantly.

Mezzaluna: Mezzaluna means "half-moon" in Italian, and this is a half-moon-shaped curved blade with a handle on either end, which means you can finely chop herbs (as well as chocolate and just about anything else) without ever cutting yourself. Proper chefs prefer using a knife, but I am much more comfortable with this.

KitchenAid free-standing mixer: I use this whenever I bake, more or less, and it certainly takes the effort out of making a pavlova! But more than just a useful piece of kit, it looks beautiful in my kitchen.

Stick blender: I use mine – a pink Kenwood model – to make soups and sauces, and puree just about anything. It's incredibly efficient and, because you blend straight into the vessel the food is in, saves on washing up.

Rice cooker: I have a very old Zojirushi rice cooker, which makes life very much easier in the kitchen, as it not only cooks rice (and quinoa, bulgur wheat and any number of grains) but keeps it safely warm afterwards. Very useful if cooking for children or, indeed, for anyone during a busy working week.

Are you a messy or a clean cook?

Although I do create a certain amount of chaos when I cook (and a chef would certainly deem me very messy) and am impatient and clumsy, I do clean up as I go. So while I am messy, I can't bear a dirty kitchen. But nor can I operate in a sterile environment.

What are your thoughts on cooking extra? Are you a leftovers kind of gal, or do you cook to order?

I think home cooking is all about the leftovers. Some of my favourite meals come about from using up odds and ends, and revitalising little bowls of food left over from previous meals. And I like to know when I cook that I have not just the meal in front of me, but something to eat over the next couple of days, too.

Why do you think baking/cooking can be therapeutic?

I think there is something about baking that appeals to that human need for transformation. When one cooks a stew, one can tell from the raw ingredients pretty much what the cooked dish will be, but when baking it always seems miraculous (however often one does it) that eggs, sugar, butter and flour once mixed together and cooked in the oven, become a cake! And there is also something about the smell of the cake as it bakes that seems to create in me a mixture of serenity and cosiness that is both uplifting and comforting.

What are your top must-have cookbooks?

One of the books I love to give to people starting off in their first kitchen (apart from my own!) is Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion – which comprises not only a stunning collection of recipes, but lovingly fosters a true cook's sensibility, with its suggestions of what ingredients and flavours go with one another. It isn't a picture book, but it is nonetheless an essential guide for novice and experienced cook alike.

Do you have any go-to dishes when you're cooking for people with different dietary intolerances?

I find these days so many people are either gluten free or dairy free, that I often need to produce a dessert that will keep both camps happy. And my go-to dessert here is my apricot and almond cake with cardamom and rosewater, which is also has the benefit of being able to be cooked in advance. And I have a fantastic vegan cake in the form of my dark and sumptuous chocolate cake, which has since become the cake I cook for any family birthday or celebratory occasion: it is that good, and that simple.

On the savoury front, my warm spiced cauliflower and chickpea salad with parsley and pomegranates is a meat-free dish that is substantial and delicious enough to delight meat-eaters, too, and can be further bolstered by my butternut with za'atar and green tahini sauce. I don't find cooking for those with a restrictive diets a burden: rather, it fosters a real sense of joyful creativity in the kitchen.

If you had to cater for a table of under-fives, where would you start?

When my children were little, I always put a plate out of raw carrot and cucumber batons on the table to eat while I was getting the food ready. And as much as possible, I'd let them be part of the process of making the meal. The more involved children are in cooking, the more adventurous they seem to be at the table. Having said that, I do think that it isn't necessary to come up with "entertaining" ideas – pasta, rice and couscous always find favour, and can be a great vehicle for bold flavours.

Got a cooking conundrum that needs solving? Nigella Lawson will be online at goodfood.com.au on January 22 answering readers' questions. Stop by our homepage or our Facebook page @goodfoodAU from 11am to noon to ask her a question.