Telma Clear Soup Tubs, 400g

Product Information

You'd think Lennie, a counsellor and social worker, who was initially brought in to just act as host and chef – Jessie would handle the interviews – might find cooking for such big names at least a little intimidating. But no. We don't do them so much now, but the Friday-night dinners were pretty much as they are on the podcast; maybe sometimes more people and more raucous," remembers Lennie. "Usually more alcohol and definitely singing at the end. However, when we had Yannis [Philippakis] from Foals round, that was very similar as we did drink a lot – we didn't sing, but we almost did! Also, when [American band] Haim came, we sung a LOT!" The mother-daughter duo launched their wildly successful podcast, Table Manners, in 2017. They swiftly combined their inherent nosiness, brilliant garrulousness and spectacular appetite for food and feeding people with roping in Jessie's suitably famous friends, including Sam Smith, Annie Mac and Loyle Carner. And that's what it's all about – memories, family, and huge amounts of food. Cooking, says Lennie, "doesn't have to be complicated. It's to be enjoyed and to share".

Remove the lid and simmer for another five minutes. Serve the meatballs with the basil leaves and a grating of pecorino or Parmesan. The food itself spans the recipes they've whipped up for their celebrity guests, firm Ware family favourites (like chopped liver, monkfish and rosemary skewers, raspberry trifle) and summery dishes the Wares have collected on holidays to their beloved Skopelos in Greece (griddled peaches, bouyiourdi eggs, spanakopita). Taste and adjust the seasoning. Leave to stand for 5–10 minutes before serving. Serve with rice: we like this with Green Pesto Rice. The Gefilte fish, is also particular meaningful for her. "It's something my mum used to make for me, and I rarely make now. Making that again for the cookbook was really lovely, and everyone loved the smell of it when it was cooking. It reminded me of my mum."

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Drop the balls into the boiling water, turn down the heat and gently simmer for about 20-25 minutes until they are soft. They should swell up slightly, rise to the surface and look like little clouds. Drop the balls into the boiling water, turn down the heat and gently simmer for about 20–25 minutes until they are soft. They should swell up slightly, rise to the surface and look like little clouds.

The podcast just wouldn't work without Lennie and Jessie's mother-daughter tension though – the squabbling and wrangling, the affectionate despair and cries of, "Oh darling!", and, "Muuum!" being standard refrains. That and Jessie's brother Alex, the golden child and doctor, who pops up occasionally to supply guests with his feted puddings and lemon ice cream. TIP: You can use all thighs, which are more moist, or all breast pieces – in which case cook for a slightly shorter time to avoid dryness. Alternatively, use only skin-on bone-in thighs, which may need a slightly longer cooking time. And for proper belly-aching laughter, comedian Alan Carr is your man: "When he came round, we laughed and laughed for the full two hours!" To serve, bring the soup to the boil over a medium heat and add your cooked matzo balls just before servingShe also remembers making a "chocolate mousse and there was no room in the fridge – it fell off the window ledge and I had to scoop it up into another bowl, hoping there was no glass in there!" The Matzo ball soup is really important to me, as it's taken me so long to get them right," says Lennie with pride. "Jamie Oliver said my Matzo balls were the best he's ever tasted in the world."