British actress Florence Pugh, known for her roles in "Dune" and other high-profile projects, has long stopped being just a movie star to her fans. On her Instagram, she hosts a segment called "Cooking with Flo," where she shares the cooking process and finished recipes. The actress emphasizes that all her dishes are simple to make yet nourishing. The atmosphere in the frame is completely relaxed: Florence might drink a glass of wine, dance to background music, and chat with followers like friends. She saves all recipes in her highlights, so anyone can rewatch the video at a convenient time and recreate the dish in their own kitchen. Wave RBC.UA selected five of the most interesting items from this collection, made from affordable ingredients.
Pumpkin Soup with Sausages and New Potatoes
The first recipe is an aromatic, spicy, and warming soup that, according to the actress, is perfect for autumn. Florence starts by cutting a pumpkin in half, cleaning out the core, and slicing it into wedges about two centimeters wide. The wedges are brushed with olive oil, a few cloves of garlic are placed on the baking sheet, and the pumpkin goes into the oven. Simultaneously, onions, new potatoes (the actress intentionally leaves the skins on), and spicy sausages are fried in a pan until done. Chili and extra garlic are minced finely. The baked pumpkin is peeled, placed in a pot, combined with broth and the chili-garlic mixture, and blended with an immersion blender. The soup is reheated, salted, and peppered to taste. It is served in a bowl, topped with the fried potatoes and sausages.
Courgetti with Shrimp: Zucchini Pasta
Florence calls the second dish "courgetti" — after the British term for zucchini. The main difficulty of the recipe lies in cutting the zucchini into long ribbons imitating spaghetti: the actress uses a special gadget, though she allows for a peeler to create thin slices. The sauce is prepared separately: vegetables are chopped and simmered in a pan with water. Florence also fries chorizo onions and adds them to the sauce, noting that this step is optional. The sauce should remain quite runny. Once simmered, zucchini is added to the sauce and left until tender. Meanwhile, shrimp are sautéed in butter with minced garlic for a few minutes on each side. "Courgetti" is served with shrimp on top, optionally drizzled with lemon juice for freshness.
Chickpea, Tuna, and Fried Mushroom Salad
The third recipe is a nourishing salad containing, according to the actress's estimate, all necessary nutrients and perfectly suited for the cold season. Cooking begins with chopping garlic and button mushrooms, which are fried in a pan with vegetable oil. Simultaneously, tomatoes are cut into quarters, onions into half-rings, and carrots are peeled and shaved into thin slices using a peeler. All prepared vegetables, chickpeas, half a can of corn, and tuna go into a deep bowl. The dressing consists of olive oil, salt, pepper, and optionally a small amount of chili. The salad is plated, drizzled with Tabasco and balsamic glaze (the actress emphasizes both ingredients are optional), and topped with the fried mushrooms.
Guinness Beef with Sweet Potato Mash
The fourth dish is described by Florence as "definitely warming up cold autumn evenings." She calls rich sweet potato mash paired with savory beef braised in dark beer an ideal match. The meat is placed in a preheated pan with vegetable oil and fried until a crust forms. Onions, celery, and garlic are diced, and carrots are cut into large rounds. Pancetta and vegetables are added to the meat, sautéed briefly, followed by tomato paste. The meat is poured over with broth (the actress uses a bouillon cube) and half a bottle of Guinness or any other rich dark beer. Simmering takes place over low heat for several hours until the meat becomes tender. Mushrooms and chili are added at the end. Sweet potatoes are boiled and mashed with butter. The dish is served together, generously pouring the meat sauce over the mash.
Lazy Vegetable Ratatouille
The fifth and final recipe is a simplified version of classical ratatouille, for which, according to Florence, one simply needs to chop all the vegetables "that have been waiting too long in the fridge" and simmer them in a rich sauce. Sausages are diced and placed in a preheated pan greased with vegetable oil. Eggplant, carrots, onions, peppers, and mushrooms are diced and added to the sausages. After a brief fry, tomatoes are added last. Florence notes that tomato paste or marinara sauce can be added, but insists: without them, the vegetables will reveal their own natural taste and aroma, so this step is optional.
All five recipes share one trait: they do not require rare or expensive ingredients and do not take much time. Florence Pugh consciously builds her culinary segment as an accessible hobby for a wide audience rather than a demonstration of professional mastery. Followers note in the comments that it is precisely this ease of presentation and lack of "starry" pathos that makes "Cooking with Flo" one of the warmest and coziest segments in the actress's Instagram.
