My best ever dishes
I consider myself a very lucky man. I spend my life with people I love, making great food for customers who really seem to appreciate it. There’s not a day I drive to work at my pub, The Hand & Flowers, when I don’t feel excited about what’s going to happen next. Even though it’s really hard work, I try to make each dish as good as I can; my own, personal best ever. And that’s what I want to share with you in my new collection of recipes: my special take on familiar dishes like tomato soup, lasagne, shepherd’s pie, rice pudding and chocolate tart, as well as more exotic delights. I’ve pumped up the fl avour and, I hope, given these recipes a whole new lease of life.
I wasn’t the most obvious person to run a two-Michelin-starred kitchen. I grew up in Gloucester and went to an all-boys comprehensive school, which I loved. Not so much the classes as what was in between them – hanging out with my mates, having a laugh. My mum called it ‘the school of life’.
From when I was 11, Mum brought up my little brother and me on her own. She had two jobs: working for the council in the day, then at a pub in the evening, so often I made the tea. It was nothing posh – beans on toast, that sort of thing. Then one day I put a bit of curry powder in the beans to make it different.
Every Wednesday I made a bolognaise sauce from scratch for Thursday night’s tea. Mum would supervise at first but then I just got on with it myself. It wasn’t a life where you would bake a cake and lick the beaters; it was proper dinner.
I remember when I was just starting out, I made a garlic sauce and my mum said, ‘This really tastes of garlic!’ I was disappointed at first, but then I realised – hang on, that’s what I want! Cooking is sometimes just a process of ensuring things really taste of themselves.
I like big flavours, I like getting the balance of taste and texture just right. I take every chance I can to add some extra flavour – and I hope you won’t be nervous about getting stuck in.
Tom Kerridge’s Best Ever Dishes, with photography by Cristian Barnett, is published by Absolute Press, priced £25.Crab fritters with saffron mayonnaise
Makes about 16 balls, to serve 4
Ingredients
Method
For the saffron mayonnaise u 2 tbsp olive oil u 2 garlic cloves, grated u generous pinch of saffron threads u 2 tbsp pastis (anise-flavoured liqueur) u 2 tbsp water u 2 egg yolks u 2 tbsp Dijon mustard u 2 tbsp white wine vinegar u 300ml vegetable oil u lemon juice, to taste u cayenne pepper, to taste First make the saffron mayonnaise. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over a low heat. Add the garlic and saffron. Cook very gently for 1-2 minutes then add the pastis and water and let the saffron steep in the liquid for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.
Place the egg yolks in a food processor with the mustard and vinegar. Add the infused saffron water and blend together. With the motor running, add the vegetable oil very slowly until it thickens and emulsifies. Season with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper, to taste. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with cling film. Refrigerate until needed.
To make the crab fritters, pour the water into a medium-sized saucepan with the butter and heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix well until fully incorporated. Beat in the eggs one at a time, using a wooden spoon. Alternatively, you can transfer the dough to a stand mixer. Beat on a slow speed to combine the ingredients, then increase it to medium and beat until smooth and cooled a little.
Beat in the Gruyère and brown crabmeat. Fold in the white crabmeat, lemon zest, chives, capers and a pinch of salt. Leave to go cold. When cold, with lightly floured hands, roll the mixture into walnutsized balls and place on a lightly floured tray – you should have about 16.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or saucepan to 180C and lower the balls in gently. Be careful not to crowd the pan – you may need to fry them in batches. Make sure you let the oil come back up to temperature before adding a new batch. Cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the fryer, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately with the saffron mayonnaise.Red mullet on baked Provençal vegetables
Serves 4
Ingredients
Method
Pierce the aubergines all over with a sharp knife, put them onto a plate and cover with cling film. Microwave them on full power for 8-10 minutes until they are very soft in the middle. If you don’t have a microwave, place the pierced aubergines on a baking tray and bake at 200C/ gas mark 6 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Keep an eye on them, as you want them to be just fluffy in the middle and for the flesh to be as pale as possible. Cool then cut them in half lengthways, scoop out the flesh, mash with a fork and season.
Make the onion jam. Pour the olive oil and vinegar into a large saucepan with the onions, thyme and sugar and cook over a medium heat for 40-50 minutes, until the onions are soft and have an almost jammy consistency. Stir from time to time and make sure the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom. Remove from the heat and add the garlic and lemon zest. Mix the onion jam into the mashed-up aubergine and spoon this into the bottom of an ovenproof serving dish.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Prepare a bowl of iced water and place it by the hob. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and drop in the tomatoes – count to 10 then remove and plunge them into the iced water. Peel the skins from the tomatoes and slice them into 5mm slices. Layer the tomatoes and courgettes on top of the aubergine and onion mixture in lines, or one by one, or just randomly. Drizzle on some olive oil and season. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and put the fillets of red mullet on top, skin-side up. Return to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the fish is cooked. Sprinkle on the lemon thyme and oregano and season with flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.
I wasn’t the most obvious person to run a two-Michelin-starred kitchen. I grew up in Gloucester and went to an all-boys comprehensive school, which I loved. Not so much the classes as what was in between them – hanging out with my mates, having a laugh. My mum called it ‘the school of life’.
From when I was 11, Mum brought up my little brother and me on her own. She had two jobs: working for the council in the day, then at a pub in the evening, so often I made the tea. It was nothing posh – beans on toast, that sort of thing. Then one day I put a bit of curry powder in the beans to make it different.
Every Wednesday I made a bolognaise sauce from scratch for Thursday night’s tea. Mum would supervise at first but then I just got on with it myself. It wasn’t a life where you would bake a cake and lick the beaters; it was proper dinner.
I remember when I was just starting out, I made a garlic sauce and my mum said, ‘This really tastes of garlic!’ I was disappointed at first, but then I realised – hang on, that’s what I want! Cooking is sometimes just a process of ensuring things really taste of themselves.
I like big flavours, I like getting the balance of taste and texture just right. I take every chance I can to add some extra flavour – and I hope you won’t be nervous about getting stuck in.
Tom Kerridge’s Best Ever Dishes, with photography by Cristian Barnett, is published by Absolute Press, priced £25.
Crab fritters with saffron mayonnaise
Makes about 16 balls, to serve 4Ingredients
- 110ml water
- 75g butter
- 110g plain flour, plus more for dusting
- 3 eggs
- 100g Gruyère cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp brown crabmeat
- 200g white crabmeat, well picked over
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tbsp chopped capers
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- salt
Method
For the saffron mayonnaise u 2 tbsp olive oil u 2 garlic cloves, grated u generous pinch of saffron threads u 2 tbsp pastis (anise-flavoured liqueur) u 2 tbsp water u 2 egg yolks u 2 tbsp Dijon mustard u 2 tbsp white wine vinegar u 300ml vegetable oil u lemon juice, to taste u cayenne pepper, to taste First make the saffron mayonnaise. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over a low heat. Add the garlic and saffron. Cook very gently for 1-2 minutes then add the pastis and water and let the saffron steep in the liquid for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.
Place the egg yolks in a food processor with the mustard and vinegar. Add the infused saffron water and blend together. With the motor running, add the vegetable oil very slowly until it thickens and emulsifies. Season with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper, to taste. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with cling film. Refrigerate until needed.
To make the crab fritters, pour the water into a medium-sized saucepan with the butter and heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix well until fully incorporated. Beat in the eggs one at a time, using a wooden spoon. Alternatively, you can transfer the dough to a stand mixer. Beat on a slow speed to combine the ingredients, then increase it to medium and beat until smooth and cooled a little.
Beat in the Gruyère and brown crabmeat. Fold in the white crabmeat, lemon zest, chives, capers and a pinch of salt. Leave to go cold. When cold, with lightly floured hands, roll the mixture into walnutsized balls and place on a lightly floured tray – you should have about 16.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or saucepan to 180C and lower the balls in gently. Be careful not to crowd the pan – you may need to fry them in batches. Make sure you let the oil come back up to temperature before adding a new batch. Cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the fryer, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Serve immediately with the saffron mayonnaise.
Red mullet on baked Provençal vegetables
Serves 4Ingredients
- 2 large aubergines
- 8 ripe tomatoes
- 3 large courgettes, cut into 5mm slices
- olive oil, for drizzling
- 4 x 170g red mullet fillets, pin-boned and scaled
- 1 tsp lemon thyme leaves (ordinary thyme if lemon isn’t available)
- 1 tsp oregano leaves
- flaky sea salt, to finish
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3½ tbsp olive oil
- 3½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- 500g red onions, halved and sliced
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Method
Pierce the aubergines all over with a sharp knife, put them onto a plate and cover with cling film. Microwave them on full power for 8-10 minutes until they are very soft in the middle. If you don’t have a microwave, place the pierced aubergines on a baking tray and bake at 200C/ gas mark 6 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Keep an eye on them, as you want them to be just fluffy in the middle and for the flesh to be as pale as possible. Cool then cut them in half lengthways, scoop out the flesh, mash with a fork and season.
Make the onion jam. Pour the olive oil and vinegar into a large saucepan with the onions, thyme and sugar and cook over a medium heat for 40-50 minutes, until the onions are soft and have an almost jammy consistency. Stir from time to time and make sure the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom. Remove from the heat and add the garlic and lemon zest. Mix the onion jam into the mashed-up aubergine and spoon this into the bottom of an ovenproof serving dish.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Prepare a bowl of iced water and place it by the hob. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and drop in the tomatoes – count to 10 then remove and plunge them into the iced water. Peel the skins from the tomatoes and slice them into 5mm slices. Layer the tomatoes and courgettes on top of the aubergine and onion mixture in lines, or one by one, or just randomly. Drizzle on some olive oil and season. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and put the fillets of red mullet on top, skin-side up. Return to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the fish is cooked. Sprinkle on the lemon thyme and oregano and season with flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.