If there was a single item that could have been called the life blood of our restaurant kitchen, this would have been it. I can’t imagine how many thousands of litres of vegetable stock we must have made over the years! It was a key component in so many dishes and certainly features in several recipes in this book.
In its dilute state, the flavour is clean and fairly delicate with obvious aniseed notes. Reduce it down and the flavours intensify, the savoury notes of the onion are revealed and the sweetness of all the vegetables plays its part. I truly love this stock and can’t imagine cooking without it.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 1½L
NOTE: Make 24 hours in advance if possible
2 bulbs of fennel
1 stick celery
1 large leek
1 medium onion
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
1. Slice and wash all the vegetables and place in a large pan. Add the parsley, fennel seeds and star anise. Just cover with water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Store with the vegetables in until required.
A good stock is a fantastic base for many dishes, and making your own gives you absolute control of what goes in and how it is made. This is a perfect example of the ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ scenario – you have to use good ingredients and cook a stock with care to make a tasty end product. I have seen all sorts of crimes committed in the making of stock, including the leftover sausages and bacon from a breakfast service being dumped into the stock pot!
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 6L
3kg small-cut mixed marrow and rib bones
500g beef trim or beef shin
1 large onion, cut in half, skin on
1 large leek, cut in half
2 sticks celery, cut in half
2 carrots, peeled
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Roast the bones until well coloured, turning frequently – this will take around 30–40 minutes. Add the beef trim or shin after 15 minutes.
3. Wash the vegetables, place in a deep pan and add the bones and beef. Cover with water so that it comes 5cm above the bones and bring just to the boil. Immediately skim well to remove any fat, foam or impurities that have come to the surface.
4. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 4 hours, skimming frequently and topping up with cold water as required.
5. Pass the stock through a colander and then a fine sieve. Ideally, strain through muslin and chill. Remove any surface fat when solidified.
Although lighter than a beef stock, chicken stock still adds great depth of flavour to sauces, casseroles, pasta dishes and risottos. I often buy a whole chicken and bone it out to give breasts, thighs and drumsticks then chop the bones to make stock – getting a batch made and in the freezer is worth it.
A stock cube is never really a good alternative to fresh stock but the situation has improved hugely over recent years and both the fresh, chilled stocks on sale in supermarkets and some stock concentrates are a viable alternative. I would recommend the retail range from Essential Cuisine that is available online.
Home-made stock can be reduced down and frozen in small pots or ice cube trays, which makes it much more practical.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 2L
1 kg chicken bones
1 large onion, peeled and roughly diced
1 large leek, sliced into 4cm pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 4
2 sticks of celery, cut into 4 pieces
2 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1. Roast the bones until well coloured, turning frequently – this will take 20–30 minutes.
2. Wash the vegetables and place in a deep pan, add the bones. Cover with water so that it comes 5cm above the bones and bring just to the boil. Immediately skim well to remove any fat, foam or impurities that have come to the surface.
I think of this as a base for many sauces and also as a way of boosting or rounding out flavours. In itself, the sauce has quite a simple flavour. This means that you can choose to add flavours later according to your recipe.
For example, a small quantity added to reduced chicken stock and infused with some thyme would make a flavoursome sauce for many chicken dishes. Equally, a little of the sauce will mellow the flavour of a game stock.
Make a batch and allow to set in the fridge, then cut into cubes, wrap well and freeze until whenever you need it.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 600ML
1 tbsp olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and sliced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 small bunch of thyme
375ml red wine
125ml ruby port
1 quantity beef stock (see Basics pp. 284–5)
Maldon sea salt
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook until they soften completely and allow to take on a little colour.
2. Add the thyme and then the alcohols and reduce to a light syrup. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Allow the sauce to reduce to about one litre and then start tasting. While the stock is reducing, skim off any foam and impurities that rise to the surface.
3. The sauce should have a deep, savoury, meaty flavour, balanced by the acidity of the wine with subtle notes of herbs and garlic. When the sauce has the required depth of flavour, season with salt and pass through a fine chinois or sieve into a plastic container. Chill as quickly as possible.
Lightly pickled vegetables can add a real punch to a salad, make a great accompaniment to cheeses or charcuterie and can be used to bring a twang of acidity to balance a dish.
Tougher or harsher vegetables benefit from salting first and then pickling so with the fennel, for example, peel the tough fibres away from the outside of the bulb, then halve and remove the core. Slice as finely as possible with a sharp knife or on a mandolin. Mix with a dessert spoon of Maldon salt and leave for an hour. Drain and wash off thoroughly. Squeeze dry and then pour over the boiling pickling liquid. For something like the carrots, I would add them to the pan of boiling pickling liquid, bring it back to the boil and then immediately remove from the heat.
Store your pickles in sterilized jars in the fridge and they will keep for a couple of months. To use, drain off what you need and dress with a little good oil and some seasoning.
You can ring the changes by swapping the vinegar and the wine in this recipe, I like red wine and red wine vinegar for pickled shallot rings, cider vinegar and dry cider for fennel, and cava vinegar with orange juice for the carrots, so feel free to experiment!
125ml white wine
125ml white wine vinegar
125g caster sugar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 clove of garlic, smashed
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp Maldon sea salt
1. Combine all the ingredients in a small pan and bring to the boil. Add the raw vegetables, return to the boil and immediately remove from the heat. Allow to cool at room temperature and then transfer to sterile jars.
This would be my ‘go to’ house dressing. I like the subtle flavour of the cider vinegar as a good all-rounder. Finding good quality vinegars is something well worth doing and a few drops can lift a sauce or add that all important acidity to balance a dish.
5g lecithin powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
100ml apple juice, reduced to 50ml
150ml light olive oil
125ml grape seed oil
75ml good cider vinegar
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Mix the lecithin with a tablespoon of hot water in a jug, whisk in the honey, mustard and apple juice. Add a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Using a hand blender, gradually add the oils. If the dressing gets too thick, add some of the vinegar as you mix. Once all the oil has been incorporated, add the remaining vinegar and season to taste.
There are so many uses for flatbreads; they are perfect for scooping up a dhal, wrapping around pulled pork or dipping into hummus. However you choose to use them, they are quick and easy to make, requiring little kneading or resting and no proving.
As with any bread, quality flour does make a difference and the mixture of white bread flour and wholemeal adds both flavour and texture.
MAKES 8 FLATBREADS (20CM)
200g strong white bread flour
100g wholemeal flour
1½ tsp Maldon sea salt, finely ground
150ml semi-skimmed milk
100g plain full-fat yoghurt (ordinary, not Greek)
a little oil for the griddle
1. Weigh the flours and the salt and tip into a medium bowl. Using a whisk, give everything a good mix together. Make a well in the centre and add the milk and yoghurt. Bring the mix together into a soft dough.
2. Tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 2–3 minutes until well combined. Try to add as little flour as possible. Flour the bowl lightly and place the dough back in the bowl and cover with cling film. Rest for 15 minutes, although longer won’t hurt.
3. Flour the work top and roll the dough into a cylinder. Cut into eight even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten into a rough disc with your fingertips. Allow to rest for a couple of minutes and then roll out to 2–3mm thick.
4. Heat the oil in a cast-iron griddle pan or a non-stick frying pan and cook the flatbreads for about 90 seconds on each side. They should be slightly blistered but still pliable. Wrap in a clean tea towel to keep them warm as you cook the others.
I wonder how many pasta machines there are languishing in the far recesses of kitchen cupboards? Plenty, if the conversations I have with people at dinners or cookery demonstrations are typical. They are one of those kitchen gadgets that people seem reluctant or unsure how to use. But there is something satisfying about trays of home-made pasta; the curled ribbons or neatly formed parcels containing delicious fillings hold so much promise of good food to come.
So, it’s time to dust that machine off and have a go. I’m sure you will master the technique and the resulting meals will be ample reward for the effort.
MAKES 3–4 MAIN-COURSE PORTIONS OF PASTA RIBBONS
180g type ‘00’ pasta flour
20g fine semolina
1½ tsp Maldon sea salt, finely ground (7g)
1 whole large, free-range egg, plus approximately 4 yolks (total weight 115g)
1 tsp olive oil
1. Sift the flour, semolina and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Whisk the egg and yolks with the olive oil.
2. Start the motor running on the food processor and pour in the egg mix in a steady stream. Stop the motor and scrape in the last of the egg with a rubber spatula. Pulse the mix until a fine breadcrumb texture is achieved.
3. Squeeze a small quantity of the dough together to check the consistency. You want a firm dough that is pliable and can be squashed between the fingers but is not overly soft or sticky. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead together. Rub the dough lightly with oil, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out using a pasta machine and then cut to the desired shape. Part of the secret is folding and turning the dough at the thickest setting until the pasta is silky smooth. Only then do you want to adjust the setting and start thinning the pasta. You want to be just able to see your fingers through the dough.
5. Use to make stuffed pastas or cut into ribbons or sheets. Place the cut or shaped pasta on a tray dusted with semolina and store unwrapped in the fridge until ready to use.
225g plain flour
1 tsp Maldon salt, finely ground
240g unsalted butter, well chilled
135ml iced water
1. Sift the flour and salt into a mound on the work surface. Hold the butter with the wrapper and dip into the flour repeatedly as you grate it on a coarse grater. Stop every now and then to toss the butter gently in the flour.
2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the iced water. Bring the dough together with your fingertips and the aid of a pastry scraper. Pat the dough into a rough block and roll into a 40cm x 25cm rectangle. Brush off any excess flour and fold the top down by a third and then the bottom up by a third. Rotate the dough by 90 degrees and roll out again using more flour for dusting.
3. Repeat the folds and use the rolling pin to tap the dough into a neat block. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Repeat the rolling, folding and resting twice more. Chill for at least an hour before using. The pastry freezes well if wrapped tightly in cling film.
This rich, sweet, buttery pastry is one I have been using for around twenty years and the exact recipe was a born out of a shortage of ingredients! This makes a fairly large quantity but it is worth making the whole batch and freezing what you don’t need immediately. Wrapped tightly in a double layer of cling film, it will keep frozen for two months and for a week in the fridge.
MAKES 4 TART CASES (26CM)
225g unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
4 large, free-range egg yolks
4 tbsp cold water
110g cornflour
335g soft plain flour
1 tsp Maldon sea salt, finely ground
1. Cream the butter and caster sugar together, until the mixture starts to go pale. Combine the egg yolks and the water and beat gradually into the butter mix. Mix the flours and the salt and sift onto the butter mix. Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour in; you are aiming for dough that is homogenous but has been worked as little as possible. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and bring together into a cylinder. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
This is a classic recipe based on one from the book, The Roux Brothers on Patisserie. Published in 1986, this book is still utterly relevant today and is packed with excellent recipes for many classics.
Made by hand, I find this has a more delicate texture than making in a machine. The quantity is fairly large but the dough does freeze well.
You could roll the dough out thicker and bake in a sheet, then cut into fingers while still warm – cooking times will be longer, though.
A WHOLE BATCH WILL MAKE APPROXIMATELY 48 BISCUITS
150g unsalted butter, softened
115g icing sugar, sifted
½ vanilla pod, seeds only
2½ large, free-range egg yolks (40g)
250g soft pastry flour
5g Maldon sea salt, finely ground
caster sugar for sprinkling
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Cream the butter with the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla seeds, then beat in the egg yolks. Sift the flour and salt onto the bench and make a well in the centre. Scrape the butter mix into the well and, using your fingertips, gradually bring the flour into the butter mix, working as little as possible. Once a homogenous dough has been formed, wrap in cling film, flatten then chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
3. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4mm. Cut out 7cm discs and place on baking trays lined with baking parchment or a Silpat mat.
4. Bake for around 8 minutes until pale golden in colour. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with caster sugar. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.