Recipe List
London Pride Battered Cod with Mushy Pea ‘Mayonnaise’
Pork Chop and BBQ Rib with Apple and Endive
Gower Peninsula Fisherman’s Stew
Devilled Mackerel with Plum Tomato Salad
Ham Hock with Champ and Parsley Sauce
Dorset Jugged Steak with Clapshot
Grouse (akin to Mrs Beeton’s Recipe)
This dish is derived from a barbecue sauce recipe in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. In her book she advises how to run a household (from managing servants to making home-made furniture polish) as well as how to feed your family, very well. An amazing woman who, with five children, achieved so much before her early death at the age of 27.
Serves 4–6
4 baby chickens, 400–500g each, spatchcocked
Barbecue sauce
50g tomato purée
1 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp hot smoked paprika
juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Mix together all of the ingredients for the barbecue sauce. Rub half of the sauce all over the chickens in a bowl or plastic bag, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Prepare a charcoal fire in a barbecue, or heat a chargrill pan, and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Spread the rest of the barbecue sauce over the chickens, then cook over the hot coals, or chargrill, until crisp and a little charred on both sides. Transfer the chickens to a roasting tin and finish cooking in the oven for 8–10 minutes.
This is a good dish to encourage children to learn to love vegetables. A savoury version along the lines of apple crumble, it contains cheese and thyme to boost the flavour.
Serves 4
4 leeks, white part mainly, sliced into 2cm rounds
25g butter
Sauce
50g butter
50g plain flour
200ml chicken stock
200ml milk
50g smoked cheese, grated
1 tbsp grain mustard
1 tsp made English mustard
½ tsp salt
Crumble topping
100g wholemeal flour
100g rolled oats
25g sesame seeds
2 tbsp thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
25g butter
100g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp grain mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Begin by frying the leeks with the butter in a large frying pan until lightly coloured and almost cooked. Place in an ovenproof dish, or four individual dishes, and set aside.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock, whisking well, then add the milk and cook until the sauce is thick, stirring continuously. Add the smoked cheese, mustards and salt and mix well. Cover the leeks with the sauce.
For the crumble topping, mix together the flour, oats, sesame seeds, thyme, salt and some pepper. Rub the butter into the mix until it resembles crumbs, then add the cheese and mustard. Spread over the leeks in sauce.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Serve hot, with a fresh tomato chutney and salad.
Rabbit with prawns may seem odd, but the ‘surf and turf’ combination works wonderfully well in this pie. Ensure the rabbit legs are cooked gently until tender and that the sauce is rich and flavoursome. Wild rabbit will yield the best flavour but if not available you can use farmed rabbit or chicken.
Makes 1 large pie or 4 small pies
20 raw prawns
4 tbsp vegetable oil
5 wild rabbit legs
100g plain flour
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely crushed
½ tsp fennel seeds
5 black peppercorns
2 star anise
2 bay leaves
¼ bunch of thyme
½ bunch of tarragon, leaves picked from half of the sprigs and chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
250ml white wine
250ml chicken stock
50g unsalted butter
leaves from ¼ bunch of parsley, chopped
1 tsp French mustard
1 tbsp grain mustard
Pastry
200g plain flour
100g cold butter, cubed
½ tsp salt
about 50ml iced water
1 free-range egg yolk, beaten
Peel the prawns and set aside; reserve the heads and shells. Heat a large, deep pan with 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Dust the rabbit legs with salt and half of the flour, then brown well all over in the hot oil. Remove and set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the pan, then sweat the onion until soft, without colouring. Add the prawn heads and shells, the garlic, fennel seeds, peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, thyme and bunch of tarragon sprigs. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and wine and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add half of the chicken stock and bring to the boil, then add the remaining stock and bring up to the boil again. Return the rabbit legs to the pan. Simmer for 1 hour, until the legs are cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the pastry. Combine the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough iced water to bind, blitzing briefly to combine. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour before rolling out.
Remove the rabbit legs from the cooking liquor and allow to cool slightly, then remove the meat from the bone, keeping it in good-size chunks. Set aside. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing well on all the flavourings (if you have a good blender, blend half of the cooking liquor, then mix it with the rest of the liquor before straining).
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the remaining 50g flour and mix well. Add a little of the strained cooking liquor and whisk well, then add the remaining liquid. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then finish with the chopped parsley and tarragon and the mustards. Add the prawns and rabbit chunks and mix into the sauce. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 4mm thick and cut to the required shape to make a lid for your pie dish or dishes – for a large pie use a 22cm diameter dish that is 4cm deep, or for individual pies use four 11 × 5cm oval dishes that are 3.5cm deep. Spoon the filling into the pie dish(es). Brush the rim of the pie dish with egg yolk, then place the pastry lid on top and press to the rim to seal. Brush the pastry lid with egg yolk, then bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
We have served this dish at the restaurant since we opened. We set out to make it slightly different from the norm, so instead of serving mushy peas, mayonnaise and vinegar with the fish and chips, we combined all three accompaniments in one. London Pride is a rich ale that is the perfect addition to the batter.
Serves 4–6
2 tbsp rock salt
4 × 150g pieces of cod fillet
oil for deep frying
‘Mayonnaise’
1 × 300g tin Harry Ramsden’s mushy peas
100ml light olive oil
2 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar
½ tsp salt
Batter
50g cornflour
100g plain flour
½ tsp salt
250ml London Pride lager
To make the ‘mayonnaise’, put the mushy peas in a blender and blitz until smooth, then gradually blend in the oil. Finish with the vinegar and salt. Set aside.
Sprinkle the rock salt over the cod and leave for about 10 minutes, then rinse off and pat dry.
Make the batter while the cod is being salted. Sift the cornflour, plain flour and salt into a bowl and whisk in enough beer to make a thick batter.
Heat oil in a deep-fat fryer to 165°C. Taking one piece at a time, coat the fish generously in the batter, then fry until golden on both sides and cooked through (use a skewer to check that the centre of the fish is hot). Drain on kitchen paper.
Serve hot with the ‘mayonnaise’ and chunky chips.
Historically, a ‘faggot’ was a bundle of sticks, and the term eventually came to be applied to a bundle, or meatball, of offal and meat – the first appearance of this usage in an English dictionary was in 1851. Faggots had their greatest popularity during the period of Second World War rationing as they were a great way of using less desirable cuts of meat.
Makes 12
Faggots
450g beef mince (or chuck steak – see method)
100g calf’s liver, finely chopped
100g smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
leaves from ¼ bunch of thyme, chopped
leaves from ¼ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp dried sage
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp grain mustard
100g fresh breadcrumbs (preferably brioche)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
oil for frying
Gravy
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp plain flour
3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
¼ bunch of thyme sprigs, tied together
250ml beef stock
50ml red wine
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Marmite
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Mix together all of the ingredients for the faggots. (Or, if you have a mincer, mince them together, using chuck steak instead of mince. You could also use a food processor, as long as you keep the meat chunky.) Fry a little of the mix to check the seasoning; adjust if necessary. Shape into 12 balls and chill in the fridge until firm.
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the faggots, in batches, until browned all over. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. Coat the onion slices in flour, then place in the bottom of a flameproof casserole with the garlic and thyme. Combine the remaining gravy ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Place the faggots on top of the onions, then pour the boiling liquid over the top. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 2 hours. Serve hot.
We source our pork for the restaurant from Great Garnetts Farm in Essex. Run by a family who started the farm in the 1970s, the pigs are reared with utmost care to ensure they are happy and healthy, resulting in a flavoursome and tender end product.
Serves 4
30g salt
600ml boiling water
4 pork chops, about 150g each
2 white endives (chicory)
25g unsalted butter
100ml chicken stock
Ribs
1 litre apple juice
1 knob fresh root ginger, peeled
1 red chilli
2 shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ tsp coriander seeds
1 each star anise and cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 rack of pork spare ribs (about 10 bones)
Barbecue sauce
140g tomato ketchup
1 tsp black treacle
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp grain mustard
½ tsp each sweet and hot smoked paprika
dash of Tabasco sauce
juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
Apple purée
2 Braeburn apples
2 tbsp honey
leaves from 3 sprigs of lemon thyme
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Start with the ribs. Put the apple juice and all the aromatics and flavourings in a pan large enough to hold the rack of ribs. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Add the ribs, cover and cook gently for about 2 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone.
Meanwhile, dissolve the salt in the boiling water, then cool. Place the pork chops in a bowl or plastic bag, add the brine and leave in a cool place for 1 hour; drain.
For the barbecue sauce, mix together all the ingredients and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F/gas mark 3. To make the apple purée, cut the apples into quarters and toss them with the honey, lemon thyme and a good pinch of salt. Place in a small roasting dish with the oil and bake for 20–30 minutes, until soft and golden. Purée in a blender, then pass through a fine sieve into a pan. Leave the oven on.
Remove the rack of ribs from the stock and set aside. Bring the stock to the boil and reduce to a syrup. Strain, then add to the barbecue sauce. Cut the rack into single rib bones and coat in the sauce in an ovenproof dish. Set aside.
Cut the endives lengthways into quarters. Melt the butter in an ovenproof frying pan, add the endive and sear until well coloured all over. Add the chicken stock, then transfer to the oven to finish cooking for 6–8 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, chargrill or grill the pork chops until cooked to your liking (best served slightly pink); heat the ribs in the oven; and warm the apple purée. Serve everything hot.
This recipe is adapted from John Nott’s cookery book, The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary, or the Accomplish’d Housewifes Companion, published in 1723. Nott was cook to the Duke of Bolton and his book of French-inspired recipes was very popular at the time.
Serves 4
300g all-butter puff pastry, thawed if frozen
2 free-range egg yolks, beaten
Vinaigrette
100ml extra virgin olive oil
30ml Chardonnay vinegar
Filling
50g butter
1 small leek, white part only, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
½ tsp salt
1 × 400g jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained well
50ml double cream
1 tbsp each chopped tarragon, chervil and parsley
Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to 3mm thickness. Transfer to a tray and place in the fridge to relax for 20 minutes. Then cut out two 20cm discs, or eight 12cm discs if you want to make four individual tarts. Cut out the inside of one 20cm disc (or four of the 12cm discs) to create a 2cm wide ring. Brush the edge of the complete pastry disc with beaten egg yolk, then place the ring on top. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Return to the fridge to rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Brush the pastry all over with beaten egg yolk. Set four small, 4cm-deep metal rings at the corners of the baking tray to support another baking tray on top. This will ensure the pastry rises straight up and does not overpuff. Place the double tray in the oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and cut out the top layer of the centre of the pastry, which will have risen up, to create a deep cavity in the case. Leave the oven on.
Mix together the ingredients for the vinaigrette with seasoning to taste. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the leek, onion and salt, and cook until very soft. Chop half of the artichokes finely, then add to the pan with the cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring well. Purée this mixture in a blender until smooth.
Spoon the hot purée into the tart case, then garnish with the remaining artichokes, cut into wedges. Bake for 8 minutes, until lightly golden. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top and sprinkle over the herbs. Serve hot.
I grew up in Southport in Lancashire, so this dish reminds me of my childhood. Lamb neck is such a flavoursome cut and creates a fantastic hotpot. The old-fashioned way was to start it in the morning and leave it to cook in a very low oven all day. It made a good nutritious and filling meal for the workers on returning home.
Serves 4
600g boneless lamb neck fillet
(keep the bones for the stock), cut into 2cm slices
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
3 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
50g butter, melted
Stock
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp cumin seeds
100ml white wine
2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
¼ bunch of rosemary
¼ bunch of thyme
First make the stock. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, tomato purée and cumin seeds to the pan and lightly caramelize the onion. Add the white wine and reduce to a syrup. Add the stock, lamb bones and herbs to the pan, then cover and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain the stock and season with salt, then set aside.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. Heat a frying pan with the oil and fry the mushrooms, in batches, until golden, seasoning well. Set aside.
Mix the flour with the salt and white pepper, then use this to coat the lamb fillet slices. Make alternate layers of lamb, mushrooms and onion in a baking dish. Pour in enough lamb stock to come up to the level of the ingredients. Mix the potato slices with the melted butter and season well, then arrange over the top in a spiral shape to cover completely (you should have at least a double layer of potato).
Set the dish in a roasting tin to catch any sauce that bubbles over, then bake for 40 minutes, until the lamb is just cooked through. If you like, place the hotpot under the grill to brown the potatoes. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Note: the hotpot can be made in advance and cooled. Reheat it in a 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 oven for 20–25 minutes.
Cobblers originated in the early British colonies in North America. As the settlers were unable to make traditional suet puddings, due to a lack of suitable ingredients and cooking equipment, they covered a stewed filling (sweet or savoury) with a layer of uncooked plain biscuits or dumplings. When fully cooked, the surface resembled a cobbled street, hence the name.
Serves 4
250g flat mushrooms
250g oyster mushrooms
250g Paris Brown mushrooms
4 tbsp vegetable oil
100g baby spinach
50g wild garlic (when in season), shredded
Topping
175g self-raising flour
5g baking powder
30g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
100g cold butter, grated
2 free-range egg yolks, beaten with a splash of water, for glazing
Sauce
1 litre milk
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled and halved
5 cloves
2 sprigs thyme
75g butter
75g plain flour
100g extra mature Cheddar cheese, grated
grated nutmeg
First make the scone dough for the topping. Mix together the flour, baking powder, Cheddar, herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Gently mix in the butter, then add just enough cold water to bring together to a dough. Take care not to over-mix, which would make the scones tough. Rest the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Roll out the scone dough on a lightly floured surface to 1cm thickness. Cut into 16–24 discs about 4cm in diameter. Cover and keep in the fridge until needed.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
For the sauce, put the milk in a saucepan with the bay leaf, onion, cloves and thyme and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the milk. Melt the butter in a clean pan, stir in the flour and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes to form a roux. Gradually whisk in the milk, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cheese and nutmeg and seasoning to taste. Set aside.
Cut the flat mushrooms into chunky strips; tear the oyster mushrooms into pieces of the same size; and cut the Paris mushrooms into quarters. Fry, in batches, in the oil in a hot pan to colour the mushrooms and evaporate the liquid they exude, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
Place all the mushrooms in a large bowl and add the spinach and wild garlic. Stir in enough cheese sauce to coat the mushrooms, then spoon into four individual pie dishes about 10cm in diameter and 7cm deep. Top with the scones and brush them with the egg wash. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the scones are golden. Serve hot.
The Gower Peninsula is located on the coast of South Wales, jutting out into the Bristol Channel. A dish like this was made for the Welsh fishermen who would bring home some of their day’s catch in the morning for their wives to cook. The men would go to bed, then get up at suppertime to find a hot fish stew waiting for them.
Serves 4
12 large raw prawns
12 fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
8 bulbs baby fennel, halved
12 small scallops (without roe)
400g skinless firm white fish fillets, such as cod or pollock, cut into bite-sized pieces
200g skinless salmon or sea trout fillet, cut into bite-sized pieces
Broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 carrots, peeled and cut across in half
1 bulb garlic, halved horizontally
1 leek, white part only, cut across in half
3 sticks celery, cut across in half
4 tbsp tomato purée
pinch of saffron threads
250ml white wine
¼ bunch of tarragon
¼ bunch of thyme
2 litres chicken stock
Peel the prawns and pull off the heads; set the prawns aside. Rinse the shells and heads. To make the broth, heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. When almost smoking add the prawn heads and shells together with the onion, carrots, garlic, leek and celery. Brown well, stirring. Add the tomato purée and saffron, then deglaze with the white wine. When reduced to a syrup, add the herbs and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour.
Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pressing down on the prawn shells and vegetables to extract all the liquid; discard the vegetables and shells. Bring the broth to the boil, then add the mussels. Cover and cook until the shells open. Remove the mussels with a slotted spoon; keep warm.
Strain the broth into another pan to remove any grit from the mussels, then bring back to the boil and adjust the seasoning. Add the potatoes and fennel and cook until almost tender. Add the prawns, scallops and fish, and simmer gently until just cooked. Return the mussels to the stew, then serve.
Sweet, salty cockles are combined with ham hock and leeks in this traditional Welsh dish. It is important to use cockles from a reputable supplier to ensure they have as little sand in them as possible.
Makes 1 large pie or 4 small pies
2 smoked ham hocks, soaked in cold water for 1 hour (change the water every 15 minutes)
2 leeks, white part only, sliced into 1.5cm rounds
200ml white wine
1kg cockles, rinsed under running water for at least 15 minutes to remove any grit
Ham hock cooking liquor
2 carrots, peeled and cut across in half
1 leek, white part only, cut across in half
6 white peppercorns
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
Pastry
200g plain flour
100g butter, cubed
½ tsp salt
about 50ml iced water
1 free-range egg yolk, beaten
Sauce
50g butter
50g plain flour
100ml cream
Begin by cooking the ham hocks. Put all of the ingredients for the cooking liquor in a large saucepan, add the hocks and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 3–4 hours, until the bone can be pulled out of the meat. Remove the hocks and set aside.
Strain the ham stock through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Bring to the boil, then add the leeks and poach until tender. Drain in a sieve set over a clean saucepan; set the leeks aside. Bring the stock to the boil again and reduce by half, skimming any scum off the top. Meanwhile, break up the meat from the ham hocks, discarding any sinew and keeping the meat in large chunks; set aside.
Bring the white wine to the boil in a saucepan. Add the cockles, cover and steam until the shells have opened. Strain off the wine, reserving it for later. Allow the cockles to cool slightly before removing the flesh from the shells. Set aside.
For the pastry, put the flour, butter and salt into a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough iced water to bind and process until just combined. Allow to rest for half an hour in the fridge, then roll out to 4mm thickness and cut to the required shape(s) to make a lid for your pie dish or dishes – for a large pie, use a 22cm dish that is 4cm deep; for small pies use four 11 × 5cm oval dishes that are 3.5cm deep.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Make the sauce while the pastry is resting. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Gradually add the white wine from the cockles and cook for 2 minutes. Then stir in 200ml of the ham stock (if it tastes very salty, use half stock and half milk). Cook for 5 minutes, stirring well. Finish with the cream and check the seasoning.
Combine the leeks, cockles, ham and sauce, then spoon into the pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with egg yolk, then lay the pastry lid on top and press to seal to the rim. Brush the pastry lid with egg yolk. Use the tip of a knife to score lightly with a pattern, if you wish. Bake for 16–20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot.
A Cumberland sausage, made with coarsely chopped pork and seasoned generously with both black and white pepper, is traditionally coiled rather than divided into individual lengths. We wanted to serve it in a creative way, so rather than just piling it on a plate, we coiled the sausages in small pans and added gravy, then piped mash on top.
Serves 4
1 large or 4 small rings of good-quality Cumberland sausage
Gravy
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 tbsp plain flour
250ml beef stock
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp thyme leaves
pinch of salt
Mash
400g mashing potatoes, peeled and cut to the same size
50g butter
150ml milk or cream
½ tsp salt
2 free-range egg yolks
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
For the gravy, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until golden. Mix in the flour. Add the rest of the gravy ingredients, stirring well. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
While the gravy is simmering, make the mash. Place the potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender, then drain well and mash with the butter and milk or cream. Add the salt and egg yolks and mix well. Cover and set aside.
Chargrill, grill or fry the sausage ring(s) to brown on all sides. Place in an appropriate-sized ovenproof dish and cover with the gravy. Spoon or pipe the mash on top to cover completely. Bake for 25 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through.
Serve hot, in the dish.
In Suffolk, stoneground bread and hard Suffolk cheese used to be the staple diet of the outdoor workers. At weekends, though, there would always be a more substantial spread, which is when this rustic stew used to feature. We’ve added anchovies to enhance the savouriness of the dish.
Serves 4
500g boneless shoulder of mutton, diced into large pieces
1 tsp salt
½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 carrot, peeled and cut across in half
100g tomato purée
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
250ml white wine
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
3 bay leaves
½ bunch of rosemary
½ bunch of thyme
1 small tin of good-quality anchovies, drained
100g pearl barley, cooked
100g Puy lentils, cooked
Season the mutton with the salt and pepper and coat in the flour. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the mutton to the pan and brown well in the hot oil. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic, carrot, tomato purée and cumin seeds to the pan and lightly caramelize the vegetables. Pour in the wine and reduce to a syrup, stirring well. Add the stock and herbs and return the mutton to the pan. Bring to the boil, then cover and allow to simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the mutton and set aside. Strain the braising liquor through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, then add 3 chopped anchovies, the pearl barley and the lentils. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the mutton and cook for a further 10 minutes. If you wish, stir in more chopped anchovies before serving with some hot mash.
Dating back to the 18th century, a ‘devil’ sauce, or something devilled, denotes that it is hot and spicy. The UK has a plentiful supply of wonderful mackerel and when it is fresh its rich flesh works perfectly with a devil sauce and a sweet tomato salad.
Serves 4
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 fresh mackerel, gutted and cleaned
Devil sauce
100g butter
1 tbsp treacle
1 tsp made English mustard
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
65ml red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad
1 tbsp your favourite honey
1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g baby plum tomatoes, halved
2 banana shallots, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely crushed
leaves from ¼ bunch of coriander, chopped
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
For the devil sauce, melt the butter in a small pan, then remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.
Heat a large ovenproof frying pan with the vegetable oil until almost smoking. Liberally brush the devil sauce over the mackerel, then fry until nicely browned on each side. Transfer to the oven to finish cooking for 6–10 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salad. Mix together the honey, vinegar, fish sauce and oil. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, add the dressing with a good pinch of salt and fold together.
Serve the fish hot, with the salad.
We’ve brined the lamb in this recipe as the results are so good – brining tenderizes the meat while also seasoning it. You just need to remember to do it the night before.
Serves 4–6
1 × 600–800g boned shoulder of lamb
3 onions, peeled and sliced
¼ bunch of thyme, tied together with ¼ bunch of rosemary
6 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1 litre chicken stock
Brine
25g salt
100ml boiling water
5 litres cold water
To serve
4–6 slices day-old bread, lightly toasted
6 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
To make the brine, dissolve the salt in the boiling water in a large bowl or other large container, then add the cold water. Immerse the lamb in the brine, cover and leave in the fridge for 12 hours. Remove the lamb and discard the brine.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. Put the sliced onions, thyme and rosemary bouquet, garlic, fennel seeds, salt and white peppercorns in a deep ovenproof dish that will comfortably accommodate the lamb shoulder. Add the lamb and sliced fennel and pour in the chicken stock to cover the lamb. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and place in the oven. Cook for 4–5 hours, until tender.
Lift out the lamb and break up the meat into chunks; keep hot. Remove the herbs from the cooking liquor. Put a sippet (a slice of toast) in each deep plate, pile the chunks of lamb on top and spoon over the onion liquor. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.
One of our most popular dishes in the restaurant during the winter months, this is a large Yorkshire pudding filled with a rich, meaty pigeon stew. Brining the pigeon makes it tender and ensures it stays moist throughout the cooking process.
Serves 4
4 wood pigeons
1 tbsp salt
100ml hot water
900ml cold water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
25g butter
Sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 leek, white part only, sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly sliced
6 white peppercorns
100ml red wine
¼ bunch of thyme
500ml beef stock
Yorkshire puddings
140g plain flour
200ml milk
4 free-range eggs
½ tsp salt
vegetable oil, for cooking
250g button mushrooms, quartered
100g smoked streaky bacon, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
leaves from ¼ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Take the breasts from the pigeons and skin them. Roughly chop the pigeon carcasses and reserve for the sauce. Dissolve the salt in the hot water in a large bowl, then stir in the cold water. Place the pigeon breasts in this brine and leave in the fridge for 12 hours. Drain and pat dry.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a shallow frying pan. Add the carcasses and brown well; remove and set aside. Add the vegetables to the pan with the garlic and peppercorns and colour well. Deglaze with the wine, then reduce to a syrupy consistency. Return the carcasses to the pan and add the thyme and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Strain the sauce into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, skimming well, then season and set aside, ready to reheat for serving.
For the Yorkshire puddings, whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, then pass the batter through a fine sieve into a clean bowl or jug. Leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Put 1cm of oil in each hole of a 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tin that is 23cm square and 2cm deep. Heat in the oven for 10 minutes, then pour in the batter. Bake for 10 minutes, until risen and golden brown. When cooked, put a pudding on each plate.
Meanwhile, cook the pigeon breasts. Heat the oil in a pan, season the breasts and brown on both sides. Add the butter and cook, spooning the foaming butter over the breasts and turning them, for 4–10 minutes, until cooked to your liking. Remove and leave to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Fry the mushrooms and bacon in the oil until lightly browned. Add to the hot sauce with the pigeon breasts and parsley and serve inside the broken-open Yorkshire puddings.
This macabre-sounding dish was originally made by curling sole in a scooped-out baked potato, topping with a vermouth sauce and brown shrimps and then baking. For our version here, we make a baked potato mash and pan-fry the sole. Tasty brown shrimps add a sweet saltiness to the dish, which is complemented by the aromatic vermouth sauce.
Serves 4
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and pricked
50g butter
50ml double cream
olive oil, for drizzling
4 lemon sole, filleted so the 2 fillets of each fish are kept attached and then skinned (ask your fishmonger to do this)
plain flour, for dusting
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
parsley and tarragon stalks
10g butter
5 black peppercorns
100ml dry vermouth
300ml fish stock
300ml double cream
juice of ½ lemon
100g peeled, cooked Morecambe Bay brown shrimps
sea aster or chopped chervil to garnish
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Bake the potatoes for about 1 hour, until cooked through. Cut in half and scrape out the flesh into a pan (reserve the skins). Mash with the butter and cream and season to taste.
Set aside.
Cut each half potato skin into four strips, season and drizzle with olive oil. Spread out on a baking tray and set a second baking tray on top. Reduce the oven to 100°C/212°F/gas mark low and bake the skins for 1 hour, until crisp.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Sweat the shallots with the parsley and tarragon stalks in the butter for 6–7 minutes, until well cooked. Add the peppercorns and vermouth and reduce by half. Add the fish stock and reduce by half, then add the cream and simmer gently until the desired consistency is reached. Season with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Fold each sole fillet in three to form a pillow shape. Season and dust all over with flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the sole and fry until golden brown on one side. Turn over and finish cooking. Meanwhile, heat the mashed potato and the vermouth sauce, stirring the brown shrimps into the hot sauce.
Serve the sole on the mash with the sauce spooned over. Garnish with strips of crisp potato skin and sea aster or chopped chervil.
Heralded as Scotland’s national soup, cock-a-leekie was originally a simple broth of chicken and leeks, garnished with prunes. The first recipe for the soup dates back to 1598. Instead of serving this as a soup we think it makes a great pie filling – it’s warm and comforting and great for children.
Makes 1 large pie or 4 small pies
2 tbsp vegetable oil
400g skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2cm chunks
3 leeks, white part only, finely sliced
100g butter
100g plain flour
100ml white wine
150ml chicken stock
150ml milk
leaves from ¼ bunch of tarragon, chopped
300g good-quality puff pastry, thawed if frozen
2 free-range egg yolks, beaten
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Season the chicken pieces, then add to the pan and brown well. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Add the leeks and fry until softened. Season and add to the chicken.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Gradually add the white wine, whisking continuously. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then add the stock and milk and gently simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring well. Add the tarragon, then season with salt and pepper. Add to the chicken and leeks and stir to mix.
Roll out the pastry to a shape that will make a lid for your pie dish (or dishes): for a large pie use a 22cm diameter dish that is 4cm deep; or for small pies use four 11 × 5cm oval dishes that are 3.5cm deep. Cut a cross in the centre of the pastry lid.
Put a pie bird in the middle of the dish (this will allow steam to escape during baking so the underside of the pastry lid won’t become soggy), then spoon in the chicken and leek filling around it. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg yolk, then lay the pastry lid over the top (the cross should fit over the pie bird) and press the edges to the rim of the dish to seal. Brush the pastry lid with beaten egg yolk. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden. Serve hot.
These were once the poor man’s meatless substitute for the real thing and today make an interesting dish for vegetarians. Welsh by origin, they use Caerphilly cheese – a slightly tart yet robustly savoury, hard cheese.
Serves 4
175g fresh breadcrumbs
110g Caerphilly cheese, grated
1 small leek, very finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
pinch of English mustard powder
2 free-range eggs, 1 of them separated
4 tbsp milk
plain flour, for coating
1 tbsp vegetable oil
15g butter
Mix together the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, leek, parsley and mustard. Add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk and mix thoroughly. Add enough of the milk to bind the mixture together. Divide into eight portions and mould each into a sausage shape.
Beat the remaining egg white until frothy. Dip the sausages in the egg white, then roll in the flour to coat.
Heat the oil with the butter in a frying pan. Add the sausages and fry for 5–10 minutes, until golden brown all over. Serve hot or cold.
Originating from around the river Tweed in Scotland, this dish originally involved stuffing a whole fish with herbs and nutmeg before baking. We played around with this and came up with the idea of a herb crust to bake on top of the fish. Served with a butter sauce, this is a comforting dish and quite simple to prepare.
Serves 4
4 square-cut portions of sea trout fillet, about 150g each, skinned
Crust
200g fresh white breadcrumbs (made without crusts)
100g soft butter
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
50g parsley, leaves chopped and stalks reserved
50g tarragon, leaves chopped and stalks reserved
50g dill, leaves chopped and stalks reserved
freshly grated nutmeg
Sauce
knob of butter
½ onion, peeled and finely chopped
¼ bunch of thyme
5 white peppercorns
100ml white wine
100ml fish or vegetable stock
50ml double cream
50g unsalted butter, diced
juice of ½ lemon
For the crust, put the breadcrumbs, soft butter, Parmesan, herb leaves, and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste in a food processor. Blitz until thoroughly combined. Take a teaspoon of the mix and flatten it on a small baking tray, then grill to test: the crust mix should colour well without any butter splitting out. Roll out the crust mix between two sheets of greaseproof paper to a thickness of 5mm, and freeze. Once the crust is frozen, cut pieces to match the size of the trout portions.
While the crust is freezing, make the sauce. Heat a frying pan with the knob of butter. When foaming, add the onion with some seasoning and cook until soft. Add the thyme, reserved herb stalks and peppercorns and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce again by half. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan, then reduce to about 75ml. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and add the unsalted butter one cube at a time, whisking continuously. Season and add lemon juice to taste. Keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Place the fish on a greased baking tray and lay a piece of crust on each portion of fish. Bake for 5 minutes (the trout will be slightly pink in the centre). If the crust needs more colour, glaze under the grill for a few seconds. Serve with the butter sauce.
This is a real winter warmer. The thick, flavoursome parsley sauce is a take on the parsley liquor that is still served with pie, mash and jellied eels in the East End of London.
Serves 4
Ham hocks
2 smoked ham hocks
2 carrots, peeled and cut across in half
1 leek, white part only, cut across in half
6 white peppercorns
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
Parsley sauce
leaves from 1 large bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Champ
400g mashing potatoes, peeled and cut to the same size
50g butter
½ bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
100ml hot milk or cream
½ tsp salt
Begin by cooking the ham hocks. Put them in a large saucepan with the remaining ingredients and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 3–4 hours, until the bone can be pulled out of the meat. Lift out the hocks and set aside.
Strain the liquor through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Bring to the boil and reduce by a third (this makes a great jelly for pork pies etc.). Meanwhile, gently break up the meat from the ham hocks, discarding any sinew amd keeping the pieces as chunky as possible; cover and keep hot. (You can prepare this ahead of time. Before serving, put the pieces of ham hock in an ovenproof dish with a little of the cooking liquor to moisten, cover with foil and reheat in a preheated 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 oven for 15 minutes.)
For the parsley sauce, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the parsley and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and refresh under cold running water, then repeat the blanching. Drain and place in a blender. Blitz with enough of the ham hock cooking liquor to make a smooth sauce. Pour into a small saucepan, ready to heat through before serving.
For the champ, put the potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender, then drain well and mash. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the spring onions and cook lightly for 2 minutes. Add the butter and onions to the mash along with the hot milk or cream and salt. Mash together until smooth.
Serve the ham hock with the parsley sauce and champ.
A dish based on a recipe in John Nott’s cookery book of 1723, this focuses more on the chicken than the broth. Traditionally for a potage, meat and vegetables were boiled together with water until they became very soft and formed a thick mush. Not too desirable in today’s world! Pomegranate seeds and pistachios were used to garnish, to represent jewels and the wealth of the Royals.
Serves 4
4 skinless, boneless free-range chicken breasts
3 tbsp vegetable oil
¼ bunch of thyme
2 bay leaves
50g butter
200g mixed mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
2 tbsp toasted pistachio nuts (unsalted)
Broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g button mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 bulb garlic, quartered
50ml white wine
3 sprigs of thyme
¼ bunch of tarragon
500ml chicken stock
Coating
50g butter
200g brioche, made into crumbs
1 tbsp thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Begin by making the broth. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry the mushrooms, in batches, until nicely browned. Set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until soft and golden. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until reduced to a syrup. Add the herbs and stock and return the mushrooms to the pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and set aside.
For the coating, melt the butter and mix with the crumbs, thyme and seasoning. Pat on to the chicken breasts to coat all over. Refrigerate until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Add the chicken and brown lightly. Add the herbs to the pan with the butter. When the butter is foaming, spoon it over the chicken and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 6–8 minutes, until the breasts are almost cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Fry the mushrooms in the remaining oil until golden and the liquid they exude has evaporated. Bring the broth back to the boil and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Place the chicken breasts in shallow serving bowls, spoon over the hot broth and garnish with the pomegranate seeds, pistachios and mushrooms.
Traditionally, jugged dishes have blood in them to thicken the sauce. The version here leaves out the blood while still creating an unctuous gravy. Potato and turnip clapshot and pork meatballs are great with the braised steak, making a really satisfying meal. This is always our most popular dish in winter.
Serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 × 200g featherblade steaks
1 onion, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
2 carrots, peeled and cut across in half
1 leek, white part only, cut across in half
¼ bunch of thyme
¼ bunch of tarragon
2 bay leaves
4 star anise
5 white peppercorns
2 tbsp tomato purée
250ml red wine
1 litre beef stock
4 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Meatballs
200g pork sausage meat
1 tbsp chopped sage
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped dried cranberries
1 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
Clapshot
200g turnips, peeled and diced
200g mashing potatoes, peeled and diced
½ tsp salt · 25g butter · 100ml milk
1 tbsp chopped chives (optional)
Heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan or flameproof casserole over a moderate heat. Season the featherblade steaks, then brown all over. Remove from the pan. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, leek, herbs and spices and fry until the vegetables are lightly caramelized. Add the tomato purée and wine and reduce to a syrup. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Return the steaks to the pan, then cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, until very tender.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Thoroughly mix together the sausage meat, sage, salt and cranberries, then shape into 12 meatballs. Fry in the hot oil in a frying pan until evenly browned and cooked through. When the meatballs are ready, remove from the pan and keep them hot.
While the meatballs are cooking, make the clapshot. Put the turnips and potatoes into a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender, then drain well and mash together with salt, butter and milk. Add the chives, if you like. Keep hot.
Carefully remove the steaks from the pan; cover and keep hot. Strain the sauce into a clean pan and bring back to a gentle simmer, then reduce by a third. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and check the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.
To serve, pour the sauce over the steaks. Top with the meatballs and serve the clapshot on the side.
The ‘Glorious Twelfth’ refers to the day that the grouse shooting season begins – the 12th of August. Game enthusiasts look forward to this, and it signifies the time that we add game to our menu. We wait until at least 5 days after the first day of shooting to ensure that the birds have been well hung, and thus are full of their unique earthy, rich flavour.
Serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 grouse (from a reputable butcher), well hung
50g butter
¼ bunch of thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
100ml red wine
1 tbsp red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
200ml chicken stock
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
8 rashers streaky bacon, cooked until crisp
Chicken liver pâté
1 tbsp vegetable oil
100g chicken livers
½ tsp salt
½ onion, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp port
50g butter, melted
4 slices of brioche, toasted just before serving
Begin with the pâté. Set a large frying pan on a high heat and add a little of the oil. When almost smoking, season the livers with the salt and place them in the pan. Sear until browned all over. Transfer to a blender. Add the rest of the oil to the pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook until lightly golden. Add the brandy and port and cook, stirring, until the liquid has almost all evaporated. Transfer to the blender. Blitz the liver mixture until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the butter. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary, then leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours.
To cook the grouse, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Heat an ovenproof frying pan with the vegetable oil until hot. Season the grouse all over, then brown in the hot oil. Add the butter, herbs and garlic to the pan. When the butter foams, start spooning it over the grouse. Continue cooking, spooning over the butter, for 5 minutes, then place the pan in the oven to finish cooking for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift the grouse on to a board. Leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes while you finish the sauce.
Heat the fat remaining in the pan until foaming, then deglaze with the red wine and vinegar. Allow to simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, then add the stock and again reduce by half. Add the redcurrant jelly and season to taste. Strain through a fine sieve and keep hot.
Carve the grouse, cutting down either side of the breast bone, and place the crisp bacon rashers inside. Set a large quenelle of pâté on each slice of toasted brioche and serve with the grouse and the sauce.
