pan-seared venison loin with blueberries, shallots & red wine

It’s not often that I cook a nice bit of venison, but it’s definitely worth a try. I think you’ll be surprised how much you’ll like it — the meat tastes like a well-hung steak and can be very juicy. It goes so well with the fruit in this dish, and is great with steamed broccoli. Mashed potato, parsnip or celeriac go well, too.

SERVES 4

Bash up the thyme and juniper berries in a pestle and mortar with a really good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then loosen with 2 lugs of oil. Pat the venison dry with some kitchen paper, and rub the oil mixture all over. Sear the meat in a hot pan on all sides, turning every minute — roughly 6 minutes in total for medium-rare, 7 to 8 minutes for medium, and you’d have to be a nutter if you wanted to cook it for any longer than that! Depending on the thickness of the meat and the heat of the pan, it may need a little less or more time to cook — so don’t look at the clock, look at the meat. This is the time when you want to try to be instinctive — remove from the pan when it’s cooked to your liking and rest for 4 minutes.

Reduce the heat and drizzle a good lug of oil into the pan. Add the shallots and the garlic and fry gently for 3 minutes, or until softened. Turn up the heat again, add the wine, and let it reduce by half. Add the blueberries and simmer gently for 4 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the butter, jiggle the pan so the sauce goes slightly opaque and shiny, then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Slice the venison into 2cm slices and serve. Delicious with steamed broccoli or some other good greens. Pour the resting juices into the sauce and spoon over the venison. Absolutely fantastic.

pan-fried lamb chops with puy lentils, loadsa herbs, balsamic vinegar & crème fraîche

This is a great way of cooking lamb really quickly and bashing in some good flavour using brute force! Instead of Puy lentils you can use cannellini, borlotti or butter beans — whatever takes your fancy!

SERVES 4

Put the lentils in a pan, cover with water and add the tomato (this will help to soften the skins). Bring to the boil and cook gently for around 15 to 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, then remove from the heat. Bash the thyme and garlic in a pestle and mortar. Add a good lug of oil, then rub over both sides of the lamb chops. Season them with sea salt and black pepper, then place between 2 pieces of clingfilm and bat them out to around 1cm thick with the bottom of a pan, or a rolling pin (this will improve their flavour and texture as well as making them quick to cook).

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into a frying pan on the heat, add the lamb chops and fry on each side until golden — you can use an extra pan if you prefer, or cook the lamb in 2 batches. Once cooked, remove and allow to rest for 1 minute. Remove any fat from the pan.

Drain the lentils and discard the tomato. Add the balsamic vinegar to the frying pan, bring it to the boil, scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan, and add the lentils, parsley and basil. Heat through until the herbs have wilted down, then season to taste with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Divide the lentils between plates and place the lamb on top, drizzling with any resting juices. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt or crème fraîche.

Try this: I like to serve this with the roasted radicchio on page 214.

Or this: Try dressing the lentils with a little extra vinegar and oil, and toss with a load of salad leaves to make a beautiful salad.

pan-seared scallops wrapped in pancetta with creamed celeriac

This is one of those simple recipes you’ll never forget. Look for nice big scallops, preferably in the shell, and ask your fishmonger to trim them up for you. In Italy pork belly fat is heavily salted, cured with herbs and spices and called lardo. It can be eaten raw as an antipasto with bresaola and prosciutto or can be wrapped around fish and meat before roasting to protect and give flavour. I’ve slightly modified the recipe using pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, as they’re more accessible, but if you come across lardo do buy some.

SERVES 4

Cut the celeriac into rough chunks, cook in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, then drain. Meanwhile, bash half the thyme in a pestle and mortar and stir in 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub this over the scallops and the pancetta before wrapping each scallop in a slice of pancetta. Secure each one with a rosemary sprig (or use cocktail sticks) and place in the fridge.

Once the celeriac is cooked, put it into a food processor and whiz until really fine (or simply mash it). Loosen with 4 or 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Get a non-stick pan hot (you don’t need to add any oil). Put the scallops in and cook them for just 2 minutes on each side, or until the pancetta is nice and crisp, by which time the scallops should be perfect inside. When you turn the scallops over to cook them on the second side, get your plates ready and divide the celeriac between them.

To finish, sprinkle the remaining thyme into the pan for the last 20 seconds — it’ll crisp right up. Remove the scallops and thyme, then divide between plates. Allow the pan to cool a little, then squeeze in the lemon juice and add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Stir in any sticky goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan, then drizzle all over the scallops, while it’s warm. Nice served with a green salad and a decent bottle of wine. Enjoy!

Try this: If you like your mash to be nice and smooth, a good tip is to push it through a sieve with a spatula after you’ve mashed it.

‘the great thing about pan-frying is that in a matter of minutes you can turn a pile of ingredients into a fantastic dinner’
‘the great thing about pan-frying is that in a matter of minutes you can turn a pile of ingredients into a fantastic dinner’

pan-seared sole fillets with loadsa herbs, capers, butter & polenta

This is a great dish — it’s light, comforting and really quick to cook. I love the combination — Italians go mad for fish with oozy polenta, which looks a bit like porridge (you can also make a thicker polenta and grill it). P.S. Depending on how your fishmonger filleted the lemon sole, you may have 2 double fillets or 4 single ones per fish — either way it doesn’t really matter.

SERVES 4

Put 1 litre of water in a large high-sided pan over a high heat. As soon as it starts to boil, whisk in the polenta, reduce to a low simmer and place the lid on — if it boils too hard it sometimes bubbles up and spits like a volcano. Stir it every 2 or 3 minutes if you can. After 25 minutes the polenta should have a porridge-like consistency — if it’s too thick, loosen it with a little boiling water. Remove from the heat and season well to taste with sea salt, black pepper, the Parmesan and 60g of the butter. Whisk hard until the polenta is smooth, then place a lid on top (it can sit happily for up to 20 minutes).

Preheat a large non-stick frying pan so it’s nice and hot. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt, pepper and finely grated lemon zest. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, then add the fish fillets — you may need to work in batches. After 1 minute have a look underneath one of the fish. If it’s golden, lower the heat, add the remaining butter, flip the fillets over, sprinkle in the capers, marjoram, chervil and celery leaves, and cook until lightly golden on the other side. Remove from the heat and squeeze the lemon juice into the pan — this should foam with the butter, giving you a light sauce.

Just before you serve, check the consistency of the polenta and give it a stir. If it has thickened up, just add a little boiling water to it. Divide between plates, put the fish on top and drizzle over the pan juices. Sprinkle with the capers and herbs.

Try this: In place of lemon sole you could use plaice, Dover sole or dabs, which are often called a poor man’s lemon sole. Scallops and nice fresh prawns are also really good with it.

FILLETING A FLAT FISH

Here are some pictures to show you how to go about filleting a flat fish. You can do the same to any flat fish like brill, turbot or halibut.

TRANCHING A FLAT FISH

To cut a fish into ‘tranches’ means to cut it into steaks. It involves cutting through the bone, which can be slightly tricky, but give it a go.

the best tempura lobster with dipping sauce

Tempura is a crisp batter which originates from Portuguese settlers in Japan and has become a part of Japanese culture. It’s great for battering fish, shellfish and vegetables. In Japan there are lots of tempura restaurants where everyone sits behind a bar and you get given the most amazing tempura for over two hours by a chef and his ‘master’, who does a lot of shouting.

SERVES 4
TEMPURA BATTER
DIPPING SAUCE

Buy your lobsters on the day you want to cook them. Ask your fishmonger to kill them for you, or if you’re happy doing it yourself, take a sharp knife, place it at the crown of the head, and cut straight down — this will kill them straight away. Twist off the tail and both claws and discard the rest of the body and the legs (or keep to make soup or stock). Cut the tail in half lengthways and each tail half into 3. Chop the claws into 3 and place in a bowl with the tail pieces.

Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together in a bowl. I suggest you use a deep-fat fryer as it’s easier to control. Heat the oil to 170°C. You can use a wok, safely positioned on a stove with a thermometer, but be aware of other people (curious kids) and of possibly knocking things over. To make the batter, whisk the egg yolks with 350ml of iced water, add the cornflour and flour, and stir together using chopsticks — this helps to keep the batter a bit lumpy, which is what you want. Add the okra, chillies, lobster pieces and edible flowers (if using), to the batter. Pick up the lobster and veg, shake off any excess batter and carefully lower into the oil.

Don’t try to cook the tempura all at once — do it in 4 or 5 batches. Cook them until light golden and crisp on both sides. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve the tempura with the dipping sauce and a dish of flavoured salt — I would suggest either jasmine tea salt or citrus salt (see page 244).

Try this: I once worked in a Japanese restaurant and when the chefs put the veg into the oil, they dripped extra batter from a height on to them. This gave the tempura a really crunchy, spiky look and feel. You don’t have to do this but it’s a good little trick.

Or this: Tempura other veggies like fine slices of sweet potato, whole spring onions, coriander stalks and baby courgettes.

deep-fried oysters with fried rocket & tomato dressing

I first put these oysters on the menu at Monte’s — they were served with a tomato dressing. One day we tempuraed them to serve as canapés and they went down so well I thought I’d give you the recipe. When picking the kids for Fifteen restaurant I served these to them as a bit of a taste test and asked for their reaction. They’re such an experience to eat as they’re crunchy, soft, sour, sweet and salty. You can serve these as a starter, or as canapés.

SERVES 4
DRESSING

Open the oysters and clean the shells or ask your fishmonger to do this for you. To make the batter, whisk the flour with 170ml of cold water and fold in the stiff whisked egg white and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. To make the dressing, whiz the tomatoes in a blender with the horseradish, garlic and vinegar. Add a couple of shakes of Tabasco and season with sea salt and black pepper. Tweak the amounts of Tabasco and vinegar, to taste — you want it to be hot and tangy. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any chunky bits — this will give you a nice smooth dressing. Check the seasoning.

Heat the oil in a sturdy pan or deep-fat fryer to 180°C and fry the rocket in small batches for about 25 seconds, or until nice and crisp. Remove to kitchen paper to drain. Drop each oyster into the batter, then remove with a spoon and fry for around 2 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Serve each oyster in its shell on a little fried rocket, drizzled with the tangy tomato dressing.

Try this: Place the shells on some cracked ice or a bed of coarse sea salt, as I have done in the picture.

‘the trick to wok-frying is to preheat the wok so that it’s really hot – and before you start cooking get everything ready to go’
‘the trick to wok-frying is to preheat the wok so that it’s really hot – and before you start cooking get everything ready to go’

FILLETING A ROUND FISH

You can ask your fishmonger to do this for you, but if you want to have a go yourself, this is how it’s done. These basic steps show how to prep all round fish, like bass, trout, haddock or red mullet. It might be an idea to ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the fish for you first, as this can be quite a messy job.

crispy salmon with spring vegetable broth

There’s nothing like a piece of perfectly cooked salmon with a crispy skin, complemented by a spring veg broth. In the markets and supermarkets these days you can get some fantastic spring vegetables: baby carrots, baby fennel with herby tops, baby turnips, peas and broad beans, fine green and yellow beans, all really colourful and easy to cook with. Here’s a nice little combination — it’s all cooked in the same pan and gives you a lovely broth. The only thing you have to do is control the cooking times by adding the veg that need longer in the pot first.

SERVES 4

First, make the aïoli. When you’ve done that, bring the stock to the boil in a large pan, then add the fennel and allow to boil for 4 minutes while you heat up a non-stick frying pan. Take the salmon fillets and, if you fancy it, you could finely slice a little of the mint and basil and push it into the score marks. Pat the salmon with a little oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and place skin side down in the frying pan. Leave for 2 minutes to get really crispy, then check how they’re doing — they’ll want around 4 minutes on the skin side and 1 minute on the other. You’ll get an idea of how they’re cooking as you’ll see the salmon change colour.

When the fennel has had 4 minutes, add the green beans and the broad beans. Give them a further 2 minutes. By this time you will want to turn the salmon over for their last minute. Add the peas to the other veg and cook for a final 2 minutes. Don’t be tempted to overcook the salmon — remove it from the heat. Divide the vegetables between bowls, rip over the mint and basil, ladle over some of the hot cooking stock and place the salmon on top. Serve each portion with a dollop of aïoli (save the rest for another day). Fantastic!

‘after I’d talked them through it, my guys made aïoli with no problems at all’
‘after I’d talked them through it, my guys made aïoli with no problems at all’

aïoli

Aïoli is a lovely fragrant and pungent type of mayonnaise — and the great thing is that you can take the flavour in any direction — try adding some pounded or chopped basil, herby fennel tops, dill or roasted nuts. Also great flavoured with lemon zest and juice. It’s normally seasoned well and is used to enhance things like fish stew in order to give them a real kick. You might wonder why I suggest using two types of olive oil to make this. By blending a strong peppery one with a mellower one you achieve a lovely rounded flavour.

SERVES 12

Smash up the garlic with 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a pestle and mortar (or use the end of a rolling pin and a metal bowl). Place the egg yolk and mustard in a bowl and whisk together, then start to add the olive oils bit by bit. Once you’ve blended in a quarter of the oil you can start to add the rest in larger amounts. When the mixture thickens, squeeze in the lemon juice to taste. Once all the oil has gone in, add the garlic and any extra flavours (see intro). To finish, season to taste with salt, black pepper and a bit more lemon juice, if needed.

Try this: Lemon- or basil-flavoured aïoli are good with salads, all types of fish, and in seafood soups. Also great with roasted fish, chicken or pork, and classic with salmon.

chicken liver parfait

This is quite an old-school dish, but it’s so quick, cheap and simple to do. Have a go at making it and you'll never look back.

SERVES 10

First put 150g of butter in a bowl and melt slowly in the oven at 110°C/225°F/gas ¼ until separated. Strain off the yellow clarified butter into another bowl and set aside, and throw away the milky liquid.

Drizzle a little oil into a frying pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and slowly fry for 5 minutes, or until soft, then remove to a plate. Wipe the pan clean, then turn up the heat, add a splash of oil and throw in the livers and thyme. Cook in one layer until lightly coloured but still a little pink in the middle — if you overcook them they will become grainy in texture rather than smooth. Pour in the brandy — if you’re using a gas hob you can flame it until the alcohol cooks off, but watch your hair! Simmer for 1 minute, then take the livers off the heat and tip into a food processor with the cooked onion and garlic. Blitz until smooth. Add the rest of the butter and continue to blitz, then season well with sea salt and black pepper. I like to push it through a sieve twice before decanting into a serving bowl.

Fry the sage leaves in a little hot oil until crisp, drain on kitchen paper, then sprinkle over the parfait. Spoon the clarified butter over the sage leaves, then leave the parfaits to set in the fridge for 1 hour. They will taste beautiful straight away but even better if the flavours are left to develop for a couple of days — they never tend to last that long in my house though! They will keep for longer if the butter seal is not disturbed and so is kept airtight until you’re ready to tuck in.

Try this: You can make this parfait using duck or rabbit livers, and try flavouring it with different herbs or a different kind of booze.

polenta-coated fried chicken with sweetcorn mash, fried bananas & green tomato relish

I was thinking about green tomatoes, corn and yams the other day and was inspired to come up with this cracking little dinner — a sort of cross between the food from New Orleans and the West Indies.

MASH
RELISH

To make the mash, cut each fresh corn cob in half and strip the kernels off by slicing down the sides. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and return to the pan with the milk, corn kernels and some sea salt and black pepper. Bring back to the boil, turn off the heat and throw in the spring onions. Mash and keep warm.

To make the relish, put the vinegar, sugar and sliced shallots in a pan. Bring to the boil and cook until reduced by half. Add the chopped tomatoes and warm through. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Slice into each chicken breast twice lengthways to make each breast fan out into 3 ‘prongs’. Mix the flour with the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper, then spread out on a plate. Beat the eggs in a bowl, and pour the polenta on to another plate. Line up the plates and bowl, and dip the chicken breasts in the flour first, shaking off any excess, then in the egg, and finally in the polenta. This will give you a lovely polenta coating.

Gently fry the chicken in a large frying pan with the butter for 5 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through, then remove from the pan and keep warm. Peel the bananas, cut them in half lengthways, then fry until golden.

To serve, spoon a mound of mash on to each plate and top with a piece of banana and crispy chicken. Stir the parsley and mint into the relish and put a big dollop on top of the chicken.

chips

I’m putting chips in the book because if they’re cooked properly they’re one of the tastiest things in the world. That crunch and fluffy softness inside is absolutely irresistible — especially if they’re someone else’s!

A good chip requires control and vigilance when cooking. Get yourself a nice spud — Maris Piper, Desirée and King Edward are all good. You can peel them or leave the skin on — either way, slice them up 1cm thick and then 1cm across into chips. I remember when I was seven years old and my first job in the kitchen after being promoted from cleaning the bins, washing up and cleaning the vegetables was chipping. I used to have to stand on a pale ale beer crate so that I was high enough to chip. After three sacks of potatoes you get quite fast at chipping! But from a safety point of view, it’s important that you get yourself a nice flat edge on your potato before starting to slice fast. So, first of all, cut a 1cm slice off the potato, then roll it on to that flat edge so it doesn’t wobble about and continue to slice up all your spuds. Wash them in water, so they don’t stick to each other, and dry them well on some kitchen paper.

Half-fill a fryer or chip pan with clean sunflower oil. Heat it to 150°C — if you haven’t got a thermometer, test the oil by putting one chip into the basket. It’s hot enough when it sizzles at a moderate speed. Make sure that the chips are nice and dry, then put them into the basket in small batches and gently lower into the oil. Be aware of whether the temperature is too hot or too cold. Continue to cook the chips without letting them colour until they feel softened when you poke them. Drain well, and if you’re eating them later, scatter them on to greaseproof paper, then put them to one side on a tray until you are ready to fry them again before eating.

If you’re eating them straight away, turn the heat up to 180°C (or when a chip fries fast). Carefully place the basket back in the oil and cook until the chips are crisp and golden. Drain well and season with sea salt. Even better is to use one of the flavoured salts on page 244. This will make them absolutely fantastic. It’s really only worth cooking chips for a small number of people, otherwise you may as well go down the chippie, but the best ones can be made at home.

Try this: Parsnips, sweet potatoes and butternut squash can all be deep-fried as chips. They won’t be quite as crisp as potato chips, but they will be damn fine.