Recipe Notes
When writing recipes, there are certain phrases that crop up so often and in such an automatic fashion that they must be as incredibly annoying to read as they are to write. It seems daft to repeat constantly ‘good olive oil’. I’m sure your oil is excellent; please don’t go out and buy better oil, and anyway, when was the last time somebody wrote ‘add two tablespoons of really bloody awful olive oil’. So, unless otherwise specified…
All olive oil is ‘good’.
All herbs are fresh.
All eggs are large (US extra-large). (We can hope for free-range, but that
is your own decision.)
All butter is unsalted, unless otherwise stated.
‘Season’ means season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and proper flaky salt.
I also can’t, in all conscience, ask you to ‘put aside’ or ‘reserve’ an ingredient. It’s obvious. Similarly, ‘…and serve’ has been ruthlessly expunged from the last line of every recipe.
4 lambs’ kidneys
150g (5oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
20g (¾oz) mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
10g (¼oz) clarified butter
2 thick slices white bloomer bread, toasted
100ml (3½fl oz) sherry (Amontillado or even ‘cream’ sherry)
100ml (3½fl oz) chicken stock (broth)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Halve the kidneys and remove the cores with sharp scissors. Season the flour with the mustard powder and cayenne pepper, and toss the kidney halves in the mixture.
Heat the butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat until foaming and toss in the floured kidneys. Keep them moving until they are crisp and browned on the surface, about 2 minutes. They should still be pink inside.
Lift the kidneys onto the toast, then pour the sherry into the pan and allow most of the liquid to boil off. Add the stock and Worcestershire sauce, boiling hard and continually stirring so that everything combines to form a thick, spiced gravy. Taste and adjust the seasoning before pouring the gravy over the kidneys. [See photograph.]
50ml (2fl oz) olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g (1lb 2oz) clams or mussels (fresh or frozen; if frozen, cooked as per package instructions)
75ml (2½fl oz) dry vermouth (if using fresh shellfish)
1 slice sourdough bread
small handful flat-leaf parsley or chervil, finely chopped
salt and black pepper
Warm a little of the oil in a large pan for which you have a lid, add the shallots and garlic and soften. Pour in the cooked shellfish and their liquid, or the fresh shellfish and vermouth. Cover and steam until the shellfish open, about 5 minutes.
Pick the meat from the shellfish shells, discarding any that are unopened. Grill the sourdough on both sides.
Strain the cooking juices back into the pan, bring to a hard boil and add the remaining oil (you could also use cream – ‘whipping’ is the best). Return the shellfish meat to the pan to reheat in the juices. Season, and stir in most of the chopped parsley. Pour over the grilled bread and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. [See photograph.]
500g (1lb 2oz) herring or cod roes (or milt)
2 slices sourdough bread
5g (⅛oz) mustard powder
5g (⅛oz) cayenne pepper
5g (⅛oz) smoked paprika
150g (5oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
150g (5oz) clarified butter
salt and black pepper
Fill a wide pan with salted water and bring to a gentle simmer, then turn the temperature down to low. Drop in the roes (or milt) one at a time and be ready to whip them out with a slotted spoon the second they begin to tighten up – this can take as little as 30 seconds. Line them up on kitchen paper to drain while you toast the bread.
Combine the seasonings with the flour, then roll each roe in the flour to achieve a good coating. Heat half the clarified butter in a frying pan (skillet) over medium–high heat until it foams, then add the roes and roll in the butter until they begin to brown and crisp. Now throw in the rest of the butter and let it melt.
Place the roes on the toast, then spoon over the melted butter and any pan scrapings. [See photograph.]
300g (11oz) leftover mashed potato
50g (1¾oz) bacon fat
2 slices packaged white sliced bread
tomato ketchup, to serve
Warm up the mash in a pan or a microwave.
Heat the bacon fat in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and fry the bread on both sides until crisp and brown. Add any remaining fat to the mash.
Cut each slice of fried bread into quarters, arrange on a plate and top with a dollop of warm mash. Use the back of a teaspoon to create a ‘well’ in the middle of each mash pile and fill it with an immoderate squeeze of ketchup. [See photograph.]
2 slices packaged white sliced bread
20g (¾oz) butter or bacon fat
2 eggs
salt and black pepper
Cut a hole out of the centre of each slice of bread with a small wine glass or biscuit cutter, saving the piece you’ve cut out.
Heat most of the butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and add the bread and cut-out circles (the ‘lids’). Fry for a few minutes until browned on one side, then flip both, add a dot more butter into the holes and crack the eggs into the holes. After a few seconds, lower the heat, season the top of the eggs, then cover the pan. Check often to ensure the bottom is browned and the eggs are cooked to your liking.
Remove the lid from the pan towards the end so that the bread stays crisp. Slice the crisp fried discs in half and apply to the well-seasoned eggs ‘like little ears’. [See photograph.]
4 slices white bloomer bread, about 2cm (¾in) thick
800g (1¾lb) beef mince (ground beef)
75ml (2½fl oz) Madeira
1 tsp plain (all-purpose) flour (optional)
1 litre (35fl oz) chicken stock (broth)
2 tsp pickled walnut vinegar (from the jar)
150g (5oz) beef dripping or butter
salt and black pepper
In a dry pan, lightly grill the bread on both sides.
Heat a separate pan over a medium heat and add the mince, along with a cup or so of water. Bring to the boil so that the water ‘sets’ the mince into distinct grains. Pour in the Madeira and allow the alcohol to boil off. Thicken the gravy with the flour if you wish, but I don’t usually bother. Add the stock and simmer for at least half an hour until you’re left with mince suspended in a good quantity of gravy. Stir in the pickled walnut vinegar, then adjust the seasoning.
Melt the dripping in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and fry both sides of the grilled bread in it. Transfer to a plate and pour over the mince, allowing the gravy to soak into the bread. [See photograph.]
4 large Maris Piper (or Russet) potatoes
4 slices white ‘tin loaf’ bread
vegetable oil or beef dripping, for deep-frying
salted butter, for the bread
brown sauce, vinegar or your favourite chip condiment, to serve
salt
Peel the potatoes and slice them into regular and even chips (fries). Lay the chips on a baking tray lined with a tea towel. Refrigerate, uncovered, for a couple of hours to dry out.
Heat the oil in a large pan to 165°C/330°F and fry the chips in small batches. As soon as the cut surface of the chip begins to bubble but before it takes on any colour, remove the chips from the oil, drain and allow to cool.
Once cooled, butter the bread thickly while bringing the oil up to 185°C/365°F. Fry the chips once more, in small batches. Once the chips have achieved a pleasant brownness, lift them out of the oil, shake to remove excess oil and then lay them onto two slices of the buttered bread and add the lids. Wait a few seconds until the butter begins to melt and soak into the bread, then lift each lid, season with salt and, if you feel you must, add your favourite condiment. [See photograph.]
200g (7oz) mixed cheeses (I use Cheddar, Gruyère and a little Parmesan), grated
butter, for the bread
2 slices white ‘tin loaf’ bread
mayonnaise (Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise is best), for frying
salt and black pepper
Make up your custom mixture of grated cheeses and season. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Spread the grated cheese onto the buttered side of one slice and top with the other, butter side down. Press down well. Smear the outside of the sandwich comprehensively with mayonnaise.
Fry the sandwich gently in a dry pan over a medium–high heat, flipping regularly, until crisp and golden. Take things slowly enough that the cheese has a chance to melt before the outside gets too brown. [See photograph.]
1 double-thickness slice white ‘tin loaf’ bread
20g (¾oz) butter, softened
2 slices smoked ham
2 slices Gruyère
2 eggs
20ml (¾fl oz) whole milk or cream
clarified butter, for frying
salt and black pepper
Cut the crusts off the slice of bread and cut a neat pocket through one side. Butter inside the pocket and insert the ham and cheese. Squeeze closed so that the butter glues everything together.
Beat together the eggs and milk and season liberally, then lay the sandwich in the mixture. Let the sandwich absorb all the egg wash, flipping it regularly to ensure even soaking – including the sides.
Melt the clarified butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium–low heat and gently fry the sandwich until crisp, letting it set and heat through without the surface burning. [See photograph.]
2 large white onions, sliced
400g (14oz) good-quality coarse beef mince (ground beef)
4 slices light rye bread
4 slices plastic-wrapped American burger cheese
olive oil, for frying
mayonnaise, for frying
salt and black pepper
Warm a drop of oil in a pan over a very low heat and add the onions. Cover with a lid and sweat gently. They will eventually caramelise to a lovely deep brown, but anyone who tells you this will take less than an hour is lying.
Season the mince well, separate it into two balls and then squish each one out between layers of cling film, baking paper or foil. Use a rolling pin or your hands, but aim for roughly the same shape and size as your slices of bread. Heat a frying pan (skillet) and dry-fry the patties so that the outside browns but the centre remains rare, about a minute each side.
Assemble the patties and bread into two sandwiches, topped with the burger cheese and caramelised onions, and slather the outside of the sandwiches with mayonnaise. Heat a frying pan or sandwich toaster and toast until the cheese is melted and the bread browned and crisp. [See photograph.]
500g (1lb 2oz) tinned tuna chunks in oil
mayonnaise (Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise is best), to taste
2 sticks celery, very finely chopped
3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
30g (1oz) nonpareil capers
salt and black pepper
Drain off half the oil from the tuna, then scrape into a large bowl. Beat the tuna with a large silicone spoonula – the meat will break up and begin to combine with the delicious fishy oil. Season aggressively. Now start adding mayonnaise and continue to beat. You’re aiming for a smooth texture, without identifiable lumps of tuna flesh.
Add the celery, spring onions and capers and fold through the mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning – you will almost certainly need more salt than you’re completely comfortable with. [See photograph.]
4 slices packaged brown sliced bread
1 quantity Tuna Salad (see above)
4 slices pre-sliced Swiss cheese
gherkins (pickles), to serve
Lightly toast the bread, then dollop with the tuna salad. Top each mound with two slices of cheese, then slide under a medium grill (broiler). The idea is to gently melt the cheese, not bubble and brown it. Once the cheese has properly melted, remove from the grill, top with the remaining slices of toasted bread and squeeze down so that the tuna and cheese squish into a regular layer. [See photograph.]
2 eggs
150g (5oz) mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 chives, finely chopped
pinch paprika
lemon juice or tarragon vinegar, to taste (optional)
salt (optional) and black pepper
Place the eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, then turn the heat off and allow the eggs to stand for 10 minutes. Put the saucepan under the tap and run cold water into it. Keep going until the eggs are cold.
Peel the eggs and break them up loosely with a fork or your hands. There should be just the tiniest hint of runny right at the centre of the yolk. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, chives and paprika, and season with black pepper. Stir through gently. Taste and add lemon juice or tarragon vinegar, if you like. These will add acidity, which is entirely a matter of taste – as is the salt.
1 egg
4 slices soft white sliced bread
butter, for the bread
1 quantity Egg Mayonnaise (see above)
Steam the egg for 7 minutes, then drop it immediately into iced water. This unusual process should give you an egg that still has a touch of golden softness in the centre but with a fully set white.
Slice the crusts off the bread and lightly butter. Dip a very sharp knife in water and slice your cold, peeled egg lengthways. Place the cut eggs in the middle of two slices of the bread, then mound up the egg mayonnaise around them. Put the top slice onto the sandos and press gently to distribute the egg mayo without crushing the central egg half. Slice across with a devilishly sharp knife to reveal the perfect cross section of egg. [See photograph.]
4 eggs, hard-boiled
20g (¾oz) Dijon mustard
½ clove garlic, crushed
50ml (2fl oz) fruity olive oil
250ml (9fl oz) neutral vegetable oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar (you can use the vinegar from the cornichons)
4 sprigs tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
1 bunch chervil, chopped
75g (2¾oz) cornichons, roughly chopped
50g (1¾oz) salted nonpareil capers, rinsed and drained
salt and black pepper
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and, in a large bowl, crush them to a smooth paste with the mustard and garlic. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continually until it starts to emulsify. Continue adding the neutral vegetable oil in a steady stream, whisking all the time, for as long as you can or your nerve will hold, until you have a smooth mayonnaise.
Roughly break up the egg whites with a fork and fold them into the mayonnaise, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Season. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, to let the flavours mellow and combine. [See photograph.]
2 pork chops or steaks
plain (all-purpose) flour, for dredging
1 egg, beaten
panko breadcrumbs, to coat the pork
4 slices white ‘tin loaf’ bread
handful finely shredded white cabbage
butter, for shallow frying
Kewpie mayonnaise or salad cream, to taste
Bull-Dog tonkatsu sauce (or ‘brown’ sauce), to taste
salt and black pepper
If using pork chops, remove the meat from the bone. Season the meat well, then place between two sheets of baking paper and use a rolling pin to beat it to about 8mm (⅓in) thick.
Dredge the meat in the flour, dip into the beaten egg and then roll in panko breadcrumbs to coat. Be careful to achieve a good coating, pushing down on the cutlet in the crumbs.
Heat a little butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and fry the pork cutlets until golden brown and cooked through. (Time will obviously depend on the thickness of your cutlet but a probe thermometer will read 70°C/158°F when properly cooked.)
Top two of the slices of bread with a layer of shredded cabbage, then slice the cutlets into strips and lay over the top. Zigzag the Kewpie over the top in one direction, then turn the sando 90 degrees and do the same with the Bull-Dog sauce. Finish with the final bread slices, cut the sandwich in half and Instagram immediately. [See photograph.]
200g (7oz) gram (chickpea) flour
pinch turmeric, for colour
1 tsp baking powder
1 white onion, chopped
1 tsp pav bhaji masala
300g (11oz) boiled potatoes, roughly chopped
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
100g (3½oz) frozen peas
6 slices packaged white sliced bread
neutral vegetable oil, for frying
salt
Mix together the gram flour, turmeric and baking powder in a bowl. Season with salt and add enough water to create a coating batter.
Heat a little of the oil in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and fry the chopped onion until softened and golden, then add the pav bhaji masala and boiled potatoes to the pan, crushing the potatoes so that they break up. Add the tomatoes and stir through and finally add the peas. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Cut the crusts off the bread, trimming square, and place a teaspoonful of the vegetable mixture in the centre of each slice. Paint a little of the prepared batter around the edge of each slice and then fold in half diagonally and squeeze the edges to seal into triangular packages.
Heat the oil in a large pan to 175°C /345°F. Dip each package into the batter, then shallow-fry in the hot oil, flipping so that the sides brown evenly. Drain on kitchen paper. [See photograph.]
400g (14oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
7g (2¼ tsp) instant yeast
275ml (9¾fl oz) warm whole milk
2 tsp salt
1 white onion, diced
1 tsp Japanese curry powder, or 1 curry sauce roux block
1 large carrot, diced
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
splash soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
neutral vegetable oil, for frying
Mix together the flour, yeast, milk and salt in a mixer with a dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, then divide into eight balls. Place the balls on a floured baking sheet, lightly cover and allow to rise until doubled in size.
Heat a little of the vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the onion and soften for a few minutes, then add the curry powder (if using), carrot and potatoes. Add a little water to help the vegetables steam through – but not too much – and a splash of soy sauce to season. If using a roux block, dissolve it in a little boiling water and cook the vegetables slowly in it, finishing with quite a dry filling. Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Roll out each ball of dough into a 10cm (4in) flat disc, place a dollop of the curry mixture in the middle, then close the dough around it, pinching it closed and rolling into a neat ball. Place back on the baking sheet, leave to prove once more for about 45 minutes until the buns have noticeably increased in size, then brush with the beaten egg and bake until golden brown. [See photograph.]
1 ‘thumb’ fresh ginger
1 clove garlic
300g (11oz) defrosted, cooked, peeled prawns (shrimp)
3 spring onions (scallions), or Chinese chives, if you can find them, chopped
1 egg white, beaten
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
2 slices packaged white sliced bread
15g (½oz) white sesame seeds
15g (½oz) black sesame seeds
neutral vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
Place the ginger, garlic, prawns, spring onions, egg white, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornflour in a blender, then blitz to a paste.
Cut the bread into triangles, then smooth the prawn paste into a neat mound on top of each piece. Spread the sesame seeds on a saucer and push the prawn toast down onto it to coat. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan (skillet) to 185°C/365°F and shallow-fry, flipping occasionally, until golden on both sides. [See photograph.]
1 day-old white baguette or boule
1 clove garlic
1 tin good-quality tuna in oil
100g (3½oz) fine green beans, blanched
6 black olives, pitted
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
3 tomatoes, sliced
15g (½oz) nonpareil capers
8 leaves romaine or gem lettuce
Dijon mustard, to taste
fruity olive oil, for drizzling
splash sherry vinegar
Slice the bread in half horizontally and rub the cut face with the clove of garlic.
Drain the tuna badly – it’s good to use some of the oil, but you need to allow for some absorptive power for fresh stuff, too. Lay the tuna on the bread in chunks. Top with the blanched beans, olives, sliced onion, eggs and tomatoes. Sprinkle with the capers and cover with the lettuce leaves. Smear the inside of the lid with a little Dijon mustard and then hose on plenty of really fruity olive oil and a splash of sherry vinegar. Close the sandwich, wrap well in cling film and refrigerate overnight under weights, turning once, if you remember, before bed. Allow to come up to room temperature before serving. [See photograph.]
3 Italian fennel-seed salsicce
100g (3½oz) stale white breadcrumbs
250g (9oz) beef mince (ground beef)
7 cloves garlic
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp garlic powder
75ml (2½fl oz) crème fraîche
1 egg, beaten
3 x 400g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes
1 long, white soft roll or ciabatta
3 slices provolone
Parmesan, to serve
salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Skin the sausages and break them up into a bowl. Stir in the breadcrumbs and combine thoroughly before adding the beef mince. Grate in three of the cloves of garlic and add the fennel seeds and garlic powder. Stir in the crème fraîche and the egg, then form the mix into smooth, egg-sized balls.
Pour the tomatoes into a baking dish with a lid or a heatproof casserole dish along with the remaining cloves of garlic. Put into the hot oven and cook until the sauce is reduced and the top is scorched. Season and blitz with an immersion blender. Move the dish to the stovetop over a low heat, sink the balls into the sauce and put the lid on. Keep just below a simmer, allowing the meatballs to poach in the juice and the flavours to exchange. Once the balls read 75°C/167°F at the centre when tested with a meat thermometer, they are ready to eat.
Split the bread in half horizontally, break the meatballs in half and place on the base in a single layer. Top with the provolone and place, along with the top, under a hot grill (broiler). Once the cheese has melted, remove from the grill, ladle the hot tomato sauce over the cheese and meatballs and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan. Perch the lid on top and serve with loads of kitchen paper. [See photograph.]
1 x 750g (26oz) rolled beef topside (top round roast)
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1 x 400g (14oz) tin beef consommé
500ml (17½fl oz) chicken or beef stock (broth)
1 ‘sandwich’ or demi-baguette, cut in half
mustard or horseradish sauce, to serve
salt and black pepper
Place the beef in a roasting dish and brush with the soy sauce, then refrigerate, uncovered, for two hours until it dries into a sticky coating.
Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Sprinkle the garlic and mustard powders onto the beef and transfer to the hot oven, turning the temperature down to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 as soon as the door is closed. The meat should take about an hour for rare, which is how you want it, but it’s best to check with a meat thermometer – it should be 50°C/122°F in the centre. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
While the beef is cooking, combine the consommé with the stock in a pan and simmer until reduced by half. When the beef has cooled, add any juices and pan scrapings to the ‘jus’. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Slice the beef thinly and heap into the split baguette. Add a smear of mustard or horseradish. Serve cold with a cup of the hot jus for dipping. [See photograph.]
100g (3½oz) Parmesan, finely grated
20g (¾oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
125ml (4½fl oz) single (light) cream
2 thick slices white ‘tin loaf’ bread
clarified butter, for frying
salt and black pepper
Mix together the Parmesan and breadcrumbs and spread out in a shallow dish. Season the cream and pour into another shallow dish.
Cut the bread into thick fingers to create a square cross section and soak them in the cream. Roll the fingers in the cheesy crumbs.
Heat a little clarified butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium–high heat and gently fry the fingers, turning regularly, until golden brown. [See photograph.]
250g (9oz) speculaas or ginger biscuits (cookies)
pinch ground cardamom
pinch ground cassia or cinnamon
pinch ground black pepper
pinch ground ginger
250g (9oz) cold butter, cubed
2 slices white ‘tin loaf’ or bloomer
2 eggs
15g (½oz) whipping cream (or milk)
clarified butter, for frying
icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting
salt
Empty the biscuits into a blender and blitz as finely as you can.
Grind the spices and a large pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar. Add the dry seasonings to the biscuit crumbs and continue to blitz, then gradually add the butter. When everything is combined and forming a smooth paste, check the seasonings before packing into a jar and refrigerating.
Sandwich a generous smearing of the speculaas butter between the two slices of soft white bread, then cut off the crusts. Beat the eggs and cream together, then dip in the sandwich. Allow to soak for 5 minutes. Fry very slowly and gently on both sides in clarified butter until the outside is crisp. Dust with icing sugar. [See photograph.]
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 tsp sea salt, plus pinch
6 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 sweet red (bell) pepper, chopped
1 sweet yellow (bell) pepper, chopped
½ cucumber, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
30 capers
6 anchovies in oil, roughly chopped
6 leaves basil, torn
½ stale loaf, unsalted Italian or Spanish bread, torn into rough chunks
fruity olive oil, to taste
sugar, to taste
Put the onion in a large bowl with the salt. Use your hands (I wear latex gloves) to scrunch the onion and salt together until wilted and yielding liquid. Add the tomatoes to the bowl with a pinch more salt, stir and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, add the peppers and cucumber to the bowl along with the crushed garlic. The salad should now be swimming in liquid, so add the white wine vinegar and start adding olive oil, a little at a time, tasting and adjusting the seasoning of the dressing as you go. Add a little sugar if needed. Throw in the capers, anchovies and basil.
By this time there should be a lot of liquid for your bread to soak up. Take a look at the quantities you have and judge – if you don’t think there’s enough liquid, you can soak the bread in water for 2 minutes, then wring it out, otherwise just toss it all in, stir and let it stand for 15 minutes. Taste again and correct the seasoning before serving. [See photograph.]
1 quantity ingredients for Panzanella, minus the capers, anchovies and basil, and swapping the white wine vinegar for sherry vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1 sweet red (bell) pepper, chopped
You can blitz leftover panzanella into a perfectly serviceable gazpacho if you wish. Alternatively, take the same ingredients and add them to a blender in the same order. Capers and anchovies might make a good garnish, but leave them out of the blender. Basil is not as appropriate as red pepper, so you’ll need more red pepper, as well as extra garlic. Add the olive oil last, trickling it in like a mayonnaise and letting the bread in the mix hold it in suspension. Add water to correct the texture to your taste and adjust the seasoning before serving chilled. [See photograph.]
10 cashew nuts
2 slices packaged white sliced bread
½ tsp mustard or cumin seeds (or both)
4 dried curry leaves
pinch ground black pepper
½ ‘thumb’ fresh ginger, grated
¼ clove garlic, minced
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 green chilli pepper, sliced
½ small bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves roughly chopped
mustard oil or neutral vegetable oil, for frying
salt and black pepper
Warm a dry pan over a medium heat and toast the nuts until just browned. Remove the nuts and gently toast the bread in the same pan, then remove and tear into small pieces. Put the pieces of bread back into the pan and continue to toast until you achieve a dry, rusk-like consistency. Set aside.
Turn up the heat and pour in the oil to the depth of around 1mm. Add the dry spices and keep them moving until the mustard seeds start to pop and sizzle. Add the ginger, garlic and onion, and turn the heat back down. Sweat the onion until it softens, then add the tomato and chilli and a splash of water. Cook down to a well-combined sauce consistency, then stir through the bread. Adjust the seasoning, then sprinkle over the coriander. [See photograph.]
For açorda marisco, try making this with mixed fish and shellfish and a quick fish stock made from bones, shells and trimmings.
100ml (3½fl oz) olive oil
250g (9oz) chopped toucinho (smoked bacon) or chouriço (chorizo) sausage
3 cloves garlic
1 red chilli pepper, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
1 large bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves and stems separated
500ml (17½fl oz) chicken stock (broth)
1 white rustic loaf, roughly torn into chunks
2 eggs, beaten
salt and black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and gently fry the bacon or sausage for a few minutes until browned. Add the garlic, chopped chilli, onion and coriander stems and lower the heat so that everything breaks down. Next add the chicken stock and simmer for a while, then add the bread. Keep the heat low and stir regularly until the bread has completely collapsed, about half an hour. You’re looking for a porridge-like consistency, so add more stock if you need it.
Remove the soup from the heat and allow it to stand for a few minutes before quickly stirring in the eggs. Do it fast so that they don’t scramble too much. Adjust the seasoning and top with the torn coriander leaves. [See photograph.]
75g (2½oz) butter
1kg (2¼lb) white onions, finely sliced
15g (½oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
150ml (5fl oz) white wine
1.5 litres (53fl oz) chicken or beef stock (broth)
4 slices sourdough bread
250g (9oz) Comté, grated
salt and black pepper
Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat and add the onions. Keep the temperature low so that the onions take as long as possible to sweat, go soft and begin to gently colour. Allow 30 minutes’ cooking time at the very least.
Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes until it colours and takes on the biscuity smell of cooking, then pour in the wine and allow the alcohol to boil off. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer and season, then portion out into ovenproof serving bowls.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Cut the slices of bread to fit the bowls as lids, then grill them in a hot, dry pan. Float the toasted bread on top of the soup. Sprinkle the grated Comté messily over the top and put the bowls into the oven. Cook until the cheese is bubbling and browned. [See photograph.]
250g (9oz) pancetta, diced
500g (1lb 2oz) savoy cabbage or cavolo nero, stems and ribs removed but leaves left whole
10 slices white Italian bread
500ml (17½fl oz) rich beef broth
10 slices prosciutto, finely sliced
250g (9oz) fontina, grated
ground cinnamon, to taste
grated nutmeg, to taste
salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
In a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat, render down the pancetta, then add the cabbage and gently sauté the leaves until wilted.
Toast the bread in the preheated oven until crisp, then lay a couple of slices in the bottom of a large, broad, ovenproof serving bowl that will fit in the oven. Warm the broth and adjust the seasoning. Be generous. Pour a little of the broth over the bread, season sparingly with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, then add a layer of the cabbage and one of prosciutto.
Repeat this process until you run out of ingredients, finishing with a layer of cabbage. Pour in more of the broth until everything is just covered. Let the broth soak in for a few minutes and then top up again with more broth. It’s important to make sure that everything is completely saturated. Top with a thick layer of fontina cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake for half an hour or so. [See photograph.]
1 white ‘tin loaf’
150g (5oz) clarified butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Cut the crusts off the loaf, keeping the corners at 90 degrees. Slice the loaf into two or three large, regular cuboids. Slice a 1cm- (½in-) thick ‘top’ off of each cuboid and then make four cuts down into the bottom piece, creating a 1cm- (½in-) thick wall. Carefully pluck out the interior, leaving a thick bottom. Brush the box and the lid, inside and out, with the melted clarified butter, place on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake, flipping the pieces regularly, until crisp and golden.
Allow to cool on a wire rack and reheat gently before loading with a filling of your choice. [See photograph.]
2 whole cooked lobsters (fresh or frozen, defrosted)
30g (1oz) butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
75ml (2½fl oz) dry vermouth
150ml (5fl oz) white wine
500ml (17½fl oz) whole milk
1 shop-bought sourdough boule
100g (3½oz) clarified butter
2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1cm (½in) dice
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
100ml (3½fl oz) double (heavy) cream
sriracha sauce, to taste
salt and white pepper
Preheat the oven to maximum.
Split the lobsters in half over a bowl and extract as much meat as you can, being careful to catch any juices. Roughly chop the meat and set aside. Put the shells and trimmings in a roasting tin, breaking up the big pieces. Roast until the edges scorch.
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and sweat the onion and celery until translucent. Add the tomato purée and cook out for a minute or two until it loses its acidity. Pour in the lobster shells and any juices and, while the tin is still hot, deglaze it with the vermouth, scraping to dissolve any stuck-on and browned bits. Pour the vermouth and bits into the pan with the white wine and simmer, until the volatile ‘alcohol’ smell has dissipated. Add the milk and bring to just below boiling.
Slice the top off the bread, tear out the inner crumb and tear the crumb into regular-sized pieces. Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan (skillet) and fry the chunks of bread to make golden-brown croutons. Set aside. In the same pan, fry the potatoes with the leek and shallot until softened.
Strain the milky lobster stock through a sieve into another large pan, pushing down hard to extract all the flavour. Add the potatoes, leeks and shallots to the bisque.
Put the loaf into the hot oven and bake until just browned on the inside.
Once the potatoes have cooked through, about 5–8 minutes, stir in the cream and the lobster meat. Adjust the seasoning with salt, white pepper and sriracha, then pour the chowder into the hollowed-out loaf, topping with the croutons. [See photograph.]
With grateful thanks to Judy Rodgers.
1 large chicken
100g (3½oz) fat sultanas
splash balsamic vinegar
½ rustic Italian loaf, torn into chunks and left to stale slightly
100ml (3½fl oz) olive oil
100g (3½oz) pine nuts
2 bunches watercress
salt and black pepper
Season the chicken liberally inside and out and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
Half an hour before cooking, remove the chicken and let rest at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Place the sultanas in a bowl along with hot water and a splash of vinegar until just covered. Leave to soak.
Loosely stuff the chicken with the chunks of bread, place in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until cooked through (the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh should read 75°C/167°F on a meat thermometer). Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and pour off and reserve the cooking juices. Pull out the stuffing and toss it in the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the olive oil, some of the chicken fat, the sultanas and their soaking liquid and the pine nuts, and toss so that the bread soaks up all the goodness. Now roast the bread in a hot oven while the bird rests.
Shove the watercress into the back end of the chicken before bringing to the table, then extract it and toss it with the hot bread and carved chicken. [See photograph.]
1 chicken, salted overnight
1 stale rustic white loaf, torn into chunks
6 large white onions, finely sliced
50g (1¾oz) butter
200g (7oz) Gruyère, grated
1 litre (35fl oz) rich chicken or beef stock (broth)
salt and black pepper
Salt the chicken generously, inside and out, and tear the bread into large chunks. Leave the bread out to stale, cover the chicken loosely and refrigerate overnight. Caramelise the onions in the butter following the method.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Pack a layer of the stale bread chunks into a baking dish, top with a thin layer of the caramelised onions and then sprinkle over the Gruyère. Build a second layer of bread on top, seasoning as you go, then pour over the stock until you can see it pooling between the bread chunks. Wait a little to ensure that the bread is soaking up the stock, then top up with a little more. Place the chicken on top. Season the top of the bird and transfer to the preheated oven. Cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken – once you reach an internal temperature of 75°C/167°F at the thigh joint, remove the chicken and pour any juices from the cavity into the bread.
Turn the oven up to maximum and, while the chicken rests, slide the bread base back in, until the top is brown and crisp.
Replace the rested chicken on the bread to bring to the table. Serve the bread with a big spoon, making sure you include some crispy bits, some soft stuff, the sweetened onions and some melted Gruyère with each helping. [See photograph.]
100g (3½oz) butter, softened, for spreading
15 slices malty sliced brown bread
150ml (5fl oz) whole milk
50g (1¾oz) demerara sugar, plus extra for the top
3 eggs, beaten
50g (1¾oz) butter, melted
100g (3½oz) Cape raisins, soaked in 250ml (9fl oz) hot black tea
ground cinnamon, to taste
ground nutmeg, to taste
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
Lavishly butter slices of the bread and tear into large pieces. Stick the pieces around the bottom and sides of a regular loaf tin.
Tear up the rest of the bread and soak it in the milk. After 10 minutes, you should be able to beat it like a thick batter – if not, add a little more milk. Stir in the sugar, eggs, the melted butter and the soaked raisins (discard the tea). Season generously with cinnamon and nutmeg. The finished mix should be barely pourable. Scrape it into the bread-and-butter-lined tin and bang it on the work surface to remove any air pockets, then top with a thick crust of more demerara sugar. Bake for 90 minutes before turning the oven up to full to crisp the top. [See photograph.]
50g (1¾oz) butter, softened, for spreading
10 slices white ‘tin loaf’ bread, crusts removed
splash vodka
1 small Navel, Seville or blood orange
100g (3½oz) demerara sugar
100g (3½oz) cold salted butter, cubed
Thickly butter the bread on both sides, and use some of it to line a small metal pudding basin or heatproof bowl. Make sure any gaps are filled. Line with another layer (saving some bread for the lid), trying to ensure that the joins in the first layer are covered by the slices in the second.
Use a clean cloth soaked in vodka to wash the outside of the orange. Over a baking tray, exfoliate the skin of the orange with a little of the demerara sugar, being careful not to lose any. Drop the whole orange into the bread-lined pudding basin, pack the cubes of butter into the crevices, then pour in the exfoliating rub and the remaining sugar.
Make sure that the filling of the pudding comes up to the rim of the basin (if not, add more butter and sugar), then use the remaining buttered bread slices to create a thick bread lid. Wrap everything tightly with cling film.
Screw up a tea towel and place in the bottom of a large pot with a lid. Place the wrapped pudding on the cloth, then pour in hot water until it comes nearly to the top of the pudding basin. Put the pot over a low heat and allow to just simmer, with the lid on, for 3–4 hours, topping up with water from a boiled kettle if necessary. Once cooked, carefully remove the pudding and leave it to stand until you’re nearly ready to serve.
When you’re ready to eat, turn on the oven to its highest setting. Unwrap the pudding and cover the top with a piece of foil, buttered on the inside and cinched tight over the top of the bowl. Put the pudding on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 10 minutes. Loosen the pudding with a small palette knife and turn out to serve. [See photograph.]
100g (3½oz) stale white breadcrumbs
100g (3½oz) Parmesan, grated
100g (3½oz) pecorino, grated
1 egg, beaten
1 litre (35fl oz) strong, well-flavoured chicken broth
salt and black pepper
Combine all the ingredients except the broth and work into a soft dough. Add a little cold water if the mixture is too dry. Wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for an hour.
Once you’re ready to cook the passatelli, bring the broth to a bare simmer in a wide pan and check the seasoning.
Feed the passatelli dough through a passatelli press (or use a potato ricer, a spätzle maker or even a large-holed skimming spoon) directly into the simmering broth. The passatelli will break up a bit as they hit the liquid, then sink and finally float to the surface when ready. Serve the passatelli and broth in bowls. [See photograph.]
250g (9oz) cooked fresh crab or 1 pack mixed crabmeat
50g (1¾oz) mayonnaise (Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise is best)
100g (3½oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
clarified butter, for frying
salt and black pepper
Strip the meat from the crab or open the packet and separate the brown meat from the white. Try to keep any large chunks intact.
Stir the brown meat into a similar quantity of mayonnaise and then weigh the mixture and add the same amount of breadcrumbs.
Add the white meat and fork it through – no need to combine too thoroughly; keep things light. Season and taste while mixing.
Heat some clarified butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium–high heat and add a spoonful of the crab mixture. Fry until it’s browned underneath. When it’s time to flip the crab cake, squish it lightly into a rough patty shape.
Continue frying the cakes in batches until they are crisp, golden and lacy on the surface. [See photograph.]
300ml (10½fl oz) whole milk
300g (11oz) panko breadcrumbs
40g (1½oz) butter
40ml (1½fl oz) double (heavy) cream
100g (3½oz) your chosen flavouring (cheese, jamón, chorizo, braised leeks, etc.), shredded or chopped
plain (all-purpose) flour, for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
oil, for deep-frying (olive oil for authenticity, neutral vegetable oil for economy)
salt and black pepper
In a large pan, bring the milk to just below a simmer and then pour in half the breadcrumbs. Allow to soak for 3 minutes, then, if required, add another handful of breadcrumbs. Keep going until you reach the consistency of a thick custard. Blitz with an immersion blender, which will thicken the sauce further. Beat in the butter to enrich the mixture and adjust the consistency with cream until it feels like a soft dough. Taste and season.
Fold in your chosen flavouring element. Refrigerate the mixture until cool, then take a spoonful at a time and shape into spheres or cylinders before returning to the fridge to set.
Roll the croquetas in flour, then the beaten egg and finally the remaining breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil in a large pan until it reaches 175°C/350°F, and deep-fry the croquetas in batches until golden, about 3 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper once cooked. [See photograph.]
3 cloves garlic
75ml (2½fl oz) whole milk
150g (5oz) blanched almonds, toasted and crushed
3 slices Italian white bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
100g (3½oz) well-flavoured olive oil, to taste
lemon juice, to taste
salt and black pepper
Poach the garlic in the milk until it takes on a distinct flavour. Remove the garlic, then stir the crushed almonds and breadcrumbs into the pan over a low heat.
Use an immersion blender to ensure the purée is completely free of lumps, then pour in the olive oil in a thin stream until you reach the texture of a smooth hummus. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, then taste and adjust the seasoning. You should be able to clearly distinguish the bread, almond and olive oil flavours. [See photograph.]
100ml (3½fl oz) white wine
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic
200g (7oz) Gruyère, grated
200g (7oz) Comté, grated
200g (7oz) Beaufort, grated
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
20ml (¾fl oz) gin (trust me)
2 slightly stale baguettes, to serve
freshly grated nutmeg, to serve
black pepper
Pour the wine and lemon juice into a large heavy-based pan and grate in the garlic. Bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the grated cheeses a little at a time, stirring gently and allowing each batch to melt before adding the next.
Mix together the cornflour and gin to form a slurry, then pour into the fondue and continue to stir. Season to taste with pepper and nutmeg. Serve hot with chunks of stale baguette for dipping. [See photograph.]
100g (3½oz) Asadero cheese or mozzarella, grated
100g (3½oz) Chihuahua cheese or mild Cheddar, grated
100g (3½oz) Manchego or a mixture of mature Cheddar and a little Parmesan, grated
8 warm tortillas
Mix together the cheeses and either melt together in a small pan over a medium heat, or melt directly on a hot griddle and scrape up onto a plate or warm tortilla to serve. [See photograph.]
500g (1lb 2oz) fontina or fontal, rind removed
500ml (17½fl oz) milk
8 egg yolks
150g (5oz) butter
1 loaf Italian white bread, to serve
salt and black pepper
Finely chop or coarsely grate the cheese. Prepare a double boiler by placing a heatproof bowl over a pan of water and, as soon as the water is simmering, add the cheese and milk and heat until the cheese is fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
Beat the egg yolks until smooth and homogenous. Slowly pour the yolks into the fonduta in a thin stream, mixing thoroughly with a whisk or silicone spoonula as you go. It is important to do this gently, keeping the heat low, so that the eggs don’t scramble. Taste and season. Serve with Italian bread for dipping. [See photograph.]
10g (¼oz) butter, plus extra for frying
1 shallot, minced
100ml (3½fl oz) dry sherry (fino or manzanilla)
100g (3½oz) sobrasada
100g (3½oz) fresh white breadcrumbs, plus extra for the top
1 whole fresh dressed crab
75ml (2½fl oz) crème fraîche
65g (2¼oz) Manchego, finely grated
lemon zest, to taste
sourdough bread or toast, to serve
salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to maximum.
Heat a little butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the shallot. Fry for a few minutes until translucent, then add the sherry and allow it to bubble off.
Next add the sobrasada and allow to it melt and break up. Add the breadcrumbs, the crabmeat and the crème fraîche. Take the mixture off the heat, stirring to combine, then taste and season. Spoon the mixture back into the crab shell and top it with a mixture of breadcrumbs, lemon zest and the Manchego. Dot the top with the butter and then put the shell onto a tray and into the oven (favouring heat from above, if your oven gives you that option) until nicely browned.
Serve with chunks of sourdough for dipping, or spoon onto toast. [See photograph.]
1 thick slice ’nduja or sobrasada
plenty of good-quality honey
sourdough bread, to serve
Preheat the oven to maximum.
Place the ’nduja or sobrasada in a small ovenproof dish and bake it in the oven until the meat becomes soft, the fats become liquid and there is some crisping and browning on the surface.
Drizzle honey over the top and serve with fresh sourdough torn into chunks. [See photograph.]