by Jamie Oliver
tender braised leeks with wine & thyme
I always love new things to do with vegetables. Sometimes in my search for doing things a little differently I try too hard, but this is the kind of recipe that brings me straight back down to earth — simple, tasty and great with just about anything.
SERVES 4
4 large leeks, trimmed, dark green tops reserved
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
100g unsalted butter
2 wineglasses of Chardonnay
300ml quality vegetable stock
Tear back and discard the first two layers of skin on the leeks, leaving the tender whiter flesh. Wash well and slice into 2.5cm pieces. Finely slice the dark green ends of the leeks.
You really only want one layer of leeks, so you need to use a wide, shallow casserole pan, or even a roasting tray. Place on the hob on a low heat, and gently fry the garlic and thyme in the butter with the dark green leek tops until the garlic is softened but not coloured. Add the pieces of white leek and toss them in the flavoured butter, then pour over the wine and stock and cover with a cartouche (see page 174). Cook in the oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 35 minutes or on the hob until tender and tasty — the butter should emulsify with the stock and wine to create a slightly shiny broth. If for some reason the butter splits from the pan juices, just jiggle the pan about for 30 seconds and that’s normally enough to get it back before you season and serve.
Try this: Use baby leeks if you like — they will be a little sweeter and will take less time to cook.
Or this: Add a little cream to the leeks and toss with some cooked tagliatelle and freshly grated Parmesan. Really tasty.
SHALLOW-FRYING
This is a fantastic way to cook, using a shallow hot pan with a little fat: oil, butter, lard and dripping, even things like coconut oil and avocado oil can be used. Apart from being quick and direct, frying caramelizes the natural sugars in food, which gives an amazing golden colour and a lovely sticky sweetness you can only get from pan-frying and roasting. The best thing is that you’re in constant contact with the pan. You smell it, you see it, you hear it — all your senses are going. It’s a very exciting way of cooking. Remember, you’re in control — if it’s too hot turn it down, too cold turn it up. Generally for shallow-frying you use thin first-class cuts of meat or fish that will cook through fast. If the cuts are bigger you may want to slow down the frying process or finish them in the oven — this is called pan-roasting (see page 211).
DEEP-FRYING
This method of cooking requires good clean oil, a consistently hot temperature, and generally coating fish or vegetables in some kind of batter, flour or breadcrumbs — apart from the good old chip, of course. Batters were originally developed to encase meat or fish so that they could be cooked quickly, having been steamed inside. People soon cottoned on to the idea that a crispy outside and a steamed centre were a delicious combination.
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FRYING
pan-seared venison loin with blueberries, shallots & red wine
pan-fried lamb chops with puy lentils, loadsa herbs, balsamic vinegar & crème fraîche
pan-seared scallops wrapped in pancetta with creamed celeriac
pan-seared sole fillets with loadsa herbs, capers, butter & polenta
FILLETING A FLAT FISH
TRANCHING A FLAT FISH
the best tempura lobster with dipping sauce
deep-fried oysters with fried rocket & tomato dressing
FILLETING A ROUND FISH
crispy salmon with spring vegetable broth
aïoli
chicken liver parfait
polenta-coated fried chicken with sweetcorn mash, fried bananas & green tomato relish
chips
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
½ a bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
5 dried juniper berries
olive oil
1 × 800g venison loin, trimmed
4 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 glass of robust red wine
200g fresh blueberries
2 large knobs of unsalted butter
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
150g Puy lentils
1 ripe plum tomato
1 small handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
olive oil
8 lamb chops
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 handful of fresh parsley, leaves picked
1 handful of fresh basil, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
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
2 celeriacs, peeled
1 bunch of fresh lemon thyme, leaves picked
olive oil
16 scallops, trimmed
16 slices of pancetta
extra virgin olive oil
16 woody sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed (see page 248)
2 lemons
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’
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
150g polenta
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
100g unsalted butter
4 lemon soles, filleted, skin off
2 lemons
olive oil
2 heaped tablespoons baby capers
½ a bunch of fresh marjoram, leaves picked
½ a bunch of fresh chervil, leaves picked
1 handful of pale yellow celery leaves from the heart
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.
1. Score down the natural line of the fish along the spine.
2. Using a flexible filleting knife allows you to push the knife against the bone so you don’t cut into the fish.
3. Make clean slices to loosen and remove the fillet.
4. Do this on all sides to give you a lovely filleted fish.
5. Easy Tiger!
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.
1. Remove the ‘skirt’ of the fish — follow the natural line of the body.
2. Cut around the head. Try not to cut away too much of the flesh.
3. Using a large knife, cut down the backbone. Simply follow the natural line.
4. Cut into ‘tranches’ and bash the heel of the knife with a rolling pin to help cut through.
5. Lovely fish steaks.
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
2 × 1.3kg whole live lobsters
sunflower oil, for frying
1 handful of okra
4 fresh red chillies
optional: edible flowers, such as viola, borage, courgette
TEMPURA BATTER
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon cornflour
200g self-raising flour
DIPPING SAUCE
12 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
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 knoc
king 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.