Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (24 page)

COOKING FOR ONE OR TWO

BRUSCHETTE WITH GARLIC,
TOMATOES, CAPER BERRIES
AND PECORINO

SERVES 2

Bruschette make a great starter for a dinner party, or equally a nice light supper dish if you are feeling lazy. You can use any bread with an open crumb, such as baguettes, sourdough or pain de campagne – one that, once toasted, has a dried surface that will really soak up the garlic and tomato flavours.

1
. Heat a griddle pan until hot. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil and toast for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden brown and marked.

2
. Remove the bread and, while warm, rub it lightly with the cut side of the garlic clove. Rub two of the cherry tomato halves, cut side down, into each slice of baguette, pushing the flesh against the bread to squash it into the surface.

3
. Season the bruschette with salt and pepper. Top with the sliced caper berries and the remaining tomatoes, then scatter the pecorino over the top. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

HOW TO MAKE PECORINO SHAVINGS

The humble vegetable peeler is not just for peeling veg, it’s ideal for making thin shavings or ribbons of cheese, carrots, cucumbers and chocolate.

CANNELLINI BEAN
CROSTINI WITH
ANCHOVY AND OLIVES

SERVES 2

Cannellini beans are rather bland on their own, so they need plenty of help. Here you are adding saltiness from the anchovy, bitterness from the olives, sweetness from the oil and sourness from the vinegar. The four main tastes all covered on a single piece of bread. Genius.

1
. Heat a griddle pan until hot. Brush the bread with olive oil and toast for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown and marked.

2
. Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over a medium heat, add the cannellini beans and a drizzle of olive oil and heat through. Crush roughly with a fork or potato masher and stir in the olives, vinegar, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

3
. Pile the crushed cannellini beans on top of the toasted bread and scatter the anchovy pieces over the top. Season with pepper and serve.

FARFALLE WITH RICOTTA,
PANCETTA AND PEAS

SERVES 2

Bacon, peas and cream make a classic pasta sauce. I’ve lightened the whole dish here by using crème fraîche instead of double cream, and naturally low-fat ricotta cheese instead of Parmesan.

1
. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, according to packet instructions.

2
. Meanwhile, put the pancetta lardons in a dry frying pan large enough to hold the pasta when cooked. Fry for 5 minutes until the lardons are cooked through and lightly coloured on the outside, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until soft but not coloured. Turn off the heat.

3
. Three minutes before the pasta is ready, add the peas to it to cook through. Drain well, reserving a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water.

4
. Tip the pasta and peas into the pan with the pancetta and stir well over a low heat. Add the crème fraîche and stir until melted, adding a tablespoon or two of the pasta cooking water to loosen if necessary. Dot in the ricotta, gently mixing. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

5
. Serve the farfalle hot, drizzled with a little olive oil.

HOW TO MAKE SILKY PASTA SAUCES

Whenever you make a creamy pasta dish, always stir in a little of the pasta water to make the sauce silky smooth.

FLATBREADS WITH
FENNEL AND FETA

SERVES 2

You’ll find countless variations of pizza around the world, where a dough base is used as a plate to carry other ingredients. In this version the saltiness of the feta works beautifully with the sharp sweetness of the pomegranate molasses and the aniseed crunch of fennel.

1
. Drizzle the flatbread with a little olive oil on each side and season with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and toast the flatbreads individually for 2 minutes on each side until golden and turning crisp.

2
. Remove the flatbreads from the pan and keep warm. If necessary, wipe away any remaining oil in the pan, then toast the fennel seeds for about 1 minute until aromatic. Remove and set aside.

3
. Shave the fennel bulb into thin slices using a mandolin or vegetable peeler.

4
. Sprinkle the shaved fennel over the flatbreads, then scatter with the feta and fennel seeds. Drizzle some pomegranate molasses over each flatbread and serve.

SWEETCORN FRITTERS
AND YOGHURT DIP

MAKES 8 SMALL FRITTERS

We’ve all got a tin of two of sweetcorn lurking in a cupboard somewhere, and these thick savoury pancakes show how easily you can transform them into an interesting light lunch or supper. The secret here is not to make the batter mix too wet. You are aiming for a balance of one-third batter to two-thirds filling.

1
. First, mix together all the ingredients for the dip. Taste and season as necessary, then set aside.

2
. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together, make a well in the middle and add the egg and milk. Whisk, gradually bringing the flour into the wet mixture until it forms a smooth batter. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and whisk again until smooth, adding a little more milk if necessary.

3
. Stir the spring onions, chilli, coriander and sweetcorn into the batter and mix well.

4
. Heat a large frying pan and add a glug of oil. Put a heaped dessertspoon of mixture per fritter into the hot pan, pushing it down lightly. Fry in batches for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden. Keep warm.

5
. Serve the warm fritters with the yoghurt dip alongside.

HOW TO CHOP CHILLIES FINELY

Press a chilli against a work surface and cut a line along its length, stopping just short of the stalk. Rotate the chilli by an eighth of a turn and cut again. Repeat this until you have 8 cuts and the chilli looks like a tassel when you hold it by the stalk. Now hold the chilli down firmly with three fingers, the middle one slightly in front of the others, and, using the knuckle of your middle finger to guide the blade, slice across the chilli, gradually working your way towards the stalk.

MUSHROOM
AND LEEK PASTA

SERVES 2

There are very few dishes you can’t simplify and strip back to their essence. This is a fast and simple open lasagne that doesn’t need any time in the oven. Put the kettle on for the pasta before you’ve even taken your coat off, and you’ll have dinner on the table in 10 minutes.

1
. Heat a large frying pan and add a dash of oil. Season the mushrooms and start to sauté them, adding the garlic after 2 minutes and the leeks a minute later. Cook for 6–8 minutes until the leeks are soft and the mushrooms coloured on the outside. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

2
. Add the stock and boil for 5 minutes until reduced by half.

3
. Meanwhile, cook the lasagne sheets in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes or until just al dente.

4
. While the lasagne is cooking, add the cream to the frying pan and simmer for 2–3 minutes to reduce a little.

5
. When the lasagne sheets are cooked, drain and add to the pan with the sauce, stirring until well coated. Turn off the heat, add the tarragon leaves and allow to sit while the bread toasts.

6
. To prepare the bruschette, preheat a griddle pan or grill. Rub the slices of ciabatta with olive oil and the cut side of the garlic clove and toast for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

7
. To serve, spoon the lasagne and mushroom mixture onto serving plates, layering them up attractively. Serve the toasted bruschette slices on the side.