Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (6 page)

Serves 4

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over a high heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 8–10 minutes, until tender. Drain the potatoes through a colander in the
sink and leave to steam-dry.

Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of salted water to the boil. Top and tail the leeks, then cut off the bottom third, which is mostly all white. Cut this white part in half
lengthways, rinse well and then thinly slice. Drop the leek slices into the boiling water, stir and remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Leave to cool and dry on kitchen paper.

Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer or a heavy-based saucepan until it reaches 140°C. Add the sliced leeks and deep-fry for 2–3 minutes until crispy and
golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper and season with salt, then leave to one side.

Cut the remaining green parts of the leeks on a slant into lozenge shape. Rinse them in running cold water to remove any dirt and grit, but take care so they hold their shapes.
Pat dry on kitchen paper and leave to one side until needed.

To cook the mussels, wash them in running cold water. Discard any mussels that float, any with cracked shells and any open ones that do not snap shut when tapped. Heat a large
saucepan over a high heat. Add the mussels and the scrumpy, cover the pan and cook for 5–6 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the shells have opened. Strain the mussels, reserving
the cooking liquid. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a small pan. Bring to the boil over a high heat and boil until the liquid reduces by half. When the mussels
are cool enough to handle, remove them from the shells and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the lozenge-shaped leeks to the pan and fry for 3–5 minutes until coloured on one side.
Turn them over and then add the cooked new potatoes to the pan to warm through. Add the cooked mussels and gently stir, trying not to break anything up. Stir in the chives.

Grate about half the unpeeled Granny Smith apple directly into the pan and stir. This adds a lovely acidity and is well matched with the cider. Mix the reduced cooking liquid,
cider vinegar and remaining 200ml rapeseed oil together to make a dressing, then add it to the pan.

Place the Iceberg lettuce into a large bowl. Add the mussel dressing and gently toss together. Serve immediately, whilst still warm, in individual bowls, garnished with the
crispy leeks.

This is a great salad from the States and probably the best-known salad in the world. You’ll find it on the menu in many gastro pubs. It works so well on its own with plenty
of salted anchovies, but can easily be matched with chargrilled chicken or tuna to make it more substantial. Making your own dressing is so much better than buying it ready-made in a shop –
the fresh taste is amazing. Choose big, meaty anchovies that aren’t too salted or cured from a deli or online shop for a proper salad.

Serves 4

For the Caesar dressing

First, make the Caesar dressing. Place 5 of the anchovy fillets, the egg yolks, garlic, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar in a food processor and blend together. With the
motor running, slowly add the vegetable oil until it emulsifies and thickens. Add the Parmesan and lemon juice and season with cayenne. Taste to see if it needs any salt – it probably
won’t because of the saltiness of the anchovies and the Parmesan. Transfer the dressing to a bowl, cover and store in the fridge until needed. This will keep for up to a week.

To toast the croûtons, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the bread cubes on a baking tray and drizzle with a little vegetable oil. Place the tray in the oven
and toast the croutons, stirring once, for 5–10 minutes until crispy and lightly coloured. Season the croûtons with salt whilst they are still warm, then leave to one side to cool.

Tear the lettuce into separate leaves and wash. Spin dry in a salad spinner and keep to one side. If you’re not assembling the salad straight away, store the lettuce leaves
in the fridge.

When ready to assemble the salad, toss the lettuce leaves and as much of the dressing as you like together in a large bowl. Add the remaining anchovy fillets and the
croûtons. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the Parmesan over. Mix together and serve in the middle of the table for all to share.

Classic Caesar salad

This is a great first course, lunch or brunch salad. The key to making this fantastic dish is caramelising the chicken livers properly, without letting them stew, so you get a
lovely meaty flavour. Fast and quick is the way with these boys!

Any liver always has a rich taste so it needs good acidity to cut through and lift it. Capers, mustard and sherry vinegar provide that in this recipe, but you get an extra oomph
from the shallot and white wine reduction.

Serves 4

For the shallot and white wine reduction

First, make the shallot and white wine reduction. Place the shallots and white wine in a small saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and
leave the wine to reduce until the shallots become translucent and look a little like a light chutney. Transfer the shallots to a mixing bowl and leave to one side.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high and bring another pan of salted water to the boil. Add the French beans to the boiling water and blanch for 3–5 minutes until tender.
Drain the beans, then quickly slice them in half lengthways whilst they are still warm. Add them to the bowl with the shallots, mix together and season. The important thing here is that the beans
are still warm, so they absorb the flavours. Keep to one side.

Beat 100g of the butter, the Dijon mustard, capers and parsley together in another bowl, then leave to one side.

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken livers, but do not shake the pan about as you want them to caramelise and take on a
lovely meaty flavour. After 2–3 minutes, when they are browned and cooked through so they are just pink in the middle if you cut one open, flip them over and cook for a further 30 seconds.
Add the sherry vinegar to the pan, then transfer the chicken livers to the bowl with the green beans, leaving the cooking juices in the pan, and season.

Add the remaining 50g butter to the sherry vinegar in the pan and bring to the boil, whisking, to make a rustic dressing.

Meanwhile, toast the sourdough bread under the hot grill until it is crispy and browned on both sides. Spread each slice with the Dijon-flavoured butter whilst they are still
hot.

Place the buttered toast on plates and top with the liver, bean and shallot salad. Drizzle the sherry vinegar dressing from the pan around the plates and serve immediately.

Tom’s Tip

Make extra shallot and white wine reduction, because it keeps in the fridge for up to a week and can be used in all other types of cooking to add acidity and balance, such as a rare
beef salad.

Chicken liver and French bean salad in a shallot and white wine reduction

I was never a huge fan of green peppers until I was introduced to this flavour combination by Anthony Demetre at his fantastic restaurant, Arbutus, in Soho, London. The taste of
dry-roasted peppers goes so well with the other ingredients.

Serves 4

For the horseradish dressing

Twenty-four hours before you plan to cook, dissolve the salt in a large bowl of water. Add the marrow bones and more water, if necessary, so they are covered, then cover the bowl
with clingfilm and place in the fridge for 24 hours for any impurities to be removed.

Up to a day before you plan to serve the salad, make the horseradish dressing. Finely grate the horseradish into a bowl. Add the double cream, English mustard, Worcestershire
sauce and lemon juice and mix together with a spoon. Cover and chill until needed.

The next day, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Remove the marrow bones from the water and pat dry on kitchen paper. Heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan over a high
heat. Add the bones and sear them on the ends, then transfer them to a roasting tray. Place the roasting tray in the oven and roast the bones for 10 minutes, or until the marrow is softened.
Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high.

Heat a large dry frying pan over a high heat. Add the green peppers and stir actively for 3–4 minutes until they start to scald and colour. Season with sea salt flakes.

Whilst the peppers are cooking, grill 4 pieces of French stick until crispy on both sides and golden brown. Drizzle with a good glug of olive oil and season with sea salt flakes
whilst they are still warm. Leave to one side until needed.

Add the chillies and wild rocket to the peppers and mix together. Pour over the horseradish dressing and mix again. Serve the salad with the roasted marrow bones and toasted
French bread.

Tom’s Tip

Mixed all together and then spread on toast works very well, as in this recipe, but this salad can also be served alongside roast beef if you want to add a super twist to your
Sunday lunch.

I am a massive fan of pulses and grains, but there is always an issue of their mild flavour. Here, bacon and the bacon fat provide a wonderfully salty, meaty flavour boost that
works so well with the beans and tomato purée.

Once heated through, so all the flavours marry, this salad is chilled to serve cold, but you could serve it straight away as a hot salad or side dish. Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
has a delicious sweet acidity that is a little more complex than balsamic, and adds more depth of flavour to any dressing, which is why I often use it in my recipes.