Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (11 page)

SMOKY PORK SLIDERS
WITH BARBECUE SAUCE

SERVES 2–4

These mini burgers are absolutely stunning, all smoky from the bacon and paprika and with the sweet and sour hit from the home-made barbecue sauce. People often add too much to their burgers, thinking it will enrich the flavour, but let me tell you, when it comes to burgers, less is more. Trust me.

1
. First make the barbecue sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic with some seasoning and the sugar, and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Add the paprika and stir to combine. Cook for 10–15 minutes until the onion is caramelising, then add the vinegar and let it cook out for a couple of minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and tomato ketchup, mix well and continue to cook for about 8 minutes until the sauce has reduced to a dropping consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2
. While the barbecue sauce is reducing, start preparing the burger mince. Fry the bacon in an oiled pan for about 5 minutes until almost cooked through. Add the shallot and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the shallot is tender and the bacon crisp. Sprinkle in the smoked paprika and mix well. Continue to cook for 1–2 minutes, then remove from the heat, draining off any excess fat on kitchen paper.

3
. Season the minced pork and mix well with the cooked shallots and bacon. Shape into balls the size of golf balls and flatten into patties.

4
. Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan with a little oil. Season the patties and cook them for 1–2 minutes on each side, basting with the juices until cooked through and coloured. Turn off the heat and leave them to rest in the pan. Top each patty with a slice of cheese, allowing it to melt slightly.

5
. Assemble your sliders in mini buns, layered with the barbecue sauce, lettuce and slices of tomato. Any remaining barbecue sauce will keep in the fridge very well. Serve immediately.

CHICKEN WITH GARLIC
AND CHESTNUT STUFFING

SERVES 6

This is an all-in-one dish, where the deboned chicken encases a stuffing of rice and chestnuts. It will slice very easily and the sweetness of the chestnuts is set off with a simple parsley vinaigrette. Deboning a chicken is a fiddly job, so unless you are very confident, it is best to ask your butcher to do it for you. If you’re feeling brave,
see here
.

1
. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

2
. First prepare the stuffing. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a glug of oil. Sauté the onion for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and continue to cook for another 1–2 minutes until softened. Add the celery, then stir in the pine nuts and chestnuts, taste and season well. Add the cooked rice and parsley, stir again, then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

3
. Place the deboned chicken skin side down on a work surface. Season inside. Place the stuffing in the centre of the chicken and fold the sides around it. Tie the chicken at regular intervals with string, then turn the parcel over so that the breast faces upwards.

4
. Drizzle olive oil over the outside of the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting tray and roast for 1 hour, basting now and again, then turn the oven up to 200°C/Gas 6 and roast for a further 15–20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skin golden and crisp. Remove and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

5
. Meanwhile, make the parsley dressing. Finely chop the parsley and garlic. Mix with the mustard and vinegar, then add the olive oil bit by bit, whisking continuously to thicken.

6
. Serve the stuffed chicken in slices with the dressing spooned on top.

STEAK SANDWICHES

SERVES 4–6

These are effectively very posh burgers. You take a rare beef fillet, add home-made relish and mustard mayonnaise, and sandwich it between two pieces of toasted ciabatta. Heaven! It’s very important to start the beef on the hob because meat that goes straight in the oven looks boiled rather than beautifully caramelised.

1
. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

2
. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan until hot and add a glug of oil. Grind a generous amount of salt and pepper onto a board and roll the fillet in the seasoning. Fry over a high heat for 1–2 minutes on each side until gently coloured all over, including the ends. Add the garlic and thyme sprigs, heat for a minute, then sit the beef on top of them. Add a couple of knobs of butter, spooning it over the steak to baste.

3
. Place the beef in the preheated oven and roast for 15–17 minutes until rare or medium rare. It should feel springy when pressed. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes, basting now and again with the juices from the pan.

4
. Meanwhile, make the relish. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and chillies and fry over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, then season and cook for 6–8 minutes until the tomatoes are beginning to collapse. Add the vinegar and stew down over a medium heat for about 6 minutes until reduced to a rough relish consistency. Remove from the heat, stir in the basil and season well. Tip into a serving bowl and set aside.

5
. Combine the ingredients for the mustard mayonnaise. Season, then spoon into a serving bowl and set aside.

6
. To make the toast, heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Drizzle the sliced ciabatta with the olive oil, season and then griddle for 1–2 minutes until golden on both sides. Repeat until all the bread is toasted and then place on a serving platter.

7
. To serve, thickly slice the rested fillet of beef, place on a platter and put on the table with the toast, mayonnaise, relish and lettuce leaves to be assembled by your guests.

PORK STUFFED
WITH MANCHEGO
AND MEMBRILLO

SERVES 4

Membrillo is a sweetened quince jelly, which, given that quince is related to the pear and apple, goes brilliantly with pork. The Spanish normally eat it with cheese, so I’ve paired it here with Manchego, a hard sheep’s milk cheese. You could equally use a hard pecorino instead. Serve with roast potatoes and sautéed carrots.

1
. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas7.

2
. Lay the joint, skin side down, on a chopping board and cut three-quarters of the way into the flesh lengthways from top to bottom. Open the meat out to form a long rectangle and season with salt and pepper.

3
. Arrange the slices of cheese and the membrillo along the centre of the meat. Scatter the leaves from 1 sage sprig on top, and roll the meat up to enclose the stuffing. Tie at 3cm intervals along the length of the meat with string.

4
. Place the thyme and remaining sage in a hob-proof roasting tray with the garlic. Lay the pork on top, skin side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

5
. Transfer the roasting tray to the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden. Turn the oven down to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for a further 50 minutes until the pork is just cooked through. Remove the pork from the tin and set aside on a serving dish to rest.

6
. Put the roasting tray on the hob. Pour in the sherry and bring to the boil, scraping up any bits stuck in the bottom of the tray. Lower the heat, squash the garlic and remove the herbs. Add any resting juices from the meat.

7
. To serve, carve the pork into thick slices, strain the sauce and pour it over the meat.