Read Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course Online
Authors: Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (15 page)
SPICY BEEF SALAD
SERVES 4
I fell in love with this simple dressing of garlic, chilli, fish sauce, sugar and lime in Vietnam and Cambodia. It’s the perfect blend of sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and works with most seafood and meat, but is particularly good with steak.
2 beef sirloin steaks, 200–250g each
Olive oil, for frying
2 carrots, trimmed and peeled
6 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced
200g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Bunch of mint, leaves only, shredded
1 small banana shallot, peeled and finely sliced
3 spring onions, trimmed and shredded
½ large cucumber, trimmed, peeled, deseeded and sliced
2 baby gem lettuces, shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp skinned peanuts, to garnish
FOR THE THAI-STYLE DRESSING
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp grated palm sugar or palm sugar paste (if unavailable, use golden caster sugar)
2–3 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
Juice of 1–2 limes
1
. Season the steaks generously on both sides, pushing the seasoning into the meat. Add a dash of oil to a hot pan and fry the steaks over a high heat on either side for 2–3 minutes (medium rare). Hold the fat side of the steaks against the pan to render the fat. When cooked to your liking, remove the steaks from the heat and leave to rest, pouring any cooking juices on top.
2
. To make the dressing, put the garlic and chilli in a mortar with a pinch of salt and grind to a paste. Add the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and stir with a spoon. Taste, add a little more lime juice if needed, and set aside.
3
. Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, cut the carrots into ribbons. Place in a bowl with the radishes, tomatoes, mint, shallot, spring onions, cucumber and lettuce. Add about 4–6 tablespoons of the dressing and mix well to combine.
4
. Thickly slice the steak at an angle. Toast the peanuts with a pinch of salt for a few minutes in a clean dry pan and roughly chop. Place the steak on top of the salad and scatter over the chopped peanuts. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve immediately.
HOW TO CHOOSE SALAD ONIONS
Banana shallots are particularly good used raw in salads. They are sweet and flavoursome and have none of the acridness of Spanish onions.
VIETNAMESE-STYLE
BEEF BAGUETTE
SERVES 2
France and Vietnam have an association going back to the nineteenth century, so mixing their cuisines isn't as odd as it sounds. The ingredients used here – baguettes on the one hand and a Vietnamese marinade and dressing on the other – work really well together, proving that sometimes cooking is all about combining the unexpected.
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp runny honey
2 thin sirloin steaks or minute steaks, trimmed of fat, each cut into 1cm strips
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1½ tsp rice vinegar
1 baguette
Olive oil, for frying
½ cucumber, deseeded and julienned (
see here
)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped coriander, to taste
FOR THE DRESSING
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of ½–1 lime, to taste
1 tsp caster sugar
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1
. Mix the soy sauce and honey together in a bowl. Once combined, add the strips of steak and toss well. Leave to marinate for up to 2 hours.
2
. Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients together, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust the flavours as necessary, adding a little more lime juice if needed.
3
. Mix the grated carrot with the rice vinegar and leave to one side to marinate.
4
. Cut off the ends of the baguette and cut the loaf in half. Slice the two halves open and push down the bread inside.
5
. Thread the strips of steak onto skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes beforehand), reserving any leftover marinade. Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add a dash of oil and fry the skewered meat on each side for 1 minute, pouring over any reserved marinade.
6
. Remove the steaks from the skewers and press into the opened baguette so that any meat juices run into the bread. Drain the carrot and divide between the sandwiches. Top with the cucumber and season to taste.
7
. Drizzle the dressing over the filling. Garnish with coriander, close the sandwiches and serve.
SICHUAN DAN DAN
NOODLES
SERVES 2
Dan dan noodles is a classic Chinese dish from Sichuan, which is noted for its spicy food. The heat here comes not from fresh chilli, but from chilli bean paste. If you can’t find any, replace it with ½ –1 tablespoon of Chinese chilli oil instead.
250g minced pork
½ tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
½ tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to taste
½ tbsp sesame oil, plus extra to garnish
Olive oil, for frying
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
½–1 tbsp Chinese chilli bean paste, to taste
Rice vinegar, to taste
200g dried Chinese egg noodles
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE
2 spring onions, trimmed and shredded
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1
. Marinate the mince in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and sesame oil. Leave for at least 10 minutes.
2
. Heat a wok over a medium-high heat and add a dash of oil. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 30 seconds to soften their raw flavour. Add the mince, along with any marinade, and the Sichuan peppercorns. Cook for 5 minutes, breaking up the mince until it’s coloured on all sides. Taste and season with a little extra soy sauce if needed. Add the chilli bean paste and a couple of drops of rice vinegar.
3
. Cook the pork mixture for a further 2 minutes to allow the flavours to develop. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and mix over a low heat to create a sauce.
4
. Meanwhile, cook the noodles following the packet instructions. Drain, then stir into the pork in the wok. Taste and re-season if needed. Serve garnished with drops of sesame oil, the spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
JERK CHICKEN
SERVES 4
This is real feel-good carnival food. There’s nothing demanding about it, but the warmth of the spices punctuated by the fierce heat of the Scotch bonnet chillies always puts a smile on my face. If you don’t like too much heat, use less chilli, of course, or even a milder variety, such as the Tabasco or jalapeño.
4 large chicken legs, skin on, cut into drumsticks and thighs and scored
Olive oil, for frying
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Rice, to serve
4–5 thyme sprigs, to garnish (optional)
FOR THE MARINADE
1–2 Scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground allspice
5–7 thyme sprigs, leaves only (you will need about 2 tbsp)
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1
. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7.
2
. First prepare the marinade by combining all the ingredients with a good grinding of black pepper and a dash of oil. Rub the marinade into the chicken pieces, massaging it into the scored meat. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour (or, better still, overnight).
3
. Heat a large ovenproof pan over a medium-high heat and add a dash of oil. Fry the chicken pieces for about 10 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Add the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
4
. Cover with an ovenproof lid or foil and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until cooked through (if your pan isn’t ovenproof, simply transfer the chicken to a roasting tray). Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes if the chicken needs colouring a little more.
5
. Serve the chicken hot with rice.
SHAWARMA SPICED
CHICKEN WRAPS
SERVES 2
Shawarma is the name of the vertical spits of meat you see in Arabic restaurants, normally eaten in pitta bread with tabbouleh, cucumber and tomato and topped with houmous or tahini. It’s the Middle Eastern take on fast food, and just as good made at home. We used tortillas for the wraps, but parathas can be used if you prefer.
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2–4 tortilla wraps or paratha breads
Olive oil, for frying
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely shredded
¼ head of pointed cabbage, finely shredded
FOR THE MARINADE
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods, ground in a mortar
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Juice of ¼ lemon
Small bunch of coriander, leaves chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE
Mayonnaise
Chilli sauce or sauce of your choice
1
. First make the marinade. Place the spices, garlic, lemon juice and coriander in a small blender or mortar and grind until smooth. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil, along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and blend again to mix well. Transfer the marinade to a large dish. Add the chicken and rub in the marinade, making sure that all of the chicken is covered. Leave to marinate for up to 2 hours.
2
. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
3
. Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess, and cook on the hot griddle for 3–4 minutes on each side until slightly charred but not burnt. Transfer to a roasting tray and finish cooking in the oven for 5–8 minutes. Leave the chicken to rest.
4
. Meanwhile, cook the tortilla wraps in batches in a single layer on the cleaned, slightly oiled griddle pan. Toast on each side for 2 minutes or until the wraps are hot all the way through but still pliable. Keep warm.
5
. Remove the chicken from the oven and slice into bite-sized chunks. Place some chicken on each warm wrap and sprinkle with spring onions and shredded cabbage. Add mayonnaise and chilli sauce to taste, then roll up the wraps and serve.
CHILLI BEEF
LETTUCE WRAPS
SERVES 4
Great food doesn’t have to be complex, as these simple beef wraps show. They are really quick to make and perfect with a few beers at the start of the evening. It’s really important to get a good colour on the mince. Be bold and take it further than you’ve ever dared before.