Thanks to all of you who sent in your cookery questions. Here are my answers to some that were sent in, check to see if yours is included. Sorry I couldn’t answer them all, but keep them coming in.
Maureen from Coventry asked:
Could you tell me before I buy your book lose weight and get fit is your turkey sausage recipe in it.
Here is the recipe for Turkey Sausages with Spicy and beans which comes from my book – Lose Weight & Get Fit.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 turkey sausages
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into chunks
- 450g cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3 dry red hot peppers
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (425g) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 fresh bay leaves
- 2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
METHOD
- Heat a large high-sided saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to heat. Once hot, add the sausages and brown on all sides, for about 8 minutes total. Remove the sausages from the pan to plate and reserve.
- Add the garlic, and saute until golden and brown. With a wooden spoon, stir in the chopped tomatoes and red peppers and season with salt and pepper. Lower the flame, and cover the pan with a lid, simmer for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and thickened to a sauce-like consistency.
- Add the browned sausages (and any juice left on the plate), beans, and bay leaves to the thickened tomatoes. Stir well and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped parsley before serving.
Chris from Marlow asked:
It’s late. It’s been a long day. Long month. Long week. The house is quiet, and you need to eat. What’s the go-to food you grab for when you are absolutely rinsed and need quick but also amazing?
That’s an easy one, ever since I’ve been a chef, after a long day cooking the most incredible food I love to come home and eat mature cheddar and grapes. I love it!
Claire from Bedford asked:
Hi Tom hope you can help! My mum brought a large amount of smoked haddock and we have it poached with spinach and a poached egg and would really like a new recipe to add to my repertoire any ideas many thanks.
We have a fantastic dish that’s been served at The Hand for over decade – “smoked haddock omelette with aged parmesan”.
Poached smoked haddock
- 1 side of smoked haddock, 600g, skin and pin bones removed
- 600ml whole milk
- Check the smoked haddock for any tiny pin bones. Bring the milk to the boil in a wide-based saucepan. Carefully lay the smoked haddock in the pan, ensuring it is covered by the milk. Place a lid on the pan, turn off the heat and leave the fish to poach in the residual heat for about 10 minutes.
- Once the haddock is cooked, remove it from the milk and gently flake the fish into a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Cover the tray with cling film and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Pass the milk through a fine chinois into a clean saucepan and keep to one side.
Smoked fish béchamel
- 250ml smoked haddock poaching liquor (see left)
- 15g unsalted butter
- 15g plain flour
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Bring the smoked haddock poaching liquor to a gentle simmer.
- In a separate pan over a medium-low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually ladle in the warm poaching liquor, stirring as you do so to keep the sauce smooth. Cook gently over a very low heat for 20 minutes.
- Pass the sauce through a fine chinois and cover the surface with a piece of baking parchment or cling film to prevent a skin forming. Set aside until needed. (You won’t need all of the fish béchamel but you can freeze the rest.)
Omelette glaze
- 4 tbsp warm smoked haddock béchamel (see left)
- 4 tbsp hollandaise sauce (see page 403)
- 4 medium free-range egg yolks
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Gently warm the béchamel in a saucepan then pour into a bowl and whisk in the hollandaise and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pass through a chinois into a warm jug or bowl.
- Keep warm to stop the glaze from splitting.
To assemble & cook the omelette
- 12 medium free-range eggs
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 100g aged Parmesan, finely grated
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Crack the eggs into a jug blender and blend briefly to combine. Pass through a chinois into a measuring jug. Place 4 individual omelette pans (we use Staub) over a low heat.
- Take the smoked haddock from the fridge, remove the cling film and lay on a grill tray. Warm under the salamander or grill.
- To each omelette pan, add 1 tbsp butter and heat until melted and foaming. Pour the blended egg into the pans, dividing it equally. Using a spatula, gently move the egg around in the pans until they start to firm up. Remove from the heat; you want the eggs to be slightly loose, as they will continue to cook off the heat.
- Season the omelettes with salt and pepper and sprinkle the grated Parmesan over their surfaces. Divide the flaked smoked haddock between the omelettes, then spoon on the glaze to cover the fish and extend to the edge of the pans. If the glaze spills over the side of the pan, wipe it away, as this will burn on the side when blowtorching.
- To finish, wave a cook’s blowtorch over the surface of the omelettes to caramelise the glaze. Allow the glaze to become quite dark, as the bitterness will balance out the richness of all the other ingredients.
Ann from Liverpool asked:
I can never get a nice flavour doing a bolognaise need full proof recipe, Tom what is the secret ingredient?
I like to add a little Worcestershire sauce and chilli flakes to my bolognaise and finish it with fresh chopped oregano and marjoram
INGREDIENTS
- 400g beef mince
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2tsp worcestershire sauce
- 4 tbsp tomato purée
- 250ml red wine
- 680g jar passata
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 750ml water
- 2 red peppers, finely chopped
- 200g baby chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 4 sprigs of oregano and marjoram
- 750g dried spaghetti
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
METHOD
- Put the onion, carrots, celery and garlic into a food processor and pulse a few times to chop finely. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over a high heat.
- Brown the mince then remove from pan, add the chopped veg and cook for 20 minutes or until softened and starting to caramelise, stirring often. Lower the heat to medium.
- Add the browned mince back into pan
- Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a further 5–8 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn’t catch or burn. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the passata, chopped tomatoes, worcestereshire sauce, bouillon powder and chilli flakes, then pour in the water and bring to a simmer. Add the peppers, mushrooms and herbs and cook gently for 20 minutes.
- Stir in fresh chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.
- Drain the spaghetti and divide between warmed bowls. Spoon on the sauce and grind over some pepper.
- Serve with lots of Parmesan grated over.
Simon from Canterbury asked:
I love prawns pil pil, they always remind me of my holidays in Spain! I’ve tried to make them at home but they never taste as good, do you have any great recipes for this??
This is a dish which is brilliant by its simplicity. The key is great ingredients!
- Plump prawns (deveined and gently poached)
- Olive oil (not expensive extra virgin but a good pomace oil as it is being made hot and this will ruin an extra virgin olive oil)
- Fresh red chillies (if you like the heat keep the seeds in)
- Fresh garlic sliced very thinly
- Fresh chopped parsley
The only extra I may add if you like the smokiness is a little smoked paprika and don’t make the oil too hot as it toughens the prawns, warm gently and add cooked prawns
Cari from Telford asked:
What’s your favourite, tastiest mac and cheese recipe? Whenever I make it, it goes dry and stodgy!
Give this one a go, a bit more work but worth the effort
INGREDIENTS
- 500g dried macaroni
- For the cheese sauce
- 500ml whole milk
- A bunch of rosemary, tied with kitchen string
- 2 bay leaves
- 35g butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
- 35g plain flour
- 1 tbsp English mustard powder
- 1 tsp ground mace
- 150g strong Cheddar cheese, grated
- 100g Gruyère cheese, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, about 125g, diced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the topping
- 100g fresh breadcrumbs
- 100g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Lightly butter an ovenproof dish, about 30 x 25cm and 7cm deep.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni for 8–10 minutes until al dente (cooked but still with a bite), especially as it will be going into the oven. Drain in a colander, run briefly under cold water and set aside.
- To make the cheese sauce, put the milk, rosemary and bay leaves into a medium saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. As soon as it begins to bubble, remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. Pour the infused milk through a sieve over a jug to strain out the herbs.
- Melt the butter in a separate, large saucepan over a medium low heat. Once it stops foaming, reduce the heat slightly and add the flour, mustard powder and mace. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring continuously, to cook out the flour. Slowly pour in the infused milk, a little at a time, whisking constantly to keep the sauce smooth. Simmer gently for a few minutes, stirring all the time, until thickened. Lower the heat and add the Cheddar and Gruyère, and the garlic. Stir until the cheese has melted, then season well with salt and pepper.
- Remove from the heat and add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce, stirring to coat it evenly. Fold in the mozzarella then pour into the prepared ovenproof dish.
- For the topping, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and smoked paprika together in a bowl. Scatter over the macaroni cheese and place the dish on a baking tray.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown, crisp and bubbling. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Belinda from Uxbridge asked:
Hi Tom, do you have any suggestions for what to do with pork neck fillet? As it’s so tender, I tend to just add a spice rub, sear, and roast in the oven, but would love some other more adventurous ideas.
How about this one?!
Pork schnitzel with “executive” fried duck eggs
Normally made with veal, a schnitzel is a piece of meat bashed out and tenderised then coated in breadcrumbs and fried in butter. An ‘executive’ fried egg is cooked with all sorts of stuff set into it, in this case pancetta and black pudding, but it could be anything you fancy – chorizo and schnitzel is lovely for soaking up the silky egg yolks.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pork neck fillet, about 400g, cut into 2 equal portions
- 100g plain flour
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 100g panko breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for cooking
- 75g butter
- 2 slices of good-quality black pudding, any casing removed
- 4 thin slices of pancetta
- 2 duck eggs
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons brined capers, drained
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
- Place a sheet of cling film on a chopping board and put the two pieces of pork on top. Place a second sheet of cling film on top and bash the pork out using a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin until it’s 1.5cm thick.
- Cover the pork fillets in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip them into the beaten egg then cover them with the panko breadcrumbs.
- Warm a large frying pan over a medium heat and pour in a little oil. Add 25g of the butter and when it just starts to foam, place the pork schnitzels in the pan and fry gently for about 4–5 minutes until they start to brown. Turn the pork over. Add the black pudding to the pan and cook on each side until crisp.
- When the schnitzels are browned on both sides, remove them from the pan and season. Drain on a piece of kitchen paper, along with the black pudding.
- Wipe out the frying pan and, over a medium heat, cook the pancetta slices in their own fat, on both sides, until slightly crisp. Take them out of the pan and place on the kitchen paper with the schnitzels and black pudding and keep warm.
- Pour a little more oil into the pan and fry the duck eggs on a medium heat. When the whites just begin to set, place a piece of black pudding and the pancetta in the white of each egg and continue to cook so the egg ‘sets’ around the meat. When the eggs are cooked to your liking, season, place them on top of the schnitzels and pop them on to warmed serving plates.
- Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan and cook until it’s golden. Add the lemon juice, capers and parsley. Spoon this over the eggs and serve immediately.
Please keep you questions coming in.
