Thanks to all of you who sent in your cookery questions. Here are my answers to some of them. Check to see if yours is included. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer them all, but keep them coming in.
Russel from Liverpool asked:
Hi Tom I’ve made your lemon and blueberry loaf cake from ‘Fresh Start’ at least three times now and I’m blowed if I can get the blueberries evenly distributed. They always sink to the bottom. I’ve dredged them in flour but still they sink. What am I doing wrong?
To be honest, I’m not sure what else to suggest, as you say you have already dredged the fruit in flour. This is usually a surefire way to keep the fruit evenly distributed throughout the cake.
My only other suggestions are:
. make sure the berries aren’t too large; smaller berries obviously weigh less.
. split the batter into two parts, first place 2/3rds of the batter on the tin, then add the fruit dusted in flour and top up with the remaining batter
Hopefully, this will work for you.
Kevin Burns from Wheathampstead asked:
Hi Tom. How do you cook a joint of beef at a very low temperature to make it fall apart when you carve it, and what type of sauce or gravy would you recommend to go with it?
I presume you are talking about a brisket-style joint, as this cut lends itself to that fall-apart deliciousness that you mention.
For the dry rub
- 1½ tbsp hot smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
For the sauce
- 200ml apple cider vinegar
- 100ml maple syrup
- 200ml ale
- 150ml tomato ketchup300ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Method
- For the dry rub, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place the beef in a non-metallic dish and rub the dry spice mixture all over the surface. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/ Fan 140°C/Gas 2 when ready to cook.
- Place the beef joint in a roasting tin. Put the potatoes on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt.
- For the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour over the beef. Cover with foil, sealing the edges to the tin all round, and cook for 6 hours, or until the beef is tender.
- To check that the beef is cooked, scrape it gently with a fork; it should fall apart. Remove from the oven and set it aside to rest for 15–20 minutes.
- To serve, pull the meat apart, using two forks.
Lesley Carr from Marlow asked:
What do you put in your burgers at the Tap and Grill Chelsea that make them taste so beefy? I had the Van Morrison one last month. It was the best burger I have ever had.
Our burgers are 100% ground beef using a blend of chuck, rump, and skirt. The meat has around a 20% fat ratio, and 20% of it is aged meat, giving it that deep, rich umami flavour.
I’m glad you enjoyed the VM burger, if you hurry you can try the Captain Marvel by Bryan Robson this month, which is equally incredible
Lia from Horsley asked:
How do you make the perfect Jacket Potato?
I personally prefer russet potatoes for baking, as I think they give the perfect combination of crisp skin and fluffy inside.
Wash your potato, then prick the skin several times with a fork to allow the steam to escape. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Bake at 185 degrees and, depending on size, cook for 60-90 minutes.
Karen from Pinner asked:
How do you poach eggs? I can never get it right! And what is the easiest way to make a Hollandaise sauce to go with them?
To poach the eggs, bring a small pan of water to the boil and add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Spin the water around with a slotted spoon and crack in the eggs. Let them poach very gently for 2–3 minutes, or until set but still soft.
Carefully remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
Below is our recipe for hollandaise, not so simple, but it’s worth the effort
Ingredients
- 50ml white wine
- 100ml white wine vinegar
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1 banana shallot, finely sliced
- 2 sprigs of tarragon
- 1 large free-range egg yolk
- 25ml double cream
- 125ml melted clarified butter
- Lemon juice, to taste
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
- To make the hollandaise, put the wine, wine vinegar, peppercorns, shallot and tarragon into a small pan and place over a high heat.
- Let this bubble to reduce to around 2 tbsp of liquid. Strain the infused liquid.
- Put the egg yolk, cream, infused liquid and 1 tbsp water into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and whisk until frothy and thick.
- Lift the bowl off the pan and then slowly add the melted butter, whisking as you do so. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice to taste. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a little warm water.
- Place the bowl back over the pan, on the heat, to keep the sauce warm.
Russel Goodenough from Liverpool asked:
Hi Tom, I’m not a great cook and certainly have trouble with fish in that it frequently falls apart in the pan (in Australia, I’m cooking flathead fillets, a firm white fleshed fish that is not a delicate flavour). How can I cook it correctly and avoid it falling apart?
I suggest a two-pronged attack for this problem. It sounds as though the fish is overcooking and drying out, causing it to fall apart.
Firstly, make a brine using 100g salt for every litre of water. Warm the water, dissolve the salt, and chill the brine. When it’s cold, add the fish for 10 minutes.
Remove from the brine and dry off.
When cooking, make sure your pan is hot, add a little oil, then place the fish in. Don’t move or shuffle the pan but simply allow the fish to form a golden crust, once you can see the gold colour coming up the sides of the fish turn over carefully using a fish slice.
Remove from the heat and add a squeeze of lemon. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then remove from the pan and allow to rest for 2 minutes
The fish should be slightly translucent in the middle, this isn’t undercooked, it should be like that and will be moist and firm.
Ross from Surrey asked:
What is an easy go-to mid-week meal? I’m getting so bored of the same old stuff.
This recipe is by far one of my favourite easy dinners. It may look long at first glance, but give it a read through, and you will see it’s pretty simple.
The first time will require some attention and time, but once you’ve done it the first time, this will be a rapid, delicious go-to dinner time and time again.
Ingredients
- 20g chicken breast, cut in half to make two thin fillets
- 1 egg, beaten
- 100g panko breadcrumbs
- 100g flour, for dusting (most will be shaken off)
- Vegetable oil, for cooking
- 75g butter
- 2 thin slices of pancetta
- 1 Burford brown egg
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp capers in brine, drained
Method
- Place a sheet of baking parchment on a chopping board, put the two pieces of chicken breast on top and cover with a second sheet of parchment. Using a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin, bash the chicken fillets to 1½cm thick.
- Place the beaten egg in a shallow dish and the breadcrumbs in a second dish. Dust the chicken fillets in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip them in the beaten egg and then cover them with the panko breadcrumbs.
- Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and pour in a little oil.
- Add 25g of the butter and melt. When it just starts to foam, place the breaded chicken in the pan and fry gently for 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown.
- Turn the chicken over and cook the other side. Drain on a piece of kitchen roll.
- Wipe the frying pan and add the rashers of pancetta, with no added oil, to the pan and cook on both sides until a little crispy. Remove from the pan and reserve on the kitchen roll with the chicken.
- Drizzle a little more oil into the pan, crack in the egg, and cook over medium heat. When the white starts to set, place the crispy pancetta on top of the egg and continue to cook until the egg is set.
- Season and remove from the pan when the egg is cooked to your liking.
- Place the chicken schnitzel on a plate and top it with the egg and pancetta.
- Add the remaining butter to the frying pan and cook until golden. Add the lemon juice, parsley and capers. Spoon mixture over the egg and serve.
Please keep your questions coming in.
