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.
Neil from Uttoxeter asked:
Hi Tom, my local deli sells lobster ravioli can you recommend a sauce please for the pasta?
As you know, I don’t eat shellfish, but of course, you can make many lobster-style bisque sauces. However, for something a little bit different and, in my opinion, exceptionally special, I like to serve this sauce to our guests at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill. It’s a play on a classic Lobster sauce but with the beautiful savoury addition of a peanut satay. Here is the recipe, it’s a restaurant recipe, so the quantities are large; you can factor them down to make a smaller amount.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 litres Coconut milk
- 2 litres Lobster stock
- 250g White onion, sliced
- 150g Tomato puree
- 60g garlic, peeled chopped
- 100g Ginger
- 250g Fennel
- 100g Tamarind paste
- 5 Lemongrass, bashed
- 10g Fennel seeds
- 10g Coriander seeds
- 5g Kaffir lime leaves
- 100g Palm sugar
- 40g Salt
- 500g Peanut butter
- 100ml Chilli oil
- 1 litre Lobster oil
- 3g Xanthan gum
METHOD
- Sweat the vegetables, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves and spices in the oil over a low heat until translucent
- Add the remaining ingredients (except the oil)
- Cookout on a low heat for 2-3 hours with a lid on
- Strain off, ensuring all liquid is retained
- Blend with the oils and peanut butter
- Reduce if needed (but do not thicken unless absolutely sure it has enough flavour)
Christine from Birmingham asked:
Hello Tom! I’m quite a decent baker but always have trouble judging the temperature when I have one bake at Gas 4 and one bake at Gas 7? I only have one oven. Any suggestions please ?
Unfortunately, it’s all about timing. I would start with the lower-temperature item first and then bake the higher-temperature item later.
Melanie from Cirencester asked:
Hi Tom. We’re partial to Barnsley lamb chops but can’t quite to cook them perfectly. We like lamb pink and have tried grilling & BBQing the chops, but the meat by the bone is always rather raw. What are we doing wrong?
My two top tips are: firstly, cook your meat at room temperature, removing it from the fridge, over the course of 30-40 minutes. Secondly, cook the lamb chops as you would, with good colour on the outside, then place them into an oven at a very low, steady temperature (around 60 degrees) and rest for 8-12 minutes. This will allow the extreme heat from the outside and coolness of the bone to mediate the temperature, giving evenly cooked pink meat from the outside all the way through to the bone.
Jackie from Reay Caithness asked:
While in Singapore recently, I had a battered poached egg. It was wonderful. My question is how did the chef manage it? The batter was so light and the egg was cooked to perfection 👌
What a lovely idea—and it sounds delicious. My method would be to poach your egg as you would for breakfast. Once poached, plunge into iced water to stop the cooking process. When cold, remove and dry on a paper towel, then make a simple but robust tempura batter (recipe below). Lightly dust the egg in seasoned flour, then dip it in the tempura batter and cook as per the recipe. I look forward to seeing some great pictures of your incredible crispy tempura eggs.
Tempura batter:
INGREDIENTS
- 100g cornflour
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 large free-range egg yolk
- 175–200ml sparkling water
- 4 ice cubes
METHOD
- To make the tempura batter, put the flour and egg yolk into a medium bowl and start whisking.
- Gradually whisk in the sparkling water and ice cubes until the batter is the consistency of double cream.
- At the same time, heat a 12cm depth of oil in a deep sauté pan or wok to 180°C (check with a thermometer).
James from Barnsley asked:
Hi Tom. I love the sound of the southern fried chicken in last months pirates. However, my wife is vegetarian/pescatarian. what would you recommend as a substitute for the chicken but keep the southern fried flavour?
If you have ever had the chance to visit our PITP festivals this year, you will see we do a beautiful version of this dish with cauliflower. We simply cut the cauliflower into regular-sized florets, similar to the size of the chicken. We lightly salt them and leave them for 10-12 minutes, wash them off, dry them, and then treat them exactly the same as the chicken. In all honesty, I enjoy this version even more than the chicken.
Zoe from Loughbroough asked:
Hi Tom, as a Mum to teenagers who works long hours, I’m always looking for family friendly recipes that can be done in the slow cooker or pre-prepared. As two of mine don’t eat cheese and a lot of recipes have cheese in, do you have any good go to recipes we can try?
This one is a beauty, try this:
INGREDIENTS
- 2kg boneless pork shoulder
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp hot smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 500ml dry cider (or chicken stock or beer)
- 100ml barbecue sauce
- Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- Tortillas or soft bread rolls to serve
METHOD
- Place the pork shoulder in a slow cooker so that it fits quite snugly.
- Mix the pepper, salt, paprika, cumin, sugar, garlic, and thyme in a small bowl. Sprinkle this spice mixture all over the pork and rub it in well on both sides.
- Pour the cider (or stock or beer) into it to ensure everything stays moist during the lengthy cooking.
- Place on lid and cook on medium level for 4-5 hours
- Check the meat after 4 hours to see if it is cooked and super-tender. If you press it down with the back of a spoon, the meat should collapse easily. If it’s still firm, replace the lid for a further hour.
- Once the meat is cooked, use two forks to pull it apart. Mix the pulled pork well with the pan juices. Stir through the barbecue sauce to flavour the meat and some hot sauce if you fancy a bit of heat. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.
- Serve the pulled pork in the middle of the table with some tortillas or soft bread rolls to pile the meat into. I like to add coleslaw and some pickled chillies, too.
Emma from Wakefield asked:
Hey Tom, thank you for Mays newsletter. Great to hear from you. Thank you for declaring BBQ season officially open. So, keeping in the same theme..What is your go to BBQ treat, the first thing that gets cooked on the first BBQ of the year in the Kerridge household?
Without doubt this, Bera Can Chicken recipe, is my first BBQ dish of the season, especially as a great sunday lunch session.
INGREDIENTS
- 2kg whole chicken, giblets removed
- 440ml can beer
- Flaky sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the gochujang butter
- 80g butter, softened
- 2 tbsp gochujang paste
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (Kikkoman)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
To serve
- 1–2 red chillies, finely sliced
- 6 tbsp Japanese mayo (or use 6 tbsp classic mayonnaise mixed with 1 tbsp
- rice wine vinegar and ½ tsp sugar)
- Kimchi
METHOD
- Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Open the can of beer and pour out half of it—feel free to drink it! Leave the rest in the can—it will help keep the chicken moist as it cooks.
- Set the chicken upright on the can so it is partly inside the cavity. If the legs hang down too far, tie them up with kitchen string to stop them burning.
- Fit the convector plate in your temperature-controlled barbecue and heat it to 190°C. Lift the chicken (and can) onto the convector plate so it starts to cook.
- Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the gochujang butter in a small cast-iron pan on the barbecue and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- After 10 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken with the marinade and put the lid on the barbecue so that it functions more like an oven. Depending on the heat of your barbecue, it should take around 1 hour to cook.
- Baste the chicken with the butter every 10 minutes or so, putting the lid back on each time. The chicken should be well-browned, and the skin should be charred in places. To check that it’s cooked through, pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear.
- Remove the chicken from the barbecue and place it in a roasting tin, discarding the beer can. Cover the bird with foil and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
- Carve the chicken and garnish with sliced red chillies. Serve with some Japanese mayo and kimchi alongside.
Claire from Reading asked:
What exactly is Quark? It appears in some low fat recipes to add to sauces etc but I don’t seem to be able to find it in the supermarkets. Is there something else I can use instead?
Quark or quarg is a type of dairy product in which the milk is soured and then strained to create a curdling effect. I guess you would call it a fresh cheese, but obviously, it’s made without any rennet. It’s also known as curd cheese. An easy and very similar alternative would be good-quality cottage cheese.
Please keep your questions coming in.
