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.
Arron from Marlow asked:
Hi Tom, was lucky enough to head over to the coach last week. Once again the team blew us away with the dishes! It’s the 4th time I’ve been and so the 4th time getting the mushroom risotto. My god this dish is superb and when we come again I’ll be sure to order again. My question is can you please please, please share the recipe?
Glad you love this dish as much as we do, very happy to share the recipe with you below
INGREDIENTS
For the mushroom purée
- 300g button mushrooms
- 100ml double cream
For the “risotto”
- 400g king oyster mushrooms, cut into 5mm dice (just a bit bigger than grains of rice)
- 100g parmesan cheese, grated
- 10 button mushrooms, stalks trimmed and sliced
- 1 buffalo mozzarella, diced
- 4 tbsp chopped chives
- 50g aged parmesan
METHOD
- Wash the button mushrooms, place in a saucepan with the double cream, cover with a lid and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes or so until the mushrooms are soft.
- Transfer to a jug blender and purée until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and keep the purée to one side.
- Place a fresh saucepan on a medium heat. When warm, add the diced king oyster mushrooms and sweat down until the moisture is released. Fold the purée through the diced mushrooms, add the grated parmesan and stir together.
- Once the cheese has melted, add the raw sliced button mushrooms and cook until they start to wilt. Add the diced mozzarella and stir in quickly. Don’t do this too early as it will become very stringy.
- Spoon the mushroom “risotto” into a bowl and sprinkle over the chives. Grate over the aged parmesan to give a thick coating.
Tom from Canterbury asked:
Hi Tom, what’s the best batter recipe for fish?
There are so many different batters we use but this recipe below from my new book is delicious with all seafood.
INGREDIENTS
Batter
- 120g plain flour
- 1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
- 180ml beer
Flour dredge
- 60g plain flour
- ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried thyme
METHOD
- Place the ingredients for the flour dredge in a shallow bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- To make the batter, put the .our and egg into a bowl and gradually whisk in the beer, keeping the mixture smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place the fish in the flour dredge and turn to coat well. Now lift out the fish and place directly in the batter, making sure each piece is coated well.
- Carefully lower the batch of battered fish into the hot oil and cook until golden.
Vicki from Basingstoke asked:
We were lucky enough to enjoy Sunday roast at the Butchers Tap and Grill back in April and it was hands down the best roast dinner I have ever eaten. We had the cauliflower cheese as a side and still talk about it 6 months later! We visited again last week (mid-week so no roast) and the cauliflower cheese had sold out. What is the recipe that makes this so special? We are making the truffle macaroni cheese from your pub cook book this weekend and I wondered if it was a similar recipe?
So glad you enjoy our BT&G Sunday roast in those beautiful giant Yorkshire puds. Definitely agree with you that the perfect accompaniment is cauliflower cheese.
Below is my recipe for the best tasting cauli cheese ever!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cauliflowers
- 125g ball mozzarella, torn into pieces
- 200g Gruyère or cheddar, grated (save half to sprinkle on top)
- 30g crispy onions
For the sauce
- 25g butter
- 25g plain flour
- 300ml whole milk
- 30g English mustard
- 100g cream cheese
- 1 tsp truffle oil (optional)
- 100g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated
METHOD
- For the sauce, melt the butter in a shallow saucepan. When it’s just starting to sizzle, stir in the flour to make a paste. Cook for a minute, then gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth, thick sauce. Stir through the mustard, cream cheese, truffle oil (if using), half the cheddar and parmesan, and cook over a low heat until thickened. Season with lots of black pepper.
- Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Trim the leaves off the cauliflowers and cut into florets.
- Cook in boiling salted water for 6-8 minutes so florets are tender, drain thoroughly then mix with sauce.
- Place into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese and crispy onions.
- Bake for 20 -25 mins until the cheese is golden and the cauliflower is soft but not mushy. If you want a crispy golden finish, you can grill it (keep an eye on it).
Paul from Southampton asked:
Hi Tom Lots of recipes ask for Veal stock including your own. I make my own stocks but it is very hard to get hold of veal bones. Would you recommend Veal Jus concentrate as an alternative?
There are some amazing quality ready-made stocks and sauces on the market but can be quite pricey. When that’s not an option I would recommend Knorr Bouillon pastes as they have great flavour profiles and will add depth. What you will miss though is the “gelatinous” quality that bone stocks give so depending on the finished dish it may be that only the real thing will do
Darren from Watford asked:
When you do your satay chicken what’s the best peanut butter to use?
My favourite peanut butter is Meridian. It is 100% peanuts, roasted in skins for a great flavour and has no added oils
You can of course always make your own nut butters.
INGREDIENTS
- Whole nuts 600g
- Honey 20g
- Salt 15g
METHOD
- Roast the nuts until dark and golden, rub off skins
- Add to the blender along with the honey and salt
- Blend on full speed until smooth and glossy
Ceri from Bedford asked:
How do I make mash potato without lumps??
To make a truly silky-smooth mash potato without any lumps takes time, patience, and a few bits of kit.
When we make the mash at The Hand and Flowers we bake the potatoes, then cut in half and scoop out the flesh. This gives a light, fluffy potato with no added moisture. We then “mash” it through a “Mouli” which is like a hand operated grinder. It is then “softened” with butter, milk and cream (this is an important step before you work the potato as it stops it becoming starchy and sticky). It is then passed through a sieve twice, once through a medium mesh and secondly through a fine mesh. This again is done by hand using a “pastry scraper” and takes a lot of time and effort. It is then seasoned
At home, I would always bake the potato in the skins as described above, rather than boil them. Then I add the butter, milk and cream and use a good old fashioned potato masher.
Once its nicely mashed and your butter and cream are mixed in the best tip is to whisk it. This will give a lovely light and smooth mash and remember there is no such thing as too much butter in mash potato!
Carol from London asked:
Hi Tom, I’ve tried making fondant potatoes but they never turn out right, they are always too hard. What is the best way of making them and how long do I need to cook for?
There are several methods I’ve seen and used over the years
The classic method is to sit the flat-bottomed potatoes, roughly 4cm thick onto a 1cm deep layer of cold butter in a solid bottomed pan, add a couple of cloves of broken garlic and some thyme sprigs. Place butter papers over the top of the potatoes, not to seal the pan but merely to capture some of the steam.
Then place over a medium high heat and cook until the butter melts and turns a nut brown colour, pull to the side and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
This gives a beautifully caramelised and very rich potato fondant, however if any of the points are slightly off such as thickness of potato, heat, butter depth etc it can give varying results.
Another method is to proceed as above but also add 2cm of good stock to the pan once you’ve placed the potatoes on the butter, cook them on a slightly lower heat and don’t cover completely so as to allow evaporation, once the stock has evaporated and the potato started to soften then proceed as above. You may get a slightly less perfect finish to the colouring, but the potato will be lovely and soft
Alfie from Sittingbourne asked:
Tom, what’s best? A whole turkey or turkey crown? What do you have?
I prefer to roast the Breasts as a crown and then bone and roll the legs and cook those separately. I always brine my turkey first (8% solution and 45 minutes for each pound)
Nicky from Kendal asked:
Hi Tom, my hubby loves a stew and dumplings, have you got a fool proof recipe for fluffy dumpling this that you can share with me?
INGREDIENTS
- 115g/4oz fresh white breadcrumbs
- 115g/4oz beef suet
- 115g/4oz self-raising flour
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley leaves
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp milk
- rapeseed oil or melted butter, for glazing
METHOD
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, suet, self-raising flour, salt and parsley in a large bowl until well combined. In a jug, whisk together the egg and milk until well combined.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, then gradually pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture a little at a time, until the mixture comes together as a dough. Roll the dough into eight equally-sized dumplings.
Please keep you questions coming in.
