Introduction
A DECADE OR SO AGO, THERE WAS A FASHION FOR MICHELIN-STARRED CHEFS TO PRODUCE THESE INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED COOKBOOKS.
You know the sort of thing I mean—where following one recipe meant you had to turn to five other recipes to prepare the various stages before you could even begin to tackle the featured dish. It was crazy, and completely failed to recognize that home cooking and restaurant cooking are two very different things.
So the first thing I want to do is to reassure you that this book isn’t going to be anything like that. I’m not setting out to turn you into Michelin-starred chefs here. I’m not expecting you to spend hours bent over plates, tweaking and primping in pursuit of perfection. I just want to teach you how to cook and enjoy good food at home. I’m going to strip away all the hard graft and complexity and show how, from humble beginnings, anyone can produce mouth-watering recipes. Put simply, I’m going to show you
how to cook yourself into a better cook.
Not that I’m turning my back on my experience. Over the past 25 years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best chefs in the world, from Albert and Michel Roux in London to Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon in Paris. I’ve held Michelin stars in many of the major cities of the world, including three at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London for more than 10 years now. Like all chefs, I’ve learned an incredible amount along the way: techniques, tricks—cheats, even—that I incorporate instinctively into my cooking every day. Half the time I don’t even know I’m using them, but they are always there, giving me confidence in the kitchen.
And believe me, the best thing you can have in a kitchen is confidence. I really think that’s what separates good cooks from the mediocre ones. Sure, you need to be able to taste and to master a few basics, but being able to act boldly and decisively, to have the confidence to ramp up the seasoning, for example, or to turn the gas up high and use the heat to your advantage—that’s the real secret. That’s what takes your cooking to another level.
Some people say they can’t cook—that given half a chance, they’ll burn water. I just don’t buy that. I think they’re just not very interested in trying. Fair enough. I’m not interested in needlepoint and I’ll tell you that I can’t sew. But in truth, there’s no one with a genuine interest in learning who can’t improve and, with enough practice, become a decent cook. They might not get to the stage where they can hold down a job in a professional kitchen, but they can learn to produce good home cooking and to get pleasure from it. And if you are already a good cook? Well, that’s the great thing about cooking—there’s always something new to learn, another way of doing things, a different way of combining flavors that takes a recipe in a new direction.
So where do we start? With the absolute basics, of course. Before you even get to turn on the gas, the first job in any new kitchen is always, always, always to get to know your environment, to get familiar with the layout and be comfortable with the location of everything in your kitchen. Are the pans within easy reach? Are your sieves close at hand? I’m not talking about major DIY here. I’m not suggesting you need to rip out your kitchen sink and shift it across the room. It’s just a question of getting yourself familiar with where everything is. You don’t want to be just about to finish off your risotto and have to spend 10 minutes looking for the cheese grater. That’s the kind of thing that throws you off your stride and from then on you’ll be playing catch-up.
Time spent getting yourself ready is never wasted. Get out the ingredients and the equipment you need. This mise-en-place, as we call it, is crucial. It sets you off on a calm course and takes the stress out of cooking. Without it, any professional kitchen would be dead in the water, and it’s equally important for the home cook too. Get it right and you have won 90 percent of the battle
PASTA WITH TOMATOES, ANCHOVIES, AND CHILES
Pasta and tomato sauce has become a midweek standby in every home. In this classic Italian dish, we are taking that basic sauce to another level by adding a few pantry staples—chiles, anchovies, olives, and capers. Ready in the time it takes for the pasta to cook, and utterly delicious.
1 pound dried spaghetti or linguine
2–3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 dried red chile, crumbled or chopped into small pieces
One 2-ounce tin anchovies in oil, drained and finely chopped
8 ounces pitted black olives, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, according to the package instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat a wide high-sided frying pan or sauté pan over medium heat and add a glug of olive oil. Sauté the garlic, chile, and anchovies for 1–2 minutes until the garlic is aromatic and the anchovy is beginning to melt into the oil.
- Add the olives, capers, and tomatoes to the pan and stir over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until the tomatoes have collapsed and everything is well combined.
- Drain the pasta and toss in the pan with the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary (you probably won’t need any salt because of the saltiness of the anchovies, olives, and capers).
- Serve drizzled with a little olive oil and garnished with basil leaves.
HOW TO COOK PASTA
Always use well-salted water to cook pasta because it is impossible to season later. The Italians always use 2 teaspoons salt for every quart of water. Adding olive oil to the cooking water is helpful, but if you really want to make sure that your pasta doesn’t stick as it cooks, use plenty of water and twist the pan from side to side a few times to get the pasta swirling around just after you’ve put it in.
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BACON, PEA, AND GOAT CHEESE FRITTATA
Don’t limit yourself to cheese or ham when filling an omelette. This open Italian version is a meal in itself, and because it is finished under the broiler, doesn’t involve any awkward folding or flipping. Check that one of your goat cheeses is firm enough to grate finely—if not, firm it up in the freezer first.
Olive oil
8 strips of smoked bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced diagonally
Handful of basil, leaves roughly chopped
2 goat cheese crottins (about 4 ounces in total)
3–4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat a glug of oil in a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof frying pan and cook the bacon for 2–3 minutes. Add the red pepper and continue to cook for another few minutes until the bacon is golden brown and crisp. Add the scallions and sweat for 4-5 minutes until everything is tender. Stir in the peas and heat through. Sprinkle in the basil, roughly mixing it through the vegetables. Cut
- one of the goat cheeses into chunks and scatter on top.
- Preheat the broiler to the highest setting.
- Put the beaten eggs in a bowl, add the Parmesan, and season generously with pepper. Pour into the pan over the vegetables and gently shake over medium heat. As the omelette begins to set at the bottom, grate the remaining goat cheese on top and season with pepper.
- Place the pan under the broiler for 4–5 minutes until cooked through and golden on top.
- Slide the frittata out of the pan and cut into wedges to serve.
SERVES 4 AS A STARTER OR 2 AS A MAIN COURSE
The secret to making a good risotto is to add your hot stock very gradually, stirring to make sure it has all been absorbed before adding the next ladleful. This way you can control the consistency better and make sure the rice still has a slight bite to it—al dente, as the Italians call it—when you take it off the heat. This classic risotto just needs a garnish of arugula or baby spinach.
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the rice, and stir well to coat the grains in the oil. Bring the stock to a boil and add 1 ladleful of it at a time to the rice, stirring well after each addition, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked but still al dente. (This will take about 15–18 minutes.)
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small saucepan, add the tomatoes, and gently cook for about 10 minutes until soft. Pass through a mouli or coarse sieve; alternatively, mash with a potato masher.
- When the rice is cooked, fold in the mascarpone, Parmesan, and the tomato mixture, adjust the seasoning, and serve.
This is a very simple twist guaranteed to impress. The chorizo, bean, and tomato stuffing helps the bird to cook evenly and perfumes the meat as it cooks. Serve it alongside the chicken with some steamed greens or a mixed green salad.
1 large free-range chicken, about 4½ pounds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping tsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
5–7 ounces chorizo, casings removed and cubed
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed in oil
One 7-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- First make the stuffing. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, add the chorizo, and cook for about 3 minutes, until turning golden. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two until softened, then add the garlic. Cook for an additional couple of minutes before adding the leaves from 3 thyme sprigs. Stir in the cannellini beans, seasoning well. Cook for a minute or two to warm through. Add the tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of the oil they are stored in. Stir to combine, then remove from the heat and cool.
- Now prepare the chicken. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, then fill with the chorizo stuffing and place a whole lemon at the cavity opening, tucking any excess skin over it. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle over the paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Rub into the chicken skin.
- Pour the wine and about ¾ cup of water into a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the remaining sprigs of thyme from the chorizo, then cover with foil and roast for 1 hour in the preheated oven.
- After 1 hour, remove the foil from the chicken, baste with the roasting juices, and turn the oven up to 400°F. Roast for another 25–30 minutes until the skin is golden brown and the juices from the thigh run clear. Remove from the oven and rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Remove the lemon from the chicken cavity, and squeeze the juice into the pan juices. Whisk together to create a light gravy—if you prefer a thicker gravy, reduce over a high heat.
HOW TO KEEP CHICKEN MOIST WHILE ROASTING
Roasting chicken under a tent of foil with stock and water is a lovely way to keep it moist during the first part of cooking. Once it has steamed for an hour, you simply remove the foil for the final 30 minutes to brown the breasts. The resulting chicken will be much plumper and fuller than if you had roasted it all the way.
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