Read Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course Online
Authors: Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (7 page)
Every fisherman and cook seems to have different opinions on the correct way to kill and cook a crab (for the most humane way, consult the RSPCA website). I think the simplest solution is to place it in a large pan of salted, cold water and boil for five minutes per 500g. Remove from the heat, allow it to cool and prepare to pick.
Cover the table in plenty of old newspaper. Twist the claws to remove them from the body. Now hold the crab upside-down by its shell and pull the abdomen away. Inside the shell you will find all the brown meat. You can now take this meat out with a teaspoon and set it aside for later. Next, remove the crab’s gills, or dead man’s fingers, from the abdomen and throw them away.
Now, using a sharp knife, dissect the abdomen. You will be able to see small tunnels, like a honeycomb, crammed with good, white crab meat. Here the real work begins. Use any small, sharp instrument, such as a skewer, to pick out the meat, keeping it separate from the dark meat.
Finally, gently crush the claws with a hammer or rolling pin and pick out more of the white meat. There will also be some meat in the legs but you might feel they are not worth the trouble.
FISH
Roasted cod with a walnut, lemon and Parmesan crust
Pan-fried scallops with crunchy apple salad
Grilled seafood with sweet pepper sauce
Roasted mackerel with garlic and paprika
Sea bream with tomato and herb salsa
Sea bass with fennel, lemon and capers
ROASTED COD WITH
A WALNUT, LEMON
AND PARMESAN CRUST
SERVES 4
This dish makes a lovely fuss-free supper dish and is very quick to make. One large fillet makes an impressive centrepiece but you can just as well use four separate fillets of about 180g each. For a change from cod, try haddock, hake or any other meaty white fish.
1 whole skinless cod fillet, about 700g
Olive oil, for greasing
Lemon wedges, to serve
FOR THE WALNUT, LEMON AND PARMESAN CRUST
75g butter
75g walnut pieces
75g fresh breadcrumbs
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
75g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE PARSLEY AND CAPER SAUCE
500ml fish stock
200ml half-fat crème fraîche
3 tbsp capers
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1
. First make the walnut, lemon and Parmesan crust. Chop the butter into small cubes and put into a food processor. Add the walnuts, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, two-thirds of the Parmesan and some salt and pepper, then whiz everything until the mixture binds together.
2
. Check the cod for pin bones, removing any you find with a pair of tweezers (
see here
, step 6). Lay the fillet on a lightly oiled non-stick roasting tray, skin side down, and season. Spread the crust mixture in an even layer over the top of the fish. Chill for 20 minutes until the crust feels firm.
3
. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top of the crust, then roast the cod for 20–25 minutes until the crust turns golden and crisp and the fish is just cooked.
4
. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Pour the stock into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook over a high heat for about 10 minutes until reduced by two-thirds. Off the heat, whisk the crème fraîche into the reduced stock. Return to a low heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes until you have the consistency of a light pouring cream.
5
. Add the capers and parsley just before serving and adjust the seasoning to taste. Transfer the cod to a serving platter and pour over the sauce. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS WITH
CRUNCHY APPLE SALAD
SERVES 2
Scallops are cooked when the outside is golden brown and the centre is just going from translucent to opaque. Any longer than 2 minutes on each side and they’ll go tough, so it’s essential you stand over them and remember the order you put them in the pan. The simple salad goes equally well with crab or lobster.
Olive oil, for frying
6 large scallops, cleaned
Juice of ½ lemon
FOR THE SALAD
1 sharp apple, e.g. Granny Smith
2 handfuls of lamb’s lettuce
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1
. First make the salad. Peel, core and cut the apple into julienne strips. Mix with the lamb’s lettuce and season with salt and pepper. Add some of the lemon zest (keeping a little back to garnish) and squeeze over the juice. Drizzle the salad with olive oil and mix well.
2
. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat until smoking hot, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Lay the scallops out on a board, pat dry with kitchen paper and season one side with salt and pepper.
3
. Think of the frying pan as a clock face and add the scallops, one by one, seasoned side down, in a clockwise order, then fry for 1–2 minutes until golden brown. Season the unseasoned side of the scallops, then flip them over in the same order you placed them in the pan and repeat the process. Squeeze the lemon juice over the scallops and give the pan a good shake.
4
. When the scallops are cooked, tip the contents of the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. This will instantly stop the cooking process, while the kitchen paper will absorb any excess oil.
5
. Divide the salad between 2 serving plates and arrange the scallops around each pile. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and serve immediately.
HOW TO CUT JULIENNE STRIPS
Julienne are fine strips about the size of matchsticks. To make them, peel and core your ingredient, as necessary, then cut in half or into quarters. Place flat side down on a work surface and cut into slices about 5mm thick. Cut these slices into matchstick-sized pieces.
CHILLI AND SPICE
WHITEBAIT
SERVES 4
Fresh whitebait, dusted in seasoned flour, quickly fried in oil and sprinkled with lemon juice is very quick and simple but makes a great starter on a summer’s evening. If you can’t find whitebait, try raw tiger prawns, squid or even crab claws.
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
600g whitebait, defrosted if frozen
Flavourless oil, e.g. groundnut, for deep-frying
4 tbsp plain flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve
1
. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns and the coriander seeds in a dry frying pan for 1–2 minutes until aromatic. Transfer to a mortar, add the chilli flakes and pound with a pestle until powdered, then set to one side.
2
. Gently wash the whitebait and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pour the oil into a deep-fat fryer and heat to 170°C, or fill a large saucepan one-third full of oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped into the hot oil sizzles and turns golden after 30 seconds.
3
. Season the flour with salt and pepper and mix with the ground spices. Dust the whitebait in the spiced flour, shaking off any excess, and deep-fry in batches for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.
4
. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Taste and season with a little more salt if necessary. Repeat with the remaining batches.
5
. Serve while still warm with wedges of lemon.
HOW TO SHALLOW-FRY WHITEBAIT
You can shallow-fry the whitebait if you prefer. Just cook smaller batches at a time in less oil.
GRILLED SEAFOOD WITH
SWEET PEPPER SAUCE
SERVES 4
I’m always happy eating grilled seafood with a garlicky mayonnaise, but sometimes it’s good to ring the changes. The sauce, sometimes called romesco, originated in Catalonia in Spain, and is a blend of roasted peppers, tomatoes, nuts, vinegar and olive oil. You can use it straight away but it benefits from a night in the fridge for the flavours to develop.
4 medium to large squid, prepared and cleaned
12 king prawns, shell on
2 tbsp chopped parsley, to garnish
FOR THE SWEET PEPPER SAUCE
2 red peppers
1 thick slice of ciabatta or farmhouse white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, e.g. plum, on the vine
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
60g blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
1–2 tbsp sherry vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1
. First make the sauce. Heat a grill until very hot. Put the peppers on a foil-lined baking tray and place under the grill. Cook for 5 minutes, turning regularly until the skin is blackened and blistered all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to cool.
2
. Cook the bread chunks for 2 minutes in a small frying pan with a dash of oil, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute until the garlic is tender and the bread toasted. By this stage the peppers should have cooled and it will be easy to peel and rub off the charred skins. Peel, deseed and roughly chop them, then place in a blender. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the peppers with the bread and garlic. Blitz to form a rough paste.
3
. Add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes, almonds, lemon juice, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper to the blender and blitz until well mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. With the motor running, slowly pour in 100ml olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning again if necessary. Allow to come to room temperature and stir well before serving.
4
. Prepare the seafood. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until hot. Lightly score one side of the squid in a diamond pattern before cutting into strips. Toss the prawns and squid together in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the prawns on the hot griddle and cook for 2½–3 minutes. Starting diamond side up, cook the squid for about 1 minute on each side. Leave it to curl up, and give it a further minute until just cooked.
5
. Serve the seafood hot, garnished with parsley, and with the sweet pepper sauce alongside.
ROASTED MACKEREL
WITH GARLIC AND PAPRIKA
SERVES 4
I don’t know why some people don’t like mackerel. Perhaps they were put off by the tinned stuff at school. It’s such a lovely fish, cheap and plentiful, and, served with this gently Spanish vinaigrette, an absolute winner. Make sure you dress the potatoes while they are still warm as they’ll take on the dressing much better.