Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (23 page)

To make the bagels...

For the pickled vegetables

For the black pepper cream cheese

First, make the pickled vegetables. Combine the mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, radishes and shallots in a large non-metallic bowl. Stir in the pickling mix, cover with clingfilm
and leave for 2 hours at room temperature.

Meanwhile, make the black pepper cream cheese. Beat the cream cheese until it is soft, then add the cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt. Cover and chill until needed.

When you’re ready to assemble the sandwiches, preheat the grill to high and bring the water or beef braising liquid to the boil. Place the bagels under the grill and toast
both halves, then spread with the cream cheese.

Add the butter to the boiling liquid and stir until it melts. Drop the salt beef into the liquid and leave for 1–2 minutes to warm through. When the beef is warm, divide
the slices between the bagel bottoms, sprinkle with fresh dill and top with the bagel tops. Serve with the pickled vegetables and enjoy!

Hot salt-beef bagels with pickled vegetables and black pepper cream cheese

Here’s curry crossed with French braising. I love it! Spices have become widely used in British cuisine and, when handled properly, they really can give a huge lift to your
cooking. The ginger in this recipe, for example, is so good with the beef, adding a real dark warmth to the dish. This is a proper winter warmer that will leave you feeling content, happy and ready
for a good snooze!

Serves 4

For the spiced red lentils

For the watercress yogurt

One or two days before you plan to serve this, mix the stout, star anise, coriander and cumin seeds, chilli flakes and ground ginger together in a large bowl. Add the ox cheeks,
cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

The next day, preheat the oven to 140°C/Gas Mark 1. Remove the ox cheeks from the marinade and pat dry with a tea towel. Reserve the marinade. Heat about 4 tablespoons
rapeseed oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the ox cheeks and sear on both sides until they turn a lovely brown caramelised colour. Remove the ox cheeks from the pan and set
aside.

Add the onions to the fat remaining in the pot, reduce the heat to low and fry, stirring occasionally, for at least 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Add a little extra
oil to the pot, if necessary, then add the garlic and ginger and fry, stirring, for 4–5 minutes until they are browned, but not burnt.

Return the ox cheeks to the pot, pour in the stout marinade and the beef stock and bring to the boil. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for about
3½ hours until the beef is very tender. Remove the pot from the oven and leave on one side for at least 1 hour. You can serve the dish at this point, but it really does taste even better if
you leave the cheeks to cool in the covered pot for 24 hours. If you do decide to wait a day, once the beef and liquid are completely cool, transfer the pot to the fridge.

Meanwhile, make the spiced red lentils. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and place the lentils into a roasting tray. Place the tray in the oven and toast the lentils for
10–15 minutes until they are just a little tinged. Remove the tray from the oven and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally, for at least 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Stir in the
turmeric and chilli powder and stir for a further 1–2 minutes. Add the lentils and the cinnamon stick, then pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and leave
the lentils to simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t catch on the base of the pan, for about 40 minutes until they fall apart and you have purée in the
pan. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, mix the watercress, yogurt and black pepper together. Reheat the ox cheeks and their cooking juices.

Serve the ox cheeks with a little of the cooking juices, the red lentil purée, a good dollop of the watercress yogurt and garnished with the onion slices and
coriander.

I love these steaks. The recipe goes against everything that you get told about resting meat before serving it, but these are so thin you just cook them very quickly and eat them
straight out of the pan. This is my idea of a great lunch dish.

Serves 2

For the mustard seed dressing

To make the mustard seed dressing, whisk the rapeseed oil, mustard seeds, Dijon mustard, vinegar, garlic and capers together in a non-metallic bowl and season with salt and
pepper. Set aside until needed.

When ready to cook the steaks, melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the steaks and fry for about 2 minutes until caramelised on one
side. Flip the steaks over and fry for a further 1 minute. Take care not to over-cook – ‘blue’ is better than well done with these thin steaks.

Transfer the steaks to plates and cover liberally with the dressing. Sprinkle with the chives and the crisp croûtons. Place the wild rocket on top of the steaks and serve
immediately.

Flash-fried sirloin steaks with mustard seed dressing

This is the best ever beef stew. I know that is quite a claim, but I stand by it! This has been on my menu in one form or another every winter since we opened. People come back
just for the glazed carrots!

Serves 6

For the glazed carrots

For the suet dumplings

Up to 2 days before you plan to cook, put the beef in a large bowl and pour over the wine. Cover the bowl with clingfilm, place in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least
24 hours and up to 48 hours. The longer you leave the beef to marinate at this stage, the deeper the final flavour will be.

A day before you plan to cook, dissolve the salt in a large bowl of water. Add the marrow bones and more water, if necessary, so they are covered, then cover the bowl with
clingfilm and place in the fridge for 24 hours for any impurities to be removed.

Strain the beef shins, then pat them dry. Reserve the marinade. Heat 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil in a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the shins and fry, turning
them until they are browned on both sides. Transfer them to a colander in the sink and leave for the excess fat to drain off, if there is any. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.

Add another 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil to the pot over a medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery and onion and fry, stirring frequently, for 8–10 minutes until they are
softened and browned. Watch closely that they don’t burn though. At the same time, place the red wine from the marinade into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, skimming the
surface as necessary.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3.

When the vegetables have browned, add the beef shins and pour over the boiling red wine. Stir in the veal stock, bay leaves, clove, white peppercorns, salt and thyme. Bring the
liquid to a simmer and cover the pot. Place the pot in the oven and braise the beef shins for 2½ hours, or until they are very tender.

When the shins are tender, remove the pot from the oven and leave them to cool in the cooking liquid, uncovered. This will take about 3–4 hours.

When the shins are cool, remove them from the cooking liquid and leave to one side. Pass the cooking liquid through a sieve lined with muslin into a saucepan. Place the saucepan
over a high heat and bring the liquid to the boil, skimming the surface as
necessary. Leave to boil until it reduces to a sauce consistency, then pass the liquid through a
sieve lined with muslin again. Return the sauce to the washed flameproof casserole, cover and leave to one side until just before serving.