Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (34 page)

Rum junket with coffee macaroons

Lemon verbena is one of the easiest herbs to grow, it comes back every year and it is ideal for flavouring sweet desserts. It has a fragrant, herby, lemon flavour that is very
fresh tasting. It you haven’t got any lemon verbena, however, sweet cicely or lemon balm also work in this recipe.

This dish has plenty of texture and crunch and blowtorching the lemon segments lift them to a new level. It is also very cool to blowtorch stuff!

Serves 6; makes 30–40 mini meringues

For the meringues

Bring the double cream to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar together in a heatproof bowl until light and fluffy. Pour over the boiling
cream and mix together. Pour the mix back into the pan and whisk over a medium heat until it reaches 87°C on an instant-read thermometer. The mixture needs to reach this temperature in order to
set. Pass the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in the fresh lemon verbena and grate in the zest of one of the lemons. Do not discard the zested lemon. Leave the mix to one side for 25
minutes to cool.

After the mix has cooled, remove the lemon verbena. Pour the mix into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour into 6 serving dishes or ramekins. Transfer them to the fridge
for at least 3 hours to set.

To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 110°C/Gas Mark ¼ and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar and continue beating until it is incorporated. Add the icing sugar and continue to
whisk until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle and pipe mini meringues on to the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the
oven and bake for about 40 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and leave the meringues to cool completely. Do not attempt to take them
off the baking sheet until they are cool.

When ready to serve, take the set creams out of the fridge and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Use a blowtorch to melt the sugar and glaze them. Segment the lemons and place the
segments on a metal baking tray, then use the blowtorch to char them. This will give a lovely toasted flavour to the lemon.

Place the lemon segments on top of the glazed creams, add some meringues and serve. Any leftover meringues will keep in an airtight container for several weeks.

Lemon verbena creams with charred lemon and meringues

This has been on The Hand & Flowers lunch menu many times, and is a real favourite of mine. My pastry chef loves it when I do put this on the menu, because the posset is so
easy to prepare and sets very quickly. If you fancy just making the biscotti, they go very well with a great cup of coffee.

Serves 6; makes about 20 biscotti

For the fennel biscotti

Mix the cream and sugar together in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn the heat down to a simmer and stir for 1–2
minutes until the bubbles are quite large. Add the lemon juice and whisk thoroughly. Pass this mix through a fine sieve into a bowl and leave to cool for about 5 minutes. Skim off any air bubbles,
then pour the posset into your serving glasses. Leave to cool completely, then place the bowls in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

To make the biscotti, preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Sift the flour and baking powder together and leave to one side
until needed. Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one by one. Stir in the flour mix, then fold in the almonds and the fennel seeds.

Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 logs, each about 20cm long and 10cm wide on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the biscotti for 20–25
minutes until golden brown.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and leave the baked dough to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Do not turn off the oven.

After 10 minutes, slice both pieces of baked dough widthways into biscotti, 1–2cm thick. Lay the biscotti on to a wire rack that will fit in the oven. Return them to the
oven on the wire rack and bake for a further 5 minutes, or until they are crisp and dry. Remove them from the oven and immediately dust with icing sugar. Leave the biscotti to cool completely, then
store them in an airtight container for 3–4 days.

When the lemon posset is set, serve it with biscotti on the side.

Lemon posset with fennel biscotti

This is a perfect dinner party pudding because the work can be done up to two days ahead and it has a real touch of decadence.

Serves 4

Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add the chocolate and espresso and stir until the chocolate melts.
Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to one side.

Place the sugar and the water in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then boil until it reaches 118°C on an instant-read
thermometer. Place the egg whites in a freestanding food mixer and beat until soft peaks form. With the mixer still running, slowly pour the hot syrup on to the egg whites and continue whisking
until the meringue cools.

Beat the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, then stir in the double cream and fold in the meringue. Divide between 4 bowls, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to
2 days.

Serve decorated with grated chocolate and toasted coffee beans and with salt caramel for pouring over.

Chocolate and coffee mousse

Gin is one of my favourite drinks. It contains so many different botanicals, ranging from herbs and spices through to fruit and vegetables. The apple gin I love most is made and
flavoured with Bramley apples, which makes it so quintessentially English, and that’s why I recommend it in this recipe. It’s a combination you can’t beat.

Serves 8–10

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat, add the Bramley apples, tonic water,
gin and lemon juice. Leave to cool completely, then pour the mix into a plastic freezerproof container and place into the freezer. Remove it from the freezer every 30 minutes and whisk. It will
take 2–3 hours to freeze.

Meanwhile, bring the apple juice to the boil over a high heat and boil until it reduces to a dark caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter so it becomes
glossy and shiny. Leave to one side to cool until needed.

When ready to serve, peel and finely dice the Braeburn apples. Remove the granita from the freezer and break it up with a fork to create a ‘slush-puppy’ texture.
Spoon into individual bowls, sprinkle the Braeburn apples over the tops and serve with the apple caramel.

Gin and tonic granita with apple caramel

This is a great alternative festive dessert for everybody who says they don’t like Christmas pudding, but still want to enjoy the flavours of Christmas. You can make each
component of the dish well in advance so you’re not left with loads to do on Christmas Eve.

Serves 6–8

For the plum sauce

For the Christmas pudding ice cream

To make the plum sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sugar and cinnamon stick and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the plums and lemon juice, turn
the heat to low and continue stirring until the plums break down into a purée, which will take about 20 minutes.