Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (8 page)

English asparagus in season is one of the joys of being a chef! As a bunch, we look forward to this time of year more than most as it represents a change to warmer weather and
shows summer is on its way! Farm shop asparagus is the best – peel it to get a fresher flavour without the bitterness of the skin.

I serve the asparagus here with a delicious dressing that’s like a mix of hollandaise sauce, salad cream and mayonnaise rolled into one. The duck eggs give a lovely
richness to the dressing and are a special touch for a celebratory meal.

Serves 4

For the duck egg yolk dressing

Pour a couple centimetres of water into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. To make the dressing, whisk the egg yolks, white wine vinegar, water, mustard powder,
sugar, salt and smoked paprika together in a heatproof bowl that will sit on top of the pan of boiling without touching the water. Place the bowl on top of the boiling water and whisk until the mix
is creamy and doubles in volume.

Fold the hard-boiled eggs into the dressing, then add the double cream and then the capers and parsley. Remove the pan from the heat and keep to one side.

To cook the asparagus, bring the water and butter to the boil in a frying pan over a high heat, stirring to dissolve the butter. Add a pinch of salt and then place the asparagus
in the pan and simmer for 3–4 minutes until tender. Remove the asparagus from the pan and drain on kitchen pepper.

Divide among 4 plates, drizzle the dressing over and garnish each plate with parsley leaves. Serve immediately, with the extra dressing on the side.

Asparagus with duck egg yolk dressing and parsley

If you can get hold of fresh English truffles, they are truly amazing. Every day that a truffle is out of the ground the more it deteriorates, so the quicker they go from ground
to the plate, the better they taste.

Slowly cooking the eggs takes time, but they become super-rich and smooth this way.

Serves 2–4

At least 48 hours before you plan to cook, place the eggs and the truffle together in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge and leave until needed. Infusing the
eggs with the truffles this way boosts the flavour.

When you are ready to cook, season the button mushrooms and leave to one side.

Break and whisk the eggs with the truffle oil. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the eggs and whisk very slowly. When they are just about cooked whisk in the
double cream and continue whisking until cooked as you like. Fold in the raw mushrooms, crème fraîche and chives. Season.

Spoon on to plates and then grate the truffle over the top. This is a very decadent touch but fantastic!

This is a great vegetarian dish to serve as a first course (substitute the chicken stock with a good vegetable stock). It’s also perfect on its own as a lunch dish. As a
starter, however, it’s good before roast meat and the super-tasty, crunchy topping adds a bit of texture.

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.

Melt the butter in a flameproof dish on the hob. Add the leeks to the melted butter and season. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil, then leave to bubble until the
chicken stock reduces to a glaze. Add the double cream and bring back to the boil and reduce again by one-third. Crumble in the blue cheese and mix it in with the leeks. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the
thyme leaves, then remove the dish from the heat.

Mix the remaining thyme leaves, breadcrumbs, oats, pine nuts, sugar and sunflower seeds together in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix thoroughly. Spoon the oat mix over
the top of the leeks. Place the dish in the oven and bake the leeks for 15–20 minutes until the toping is toasted and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Mushrooms on toast is a real favourite of mine. It was one of the first ‘dishes’ that I learnt to cook at home with my mum.

This version is right in time for the spring season, using St George’s mushrooms and wild garlic, but you can vary the ingredients, depending on the season’s
available wild mushrooms. Or just use the always-dependable and very tasty button mushrooms with sorrel or spinach instead of wild garlic. The Parmesan cheese has a wonderful dairy acidity that
cuts through the richness of this dish.

I like to toast my sourdough bread on a cast-iron grill pan for that appetizing ‘burnt’ bar marking flavour, but use the grill if you don’t have the pan.

Serves 4

Melt the butter with the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and fry, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until the shallot is just
softened. Add the St George’s mushrooms, increase the heat to high and fry, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until they are just tender. Add the double cream and a splash of truffle oil and
leave the cream to bubble until the mushrooms are glazed and creamy.

Stir in the wild garlic leaves, parsley and chives. Season and add lemon juice to taste. Spoon the mushroom mix on top of the hot pieces of toast. Grate the Parmesan cheese over
the tops and serve immediately.

St George’s mushrooms, garlic and parsley on sourdough toast

This is a particularly flexible, all-round recipe. It’s great as a first-course salad, like I suggest here, but I also sometimes serve it alongside main courses, such as
cooked ham, cured meats or white fish. The different types of onion give layer after layer of taste and texture. Onion seeds are really fragrant and add great depth to the dish.

Serves 4

Slice 2 of the shallots into thin rings, then put in a bowl and pour over the milk. Leave on one side until needed. Finely chop the remaining shallots and leave on one side in a
separate bowl.

Place the onion seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat and toast, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until aromatic. Immediately tip them into a bowl. Add the rapeseed
oil and vinegar to the bowl, then stir in the finely chopped shallots and chives. Season with salt and pepper and leave to one side until needed.

Melt the butter with the water in a frying pan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the butter. Add the spring onions and a pinch of salt and simmer for
1–2 minutes until they are tender but still have a bite to them. Remove the spring onions from the pan and pat dry.

Drain the shallots from the milk and pat dry. Dust them in the flour, shaking off any excess. Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer until it reaches 180°C. Add
the shallot rings and fry for 2–3 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and season.

Serve the spring onions with the dressing spooned over and covered with the crispy shallots.

I love the taste of smoked and raw salmon together. The balance of this dish is very important. There are many strong flavours all fighting for priority, so tasting as you make it
is a must! The oyster leaves are a real find if you can get hold of them. They taste of oysters and are a great addition to this dish.

Serves 4

Mix the salmon and smoked salmon together in a non-metallic bowl. Add the anchovies, shallots, chives, capers, cornichons, lemon zest and salt and cayenne and mix. Add the egg
yolks and mix again. Divide the salmon mix into 4 equal portions and put on plates.

Finely grate the hard-boiled eggs into a bowl and season. Mix with the rapeseed oil to make a ‘loose’ mix, then spread it on top of the salmon. Top with a spoonful of
mayonnaise and dust with a little smoked paprika. Stick on an oyster leaf and a sprig of dill in each portion and serve with the warm soda bread.