These are the recipes available on the DVD that comes with "Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy". To the right, you'll find links to YouTube clips that show him making these recipes himself. The scrambled eggs in particular is worth a look. "Is that my toast burning?"
serves 4
1kg broccoli
Sea salt and pepper
4 slices soft goat’s cheese, or 4 baby chèvres
50g flaked almonds or walnuts, lightly toasted
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
1.Cut the broccoli into florets. Bring 800ml salted water to a boil, add the broccoli and simmer for about 4 min. until tender but still bright green. Drain, reserving the liquid.
2.Whiz the broccoli in a blender with enough of the liquid to half-fill the goblet, to give a velvety texture.
3.Reheat the soup in the pan; adjust the seasoning. Put the goat’s cheese slices into warm soup bowls and pour in the soup, to one side. Top with the nuts, grind over some pepper and drizzle with olive oil to serve.
serves 6-8
1 saddle of lamb, about 2.4kg, boned out
1 garlic bulb
Sea salt and pepper
Splash of olive oil
Few sage sprigs
Knob of butter
Stuffing:
3-4 tbsp olive oil
250g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, button), cleaned
Knob of butter
250g young spinach, stalks removed
2-3 tbsp mascarpone
1 egg yolk
Freshly grated nutmeg
6-8 sage leaves
Pan jus:
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 glasses red wine
125ml light stock
1. Heat the oven to 200C. Open out the saddle of lamb and set aside the eye fillets. Halve the garlic bulb, season and leave for a few minutes to draw out the juices.
2. For the stuffing, heat a splash of olive oil in a nonstick pan and sauté the mushrooms until they are softened and browned, then drain in a colander. Heat a little more oil and a knob of butter in the pan, add the spinach, season lightly and cook until just wilted. Tip the mushrooms into a bowl, mix in the spinach, mascarpone and egg yolk, then season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
3. Oil several sage leaves and place down the middle of the lamb. Rub the meat with the halved garlic bulb. Spoon the stuffing on top of the sage leaves. Cut the eye fillets horizontally (but not right through), open out and place over the stuffing. Fold one flap of the saddle over, then the other, wrapping firmly to make a neat roll. Secure with string at intervals and tuck the remaining sage leaves in at the ends.
4. Heat a splash of oil in a roasting pan, add the garlic bulb and a few sage sprigs and sauté briefly, then add the butter and allow to foam. Put the meat on top.
5. Roast for 30 minutes, then lower the oven heat to 180C and roast for a further 30 minutes. Lift meat on to a warm platter and rest in a warm place for 20 minutes. Deglaze pan juices with sherry vinegar, add the wine and stock, and simmer until reduced by half. Strain and adjust seasoning. Serve the lamb thickly sliced with the jus.
(This is slightly different than in the video, where he adds pan-fried mushrooms and tomatoes on the vine.)
serves 2-3
6 large free-range eggs
25g ice-cold butter, cut into small dice
1 tbsp crème fraîche
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper
Few chives, snipped
2-3 chunky slices of rustic bread, such aspain Polaîne, to serve
1.Break eggs into a cold, heavy-based pan on the lowest heat possible, and add half the butter. With a spatula, stir the eggs frequently to combine the yolks with the whites.
2.As the mixture begins to set, add the remaining butter. The eggs will take about 4-5 minutes to scramble – they should still be soft and quite lumpy. Don’t let them get too hot – keep moving the pan off and back on the heat.
3.Meanwhile, toast the bread.
4.Add the crème fraîche and season the eggs at the last minute, then add the snipped chives. Put the toast on warm plates, pile the softly scrambled eggs on top and serve.
Serves 2
1 baby pineapple
About 10 cloves
2kg coarse sea salt
1-2 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
1-2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Herby mascarpone:
2-3 tbsp mascarpone
Small handful of shredded basil
1.Heat the oven to 190C. Stud the “eyes” of the pineapple with cloves. Season the salt with the five-spice powder, then mix with the egg whites. Pack the salt mixture around the pineapple to cover the skin completely. Put the remaining salt into a baking tin and sit the pineapple on top.
2.Bake the pineapple on the lowest oven shelf for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the mascarpone with the basil. Leave the baked pineapple until cool enough to handle, then crack open the salt crust and remove it.
3.Cut the pineapple in half and then into quarters. Carefully cut each wedge away from the skin. Serve at once, topped with a spoonful of herby mascarpone.
Serves 6-8
4 small courgettes, trimmed
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
250g ricotta
Squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Handful of basil leaves, chopped
50g pine nuts, toasted
Balsamic vinegar, to drizzle
1.Thinly slice the courgettes lengthways, using a swivel peeler or mandolin. Select 40 strips. Place on a tray and brush with oil. Chill for 20 minutes.
2.Mix the ricotta with lemon juice and seasoning to taste, then fold in the chopped basil and pine nuts. Place a small teaspoonful of ricotta mixture on one end of a courgette strip and roll up. Repeat to use up all the filling. Arrange the courgette on a plate and grind over some black pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and serve.
4-5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
500g button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and halved if large
2-3 shallots, finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Generous splash of white wine vinegar
Small bunch of tarragon, leaves only
Heat olive oil in a large, wide, heavy-based pan. When it is almost smoking, add the mushrooms and sauté over a high heat for about 5 min. until they are lightly golden. Tip in the shallots and season well with salt and pepper. Sauté until the shallots have softened. Add a splash of white wine vinegar and let the liquid bubble for a few minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Sprinkle with tarragon and drizzle with olive oil to serve.
600g cooked baby beetroot (not the type in vinegar), peeled and trimmed
3-4 tbsp olive oil
6-7 tbsp balsamic vinegar
150g Roquefort
1-2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
1.Halve or quarter the beetroot, depending on the size. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan, add the beetroot and sauté for 2-3 mins, tossing well to coat.
2.Add the balsamic vinegar, season and cook 1-2 mins longer, until reduced right down to a syrupy glaze.
3.Transfer to a serving bowl to cool, cover and chill. (Can be done 1 day ahead.) Remove 30 mins before serving, crumble over the Roquefort and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
I couldn't actually find this one in the book! (Of course, this is one of the last pages I've done, and my eyes can barely register my own name, let alone a recipe.) If I happen to find it in the future, I'll edit this, of course. In the meantime, you can check out the video of this recipe, linked on the right.
