The Ultimate
Mealtime

In his Ultimate Cookery Course, the Michelin-starred chef aims to strip away the complexity of fancy restaurant cookery and show his fans how to prepare straightforward, tasty dishes at home.

He shares a wealth of tips and tricks from his years as a professional chef – such as what to look for when buying a pan and how to chop an onion – to give home cooks that all-important confidence in the kitchen.

“I really think that’s what separates good cooks from the mediocre ones,” writes Ramsay, who has confidence in spades.

“Sure, you need to be able to master a few basics, but being able to act boldly and decisively, to have the confidence to ramp up the seasoning, for example, or to turn the gas up high and use the heat to your advantage – that’s the real secret.”

And to all those who say they simply can’t cook, the restaurateur reckons they’re just not interested enough in trying.

“In truth, there’s no one with a genuine interest in learning who can’t improve and, with enough practice, become a decent cook,” he adds.

SLOW-COOKED AUBERGINE

Serves 4-6 as a starter

Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying

2 aubergines, trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 red onion, peeled and diced

1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Pinch of caster sugar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

1 loaf of crusty white bread, e.g. sourdough or pain de campagne

Small bunch of mint, leaves roughly chopped

100g feta cheese, crumbled

Method

Heat a heavy-based casserole dish over a high heat. Add a glug of oil and fry the aubergine for 3-4 minutes until coloured on all sides. Add the garlic and onion and fry for another 5 minutes until the onion is tender.

Stir in the butter beans and pomegranate molasses with a generous pinch of salt and grinding of pepper.

Add the tomatoes and sugar. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes until the aubergine is tender and collapsed and the stew reduced and flavoursome. (If you find the mixture is drying out too much, add a couple of tablespoons of water.)

To serve, slice the bread and toast on each side until golden. Stir the mint through the aubergine, spoon onto the slices of toast and scatter over the crumbled feta. Serve warm.

PORK CHOPS WITH PEPPERS

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 pork chops, about 200g each

Olive oil, for frying

2 garlic cloves, skin on, crushed

Small bunch of thyme

Butter

For the sweet and sour peppers:

Olive oil, for frying

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

2 red peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Small bunch of basil, leaves shredded

Method

Prepare the peppers. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and peppers. Season with salt and pepper, add sugar and saute over a high heat for 4-5 minutes until soft and coloured. (Make sure you can hear the vegetables hissing in the pan. If not, the pan isn’t hot enough and you’re in danger of boiling the vegetables instead of frying them.)

Add the vinegar and let it bubble for a minute or two until it has reduced and the peppers are soft. Turn down the heat, add the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shredded basil and continue to cook for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. Decant into a bowl and set aside to infuse.

Wipe the pan clean, ready to cook the pork. Using a sharp knife, make cuts into the fat of the chops, about 5mm deep and at 3-4cm intervals, making sure you don’t cut into the meat. (This will stop the meat from curling up during cooking and will make it cook more evenly.) Season the chops really well on both sides, pushing the seasoning into the meat.

Place the cleaned-out frying pan over a high heat until hot and add a dash of oil. Add the chops, garlic and thyme and fry for 2-3 minutes until coloured. Turn and fry for a further 2-3 minutes on the other side, pushing the thyme under the chops and breaking up the garlic a little.

Towards the end of cooking time, add 3 knobs of butter and baste the chops with it as they are cooking, to speed up the cooking process and keep the chops moist. (Push the fatty edge of the chops towards the back of the pan to help render the fat.)

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and place with the herbs on top of the chops. Transfer the chops to a plate, and rest for 5-10 mins spooning over the basting butter now and again. Serve the chops on top of the peppers with the resting juices and a little juice from the peppers.

SPICY SAUSAGE RICE

Serves 4

Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

5 spiced sausages, e.g. Italian chilli

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

200g long-grain rice

½ glass white wine

500ml chicken stock

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

1 tomato, chopped

Small bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

MEthod

Add a glug of oil to a heavy-based casserole dish and fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the pepper and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Slit the sausage skins and crumble the sausage meat into the pan, then cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until coloured. Add the smoked paprika and mix. Season to taste.

Add the rice and stir well to mix thoroughly and absorb the flavour. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine and scraping any bits stuck to the bottom. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid almost entirely absorbed. Remove from the heat, gently fold in the spring onions, tomato and parsley and serve.

Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course is published by Hodder & Stoughton, £25. The accompanying series is on Channel 4 on Mondays.