Cooking for Friends. Gordon Ramsay

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СКАЧАТЬ filling. A domestic kitchen is a far superior place to what it was ten years ago. And we’re competitive as a nation. We want to outdo our neighbours. We know and understand the importance of eating well, so mix that with our natural peacock tendency to be the one who hosts the best dinner parties, and you are on the path to a whole new dimension in your life at home.

      But don’t get overconfident and miss the point when preparing a dinner party. Lighten up, have a glass of wine. Have your guests in the kitchen with you, and instead of showing off to them, involve them. Delegate the starter and the dessert while you tend to the main course. What can be difficult for me when going to dinner parties is when people hang on your every forkful. The food has been prepared in order to be enjoyed. It should be relaxing, not there to take you into a stress zone.

      The palate can be educated. It’s a matter of learning, of discipline and of practice. It is also the best reason in the world to stop smoking. Smoking will always dull your palate and confuse your taste buds. It’s a bit like playing football with your laces tied together.

      I love to see an array of cookbooks on someone’s shelf so that I can see who excites people. And I love to see a top chef’s recipes domesticated for home use. I have hundreds of cookbooks, though slightly fewer now, after taking all of our Delia cookbooks to Oxfam. I was astonished when I saw her using canned mince. Where’s the feel-good factor in that sort of compromise? It just gives the wrong message. We’re one of the hardest-working nations in the world. We move forwards, not backwards. The phenomenal confidence that Delia gave people, the impact that she has had over thirty years, has to my mind been shattered in one book. It made me quite distraught and taught me never to invest in a football club, if that’s what it does to you.

      I get nervous if people tell me that they follow my recipes word for word. A recipe is a guideline. Adding, subtracting, evolving it – that is part of the pleasure. If a particular herb is not to your taste, if you don’t like the strength of rosemary, say, by all means, use thyme, especially lemon thyme. If you prefer the purple basil in the middle of summer, then great (if you ever can get it). If you are not excited about using swede the way I am, then use celeriac. We don’t eat enough turnips or kohlrabies – in terms of flavour, they’re extraordinary. Adapting the ingredients is completely in your hands. But the method is what matters. The techniques in cooking are rigorous and imperative: they are your passport to a successful dish. Cooks must practise, practise, practise. Anyone can learn, but you need focus, proper understanding, and to go at the right pace, not running before you can walk.

      I’ll never forget, as a 22-year-old commis chef, working for the Roux brothers, all I wanted to do was bake, make the most amazing puff pastry, choux pastry, sourdough bread, and tomato and olive bread, using a natural yeast and fermentation. As a baker, you would start at midnight and work until midday. At half past midnight, it fell silent. All you could hear was the timers and the steamers for the second proof. On one occasion, I had to put together this marquise chocolate. Pascal, the young French pastry chef I was taking the section over from, could hardly speak English. He left me a box of After Eight mints, and said that I was to put a layer of chocolate mousse in the bottom of the mould and then add the After Eights. He wanted me to cut them in half and arrange them in threes in order to get this line of mints going through the mousse. I was thinking: this guy’s winding me up. He’s trying to get me into trouble. So I ate the mints instead.

      The next day, Albert Roux came in. You have to give him one of everything, down to every bread roll, so that he can taste it all. I gave him the marquise, and he went bananas because it didn’t have the mints running through the centre. I couldn’t believe he would make an amazing chocolate mousse and stick After Eight mints in the middle. I got a bollocking. It got thrown in the bin, and I had to start again. I grew up on a council estate, but trained with the best. I’ve trained my palate with some of the greatest chefs, but sometimes you have to question the best. Cookery is quite a journey. Take nothing for granted.

       Hot and cold soups

      Soups are truly versatile: they can be as light or substantial as you want. In small amounts, a good soup can excite the palate in the form of a starter. Enrich the broth or bulk it up with chunky ingredients and it converts into a satisfying main course.

      I fell in love with chowders when I spent a few months filming in America. We tasted amazing New England clam chowders on the East Coast. In San Francisco, one of the main treats was sourdough bread bowls filled with thick bisques and creamy soups. Once you’ve devoured the soup, you’re left with a flavourful bread bowl to break apart and savour. Whether you’re making an elegant blended soup or a more homely chowder, always start with a good base. Good-quality stock provides a depth of flavour that brings together all the elements in a soup. It is also important to season well.

      Chilled cucumber soup

      Curried cauliflower and cheddar soup

      Roast chestnut, parsnip and apple soup

      Asparagus velouté

      Alnwick soup

      Broccoli, stilton and pear soup Conger eel bisque Italian-style turnip soup Cornish crab soup Oxtail soup

      Shropshire summer soup Crayfish chowder

      Jacket potato soup with sour cream Creamy sorrel soup

       Chilled cucumber soup

       Nothing beats a chilled cucumber soup on a hot, balmy day: it cools the body and whets the appetite. I find a little horseradish cream brings the soup alive, but you can leave it out to keep the flavours subtle and light.

      SERVES 4

       3 long cucumbers, about 650g each, straight from the refrigerator

       lemon juice, to taste

       1 tbsp olive oil

       handful of dill, leaves roughly chopped, plus few fronds to garnish

       500ml natural yoghurt

       1-2 tbsp horseradish cream, or to taste

      Peel the cucumbers and cut 2 lengthways into quarters. Slice off the seedy core from each quarter, then chop into dice. Put into a large bowl and set aside.

      Peel the remaining cucumber into long thin ribbons using a swivel vegetable peeler. (Cut the ribbons in half if you find them too long.) Place in another bowl and toss with a little lemon juice, the olive oil, chopped dill, and salt and pepper. Cover with cling film and chill until ready to serve.

      Put half the yoghurt, a pinch of salt and pepper СКАЧАТЬ