Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course (2 page)

So the first thing I want to do is to reassure you that this book isn’t going to be anything like that. I’m not setting out to turn you into Michelin-starred chefs here. I’m not expecting you to spend hours bent over plates, tweaking and primping in pursuit of perfection. I just want to teach you how to cook and enjoy good food at home. I’m going to strip away all the hard graft and complexity and show how, from humble beginnings, anyone can produce mouth-watering recipes. Put simply, I’m going to show you how to cook yourself into a better cook.

Not that I’m turning my back on my experience. Over the past 25 years I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the best chefs in the world, from Albert and Michel Roux in London to Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon in Paris. I’ve held Michelin stars in many of the major cities of the world, including three at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London for more than 10 years now. Like all chefs, I’ve learnt an incredible amount along the way: techniques, tricks – cheats, even – that I incorporate instinctively into my cooking every day. Half the time I don’t even know I’m using them, but they are always there, giving me confidence in the kitchen.

And believe me, the best thing you can have in a kitchen is confidence. I really think that’s what separates good cooks from the mediocre ones. Sure, you need to be able to taste and 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. That’s what takes your cooking to another level.

Some people say they can’t cook – that given half a chance, they’ll burn water. I just don’t buy that. I think they’re just not very interested in trying. Fair enough. I’m not interested in needlepoint and I’ll tell you that I can’t sew. But in truth, there’s no one with a genuine interest in learning who can’t improve and, with enough practice, become a decent cook. They might not get to the stage where they can hold down a job in a professional kitchen, but they can learn to produce good home cooking and to get pleasure from it. And if you are already a good cook? Well, that’s the great thing about cooking – there’s always something new to learn, another way of doing things, a different way of combining flavours that take a recipe in a new direction.

So where do we start? With the absolute basics, of course. Before you even get to turn on the gas, the first job in any new kitchen is always, always, always to get to know your environment, to get familiar with the layout and be comfortable with where everything is. Are the pans within easy reach? Are your sieves close to hand? I’m not talking about major DIY here. I’m not suggesting you need to rip out your kitchen sink and shift it across the room. It’s just a question of getting yourself familiar with where everything is. You don’t want to be just about to finish off your risotto and have to spend 10 minutes looking for the cheese grater. That’s the kind of thing that throws you off your stride and from then on you’ll be playing catch-up.

Time spent getting yourself ready is never wasted. Get out the ingredients and the equipment you need. This
mise-en-place
, as we call it, is crucial. It sets you off on a calm course and takes the stress out of cooking. Without it, any professional kitchen would be dead in the water, and it’s equally important for the home cook too. Get it right and you have won 90 per cent of the battle.

KITCHEN KIT

Speaking of equipment, what do you need? Less than you might think. I’m always suspicious of people who have every gadget under the sun because I suspect they collect it as a kind of displacement therapy, to make up for the lack of cooking they actually do. Like a footballer who’s afraid to make a tackle for fear of getting grass stains on his kit, they line up their blenders and juicers and pasta machines to look the part, and then let them collect dust. Better to be a poorly equipped doer than an over-equipped poser.

Essential kitchen equipment starts and pretty much finishes with a good set of knives and pans. Armed with these, there are not a lot of jobs you can’t tackle. A knife will do the job of both food processor and garlic press, a pan can be both meat mallet and flan tin. Buy the best quality you can, and by that I don’t necessarily mean the most expensive – as in everything, you’ll sometimes pay over the odds for fashionable brands – but I do mean something built to last. Spend the money now and these kitchen workhorses will last you a lifetime, saving you a fortune in the long run.

HOW TO CHOP AN ONION

1
. Cut the onion in half lengthways, going through the pointed end and the root. Peel off the papery skin to get to the shiny layers but leave the root intact or the juices will start to bleed and make you cry.

2
. Make a series of parallel vertical cuts down the length of the onion, stopping just short of the root.

3
. Holding the onion steady, make two horizontal cuts through the onion, again stopping just short of the root.

4
. Now grip the onion like a tennis ball to hold it together, pushing down with your forefinger, middle finger and ring finger on top and thumb and pinkie at the sides. Have your middle finger slightly ahead of its two neighbours and use the knuckle to guide the knife down to make repeated slices, inching your fingers back towards the root as you go.

5
. You should be left with a pile of neatly diced onion, and a root, which you can trim more if you like or reserve for the stockpot.

KNIVES

Knives are the first thing every aspiring chef buys. I still remember the day I came home as a pimply teenager clutching my first set tightly under my arm. From day one, they stay with you, taken from kitchen to kitchen and guarded with your life. At catering college I was taught that the test of a good knife was in the balance. The blade should be forged all the way through to the butt of the handle and you should be able to balance it on an extended forefinger where the blade and handle meet.

Most knives are made of stainless steel. French steel is softer, so easier to sharpen, but more vulnerable to wear. German steel is harder, so takes more skill to sharpen, but it will maintain its sharp edge for longer. Japanese knives, too, are made of very hard steel and tend to be lighter and more stylish-looking. I favour Wüsthof, a German brand, but the important thing is to find a make that feels comfortable in your hand. That way it will become your best friend.

A basic set of knives should include a 5–7cm paring knife for peeling fruit and cutting small vegetables, a 20cm cook’s knife for chopping, a 12cm boning knife with a slightly flexible blade for cutting around meat and bone, and a 25cm serrated or bread knife. You’ll also need a honing steel to keep them sharp. A blunt knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one as it can easily skid off what you are cutting and do serious damage to fingers. Get into the habit of brushing your knife against a steel every time you use it. Hold the steel confidently as you would a tennis racket in your left hand (or right, if you are left-handed) and place the heel of the blade (where the sharpened edge meets the handle) on top of the steel near its base. Now draw the knife up the steel in a sweeping motion so that you stroke the entire length of the blade against the steel, keeping the angle between the blade and the steel at a steady 20 degrees. Now hone the other side of the knife by placing the blade edge underneath the steel and repeating the motion. Do this five or six times, always alternating the side of the blade, until you have a sharp edge.

With practice, you’ll be able to build up a rhythm and do this instinctively in fast and fluid movements, but speed isn’t the issue – it’s about keeping the blade in contact with the steel at a consistent angle and stroking it all the way to the tip.

If the knife has lost its edge, no amount of honing will bring it back. In that case you’ll need to regrind the blade, either with a household knife sharpener or, better still, by asking your butcher or kitchen shop to do it for you.

When using a knife, always ensure you are cutting onto a solid surface such as a chopping board. Glass and marble boards may look the part, but they have no real place in the kitchen as they will blunt the knife. Heavy wooden boards, which are what I use at home, are more knife-friendly but still look good. They can be cleaned with hot water and a little detergent, but never leave them to soak. They should be treated periodically with oil (wood, vegetable, it doesn’t really matter, but probably not your best extra virgin). Plastic boards are highly practical as they can be put in the dishwasher. We use polyethylene boards in the restaurants – colour-coded for meat, fish and vegetables. That’s probably overkill for the domestic kitchen, but do be aware of hygiene and certainly don’t chop anything that isn’t going to be thoroughly cooked on a board you previously used for raw meat. Don’t forget, you can always flip a board over if you need a clean surface.

Make sure the board is steady (placing it on a damp dishcloth will prevent it from slipping) and press whatever you are cutting down firmly to hold it steady. Always cut forwards, letting the weight of the knife do the work. If your knife is sharp enough, you shouldn’t hear a loud chopping noise as the blade hits the board. You should be using more of a rocking motion, with the point of the knife staying largely in contact with the chopping board.

PANS

Again, buy the best you can afford. Good-quality construction is key; not only will the pans last longer, but the heavier they are, the more evenly they’ll conduct heat, preventing hot spots from scorching your food. Look for a weighty pan with a copper or aluminium base, and a stainless steel inner lining for ease of cleaning. Most chefs prefer copper because it not only heats up quickly but also cools fast, meaning you have more control. It does need more looking after, though. Long, heatproof handles should be securely riveted, so check the fixings. Three sizes – 2 litre, 3–4 litre and 6–8 litre, all with snugly fitting lids – should see you right for most jobs. One other pan worth considering is a saucier, which has sloping sides, making it ideal for reducing stocks because the liquid evaporates more easily. It’s also good for making risottos or anything else that needs constant stirring. A large, cast-iron lidded casserole that can transfer from the hob to the oven is also invaluable, especially for slow braises and winter stews.

You’ll also need a couple of frying pans: a 20cm pan for omelettes and a 30cm one for general frying. These should be ovenproof up to 200°C/Gas 6 so that you can start cooking something on the hob and then finish it in the oven – a rack of lamb, say, or a tarte tatin.

If your pan doesn’t already have a non-stick coating, you can season it by sprinkling it with salt and heating it to a high temperature on the hob. Then you throw away the salt and rub the pan with a thin layer of groundnut or vegetable oil. This will give it a protective layer and prevent things sticking. Once you’ve finished using it, simply wipe it out while it’s still hot with more oiled kitchen paper. Don’t wash it in detergent or you will need to season it again.

I also use a griddle pan for searing steaks. Pressing the meat down onto the ridged surface not only creates a professional-looking finish (especially if you give your steak a quarter turn halfway through cooking to give cross-hatched pattern), but also gives some of the chargrilled flavour you’ll get from a professional grill.