Tasty Dinners Tom Kerridge's Best Ever Dishes

Tasty, amazing, delicious.

I LOVE cooking.

Oh, that smells lush.

But why not make your food the best it can be?

It's worked proper nice.

Oh...ooh-ah-ooh!

The difference between cooking good food and great food

is only a few little tricks and tips away.

I want to show you how to turn an ordinary dish...

..into something extraordinary.

Oh, my God, that is amazing.

It's time to push flavour to its fullest...

Absolutely beautiful.

..and liven up those old favourites...

That's delicious.

That's really up with the best.

..and add a bit of magic to your cooking

with my Best Ever Dishes.

To me, great food should be cooked every day of the week

even when you're short on time.

I know it's all too easy when you get in after a hard day's work

to open the fridge and get those ready meals,

but you don't need to do that.

I've got some dead easy recipes for you to do

for some really good, tasty dinners.

'I'm going to show you how to spice up your lamb chops...'

Even people who say they don't like lamb,

they only like steak - jokers - you'd love this.

'..turn a classic pud into a speedy midweek wonder...'

If you're expecting one of those rice puddings that you had at school

with the horrible skin on the top,

you're going to be in for a massive disappointment.

'..and I'll be revamping retro scampi and chips.'

-Wow.

-Go on, get in there.

-Fantastic.

-Absolutely handsome.

So, first up, a really easy one-pan dish

that could be knocked up in no time.

Right, for this tasty dinner, we are going back to the old school,

we're going retro with lemon pepper chicken.

To start off, I'm going to whip up a simple but punchy marinade -

just zest a couple of lemons.

Chicken, for me...well, it's quite a bland kind of flavour,

so it takes to marinades really, really well.

The lemon's really zingy and it gives it a massive lift.

Now give those lemons a good squeeze.

Take all them pips out,

just make sure you've got no cuts on your hand as well,

otherwise, that is going to be bad times.

'When you're short on time,

'you want to get big flavours into the chicken fast,

'so chuck in three large grated garlic gloves...'

A little lemon juice and garlic party going on there.

'..some Dijon mustard

'and sweeten things up with some runny honey.'

When the chicken cooks

and the honey starts going all sticky and gooey,

you end up with this lovely glaze on top of the chicken.

Now for my star ingredient.

I love cracked black pepper - it's really spicy, really peppery.

You're going to put two or three teaspoons' worth,

you can put a few more if you're feeling brave

and then give it a good old mix.

Now, there's nothing worse than dry chicken breasts,

so just pop to your butcher and ask for breasts on the bone.

How many times do you put a chicken breast in the oven,

cook it and it starts off that big

and shrinks up to that big?

But because the bone is there, it just kind of puffs up

and you end up with this really beautiful, plump,

juicy chicken breast.

Score your chicken across the top

to help those flavours get right into the meat.

And you get a massive kick of acidity coming from the lemon

and a really nice, peppery spice from the cracked black pepper.

This marinade works fast.

Ten minutes chilling in the fridge will do the trick -

just take it out before two hours, tops.

Any longer than that

and the lemon juice will start to cure the chicken.

You'll end up drying it out before you've even cooked it.

Now, because this is a midweek meal,

I like to keep things nice and simple.

Everything is going to be cooked in one tray

which cuts down on the washing up.

That's got to be a bonus.

Right, time for a bit more lemon on my lemon pepper chicken.

I'm just going to slice it nice and thinly.

The three-second rule does not apply in my kitchen.

The lemons - that haven't been on the floor - go into the tray.

Now, start building up this one-pan wonder with some fresh rosemary.

I'm kind of making this messy carpet of flavour

and then just pop in some whole new potatoes.

Put them into the tray with plenty of space between them -

it gives them a chance to cook and kind of steam in the lemon juice.

Right, ten minutes are up - time for that marinated chicken.

Just give them a final rub and sit them on top of the potatoes.

Then, as it cooks, all of these lovely juices,

all of that honey and the lemon will all caramelise really nicely.

Whack these in the oven at 200 degrees centigrade.

They're going to be lovely.

And 30 minutes later, dinner will pretty much be done.

Look at that - the smell is fantastic.

You can see the potatoes,

nice and steamed on one half on the bottom

and the top half, they've gone all nice and crunchy,

a little bit like a mini roast potato.

How easy was that?

It's like a proper roast dinner, but not just for Sundays.

You ain't even got to make the gravy for it,

cos the chicken juices and the lemon has created its own sauce

and just give it a quick baste over the top of the potatoes.

Stir in some flat leaf parsley and once they've had a little rest,

place those sticky, peppery chicken breasts back on top.

Bosh - there you go.

Proof that it doesn't take that much effort

to make a proper tasty dinner.

Easy-peasy,

lemon-pepper-chicken-squeezy.

For a great midweek meal, lamb chops are hard to beat,

and if you're like me,

and want a proper manly cut of meat for tea,

then the famous Barnsley chop is one of the best.

So I've come to Barnsley to find out

what makes this cut of meat so special.

Local butcher David is the man to tell me.

These chops are one of his best sellers.

So what keeps his customers coming back for more?

I'm here to grab some Barnsley chops.

They're beautiful - you can't beat them, Barnsley chops.

You can't beat Barnsley chops.

Is it because you get two chops, two for the price of one?

Yes, you get your money's worth - they're largish.

Are you a big fan of the Barnsley chop?

I like the Barnsley chop, yeah.

Yeah, and how do you prefer cooking yours?

Wife cooks 'em - I've never been in the kitchen,

so I don't know what to do.

I think the kitchen's at the back of the house somewhere.

But I can smell something coming from it.

Right! Time to talk to the expert.

-Hello there, David.

-Hello, Tom.

-How are you?

-I'm fine, young man. Yourself?

-Good, good.

-So you're busy, ain't ya?

-Yes. I keep going.

THEY LAUGH

As I am in Barnsley, I'm looking for some Barnsley chops.

Have a look at those, Tom.

They look absolutely lovely.

What makes them so great?

Well, it's big and it's wholesome.

Big and wholesome - that's right up my street.

Time to get my hands on one of those chops.

-Cor, look at that!

-Oh!

-Now, that's a fine beast, innit?

Oh, not half, it's a beauty.

That's beautiful. So is that a Yorkshire lamb?

Yorkshire fed, Yorkshire bred.

In your opinion - I know you're going to say it is -

-but is Yorkshire lamb the best?

-It definitely is the best.

Show me where the Barnsley chop comes from.

-Are you going to prep it up?

-Yeah.

Nice and thick, please.

This juicy chop comes from the loin of the lamb.

So a normal chop is, like, one eye of the meat?

-That's right. Yeah.

-On the bone?

-Yeah.

But what...a Barnsley chop is a double one?

It's a double.

'And double portions always sound good to me.'

-And that...

-And that is...

-That is your Barnsley chop.

-Barnsley chop.

Cooking something on the bone, for me, is really good,

because it helps to keep it nice and moist,

it gives it loads of flavour.

-There's also a nice fat ratio, as well.

-That's right.

The bone and the fat gives the meat the flavour

and that's why the Barnsley chop

is sweeter than a single chop, I think.

Right, I've had my demo.

David wants me to work for my supper,

so it's my turn to have a go.

-Would you like an apron?

-Oh, yeah.

I want to feel like a proper butcher,

stick me in an apron.

Come on then, chief.

But if I do mess it up, I'll promise I'll buy it.

-Right.

-TOM LAUGHS

Cor, blimey! It's either me or your saw's not very sharp.

It's sharp.

THEY LAUGH

-That's him.

-There we are.

-That's it.

-We're through.

And then we finish it off with a knife.

That's right. Just all the way through.

Wow.

That is a monster of a Barnsley chop.

Would you like the other one to go with it?

Do you know what? Let's have 'em both,

but that one's a little bit thinner.

-Yeah.

-I'm having this one, you can have this one.

Time to get me chops around this juicy cut,

but I'm not doing it the Barnsley way -

I'm going to spice things up a bit.

I can't wait to get it cooked.

'To turn this Northern cut of meat into something a little more exotic,

'I'm using a couple of my favourite spices -

'coriander seeds...'

They're really fragrant and light.

And then to go over the coriander seeds,

some cumin seeds, whole.

This gives it a kind of Indian, North African kind of feel

that goes with lamb so, so well.

Toast them on a medium heat to release all those lovely oils.

You could put it in the oven,

but you kind of lose track of where it is.

If you do it in a pan on the top, you can always see where they are -

that way, you've got less chance of burning them.

Less chance - not zero chance, but just less chance.

A few minutes should do the trick.

And just when you can see they've got a nice, even brown colour,

I'm just going to pour them onto a plate and leave them to cool.

Now time for your lamb

which I've tied together like a little present.

So hopefully, as it cooks,

it kind of stays in this one beautiful shape we've got,

a nice, like, rugby ball oval.

To get the most out of this cut, you need to render out the fat.

There's nothing worse than having a lamb chop

that's got a big soggy bit of lamb fat around the outside,

that's horrible.

Just keep your chop fat-side down.

That's already looking beautiful,

that's where loads of flavour is going to come from the lamb.

And once it's crispy all the way round,

lift out this bad boy to cool for a couple of minutes.

It smells delicious.

Save the leftover lamb fat for something special later.

Now back to your spices.

These guys have cooled down and I'm going to stick them...

..in the heaviest pestle and mortar in the world.

It's the spicy crust that's going to take this chop

to a whole new level.

Give it a good bash.

Wow - instantly, I can smell the cumin and the coriander

cos it's really pungent, really strong.

'Just get rid of those husks...'

Look at that lovely spice that comes out on the plate.

'..and give your Barnsley chop

'a gorgeous, spicy coating on one side.'

You can see already it's going to give it a lovely crust,

it almost already looks cooked - it ain't, though.

It'd be ropey now. You need to cook it.

A quick pinch of salt on both sides

and pop the lamb back in the pan, crust-side down.

I've only spiced it on the one side

cos they're very powerful flavours, cumin and coriander,

and if you completely cover it, it'll overpower the lamb.

'After ten minutes, turn it over...'

And you can see it's getting a beautiful crust on it,

it looks incredible.

'..and leave it for another two.'

OK, meat lovers - you see this lamb? Look at the lovely colour on that.

Even people who say they don't like lamb,

they only like steak - jokers - you'd love this.

'Add a knob of butter...'

That'll kind of foam and give another nutty kind of flavour

going onto the lamb.

'..and a good squeeze of lemon juice.'

Then all you need to do is love it and care for it

and massage it in a little bit of foaming butter.

And that's it - cooked.

Just pour over some of those nutty, spicy juices.

Look at that - cooking don't get much better than that.

Just give it ten minutes to relax, then right before serving,

add a touch of orange zest.

That is going to make that the Barnsley Chop Beauty.

Now, I'm not really a salad kind of guy,

but I've got a recipe that's a great partner for your lamb chop,

made even better with a bit of meaty flavour.

So this is going to be the ultimate salad

to go with my lamb.

A kind of provincale, a little bit salad Nicoise,

using black olives,

but that salty kick, I'm going to get using some feta

and a bit of a chilli spice using red...and green chillies.

But here's what makes this the best salad ever.

So, this is the lamb fat from the Barnsley chop.

This is full of lamby flavour.

Perfect for frying my courgettes in.

Now slice the courgettes nice and thick,

and this way, when you fry 'em, they'll stay quite firm

and not go all soft and floppy.

Now I know it might seem a bit odd,

but using this lamb fat will make all the difference.

These courgettes are going to act a little bit like a sponge

and they're going to fry and take on all that lamb fat flavour.

All they need is a couple of minutes on each side.

There we go - you just get a nice brown caramelisation

on top of the courgette.

Just about soft enough to eat, you can see that,

it's just got that little curve on it -

that means it's perfect.

Give them a little pinch of sea salt

and whilst your next batch is on the go,

you can start the rest of the salad.

Now, I'm a big fan of English gem lettuce

and it's got this really nice, crunchy, crisp snap to it

that comes from the core in the middle.

But it's got lovely soft leaves all around the outside.

All those folds, they kind of hold oils and vinegars

and all sorts of dressing you put on them.

I'm going to build those layers of flavour and texture.

Just dice up some crisp green pepper.

Not too fine.

You want it so you still have crunch and texture in your mouth.

Now for some heat, if you can handle it.

Don't just throw them on without knowing how hot they are -

you've got to taste it.

That way, you know how hot is it and how much to use.

In this case, I'm only going to use one chilli rather than the two...

..because it's very hot.

HE COUGHS AND CHUCKLES

Right, perhaps I'll tone it down a bit.

Now the red is never normally quite as spicy as the green.

But you've still got to try it.

This one's not as hot.

That was a little bit like chilli roulette, that.

I'm still here, so we're all right.

Just scatter the chilli over the top.

HE COUGHS AND WHEEZES

Then for a taste of the Med,

add some black olives and feta cheese.

The great thing about feta is it has a fantastic salt content

so you don't really need to season this salad.

Add some coriander and mint leaves

and you're ready for your courgettes.

The heat that's coming from them

will just slowly wilt the lettuce leaves

and the mint leaves around them.

They're not hot, just warm,

just slowly, kind of, bringing everything together.

mix it all up.

Little bit like being in a steam room.

Pour over a bit of sherry vinegar

and to turn it into a really tasty dinner,

grab those precious meat juices.

You've just got to drizzle some of this flavoursome oil

all over the salad.

Now I know it's not your normal olive oil dressing,

but using that lamb fat and that flavour,

this is the thing that takes it to the next level.

Do it, people.

Now puddings are often overlooked as part of a midweek meal,

but this is a dead easy one to do.

It only takes about half an hour,

this is going to be my amazing rice pudding.

Now for this quick-cook dessert,

leave your pudding rice at the back of the cupboard.

I'm going to be using Arborio rice

which is actually a risotto rice,

it takes a lot less time to cook and absorbs all of the moisture

and all of the liquid that you're going to cook it in really easily.

Now, this rice pudding

is going to be unlike anything you've had before,

cos, let's be honest, rice on its own is a little bit boring.

So first off, I'm toasting mine in the oven

to give it a bit more of a bite and a lovely nutty taste.

15 minutes should do the trick.

Wow - there's some amazing smells coming from this.

That toasted rice is great, it smells a little bit like...

It smells a little bit like breakfast cereal.

And that's just what I'm after.

I'm going to add to that toasty flavour

by cooking my rice in a nutty base.

I'm going to cook some butter

and take it to that point where it goes nice and brown.

They call it beurre noisette in French

which means "nut butter".

About 50 grams into a pan, quite a high heat

and you're going to take it just to the point

where it's almost burnt.

Now, keep a careful eye on it.

And just as it's smoking, I add my toasted rice.

Make sure you give it a good stir.

The rice gets covered completely in this lovely, nutty brown butter.

To make this pudding really gorgeous,

I'm adding a special ingredient.

Now, I'm using almond milk in this recipe

rather than normal milk, cos again,

it has a kind of depth of flavour of toasty nuts

and all these little things is the difference

between a boring rice pudding and a really good one.

And one way to make a good pud really good

is to add some luscious double cream and some muscovado sugar.

You can see already that the sugar has dissolved.

It's kind of given this lovely brown caramel colour to the rice pudding.

I'm not normally the biggest fan of beige, but this is a good 'un.

This will take about 15 minutes to cook out,

but don't get bored - just keep stirring.

If you're expecting one of those rice puddings that you had at school

with the horrible skin on the top that no-one ever ate,

you're going to be in for a massive disappointment

because you're going to end up with something that you love,

that you'll come back to time and time again.

It's no bother, really - I mean, how hard is stirring?

Then, just before you want to give up,

you should end up with this.

Now it's really lovely and gloopy and rich,

thick and sweet.

No skin in sight.

Sticking with the nutty theme,

stir in some chopped toasted almonds.

And now, like all good risottos,

I'm just going to leave it with the heat off

to sit for about five, maybe eight minutes,

before we come back to it.

I promised you a rice pud like you've never had before,

so I'm not stopping there.

This is a little bit of extra garnish

for richness and decadence.

I'm using creme fraiche

to cut through those toasty, dark flavours

and mixing in some ground cinnamon, icing sugar

and a bit of orange zest.

It gives a real fresh kick.

Just give it a good whisk until it's nice and thick.

Then it's back to your rice.

Now, like all good risottos,

you finish them off with a bit of cheese

and this one's no different,

except it's not going to be Parmesan -

it's going to be mascarpone.

'Whack in a couple of tablespoons...'

Don't be shy.

'..and to make this pud the best it can be,

'top it all off with some fresh diced peaches,

'a few mint leaves, a dollop of your creme fraiche mix

'and a sprinkling of muscovado.'

And that, my friends, is my version of the classic rice pudding,

done very easily, but I can tell you now

that it definitely doesn't taste simple.

If you're looking for a quick, tasty dinner,

fresh fish is a great choice.

Some of the best comes from the Cornish coast.

I'm going to show you how to make a great midweek fish supper.

It's a little bit retro, but trust me,

done properly, this one is hard to beat.

I'm talking about proper '70s scampi and chips -

not out of a packet, but made up fresh.

But even in seaside cafes like this one,

scampi is rarely on the menu

and I want to see if I can get it back on there.

-Knock-knock - hello, chaps.

-Hi. Tom - how you doing?

-How you doing, Si?

-Welcome to Hidden Hut.

-Thank you very much.

-Here we are.

What a set-up this is.

-This is Dan.

-Hello Dan.

-And Nick.

-Tom, nice to meet you.

-How are you?

-And the main man, Steve.

That is possibly the best chef's hat I've ever seen.

Thank you very much, man. Cheers.

-Beautiful view on a day like today.

-Yeah, it is amazing.

To be honest, if I worked here, I don't think I'd get much work done.

These boys regularly serve up locally caught fish.

So can I convince them to give scampi a go?

Do you ever have scampi and chips? You know, that retro classic.

It's something that I absolutely love.

It's not really something we actually have done.

I'm not sure they're convinced.

Poor old scampi has fallen out of fashion,

but would their customers be up for it?

-How we doing, guys?

-Very good.

-Are you enjoying your holiday?

-Yeah, lovely, thank you.

I'm here to do scampi and chips.

-Are you all fans of scampi and chips?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Do you know what's in it?

-No idea, but it's nice.

-Is it lobster tails?

-Crayfish? No?

Well, we're almost there.

-Fish.

-Fish? Fish. We'll go with fish.

Scampi nowadays is mainly made with langoustine.

But in the '70s, monkfish was popular

and I'm going retro.

So this is my beautiful monkfish tail,

Cornish monkfish tail, as we're in Cornwall,

and you can see why, I suppose, in the '70s and the '80s,

they replaced langoustine with this,

because it's so beautiful, it's so meaty, so delicious.

This is going to be very lovely to deep fry.

This is going to be perfect as an evening dish -

very simple, very quick to do, delicious.

Just cut this lovely fish into pieces.

Nice big chunks - wonderful, moist meat.

And when you deep fry it, it's going to stay really juicy and succulent.

To make perfect scampi, you want a proper nice crispy batter

and here's how to do it.

First, I'm swapping out flour for polenta.

So you can see that's a little bit courser

than normal flour, but it stays really crispy.

Add some tapioca.

You know when you go to a Chinese takeaway

and you get those puffed-up, crispy prawn crackers?

Well, they're made with tapioca starch

and that kind of gives it that really lovely,

crispy kind of texture.

And to make sure my batter has a little bit of bounce to the ounce,

a teaspoon of baking power.

Add a bit of sparkling water and give it a mix.

You can see there's already little puffy air bubbles there

What that will do, as that batter goes in the fryer,

the air will start to escape

and, kind of like, give a nice, puffy little crispy outer shell

to my lovely scampi.

I'm just going to stick this to one side.

'Right, you can't serve up scampi without chips

'and skinny fries are the perfect partner.

'Just slice them nice and...skinny.'

Literally, just pick these up, without dropping them in the sand...

(Sh! No-one will know.)

Blanch them in boiling salted water for about a minute and a half

and then leave 'em to drain.

So you see all that steam coming off 'em

and on the outside, they'll start to go a little bit sticky

and a little bit dry.

That way, when I put them in the fryer,

they go really nice and crispy.

Once they've dried out, just pop them in for about ten minutes

or use a deep frying pan, lid off.

A good tip is to not overcrowd the fryer -

if you put too many in, they'll bubble over the top.

That's why I'm looking at that a little bit nervously, but we're all right.

I'm not setting fire to the outdoor kitchen.

There was fear in those guy's faces, then.

"Fire! Run!"

Now you're ready to cook your scampi.

I'm just going to dust it in a little bit of polenta flour,

dip it into my lovely batter

and gently drop it into the fryer.

And then as they start to cook,

you'll see what a difference that magic batter makes.

All those little air bubbles that were in the sparkling water

have been, kind of, puffed out

and that tapioca starch, it blows it up

a little bit like a balloon being blown up with hot air.

These only need a few minutes.

Eh? Stunning.

How easy is that for a right tasty dinner?

'But what will these boys think of my retro fish supper?'

Come on, boys, come and have a taste, have a little try.

-What do you make of them?

-Handsome, perfect.

Look at the colour of 'em.

Looks a bit different to the scampi I'm used to.

TOM LAUGHS

How's the batter? Crunchy?

Oh, incredible - and so light. That's brilliant.

Absolutely spot-on, delicious.

-'Ansome.

-Handsome?

-Absolutely 'ansome.

Consider sticking that on the menu, going retro?

I like it, I like it.

But they won't put it on their menu

if the punters don't give it the thumbs up.

-Wow.

-Go on, get in there, OK?

-That's beautiful.

-That is lovely.

The batter is absolutely gorgeous - it's so light...it's lovely.

Fantastic.

-Better than the 1970s stuff?

-Absolutely, yeah.

Just assuming you was around in the '70s, I don't mean to make that assumption.

THEY LAUGH

'Next time, I'll be reinventing old school classics

'from family favourites...'

That makes me very happy.

'..to the ultimate TV dinner.'

It's like a perfect little parcel of delight.

'And I'll be putting my favourite retro pud to the test

'at my old school.'

Oh, that's delicious!