Old Skool Favourites 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?'

They've worked proper nice.

Ooh-ah-ohh!

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.'

'Right, I'm a big kid at heart.

'That's why I still love the food that I had growing up...'

Look at that. That makes me very happy.

'..so I'm going to share with you some of my old school favourites

'transformed into modern-day masterpieces...'

It's like a perfect little parcel of delight.

'..like my good old mum's special roast, packed full of flavour.'

It's just like the best sausage smell ever.

'Tasty corn on the cob with my brilliant burnt onion ketchup.'

I cannot wait to get my knoshers round that.

Good times.

'And I'm going back in time to be tested again at my old school...'

Oh, look at that.

-Pineapple upside down cake?

-Yes, please.

'..only, this time, I'm hoping for top marks

'for my reinvention of a classic pud.'

Oh, that's delicious!

I grew up on chicken Kiev out of a packet but I still loved it.

These days, I've got a home-made version way tastier

and full of fresh ingredients.

Chicken Kiev - it's all about that oozy, lovely, hot melted butter

when you cut into it,

dripping out all over the plate.

And that's what I want from my revamped chicken Kiev.

The key to the butter filling is loads of grated garlic

and lots of lovely chopped parsley.

Don't be tempted to use the dried stuff.

Part of the joy of this is actually cutting the chicken Kiev open

and this beautiful bright green butter oozing out,

and if you use the dried stuff,

it's already lost its colour.

Just beat it into the garlic butter, add a pinch of salt,

and, for a bit of a kick, one of my favourites -

cayenne pepper.

Go a little bit careful with this cos it's quite powerful, so about

half a teaspoon or, in technical chef terms, the end of a knife.

And when it's mixed in good and proper,

load the whole lot into a piping bag.

It makes stuffing these chicken breasts so much easier.

There's two ends to them.

There's the nice pointy end.

And then this lovely big fat juicy bit.

And that's the bit I'm going to stuff.

Just push the knife in and work it all round.

What you're trying to do is create a nice pocket to hold the butter in.

Now, when I first started making these chicken Kievs,

I used to open the breast out, flap it out like that,

and then put in the butter and close it,

and then, when I'd cook it, it would open up

and let all the butter seep out.

This way, it holds it all together,

and that way, the butter, as it cooks,

keeps the inside nice and moist.

Get your nice, soft butter and then just pipe it in.

Don't be shy.

You can feel it fill out your hand as you're holding the chicken breast.

Pushes it out right to the top.

And if you've got some left over, more's the better.

Spread that on a bit of French bread -

garlic butter, garlic bread, nice.

Chicken breasts filled,

it's time for my Kievs' crispy coating,

and this is what makes this recipe super special -

extra crispy panko breadcrumbs.

They come from Japan and you can get them in the supermarkets,

and they're lovely and dried.

So they're really crunchy and crispy

and they give a fantastic outer texture

to anything that you cover in them.

Just crush your breadcrumbs up a little bit in your hands.

We want them to have a nice even coating all over the chicken breasts.

Don't blitz them up too much cos you want them

to have a nice crumbly and crunchy texture on the outside.

And, boys and girls, here's how NOT to breadcrumb your own hands.

Now, if you've done lots of pankoing before,

you know you need to have a dry hand and a wet hand.

That way, you're not sticking it all over,

and ending up pankoing or covering your own hands

in breadcrumbs.

All these babies need now is 20 minutes

chillaxing in the fridge to firm up that lovely garlic butter,

and a quick flash in the pan to brown up.

Plain, normal vegetable oil, nothing posh or flash,

cos if you think, all that flavour

is stuffed right in the middle of the chicken.

Chicken Kiev, for me,

felt very exotic when I was a young 'un.

It's got quite a bad reputation.

It's always seen as being in really rubbishy pubs in the '80s

or even now.

But done really well, with a nice flavoursome chicken breast,

this, for me, is a great dish.

And you can see none of that butter is seeping out into the pan,

it's just got the oil and bits of breadcrumbs.

Then place them onto a tray

and then whack 'em in the oven for ten to 15 minutes

until they're lovely and golden and crispy.

Oh, they smell absolutely amazing.

It's like a perfect little parcel of delight.

I'm going to serve mine with some green beans,

like Mum would have done when I was a kid.

Now, I used to think those old school Kievs were hard to beat,

but you know what? I think these ones have just done it.

Growing up, we didn't have loads of money,

but every Sunday, Mum made sure

we had a special sausage roast to look forward to.

It was a cheap but tasty alternative to an expensive joint

and it's still up there with my best-ever dishes,

only my version uses the best pork possible, Gloucester Old Spot...

..reared in my home county by Helen Lightfoot,

who, like me, is passionate about her pigs' wellbeing and flavour.

-Who's this girl, then?

-Oh, this is Florence.

Hello, Florence.

We do a little bit of showing...

-Yeah.

-And she's, at the moment,

-the best Gloucester Old Spot in the country.

-No way!

-Miss UK of the Old Spot world.

-Absolutely.

Well... Well done, Florence, you've saved yourself from being sausage.

Yes.

'But luckily for me, most of Florence's mates

'are bred for their meat.

'Old Spot pork has a higher fat content than modern varieties

'which makes it extra tasty, and it's down to their lifestyle

'and their diet, which, for this lucky group of pigs,

'includes one of my favourite West Country tipples.'

I can smell cider...

-Is that right?

-Yeah, yeah, there is in this lot.

They don't get it most of the time,

but, this batch, they've got the bottom of the vats

of the cider pressing.

Lucky pigs. So, they get cider, cheese...

-and some of the pig nuts.

-That's right.

What a great tea that sounds.

Crikey, this lot are more excited than me.

They're having a go at me boots. Do they taste nice?

So how old are these guys when they go off to be sausaged?

They're about... About six months, 21, 22 weeks,

which is a lot older than your modern breeds.

These grow naturally, so they take a little bit longer to do,

but I think it's worth the wait.

I think it's worth the wait too. Look at these guys.

'But I've waited long enough.

'Time to get my hands on some of that delicious meat.'

That meat looks amazing...

It's got a beautiful colour on it, hasn't it?

It has, it's gorgeous. It's got... This is shoulder...

It's got perfect marbling in it

and that's what you need to make it lovely and succulent.

That's the bit that makes it tasty.

'And armed with some of Helen's shoulder and belly mince...

'..I'm hoping to do Mum proud with my version of this childhood treat.'

This is a brilliant dish inspired by my mum's Sunday roasts and childhood memories.

It feeds loads of people, it tastes absolutely fantastic,

and it's really good value for money.

The trick here is really good quality pork mince

and a proper tasty mix of herbs and spices...

starting with fennel seeds.

The fennel seeds have a wonderful aniseedy-like flavour going on with them,

and that goes so well with pork.

Just toast them in a dry pan with a couple of bay leaves to release

all those lovely natural oils,

and then chuck in some big, punchy flavours -

chilli flakes, oregano and cayenne pepper

are all perfect partners for sweet, juicy pork.

I love cayenne pepper -

it gives a really nice heat and spice to things.

About a teaspoon of that goes into the mix.

With a bit of table salt...

Then it's in with half of those toasted fennel seeds,

ground up with the bay leaves in one of these bad boys.

There's something quite nice about using this.

It feels very... A bit caveman-esque.

Look at that. The pestle and mortar - a top bit of kitchen kit.

Then chuck in some garlic and give the mix a right good squeeze.

This sausage roast, I have huge fond memories of it.

On a Sunday, I just remember coming back from rugby training

as an 11 or 12-year-old,

and knowing that I was having sausage roast,

with roast potatoes, a bit of cabbage,

and I was absolutely in heaven,

especially if you have the crispy little end bits,

they were my favourite.

Of course, it wasn't strictly like this when I was a nipper.

I've ramped up the flavours to take this old school classic up a notch,

and I'm not stopping there.

Parsley and lemon zest are next into the mix.

It just gives a nice little zing to it -

it releases those natural oils

and lifts the richness of the meaty sausage.

Then throw in the rest of those toasted fennel seeds,

some white wine - about 100ml...

..and a bit...

..and some breadcrumbs to bring it all together.

Then whack it onto a piece of buttered foil

and roll it up like a Christmas cracker.

Just shape it...

and any bits where you can see there's gaps,

where it might crack, just mould it together,

like one large piece of meat.

I love cooking dishes like this - it brings back all them memories.

Carefree, having a laugh.

Then bung it in the oven for an hour to cook,

and take off the foil for the last 15 minutes

to give it a proper crispy coating.

Look at that!

That is exciting times.

It smells absolutely amazing -

it's just like the best sausage smell ever.

All it needs now is some sticky reduced pork stock.

Just paint it on and this gives it a massive meaty kick.

And it's ready to take pride of place

at your Sunday table,

with roast potatoes and all the trimmings.

It's just like Mum used to make, or, dare I say it, even better.

And as for my favourite bit...

That's what I'm talking about, the little end bit,

the nice little crusty bit.

This is now officially chef treats.

Now here's a dish that would go perfectly with my chicken Kiev

or sausage roast -

a finger-licking retro side

that could do with a bit of a makeover,

and I've got just the sauce to bring it back to life.

Corn on the cob -

it's one of those things I used to love eating as a kid.

Holding it in your hands and chewing all the little kernels off the side.

And that's exactly how I'm going to serve it today, only better,

with a spicy smoked butter

that uses three of my favourite store cupboard stand-bys -

smoked paprika, fiery chilli flakes and potent garlic powder.

Now, that is a bowl of big, strong, powerful flavours.

Just wrap each one up in a little bit of foil,

smothered in this lovely spicy butter,

making sure you leave enough room

for the sweet corn to steam in its own juices.

Nice.

Now, to go with my corn on the cob,

I'm going to do some burnt onion ketchup.

I say burnt - it's not really burnt, but it's heavily caramelised.

That's a chef term for almost burnt.

And it's this smoky, bitter sweet onion sauce

that turns this dish into something extraordinary.

Just chuck in some onions and wait for them to brown.

You know when you go to a car-boot sale on a Sunday

or you go to the football,

and there's the geezers there with the stalls that are doing hot dogs?

Right in the corner, where there's a stack of onions,

those are the sort of onions that I want here.

That flavour, that smell...

And you can smell that now coming from that pan.

It smells like I'm about to go to the football.

Don't season them, cos if you put salt on them now,

it'll draw all the moisture from the onion,

and then it steams them in their own juices.

Also, don't move them about too often cos that will also create steam.

It'll just make them soft

and not go that lovely, brown, golden colour that we're looking for.

It'll take a little while, so just be patient.

And once they're nice and charred...

Car boot onions.

..chuck in some bay leaves, muscovado sugar, white wine vinegar,

freshly grated garlic, and, for a big hit of flavour...

something that's very British - a little bit of Worcester sauce.

Then leave it to reduce for 20 minutes.

And whilst my ketchup is cooking away,

we're going to stick these bad boys in the oven

and bake them until they're nice and toasty

and ready to be dipped into that onion ketchup,

which needs one more final hit of flavour.

I'm just going to take the bay leaves out

and then add to it one last ingredient -

a couple of fillets of salted anchovies.

I know there's a few of you at home who are going,

"Urgh, I hate anchovies,"

but trust me, they add a real salty savouriness

to those bitter sweet onions.

This just needs a quick pass through a sieve

to give it that nice, smooth, ketchupy finish,

and it's ready to serve with that spiced buttered corn.

I cannot wait to open one of these.

Ah! It's very hot, but that's how much I can't wait.

Look at that! I cannot wait to get my knoshers round that.

Trust me, this is one old school favourite definitely worth reviving.

Good times.

This next dish is one of the very first things

my mum taught me to cook as a kid,

that Italian family favourite,

beefed up to pack an extra flavour punch.

Lasagne is one of everybody's favourite go-to dishes,

and I'm sure you've all made it before,

but my version has got a few twists and tricks

that will make this good dish great.

Roasting your mince is what makes the real difference here,

to texture and flavour.

Just rinse it in cold water first to separate all those little granules,

then spread it onto a baking sheet.

I like a little bit of spice,

so I'm adding a couple of secret ingredients -

cloves and star anise.

I'm just going to tie them up and put them in a muslin bag.

I'm going to roast the mince in the oven for 40 minutes at 190 degrees.

I'm going to make it really nice and dry and crunchy and crispy.

Get this bit right and you're onto a winner.

While the meat roasts, I can make a start on my tomato sauce,

and this isn't your bog-standard bolognese either.

I know most of you would open a tin

and just pour it in, and there is nothing wrong with that,

but I'm going to show you a version here

that gives it extra flavour, extra sweetness,

extra saltiness, extra everything.

I use real tomatoes,

halved and roasted to intensify their flavour,

and always add salt and sugar when cooking them.

It draws all the moisture from it.

Helps to shrivel them up and make them taste more of tomato,

if that makes sense.

Then these go into the oven with the mince

to slow cook for 20 minutes,

and then get charred with my favourite kitchen gadget.

This is by far the best bit of cooking equipment ever invented.

Who wants to weld stuff when you can cook with it?

Once they've had a proper roasting,

they're ready to be turned into bolognese sauce.

Mine starts with pancetta,

an Italian bacon that releases loads of lovely oil,

perfect for frying the vegetables in later.

And as you stir it, all these little brown bits,

they start caramelising and tinge into the bottom of the pan,

and you want to leave them there,

because that's where all the flavour is,

and then when you slow cook everything,

they'll release themselves from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.

Then it's out with the pancetta, and in with the veg -

onion, celery and, in my case, carrot.

I've always put carrot in a ragu-based sauce,

solely cos my mum did,

but my wife swears blind that carrots should not be in it.

She's not here today. Carrot's gone in.

Then chuck in some garlic, sugar, red wine vinegar,

and a glug of red wine.

It doesn't need to be a good one or an overly expensive one,

just one with lots of flavour.

Add some oregano and bay leaves,

and, once it's reduced by half, beef stock,

the fried pancetta, and, the star of this show, my slow roast mince.

So what started off as that big packet has shrunk down to this,

and I know you're thinking

that is never going to make enough sauce for lasagne,

but I promise you it will.

It'll start to rehydrate and almost puff back up again,

and start to take on all that flavour from the sauce.

This just needs those slow roast tomatoes

and some button mushrooms, and it's done.

We're just going to leave that to cook out

for about an hour and a half to two hours

till the stock's reduced

and everybody in there has become very good mates.

Once cooked, chuck in some freshly chopped oregano and sage,

and you're ready to start building your luscious lasagne.

Grab yourself some weaponry and then start layering.

Meat, a couple of good ladles,

followed by the pasta sheets.

I like to use fresh lasagne sheets,

but dry will work just as well.

Push them right in and then give them a trim.

Next on is a classic white sauce,

spread into every nook and cranny,

then another layer of meet.

Now, I know all of this malarkey looks like it takes a lot of time,

but I do promise you that if you put in that little bit of effort

and have a go at making this,

you'll be coming back and doing it again and again...and again.

You can see now where all those little bits of mince have puffed up.

They've gone all nice and juicy.

They've got loads of texture on them, loads of flavour.

Once you've ran out of ingredients or reached the top,

whichever comes first,

add a lovely layer of Parmesan cheese

and chuck it in the oven to slowly bake.

And 30 to 40 minutes later, it'll be ready to dive into.

How amazing does that look?

Now, this is the joyous part, the first cut into a lasagne.

This is the exciting bit.

Aw, look at that!

I'm quite impressed with that.

Those lovely layers all full of amazing flavour.

Served with a simple green leaf salad,

this revamped old school classic is guaranteed to go down a treat.

I told you that would be worth it.

My absolute favourite old school pud has to be pineapple upside down cake.

Back in the day, you could always find a slice at school,

but nowadays, it's no longer on the menu,

so I've come to my old school to put my best ever version

to the test, and try and persuade the pupils and the dinner ladies

that this retro classic should go back on the menu.

It's the first time ever I think I've walked through school gates going, "I can't wait to get in here."

This place is absolutely incredible.

This is so different to the school that I remember.

It's amazing what 26 years does, doesn't it?

And it's not just the building that's had a face-lift.

In my day, school dinners meant Spam fritters and packet custard,

not the kind of grub worth sticking around for,

but, happily, catering manager Tracey and her team

have put a stop to all of that now

and they're dishing up the kind of home-cooked food

that I could only dream of back then.

-Knock, knock.

-Hiya.

-Hello, mate, how are you? I'm Tom.

Hiya, you all right?

This is an amazing school.

I've got to be honest with you,

it's very different to the last time I was here,

which was a long time ago.

I'd quite often go home at lunchtime and then probably not bother...

-Coming back...

-Yeah, you know that one!

Yeah, we try to lock them in here so we don't let them out.

That might have worked, actually.

What sort of things have you got on the menu today?

It's a roast day - so...roast beef, Yorkshire puddings.

-Wow, look at them bad boys, proper Yorkies.

-Proper Yorkshires.

-Good'uns, them. Look at that.

We wouldn't serve anything here we wouldn't give to our own children at home.

'It's great to see the food here has improved since I was a lad,

'but what will the kids today make of my pineapple upside down cake?

'Tracey's going to help me make it

'and the first difference is fresh pineapple.

'None of that tinned stuff.'

Pull one of the leaves...

and that's it. That means the pineapple's ripe.

'And it makes all the difference to this recipe

'and doesn't take long to prepare.'

We'll probably get between eight and ten slices of pineapple,

-I'd have thought.

-Will I?

-Or...

-Or about six?

Or six healthy, healthy portions.

It's one of your five a day, isn't it?

'These just need to be cored and trimmed up

'then poached in a spicy, sugary syrup,

'flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla, bay leaves and star anise.'

-Look, they smell lush.

-They smell lush.

You can tell you're at home, they smell lush. Yeah, I'm at home now.

'And while they poach, I'm onto my cake's sticky toffee-like topping

'of butter, dark brown sugar,

'chopped dates, and my special ingredient - cracked black pepper.'

This goes so nicely with pineapple. If you imagine that...

The balance of that spice with sweetness is really nice.

So I'm going to put a few teaspoons...

Crumbs! So quite a lot, then?

-Oh, yeah, don't be scared.

-Oh, my life.

-Yeah, you're looking nervous now.

-I am now.

-I just seen all that pepper go in.

-Don't worry, it'll be all right, I promise you.

'Topping made, it's time to move onto the cake batter,

'and there's no surprises here -

'just the usual butter, sugar, flour and eggs,

'added little by little to stop it from splitting...'

-No-one saw.

-No-one saw. I won't say a word.

'..with baking powder for lift and vanilla seeds for flavour.

'Then it's time for the fun bit - construction!'

Get in there.

See? If you'd cut that chunky one a little bit smaller,

-we'd have had one too many.

-Oh, yeah, see?!

-It's perfect.

-Perfect.

-Well done.

-There you are, brilliant.

-I couldn't have done that if I'd tried.

'Then it's on with the black pepper and date topping.'

Just make sure it all gets into the little gaps.

'And finally the cake batter.'

Give it a bash.

'Then whack it in the oven to bake.'

Right... One, two...

45 minutes - pineapple upside down cake.

'Which gives me time to help Tracey and her team with the lunchtime rush.'

This is properly done home-made carrot cake.

'If we'd had food like this on the school menu back in the 1980s,

'I might have stuck around,

'although I'm not sure it's going to work in my favour today.'

Looking at these cakes here,

I think my pineapple upside down cake

might have a little bit of competition.

'Time for the moment of truth.'

-Keep our fingers crossed.

-Yeah, OK. Ooh, no. I'm OK, I think.

-Oh!

-Oh, look at that.

-That looks delicious.

-It does look delicious.

I'm very happy with that.

'But these girls don't feed anything to the kids

'they wouldn't serve at home, so what will they make of it?'

A bit of sauce - you've got to have a bit of sauce.

Mmm! Oh, that's delicious.

Oh, the pepper's come in now.

Just a small undertone of it - it's lovely.

Yeah, a little bit spicy, it just adds to all the flavours.

It's delicious.

'But it's the kids that matter most here,

'and, as they say, the proof's in the pudding.'

-Pineapple upside down cake?

-Yes, please.

-There we go.

Pineapple upside down cake? Yes, please!

There you are. Would you like some as well?

It seems to be very popular.

I didn't tell them there's pepper in it.

Shh! Don't tell them now.

-Does it taste nice?

-Yeah.

I don't like cake or pineapples!

I'm onto a loser here, ain't I?

Be honest. If you don't like it, you can be honest.

-It is nice.

-It is lush?

-Yeah, it is really nice.

Lush, tasty.

Winning votes all over the place. Yes!

Did everyone enjoy their pudding? ALL: Yeah!

-Who'd like it on the menu?

-On the menu?

Double hands up over there.

Thumbs up there, teachers loving it over there.

That's a winner, girl. Come on.

'Next time, I'll be showing you how to make your lunches lush...'

Oh, that is beautiful.

'..giving a hearty pie a tasty twist...'

It's already bringing a smile to my face, that.

'..and turning up the heat with my sizzling steak sarnie.'

This has got to be better than a soggy sandwich.