Ramsay’s Home Cooking
Celeb chef Gordon Ramsay reveals chefs are the world’s worst eaters, talks about Strictly, being an “assertive guy” and getting competitive with Gino D’Acampo. Oh and getting shouted at by his kids.
In a bizarre turn of events, Gordon Ramsay spent lockdown being yelled at, rather than doing the yelling.
“I had my daughters filming, shouting, screaming and kicking my ass,” says the 54-year-old merrily over Zoom.
The Scottish-born chef, who splits his time between LA and the UK, used the pandemic-induced pause to get creative, reassess – and trying to “imagine we’re going into the ground for the first time, and how we pop up when we come out of this thing”.
To aid that, he started cooking live at the weekends on Instagram, all the while being heckled by his kids who would fine him – in honour of the health service – every time a dish took more than 10 minutes to throw together. And instead of winding him up, the buzz of it echoed the adrenaline he was missing and would usually access in his professional kitchens, which “I didn’t have while the restaurants were closed,” he adds.
He’s now turned those Instagram videos into a cookbook, Ramsay In 10 – a collection of swift, resourceful recipes that give an insight into how the Ramsays cook at home.
“I know everyone thinks, ‘Oh it’s easy for you, 10 minutes…’” he admits, but argues it’s all in the prep. You don’t need three Michelin stars and “the most expensive Japanese knives to chop your carrot or finely dice your onion.” Ramsay just wants people cooking, and is typically no-nonsense about it, right down to a section at the front called ‘What this book expects of you’, which includes directions like ‘Read the recipe’.
As Ramsay says, “90 per cent of the battle is in the preparation, and I hate seeing missed opportunities go by, where things are overcooked because (people are) not prepping right at the beginning.”
Ramsay’s kids are never far from his thoughts. He and wife Tana, 47, have Megan 23, twins Holly and Jack, 21, Tilly, 19, and Oscar, two, and he remembers teaching them the importance of food from the off, including buying his older children turkeys as part of Channel 4 show The F Word. “Tilly must have been three,” he recalls. The turkeys were “to give them the responsibility of understanding how important food is, wasting nothing; from turkeys they went to pigs, from pigs they went to lambs.”
They all know how to cook and host a great dinner party – vital now his eldest are starting to fly the family coop and get their own flats.
Two days before we speak, Ramsay was caught on camera tearing up in the Strictly Come Dancing studio after their daughter Tilly performed the Charleston. “I saw her (smart) watch the other day and she burned 5,800 calories, and something like 32,000 steps, training for 12 hours. She preps herself, every morning it’s either toast or porridge, and then for lunch, it’ll be like a chicken salad. And then for dinner, it’s either some pasta, carbs, to load up, but trust me, she’s a little firecracker, she knows how to look after herself,” says
Ramsay, the pride palpable in his voice.
Ramsay spent his own 20s working 18-hour shifts with Marco Pierre White at legendary London restaurant Harveys. “The only thing we’d have on the way home in the taxi – because we could eat before we fell asleep in the back of that thing – was a Lucozade and a Mars Bar,” he says, voice aglow with misspent youth.
“You don’t really eat before service,” Ramsay adds. “Any chef would be lying if they told you (they did), because you can’t fill up. You need to stay agile; you need to stay on your toes, and you need to have that hunger to constantly perfect – so we’re the world’s worst eaters.”
Recently he has been eating, as well as larking about, with Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix in their buddy-holiday ITV series Gordon, Gino & Fred.
They were in Greece together last and “there’s some bloody good chefs on those islands,” recalls Ramsay. The food was sensational, but of course D’Acampo and Sirieix “were a nightmare. I mean a real nightmare.” Ramsay shakes his head.
Does he realise Ramsay In 10 will be going up against Gino’s new cookbook? Ramsay leans right into the camera, eyes full of zeal, and practically growls. “I swear to God, competition is healthy, right? And he will have his take on his classics. Is it Italian cuisine, again?”
It is. Gino’s Italian Family Adventure, to be exact. “Can you remind him he lives in Hertfordshire not Sicily?” says Ramsay, his tone rich with a scathing-fondness.
And if you’re not tempted by Ramsay In 10 instead… “I’ll buy it for them!” And with that, he’s off cackling.
We have three of his great recipes here.
Gordon Ramsay’s Tuna Katsu Sandwich With Ginger And Apple Slaw
A sandwich full of flavour. “I know this isn’t a traditional katsu, but when it tastes this good, are you really going to complain?
While you’re at it, make double the tonkatsu sauce. It’s the Japanese equivalent of brown or steak sauce – sweet and tangy – and it goes brilliantly with burgers, pulled pork and bacon sandwiches, as well as the Japanese classic, pork tonkatsu. It will keep for at least a week if stored in the fridge in a sealed container.”
(SERVES 2)
INGREDIENTS:
◆ Vegetable oil, for frying
◆ 2tbsp (heaped) plain (all-purpose) flour
◆ 1 egg
◆ 60g panko breadcrumbs
◆ Dash of milk
◆ 2 x 170g (5.oz) thick tuna steaks
◆ 180g (6.oz) white cabbage
◆ 60g (2.oz) pickled ginger, plus a splash of the pickling liquid
◆ 4 thick slices of white bloomer loaf, crusts removed
◆ Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TONKATSU SAUCE:
◆ 125ml tomato ketchup
◆ 2tbsp soy sauce
◆ 2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
◆ 2tbsp mirin
◆ 1 garlic clove, peeled
◆ Pinch of chilli flakes
TO SERVE:
◆ ½ green apple (optional)
◆ 1tsp toasted white sesame seeds or untoasted black sesame seeds (optional)
◆ 1 lime, cut into wedges
METHOD:
➊ Place a heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over a high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil.
➋ Put the flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs into three separate bowls. Season the flour with black pepper. Add a little milk to the egg and beat with a fork.
➌ Dip each tuna steak in the flour, making sure it is well coated. Shake o‑ any excess, then dip it in the egg followed by the breadcrumbs.
➍ Place the steaks in the hot oil and cook for one minute on each side.
➎ Meanwhile, finely slice the cabbage with a mandoline or the blade side of a box grater and combine in a bowl with the pickled ginger and pickling juice.
➏ Make the tonkatsu sauce by combining the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mirin in a bowl. Grate in the garlic, add the chilli flakes and stir well.
➐ To assemble each sandwich, spread the tonkatsu sauce on two slices of bread and top one of them with the cabbage slaw. Place the tuna steak on the slaw and sit the other slice of bread on top.
➑ Finely slice the apple (if using) using a mandoline or sharp knife, then sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).
➒ Cut each sandwich in half and serve with the apple salad, lime wedges and any left over tonkatsu sauce on the side.
Gordon Ramsay’s Blackened Steak With Kimchi Fried Rice And Pickled Radish
“Bavette steak, or flank steak as it is known in America, comes from a well used part of the cow, so has quite a different texture from more premium steak cuts, such as ribeye and sirloin.
Since it has more connective tissue (and therefore more flavour), it needs to be cooked quickly over a high heat, as here, or braised much more slowly at a lower temperature. When slicing it, always remember to cut across the grain to maximise tenderness.”
(SERVES 2)
INGREDIENTS:
◆ 1tbsp hoisin sauce
◆ 1tbsp soy sauce or tamari
◆ 2 x 175g (6oz) bavette (flank) steaks
◆ Vegetable oil, for frying
◆ 140g (scant 1 cup) kimchi, from a jar, plus 1tbsp of the juice
◆ 250g (1 1/3 cups) cooked jasmine or basmati rice
◆ 2 spring onions (scallions)
◆ 2 eggs
◆ 6 breakfast radishes or 5cm (2 inch) piece of daikon radish
◆ 2tbsp black sesame seeds or nigella seeds
◆ 1tsp chopped chilli, from a jar
◆ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
➊ Place a griddle (grill) pan or frying pan (skillet) over a high heat.
➋ Put the hoisin and soy sauce into a bowl and mix together. Add the steak and stir to coat.
➌ When the griddle or frying pan is smoking hot, drizzle over a little oil and cook the steaks for two to three minutes.
➍ Meanwhile, place a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil. While the oil is heating, roughly chop the kimchi, then add it to the pan.
Add the rice and stir to combine.
➎ Slice the spring onions, reserving the green tops for serving, and add to the pan with the rice and kimchi.
➏ Flip the steaks over and cook for a further two to three minutes.
➐ Place a second non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil.
When hot, crack in the eggs and fry for two minutes, until the whites are firm and beginning to crisp around the edges.
➑ Finely grate the radishes into a bowl.
Season with salt, then stir in the kimchi juice.
➒ Divide the hot rice between two bowls.
Put a fried egg on top and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, followed by salt and pepper. Finely slice the steaks across the grain and place alongside the rice.
➓ Sprinkle over the chopped chilli and reserved spring onion greens before serving with the radish salad on the side.
Gordon Ramsay’s Mini Cinnamon Doughnuts With Chilli Chocolate Dipping Sauce
See if you can make doughnuts in 10 minutes, like Gordon Ramsay. “As these mini doughnuts are made without yeast, there is no waiting around for the dough to rise; instead, there’s just 10 minutes between you and an incredible homemade snack. Thanks to the ricotta, the doughnuts are golden and crunchy on the outside but light and pillowy inside, and amazing when dipped in chocolate sauce. You don’t have to add the chilli, but it adds a warmth to the chocolate that really works.”
(SERVES 4)
INGREDIENTS:
◆ Vegetable oil, for deep frying
◆ 250g (1 cup) ricotta cheese
◆ 2 eggs
◆ 60g (scant 3tbsp) caster (superfine) sugar, plus
◆ 2–3tbsp for dusting
◆ 125g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
◆ 2tsp baking powder
◆ Few drops of vanilla extract
◆ 1tsp ground cinnamon
◆ Zest of 1 orange
FOR THE CHILLI CHOCOLATE DIPPING SAUCE:
◆ 50g (2oz) dark chocolate
◆ 30g (¼ stick) butter
◆ 100ml (scant ½ cup) double (heavy) cream
◆ 100g (1 cup + 2tsp) caster (superfine) sugar
◆ 2tbsp honey
◆ 2tsp chipotle paste
◆ ½tsp sea salt
METHOD:
➊ Pour a 6–8cm (2½–3½ inch) depth of vegetable oil into a wide saucepan and place over a medium high heat until it reaches 180°C/350°F.
➋ Put the ricotta into a food mixer or bowl and add the eggs, caster sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla extract. Beat until everything is combined.
➌ Using two clean tablespoons, form the dough into eight walnut-sized balls.
➍ Now make the dipping sauce: break the chocolate into small pieces and put into a small saucepan. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, then place over a low–medium heat and allow everything to melt, stirring regularly. Do not let it get too hot or the sauce will split.
➎ When the oil is up to temperature, add half the dough balls to the pan and cook for two to three minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper (paper towel). Cook the remaining balls in the same way.
➏ Meanwhile, put the dusting sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together. Add the doughnuts and toss to coat.
➐ Transfer them to a serving dish, grate over the orange zest and serve with the warm chocolate sauce.