Gordon Ramsay - Bread Street Kitchen Delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner to cook at home

www.hodder.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company

Copyright Humble Pie Media Limited 2016

Photography copyright Jamie Orlando Smith 2016

The right of Gordon Ramsay to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 473 65142 5

Editorial Director: Nicky Ross
Project Editor: Sarah Hammond
Copy Editor: Anne Sheasby
Editor: Helena Caldon
Designer & Art Director: Nathan Burton
Photographer: Jamie Orlando Smith
Food Stylist: Phil Mundy
Props Stylist: Olivia Wardle

Typeset in Avenir and Archer

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ

Bread Street Kitchen is open all day, every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I really enjoy seeing the atmosphere change through the different mealtimes. With the restaurant being in the City, the early morning vibe during the working week is quite serious and high-powered, whereas weekend brunches tend to be lazy, relaxed affairs that go on all morning. I love the buzz of the weekday lunch service as the noise levels pick up and the pressure on the kitchen intensifies for a couple of hours, but I also like the less-frenzied pace of Sunday lunches when families and local residents replace the City workers and people stay for longer. Evenings are different again the bar comes alive, the lights go down, corks are popped and the focus is on having a really good time. I dont think Ive ever seen the restaurant empty theres always someone drinking coffee or sipping a glass of something at the bar. Whatever the time of day, Bread Street Kitchen is open for business.

When it came to planning the BSK menu, we wanted the focus to be on top-quality seasonal produce cooked with passion. Given our location, next to St Pauls Cathedral in the oldest part of London, there had to be some British classics, but they sit alongside international dishes from Europe, Asia and beyond. We had to include some sharing platters, too, not to mention a wood-fired oven, a killer cocktail list and great bar snacks but ultimately, we just wanted the restaurant to be somewhere that people could come along to at any time of the day and always find something that they really wanted to eat.

This ethos of good food whenever you want it is what we wanted to capture in this book. These days, we seem to be busier than ever, but we each make time to cook for different reasons. You might want to start making more nourishing breakfasts for yourself or perhaps invite a big group of friends over for a weekend feast. You might need inspiration for everyday suppers or new ideas for entertaining. Or you might, like many of us, simply cook for pleasure and want to discover new ways to indulge your passion.

So here we have put together a collection of recipes that are perfect for morning, noon and night and the bits in-between; there is something for everyone whatever the time of day. Because cooking is something we often do for friends and family, there are lots of ideas for social gatherings, like brunch, weekend lunches and special dinners. But there is plenty of inspiration for breakfasts and simple midweek suppers too. This food reflects the way we live our lives right now and I hope these recipes make you want to get stuck in.

Gordon Ramsay

We know that cooking in a restaurant is very different from cooking at home, but there are a few tricks and tips that you can pick up from professional chefs that will improve your own cooking. Our Bread Street recipes have been tweaked for this book so that you can make them in a home kitchen, but we havent changed the methods much so you will be preparing these dishes almost exactly as we do, with delicious tried-and-tested results.

For all the differences between professional and domestic cooking, there are some things that should always be the same, of course. For example, always try to source the best ingredients you can your cooking will only ever be as good as the ingredients you use, so make sure they are of good quality. Also, food will always taste better when it is in season there is nothing much you can do to make a woolly February tomato taste like a sweet, ripe August one. We also think that respect for animal welfare and sustainable fishing methods should go without saying but were going to say it anyway!

Animal welfare

Please choose free-range eggs and chickens and ensure that all meat comes from animals that have led happy lives.

Fish

Always buy fish and shellfish that have been caught, harvested or farmed in a sustainable way.

Eggs

All eggs are medium in these recipes unless otherwise specified.

Butter

We use unsalted butter for cooking in the restaurant kitchen so that we can control the overall seasoning of the dish. Use whatever you have, but if you cook with salted butter, the dish might need less seasoning later. So always taste it before adding more salt.

Cooking oil

We use flavourless vegetable oil for high-temperature cooking, but you could use rapeseed or groundnut oil instead. We also cook with olive oil, but more often save the really good-quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling over finished dishes and in salad dressings.

Oven temperatures

Our ovens are electric fan ovens, but we have also given the equivalent temperatures for conventional and gas ovens. All ovens are different, though, so get to know yours for the best results.

Bread Street Kitchen is in the heart of the City, where the day starts early for the many workers in Britains financial sector. We open our doors at 7am, an hour before the London Stock Exchange starts trading, and our breakfast menu is full of tempting (and mostly healthy) ways to start the working day. Alongside the essential full English and cooked breakfast options are lots of delicious dishes that are designed to fill you up and keep you going until lunch.

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that skipping it is a really bad idea. In fact, they say that those who skip breakfast go on to snack more during the day, find it less easy to concentrate and, more worryingly, increase their risk of developing various long-term health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. And yet many of us rush off to work, go to the gym or do the school run without consuming anything more than a cup of tea or coffee. We make it easy for workers to get to the office ready to start the day, but we appreciate that mornings at home are just as busy and rushed and that convenience often wins out when time is short. However, we also know that with a bit of forethought and organisation quick breakfasts can be nutritious ones and vice versa. For example, soaking Bircher muesli in almond milk the night before means that it is ready to go as soon as you get out of bed. Similarly, making a large batch of our nutty granola means having your own healthy cereal on hand whenever you need it just add milk or yoghurt and some fresh berries.