Si King - Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers Family Cookbook

We dedicate this book to our mams, Stella & Margaret, without whom it would not have been possible. And to mums everywhere the world cant exist without you.

Theres nothing better than sitting round the table with your nearest and dearest and enjoying a good meal. Cooking is a huge part of family life and in every family, who knows best? Mum, of course! We learned lots of our favourite recipes from our own mums and we still cook and enjoy these dishes with our families today. All our favourites are included here roast beef, fishcakes, blackberry and apple pie and other classics, as well as our own twists on new family treats, such as samosas and chicken Maryland. Looking at our family recipes got us thinking and made us want to find out what secrets and treasures the nations mums have hidden in their family recipe books and apron pockets. We invited everyone to tell us about their favourites and the response was fantastic.

Weve met so many great mums whove shared their family dishes with us and told us about their cooking traditions from many different heritages that have been handed down through generations. The best are in this book fantastic feasts like Texas cornbread, Caribbean curried mutton, an Estonian pudding and a wealth of wonderful Indian curries. We also organised some Recipe Fairs up and down the country and invited everyone and anyone to come along with family recipes, cooked dishes, favourite cooking tools . and tips. We couldnt believe how many people turned up and shared their family favourites, including community groups such as the Bradford Curry Project, the WI and even some soldiers from a Gurkha regiment! We all had a cracking time and learned a lot about what families in Britain today like to eat. All the recipes in this book are served up with a huge ladleful of love.

They are dishes that we will cook time and time again and we hope you will too.

To make good battered fish, you need really fresh fish and oil at the perfect temperature to cook the batter. If the oil temperature is right, the fish will steam inside, forcing the fat out, and the batter will be super-light and crispy. SERVES 4 12 litres sunflower oil, for deep frying 4 tbsp plain flour tsp fine sea salt 4 x 200g thick white fish fillets, such as haddock or cod BATTER 75g cornflour 200g plain flour 1 tsp fine sea salt 330ml bottle of real ale 2 tbsp white wine vinegar First make the batter. Mix the cornflour, plain flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and stir in the ale and vinegar.

Beat with a large metal whisk to make a smooth batter. It should have the consistency of double cream. Half fill a large deep saucepan with sunflower oil and heat the oil to 180C. Its important to use a cooking thermometer and check the temperature regularly. Do not allow the oil to overheat and never leave the hot oil unattended. (Alternatively, use an electric deep-fat fryer heated to 180C.) Put the flour in a large plastic food bag and season with the salt.

Add the fish fillets, one at a time, and shake to coat them in the seasoned flour. When the oil has reached the right temperature, stir the batter well. Take one floured fish fillet and dip it in the batter until it is thoroughly coated. Lift it out with some tongs and gently drop it into the hot oil. Watch out for splashes as the oil will be extremely hot. Do the same with a second fish fillet and cook it with the first for 56 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet, or until golden and crisp.

Make sure the batter doesnt brown too quickly leaving the fish uncooked. Transfer the fish to a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Reheat the oil and cook the next two pieces of fish in exactly the same way. Serve with freshly cooked chips. In fact, you can cook the fish in the same oil as the chips.

The secret of good chips is to cook them twice at two different temperatures, so you will need a deep pan and a thermometer for this recipe.SERVES 4 4 large floury potatoes 2 litres sunflower oil, for deep frying sea salt malt vinegar Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices roughly 1cm thick. The secret of good chips is to cook them twice at two different temperatures, so you will need a deep pan and a thermometer for this recipe.SERVES 4 4 large floury potatoes 2 litres sunflower oil, for deep frying sea salt malt vinegar Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices roughly 1cm thick.

Cut each slice into fairly thick chips and rinse them in a colander under plenty of cold water to remove excess starch. (If you have time, its worth letting the chips soak in a bowl of cold water for several hours or overnight.) Blot them dry on kitchen paper. Half fill a large deep saucepan with sunflower oil and heat to 130C. Its important to use a cooking thermometer and check the temperature regularly. Do not allow the oil to overheat and never leave hot oil unattended. (Weve learned that the fire brigade are dead against this method of deep frying so if possible, get yourself an electric deep-fat fryer.) Gently drop half the chips into the hot oil and stir carefully with a large metal spoon.

Leave to fry for 10 minutes until cooked through but not browned. Remove the chips with a slotted spoon and drain on plenty of kitchen paper. Follow the same method with the rest of the chips and drain well. (The chips can be left for several hours at this stage.) When ready to serve, reheat the oil to 190C. Lower all the chips gently into the pan and cook for 45 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Tip into a serving dish and sprinkle with salt and vinegar to serve.

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For the best chips, always use floury potatoes with a good fibre content that is, more potato and less water. Yukon Gold, Nadine and Maris Piper are all great, or try Cyprus if youre feeling flush.

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We have wonderful memories of this sort of pie, which both our mothers used to make Daves mam used to crimp the edges of the pastry with her false teeth! This really is a cut-and-come-again pie. You think youll just have one more bit and suddenly there isnt enough left to feed a sparrow.Next page