Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food

Pan haggerty

Old-fashioned pork pies

Homemade crisps

Pickled quail’s eggs

Wild boar sausage rolls

Pint of prawns with mayo

SERVES 4

1-1.2kg cooked Atlantic prawns in shells

MAYONNAISE

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp English mustard

sea salt and black pepper

300ml groundnut oil (or light olive oil)

1 tbsp water

Walk into any pub and you are quite likely to find a pint of prawns with mayo on the bar menu. These tasty morsels from the Atlantic are perfect finger food to savour with a pint of light ale or a glass of dry white wine. As you peel off the shells from the prawns, suck the heads so you don’t miss out on their amazing flavour.

To make the mayonnaise, put the egg yolks, wine vinegar, mustard and some salt and pepper into a blender or small food processor and whiz until the mixture is very thick and creamy. With the motor running, slowly trickle in the oil through the funnel in a steady stream. Add 1 tbsp water to help stabilize the emulsion, then taste and adjust the seasoning. (If the mayonnaise splits, transfer it to a bowl and start again. Whiz another egg yolk in the blender or processor until thick and then slowly blend in the split mixture; it should re-emulsify.)

Spoon the mayonnaise into individual dipping bowls and divide the prawns between four pint glasses. You might also want to put out an empty bowl for the shells. Any extra mayonnaise can be kept in a covered bowl in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Oysters with shallot vinegar

SERVES 4

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

120ml good-quality red wine vinegar (we use Cabernet Sauvignon)

12-16 very fresh native oysters

TO SERVE

rock salt

fresh seaweed (optional), to garnish

Sharing a platter of fresh oysters at the bar is a real treat. In London, our native oysters usually hail from Colchester or Whitstable, but they are gathered in various places around the British coast. Freshness is absolutely vital, so it helps to know your nearest source. Spanking fresh oysters taste of the sea.

Mix the shallots and wine vinegar together in a small bowl and leave to infuse for at least an hour. Spread a thick layer of rock salt on one or two serving platters and scatter over the seaweed, if available.

Shuck the oysters as you are about to serve them. To do so, hold an oyster, flat side upwards and level, in a folded tea towel in one hand. With the other hand, insert an oyster knife into the hinge of the oyster shell and wriggle it from side to side to cut through the hinge muscle. Push the knife further in and twist up to lift the top shell. Try not to tip out the juices as you do this. Hold the knife flat and slide it along the bottom shell to release the oyster, then flick off any pieces of broken shell. Place the oyster in its bottom shell on a serving plate. Repeat to shuck the rest. Serve immediately, with the shallot vinegar.

Devilled whitebait

SERVES 4-6

450g whitebait, thawed if frozen

170g plain flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper

sea salt and black pepper

150ml milk

groundnut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying

TO SERVE

extra cayenne pepper, to sprinkle (optional)

mayonnaise (see page 246), for dipping

lemon wedges

These are a far cry from the soggy, overcooked whitebait we used to eat as kids whenever we were treated to a meal in a steakhouse. Freshly fried, these crisp, salty bites are lovely with a pint of ale. If using frozen whitebait, you may want to go easy on the extra salt as the tiny fish are usually soaked in brine before freezing.

Wash the whitebait, drain well and pat dry with kitchen paper. For the batter, in a bowl, mix 100g of the flour with the cayenne pepper and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Make a well in the middle and gradually whisk in the milk to make a smooth batter.

Heat an 8-10cm depth of oil in a deep-fryer or a heavy-based pan; the pan should be no more than half-full. The oil is ready when it reaches 190°C, or when a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in less than 40 seconds.

Deep-fry the whitebait in batches. Dip a handful into the remaining flour to coat, shaking off excess. Now dip the floured whitebait into the batter, then gently drop into the hot oil. Deep-fry for 1-2 minutes until golden and crisp. When you take them out of the oil, the whitebait should rustle as you shake them together. Try not to overcrowd the pan, as this will cause the temperature of the oil to drop too much.

Drain the whitebait on a tray lined with kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven while you deep-fry the rest. If you wish, sprinkle on a little extra cayenne pepper. Serve while still crisp, with a bowl of mayonnaise and lemon wedges on the side.

Scotch eggs

MAKES 8

8 medium eggs, at room temperature

650g good-quality sausagemeat or 8-10 butcher’s sausages, removed from their skins