Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food

These used to be offered on many bar menus, but you’re more likely these days to find them served as canapés, or in the case of devils on horseback, with roast chicken, perhaps. A cinch to make, they are particularly appetizing with a cold lager or glass of white wine.

Preheat the grill to the highest setting and pre-soak 24 cocktail sticks in warm water (to prevent scorching under the grill).

For the angels, shuck the oysters (for technique, see page 16) and strain off the juices. (Save these to add to a fish soup or sauce.) Sprinkle each oyster lightly with white pepper and wrap in a piece of bacon. Fix securely with a cocktail stick. Place on a baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one, and drizzle over a little olive oil. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side, until the bacon is brown and crisp on top. Serve at once, or keep warm in a low oven while you make the devils.

For the devils, wrap each prune with a piece of bacon and cook in the same way as the angels. Serve piping hot.

Pan haggerty

SERVES 4

600g firm, waxy potatoes, such as Desirée

3 large onions

100g strong cheddar

1½ tbsp olive oil

20g butter, melted

sea salt and black pepper

A pan haggerty consists of potatoes, onions and cheese – simple, comforting flavours you’d expect from a local bar. For a more intense flavour, use dripping from the weekend roast in place of butter. We also use gutsy, mature cheese, such as Montgomery or Westcombe cheddar from Somerset.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and onions, preferably using a mandoline for the potatoes. Coarsely grate the cheese and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Heat the olive oil in a fairly small, ovenproof frying pan, about 20cm in diameter. Add the onions and sweat, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes until just softened. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Arrange a layer of potatoes over the base of the pan. Brush with some melted butter and season lightly with salt and pepper, then scatter over a thin layer of onions and cheese. Repeat layering the ingredients, making sure that you end up with a layer of cheese-topped potatoes.

Put the pan over a medium-high heat and cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom layer of potatoes is golden brown. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife. The cheese topping should be golden; if not, increase the heat to 220°C/Gas 7 and bake for an extra 5 minutes or so.

Leave the pan haggerty to cool slightly for 5 minutes or so. Carefully slide it onto a warm plate, cut into slices and serve.

Old-fashioned pork pies

MAKES 8

HOT WATER CRUST PASTRY

250g plain flour

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 large egg

50g unsalted butter

50g lard

85ml water

1 medium egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water, to glaze

FILLING

400g minced pork (roughly equal quantities of belly and shoulder meat)

250g sausagemeat

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped sage finely grated zest of 1 lemon

5 juniper berries, ground with a pinch of salt

pinch of allspice

sea salt and black pepper

Enjoy these adorable little pies warm or cold with piccalilli or pickled onions and a pint of ale.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Crack the egg into the well and sprinkle over some of the flour. Put the butter, lard and water into a small pan and heat gently until melted, then bring to the boil. Immediately pour around the edge of the flour and quickly stir together, using a butter knife, to combine. Knead the dough lightly until smooth; it will be quite soft at this stage. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour until firm.

Meanwhile, for the filling, mix all the ingredients together, seasoning well. Divide into 8 portions, about 80g each, and roll into balls. Cut off one-third of the pastry for the pie lids, re-wrap and chill. Roll out the remaining pastry on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a saucer, about 11cm in diameter, as a template, cut out 8 circles. Roll out the reserved pastry to the same thickness and cut out 7cm rounds for the lids, using a pastry cutter.

To assemble each pie, place a stuffing ball in the middle of a pastry base and flatten it slightly to get a flat base and straighter sides. Put a pastry lid on top. Brush the pastry base border with egg glaze, then draw up it up around the filling to meet the lid. Curl the edge of the lid up to meet the top inside edge of the pie case and pinch together to seal. Repeat with the other pies, then crimp the edges. Chill until firm.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Place the pies on a baking sheet and make a hole in the centre of each lid with a skewer. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the setting to 170°C/Gas 3. Brush the pies evenly with egg glaze and bake for a further 10 minutes until cooked. To test, insert a skewer into the centre of a pie for a few seconds; it should feel hot to the touch as you remove it. Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool.

Homemade crisps

SERVES 4

700g waxy potatoes, such as Desirée or Charlotte

groundnut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying

1 tsp cayenne pepper mixed with 1 tsp sea salt

Here you can experiment with different varieties of potato and other root vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots and beetroot. We love the flavour of waxy Charlotte potatoes. A touch of paprika or cayenne pepper gives them a slightly smoky sweet quality. The crisps will get soft if you leave them out for long, so store them in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Peel the potatoes and rinse well. Cut them into very thin slices, about 2mm thick, ideally using a mandoline. Rinse the potato slices under cold running water to remove the excess starch. Pat them dry using one or two clean tea towels, then spread the slices out on a baking tray to dry out further.

Heat an 8-10cm depth of oil in a deep-fryer or a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat; the pan should be no more than one-third 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. Fry the potatoes in batches. Add the slices to the pan a few at a time to prevent them from sticking together. Deep-fry for 3-4 minutes until golden and crisp, moving and turning the potatoes to ensure they colour evenly.

Remove with a slotted spoon, drain off excess oil and spread the crisps out on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with the cayenne and salt mix, then leave to cool completely. Store the crisps in an airtight container unless serving straight away.