Gordon Ramsay’s Potatoes Boulangère

Gordon Ramsay made these potatoes to go along with his Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb on The F Word, Series One, Episode One.

His commies used a Mandoline Slicer to get uniformly thin slices of potatoes, but used a knife for the onion. You can use a knife or a slicer for both, but try to get the slices as even as possible.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter chicken stock (roughly 4 1/4 cups, or just over a quart)
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 3 crushed cloves of garlic
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
• 4 large Desiree potatoes peeled and finely sliced (on a mandolin if possible)
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (392 degrees if you have a digital oven)
Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add thyme, rosemary, and crushed garlic cloves. Simmer a few minutes and strain (remember, retain the chicken stock, not the herbs). Set aside.

Add olive oil to a hot heavy pan and saute the onions and finely chopped garlic until softened and lightly colored.

Coat the inside of a casserole dish or oven safe pan and layer the onions followed by the potatoes. Continue alternating potatoes and onions until finished. Don’t forget to season each layer with salt & pepper as you go.

Pour the chicken stock from earlier over the potato mixture until it’s about 2/3rds full. Press down on the mixture to help the potatoes absorb as much stock as possible. Drizzle a little olive oil on top.

Bake in the oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until soft and golden on top.

Gordon Ramsay’s Mayonnaise

Recently on The F Word Gordon Ramsay said not to be afraid of making your own mayonnaise, so come out from behind the kitchen table and let’s get to cooking.

Mayonnaise is basically just raw egg yolk, oil and mustard (mmm, healthy)!

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• teaspoon of dijon mustard
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper (freshly ground if possible)
• 1 lemon
• 1 1/4 cups of flavorless cooking oil

You can whisk this by hand, but it will take quite an effort, use a food processor if you have one.

Directions:

Put the egg yolks in a food processor with the dijon mustard. and turn the food processor on. The first 30 seconds of making mayonnaise is the most crucial, so be careful during this period and go slow with the oil. SLOWLY begin pouring the oil into the food processor while it’s on. After 30 seconds or so you can start pouring faster. Turn off the food processor when you’ve added all the oil.

Add the salt and pepper, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the mayonnaise mixture. Give the mix a quick burst with the food processor and done!

Store the mayonnaise in the fridge.

Gordon Ramsay cooked this recipe for some construction workers on the F Word recently. He goes really fast, and it’s hard to make sure I’ve got all of the ingredients right, but I think I’ve got it. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.

*edit: I made this stew a few nights ago and it was unbelievable! Get down to the farmers market and pick up the ingredients, you won’t regret it.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Top Sirloin (or better) cut into large chunks
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
• Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 1 Onion
• 1 lb. Mushrooms (quartered)
• Yellow Mustard (for brushing meat)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Red Wine Vinegar (few good glugs)
• 1 Tbs Tomato Puree (or tomato paste)
• 1 Tbs Creme Fraiche (or substitute with sour cream) <– it’s pronounce Crem Fresh
• 2 Cups Beef Stock
• Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
• Olive Oil

Cooking Instructions:

The secret to making this dish fast and tasty is to cook everything in the same pan.

Add the onions, garlic, and thyme to a large heavy pan and cook until the onions are translucent; set aside on a plate. Quarter the mushrooms and sautee till soft; set aside on the same plate as the onions.

Rub your meat with salt and pepper then add to simmering hot oil. Brush the meat with yellow mustard. Brown meat on all sides, then set aside on your handy plate from earlier.

Pour some red wine vinegar into the pan and then add tomato puree. Mix in beef stock and creme fraiche. Stir well and bring to a simmer, then put the meat back into the pan. Pour all of your other cooked ingredients back into the pan and heat thoroughly while stirring. Add Cilantro and stir for 60 seconds.

Your done! If you’ve hauled ass, then it’s only been about 25 minutes and it’s time to eat!! Serve with some rustic bread and don’t forget to let me know how it turns out! I’ll be making this for dinner in a couple of nights (tomorrow is more shepherd’s pie)!