Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food by Tom Kerridge Read Free Book Online

kitchen paper, then place them in a large salad bowl. Add the pork crackling, mustard leaves and as much of the smoked garlic vinaigrette as you need to dress the salad. Serve
immediately. Any leftover dressing will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.



ASPARAGUS WITH DUCK EGG YOLK DRESSING AND PARSLEY
    English asparagus in season is one of the joys of being a chef! As a bunch, we look forward to this time of year more than most as it represents a change to warmer weather and
shows summer is on its way! Farm shop asparagus is the best – peel it to get a fresher flavour without the bitterness of the skin.
    I serve the asparagus here with a delicious dressing that’s like a mix of hollandaise sauce, salad cream and mayonnaise rolled into one. The duck eggs give a lovely
richness to the dressing and are a special touch for a celebratory meal.
    Serves 4
    300ml water
    100g butter, cubed
    20 asparagus spears, peeled and the woody ends of the stalks broken off
    salt, to taste
    For the duck egg yolk dressing
    4 duck egg yolks
    100ml white wine vinegar
    50ml water
    1 teaspoon English mustard powder
    1 teaspoon sugar
    ½ teaspoon salt
    ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
    2 hard-boiled duck eggs, shelled and finely grated
    100ml double cream
    2 tablespoons capers in brine, drained and chopped
    2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus extra leaves, to garnish
    Pour a couple centimetres of water into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. To make the dressing, whisk the egg yolks, white wine vinegar, water, mustard powder,
sugar, salt and smoked paprika together in a heatproof bowl that will sit on top of the pan of boiling without touching the water. Place the bowl on top of the boiling water and whisk until the mix
is creamy and doubles in volume.
    Fold the hard-boiled eggs into the dressing, then add the double cream and then the capers and parsley. Remove the pan from the heat and keep to one side.
    To cook the asparagus, bring the water and butter to the boil in a frying pan over a high heat, stirring to dissolve the butter. Add a pinch of salt and then place the asparagus
in the pan and simmer for 3–4 minutes until tender. Remove the asparagus from the pan and drain on kitchen pepper.
    Divide among 4 plates, drizzle the dressing over and garnish each plate with parsley leaves. Serve immediately, with the extra dressing on the side.

Asparagus with duck egg yolk dressing and parsley

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH ENGLISH TRUFFLE
    If you can get hold of fresh English truffles, they are truly amazing. Every day that a truffle is out of the ground the more it deteriorates, so the quicker they go from ground
to the plate, the better they taste.
    Slowly cooking the eggs takes time, but they become super-rich and smooth this way.
    Serves 2–4
    6 free-range eggs
    1 fresh English truffle
    150g button mushrooms, trimmed and very thinly sliced
    1 tablespoon truffle oil
    75g butter
    100ml double cream
    75g crème fraîche
    2 tablespoons chopped chives
    salt and pepper, to taste
    At least 48 hours before you plan to cook, place the eggs and the truffle together in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Place in the fridge and leave until needed. Infusing the
eggs with the truffles this way boosts the flavour.
    When you are ready to cook, season the button mushrooms and leave to one side.
    Break and whisk the eggs with the truffle oil. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the eggs and whisk very slowly. When they are just about cooked whisk in the
double cream and continue whisking until cooked as you like. Fold in the raw mushrooms, crème fraîche and chives. Season.
    Spoon on to plates and then grate the truffle over the top. This is a very decadent touch but fantastic!

BRAISED LEEKS, BLUE CHEESE AND TOASTED OATS
    This is a great vegetarian dish to serve as a first course (substitute the chicken stock with a good vegetable stock). It’s also perfect on its own as a lunch dish. As