Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food

Pickled quail’s eggs

SERVES 4-6

24 quail’s eggs, at room temperature

350ml white wine vinegar

125ml water

1½ tsp fine sea salt

1½ tsp cayenne pepper

6 black peppercorns

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 bay leaves

½ tsp allspice

Quintessential bar food, pickled eggs are like marmite – you either love them or hate them. But even today, you’ll often find a jar of them lurking behind the counter in many pubs. This recipe uses dainty quail’s eggs, which are easier to handle when you’ve got a drink in one hand.

Place the quail’s eggs in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes, then drain and immerse in a bowl of cold water to cool quickly. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel and put them into clean, sterilized jars.

Meanwhile, put all the remaining ingredients into a non-reactive pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour the spiced vinegar mixture over the eggs to cover completely, then seal the jars with tight-fitting lids. Refrigerate and leave for at least a week before eating.

Wild boar sausage rolls

SERVES 6

500g good-quality butter puff pastry

1½-2 tsp English mustard

6 thick good-quality wild boar sausages, about 450g (or use sausagemeat)

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water, to glaze

sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Sausage rolls are a great bar snack when you’re after something a little more substantial with a drink, but not a full meal. This recipe is one of several versions we serve at the pubs, using fantastic wild boar sausagemeat and good-quality puff pastry. You can substitute any kind of sausage for the filling, but do try to get one with a higher meat/lower fat content, preferably from a good butcher.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a large rectangle, about 3mm in thickness. Cut out 6 rectangles, about 10cm x 12cm (they should be just large enough to wrap around a sausage, so use one as a guide). Brush the pastry rectangles with a light coating of mustard.

Peel off the skins from the sausages. Lay a sausage along one longer side of a pastry rectangle and roll the pastry around it, overlapping the ends slightly and pressing them lightly to seal. Put the sausage roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Repeat to make the rest of the sausage rolls, leaving some space between them to allow for expansion on cooking. Brush the tops with some of the beaten egg and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Brush the sausage rolls once again with the egg and sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the sausages are cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool slightly before serving. Although you can enjoy them cold, these sausage rolls are best served warm and freshly baked.

SAVOURIES WITH TOAST (#ulink_bd608865-7f11-5b36-a7e6-b6e9d05224eb)

Scotch woodcock

Creamed haddock and pickled walnuts on toast

Anchovies on toast with poached egg and spinach

St. George’s mushrooms on toast

Soft herring roes on toast

Potted duck

Potted crab

Potted shrimps with toast

Potted hough

Devilled kidneys on toast

Sardines and tomatoes on toast

Roasted bone marrow with caper and herb dressing

Welsh rabbit

Scotch woodcock

SERVES 4

14 anchovy fillets in oil 50g butter, softened, plus a few knobs of cold butter

black pepper

4 large eggs

pinch of cayenne pepper

4 slices of white or brown bread

1 tsp capers, rinsed and drained

Back in the days when gentlemen’s clubs were prevalent, small portions of savouries on toast took the place of sweet puddings as an alternate way to end a meal – much like our modern-day cheese and biscuits. Scotch woodcock is one such dish. Simply scrambled eggs with anchovies on toast, it couldn’t be easier to make. The tradition is to adorn the scrambled eggs with two anchovies laid in the shape of a cross to symbolize the Scottish flag.

Finely chop or mash 6 anchovy fillets and mix with the softened butter and a generous grinding of black pepper. Set aside.

Melt a few knobs of butter in a saucepan. In a bowl, whisk the eggs together with a pinch of cayenne, then pour into the pan and stir slowly over a gentle heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir the eggs until they are scrambled and creamy.