Gordon Ramsay's Quick & Simple Lunch Recipes

Mackerel sofiche with the most amazing, crisp, delicious fennel salad. Mackerel is incredible, cheap, but so delicious. And sofiche just means basically marinating. But the secret is in the dressing. Pink grapefruit. Take the top off and the bottom. And don't slice off too much to begin with, otherwise you'll regret it. Keep your knife nice and flat and just start peeling. Twist. You see how thick the pith is. Just follow with your knife. Nothing worse when you're doing this. It comes out like a hexagon or a 50 pence piece. You can do this dressing with lemons, limes, oranges, but there's something quite beautiful about a pink grapefruit. Turn it over and double check. A little bit there. Really important to get rid of all the pith. Slice each side of your pith. That keeps all those segments together. There's the lime. Slice down, slice in. Give that a little stir. Whisk it, and it starts to separate all those little segments. Season it. Olive oil. These are little fennel prongs. Amazing flavor. Gives a really nice aniseed-y delicious freshness. Always frustrates me how many people throw that away because the flavor in there is fantastic in a fish stock. Incredible in a vinaigrette. Add that in. Next, chopped coriander. Ceviche is served in its marinade. Something quite picturesque when you see all that glistening. Save a little touch of your dressing for the fennel. Now, your mackerel. It's been filleted and pin boned. Rinse your knife and just slice through bite-sized chunks. Ceviche is popular in Spain and South America. It's always made from raw fish or seafood cured in a citrus dressing. The less you handle the mackerel, the better it is. When you start mixing it up and tossing and turning it, you lose the texture. The fresher the mackerel is, the better it will taste. But when you're serving it raw like this, make sure it really is fresh out of the sea. Just lightly season. So that ceviche starts to cure and marinate that mackerel. Finish that with thin little shards of pink grapefruit. And then just a little drizzle of olive oil on top. Leave that to sit. I always like marinating my mackerel literally an hour before I want to eat it. That kind of cured, lightly pickled ceviche flavor, that is incredible. To go with my ceviche, for my ultimate light lunch, a beautiful quinoa salad with amazing textures and fresh aromatic flavors to excite the palate. Add one part pre-rinsed quinoa to two parts cold water. If you're not using pre-rinsed, the quinoa grains should be soaked before use to remove their bitter coating. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the water is absorbed. Spoon the cooked quinoa onto a plate and spread out to cool. Meanwhile, dry roast flaked almonds in a frying pan. Once golden, add raisins, chopped mint, and spring onions. Peel strips of skin from a whole cucumber to make stripes. Then remove the seeds and chop into half-moon slices. Add half cherry tomatoes and the cooled quinoa. And gently mix in with your fingers. Season with salt and pepper. Dress with a good squeeze of lime and drizzle of olive oil. Finish with a few fresh mint leaves. And for my ultimate light lunch, I'm doing another delicious salad with shaved fennel. The secret here is to peel the outside. That gets rid of that firm skin. It starts to sort of brighten up a little bit, almost like the sun's come out. Once you've discarded the outer layer, gently shave off thin strips of fennel for your salad. The advantage of having this nice and thin is because it's like these wonderful thin fennel crisps. Fragrant, delicious. Peel them into your ice water. This can be done a couple of hours before you want to eat. This will preserve the fennel's fresh flavor and make it lovely and crisp. Drain the fennel. Look at it. Beautiful. To complement the fennel, a delicious dressing, starting with chopped coriander. Fennel and lime go brilliantly well together. Zest over the fennel, and then use all the goodness inside the lime. Lightly season it. Dress with the leftover grapefruit marinade from the ceviche, followed by a drizzle of olive oil. Mm. That's delicious. Mackerel sat marinating away. A beautiful, stunning fennel salad. And that goes brilliantly well with the quinoa. Packed full of flavor, but incredibly light and very healthy. No wonder I'm so thin. Caesar salad is definitely a classic. But the trick to keeping dishes like this modern and relevant is to tweak them, but not lose what made them brilliant in the first place. Here's my version for the ultimate American lunch. My first twist is in the dressing. For me, the most important part of the Caesar salad is that dressing. Rich, creamy, slightly spicy. Begin by making a basic mayonnaise. Start off with the egg yolks in. Just a little spoon Dijon. And then a little splash of red wine vinegar. Start whisking. Once you've got that nice, slightly thickened texture, drizzle in your olive oil. It should fall through your whisk. It's like a nice, thick, double cream texture. Beautiful. Now take the mayo to another level with anchovies and crushed garlic. Now chop up the anchovies and the garlic together. So we almost want that to be like a really nice puree. Then grated Parmesan. Lemon juice. That will make the dressing citrusy, lighter in color. And then a little splash of water in. Now, all of a sudden, it transforms that mayonnaise into an amazing, delicious, light dressing. Nice. Next job, the croutons. And I like using crusty bread for extra crunch. And just dice up your bread. Season with salt and pepper. Then add to a hot pan with olive oil and fry. Give that a really nice toss. As the croutons start to turn golden, simply grate on a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. Keep them rolling around, stop them from sticking together. You get that really nice, cheesy, delicious crouton. And now, they're out. Now for the fun job, assembling the Caesar salad. Starting with romaine lettuce. And don't slice the lettuce too thinly. A squeeze of lemon. On with half of that gutsy, anchovy mayo dressing. Saving some to coat your chicken later. Then sprinkle half your croutons. Give that a really nice mix. Salad in. It's all beautifully dressed. Add the remaining croutons and finish with a good grating of Parmesan cheese. That, for me, is a perfect Caesar salad. However, I'm going to take it to another level and grill a stunning chicken breast. Start by preheating your griddle pan. Then butterfly your chicken breast. Simply slice from the thin end towards the thick bit of the breast. Put the knife to the work and literally just open up. Now, that's how we butterfly a chicken breast. So therefore, it will cook twice as quick and just nice and moist in the center. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and ground pepper. Lay your chicken breast onto the grill. Never oil the grill until you're absolutely ready to cook your chicken. Now, turn them over. Beautiful. Cook for three to four minutes on each side until the chicken's got those lovely stripes from the griddle, which adds a gorgeous, smoky flavor. Whilst they rest, spoon over some of the remaining anchovy dressing. The chicken cools down. The flavor, the seasoning of the anchovy, the garlic, and the parmesan seeps into that chicken. Slice the chicken into strips. Wow. I serve the chicken warm in a separate bowl so it doesn't wilt the salad. Spoon the dressing. Finish that with a little touch of dressing. An American classic. I think one of the most popular salads anywhere in the world. But it's still one of the most delicious. When it comes to lunch, this really is an American dream. Roasted tomato soup. Beautiful vine tomatoes. The riper the tomatoes, the better the soup. Take the core out. Get your thumb and place it half a centimeter underneath the tip of your knife. Place it in, and then just twist around. That's the only part of the tomato that we're not using. Red onion and garlic. Red onion because it's sweeter than a white onion. Slice your onions and your garlic. Nice and fine. Traditionally, we make it in a pot. It's so much better to start it off on top of the stove, searing the tomatoes and the garlic. When it goes in the oven, you actually roast the tomatoes, and they don't stew. There's a big difference in flavor. Be quite generous with the olive oil. It makes the soup nice and glossy, shiny. Salt, pepper, and then a little teaspoon of cayenne. Just gives it that heat. But it's not as fierce as chili. Take your tomatoes and just slice them in half. And then a little touch of sugar. That's going to help intensify the sweetness. A little sprinkle of aged balsamic vinegar. Gives that nice, dark, rich acidity to the soup. Into the oven, 20, 25 minutes, 180. To make my soup even more irresistible, I'm going to make a punchy, sun-dried tomato pesto to drizzle over the top. Now, I'm making this in a pestle and mortar. Because you feel so much more in control. And you're not depending on a blade that's whizzing around at 1,000 miles an hour. Next, in a dry pan, toast off some pine nuts. Toast them to the absolute max. And then in. The smell in there is incredible. Parmesan. Lightly grate that. And this is where it starts to become creamy. Extra virgin olive oil. Doesn't need salt, because the Parmesan's going to season it for you. And just take a couple of tablespoons of the oil that the sun-dried tomatoes are in. Really helps to make that stunning pesto. I can smell those roasted tomatoes. Want them out. Wow. Next, pour in a little vegetable stock or chicken stock so it sits halfway up the tomatoes. Put your spoon through those tomatoes. They break up instantly. Bring that up to the boil. Let it simmer for three or four minutes. Want to make it a little more creamy now. Cream in. Give that a little stir. You can keep it rustic and get your masher in. And you've got that nice, thick, rich, chunky tomato soup. Or get yourself a stick blender. Blitzing it like that, you deglaze the bottom of the pan and you get all those amazing flavors from the bottom. Mm. That's delicious. To make my lunch extra hearty, I'm going to knock up a deliciously gutsy version of cheese on toast to go with my tomato soup. Welsh rabbit, an absolute classic. I'm going to make a roux. 50 grams of butter, three nice tablespoons of flour. And that's all a roux is, basically. Traditionally, you would use flour, butter, and milk. But in Welsh rabbit, the milk is often cheekily substituted for a stiff slug of stout. Gives it that strong, gutsy flavor. I want it nice and thick. Make sure those lumps are out. A nice teaspoon of Dijon mustard. And then season it with a nice and spicy, moist-ish sauce. Gives it that delicious, intriguing flavor. Now, that smells amazing. Almost brings tears to your eyes. Beautiful. Now, Welsh rabbit wouldn't be a stunning Welsh rabbit without rich, mature cheese, soap, and a great Montgomery cheddar. Goes well with beer. And drop that in. Really important to put this in while the roux is still nice and hot, because the cheese melts. Now, for the bread. I prefer a good, rustic country loaf that will stand up to my hardcore topping. I want that nice, crisp base to my Welsh rabbit. So toast it, both sides. Spread that beautiful, cheesy, beer-y, spicy mixture. Just great. Going to blister, and bubble, and gratinate. God, a little splash. A little lemon puree. And back under the grill for 90 seconds. In, one delicious, creamy, roasted tomato soup. It's coming back to me all those days I had off school. I used to purposely lie about feeling ill just to get a bowl of my mother's tomato soup. How bad was that? But my god, it was worth it. Now, my Welsh rabbit. Look at those babies. That just takes cheese and toast to another level. Wow. Roasted, creamy tomato soup with a sun-dried tomato pesto served with the most amazing, delicious Welsh rabbit. I feel like ringing in sick. Lightly fried, my delicious halloumi and courgette cakes squeeze every last bit of flavor out of those vegetables. But first, I'm preparing a simple, slow-roast tomato and ward crest salad. These cherry tomatoes are perfect. If you haven't got cherry tomatoes, vine tomatoes, good, or even just big, normal, plump tomatoes, lay the tomatoes on the tray. These go into the oven for about 90 minutes. If you turn the oven down really low, you can leave them in overnight. To be honest, the longer you leave them, the better they taste. Once you've seasoned with salt, sprinkle over some sugar. And the salt and sugar combined speeds up the drying process, because you want that nice, chewy texture. And then you get these little thyme flowers and just pick off the buds. Garlic, sliced. Then just spread that on. Now, the tray looks quite full and compact. But 90 minutes in the oven, you'll see everything shrink down and all the skins blistering. And the flavor intensifies so nicely. Extra virgin olive oil. That gives a nice, earthy flavor to the tomatoes. Place your tomatoes into an oven preheated to 150 degrees C and cook long and slow for an hour and a half. Now, halloumi cakes. There's something quite exciting about halloumi cheese. It's a very firm cheese, and it fries brilliantly. Peel the carrots. Great. Not too finely. You want that nice texture. Next, courgette. The secret is keeping it all grated the same. Put that into a sieve. A sprinkling of salt will draw out liquid from the vegetables. Then grate the halloumi. Halloumi cheese doesn't look that tasty. But once you've got color on it, in the pan, it's really, really delicious. Now, really important to squeeze out the excess water in the veg, and you'll see all that water that needs to come out of there. If we didn't do this, it'll make your little patties non-fryable, because the whole thing starts to separate. And then mix in with the cheese. Spring onions, chop up the whites and the greens. Now we're going to season that with some delicious fresh mint and fresh coriander. Whenever it's vegetarian, I like to put a combination of herbs in there, tarragon and parsley, mint and coriander, basil and lemongrass. All delicious on their own, but in tandem, their flavors play off each other. Next, two eggs in. Give that a little mix. Add the eggs to the mixture. And then finally, a couple of tablespoons of breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs help dry out any excess moisture. Mix all the ingredients together. Before you start shaping these, taste the mixture. Mm. It's really important to identify the seasoning now. If you wait until you've cooked them, it'll be too late to adjust the seasoning. Roll them to a large golf ball. Shape them like a little mini burger. You can spice these up with some chili in there, if you haven't got fresh chili, chili flakes. And it's something that can be done up a day in advance. To get your cakes firm and ready for frying, put them into the fridge, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Pan on. Get that nice and hot. Whilst I'm waiting for that, I'll get the dressing ready. Slice a red chili, seeds and all, on an angle into shards. Then chop fresh ginger. Season with a sprinkle of sugar and salt. Add some rice wine vinegar. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. To finish off, some chopped coriander. Got that sweet, sour, spicy flavor. With my chili dressing done, I can start frying off my halloumi cakes in a hot, oiled pan. We get a nice, crisp edge. You already start to smell that sauteed halloumi with the courgettes and carrots. Smells delicious. Really important to put a nice amount of color on them. As my cakes sizzle away, I can finish off my roast tomato salad. One of my favorite lees has to be watercress. Just cut off stalks. Shallot rings. Watercress and shallot go brilliantly well together. That shallot looks so dainty when you open up these little ringlets. Don't forget to turn your cakes. Now, tomatoes. Whatever you don't use, just jar them and put them in the fridge. Just drop those slow-cooked, warm tomatoes over the watercress. The sweetness is incredible. Absolutely delicious. A little drizzle of aged, old-school vinegar. Gives that tartness to the watercress. Watercress is naturally peppery, so it doesn't need any pepper. Just a little touch of salt. And then a light sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil. After five minutes on a medium heat, my halloumi cakes are ready. So important to have taken out that water. You can see it doesn't disintegrate. And then just get your dressing. Take a spoon of it, and then tilt it to the side, because I want the garnish. I don't want the juice. If that does not turn you on to become a vegetarian for the night, I honestly don't know what will. Delicious. My crispy, golden halloumi courgette and herb cakes with a sumptuous roast tomato and watercress salad, all of the flavor with none of the meat.