Trusted British chef recipes, tested at home
James Martin’s Gruyère and pancetta brioche sandwich fills sliced brioche with melting Gruyère and maple-drizzled crisp pancetta, then dips the whole sandwich in sweetened egg and milk and fries it golden in butter. It’s a croque monsieur crossed with French toast, takes under 10 minutes in the pan, and serves four. The recipe comes from …
James Martin’s double chocolate cherry brownies fold halved fresh cherries through a rich, dark chocolate batter, then scatter chopped white chocolate and more cherries on top before baking. They use 350g of dark chocolate (minimum 55% cocoa solids) and 150g of white, bake at 170°C (150°C fan, gas 3) for 25-30 minutes, and the recipe …
ames Martin’s corned beef hash fries diced potatoes with tinned corned beef, tomatoes, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in butter, then piles beer-battered onion rings on top. The hash takes about 10 minutes in the pan, the onion rings fry at 190°C until golden, and it serves four as a proper cosy night in. The …
James Martin’s cherry trifle layers cherry-brandy-soaked Madeira cake, brandy-poached cherries, and whipped cream folded through vanilla custard, finished with grated white chocolate and glossy caramel-dipped cherries. There’s no baking beyond a quick cherry compote and a batch of caramel, and it makes a generous summer centrepiece for twelve to fourteen. The recipe comes from BBC’s …
James Martin’s beef ragu with linguine builds a rich sauce of beef mince and smoked bacon lardons on a soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, simmered in tomato and red wine with basil, tossed through homemade ’00’ egg linguine. The ragu simmers for 45 minutes, the pasta is rolled fresh on a machine, and it …
James Martin’s sticky toffee pudding bakes a moist date sponge, made with demerara sugar, golden syrup and black treacle, in individual moulds, then drowns each one in a muscovado toffee sauce. The whole thing comes together quickly in a food processor, bakes at 200°C (gas 6) for 20-25 minutes, makes six, and is served with …
Mary Berry’s chicken traybake sits 8 marinated chicken thighs on cubed sweet potato, potato, cauliflower, onion, celery and smoked streaky bacon. The marinade is olive oil, garlic, thyme, lemon and half a red chilli. It roasts at 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 for 30 to 40 minutes. Her headnote in Classic (2018) answers the question every traybake …
Mary Berry’s Normandy chicken braises six chicken thighs with banana shallots, celery and 150ml of Calvados, finished with crème fraîche. Eating apples are fried separately in butter and muscovado sugar. It cooks at 160°C/140°C fan/Gas 3 for about 40 minutes and serves 6. Berry’s note in Classic (2018) explains the name in seven words: Normande …
Mary Berry’s lemon and blueberry muffins take 250g self-raising flour, 175g blueberries and the grated rind of a whole lemon. The butter is rubbed into the flour rather than melted. They bake at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 for 20 to 25 minutes. She calls them simply Blueberry Muffins in Baking Bible (2010), though the lemon is …
Mary Berry’s banana loaf is made with 200g of mashed ripe banana, light muscovado sugar, self-raising flour and chopped pecans. It bakes in a 900g loaf tin at 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4 for about an hour. A honey icing goes on once it’s cold. Berry weighs her bananas, and that’s the detail worth taking away. In …
