3 Rosemary Shrager Recipes to Try this Autumn [competition inside!]

Rosemary Shrager, one of our favourite celebrity chefs, has just released a fantastic new cookbook!

“Rosemary Shrager’s Cooking Course: 150 Tried and Tested Recipes to be a Better Cook” is made for anyone looking to develop their culinary abilities in a practical, hands-on way. Starting with the fundamentals, this book will take you through a whole host of scrumptious recipes perfect for learning new skills and honing your current ones.

Here are three of our favourite dishes from the book to try out before you get your copy.

Extracted from Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery Course by Rosemary Shrager (BBC Books, £20.00) Photography by Andrew Hayes – Watkins

SERVES 4

2 avocados, peeled and stoned

zest and juice of 1 lime

3 tbsp olive oil

1 ciabatta loaf

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

4 large eggs (at room temperature)

fine sea salt and black pepper

Chimichurri sauce

2 long fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 large handfuls curly parsley, leaves only, chopped

4 heaped tsp dried oregano

2 tsp flaked sea salt

5 tbsp red wine vinegar

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Start by making the chimichurri sauce. Place the chopped chillies in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, plus 5 tablespoons of cold water. Stir until well combined, then set aside. I do like the texture of the handmade sauce, but if you are short of time, you can roughly chop the chillies, garlic and herbs in a food processor. Add the salt, vinegar, oil and water, and pulse – don’t overwork the mixture or you will end up with a mush.

2 Put the avocado flesh in a large bowl. Add the lime zest and juice and a tablespoon of the olive oil. Mash with the back of a fork to a rough consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

3 Preheat the grill. Cut the ciabatta in half horizontally, and slice each piece across to make 4 square pieces. Mix the garlic with the remaining olive oil and drizzle this mixture over the cut sides of the ciabatta. Toast the bread under the grill until golden brown.

4 Place a pan of water on your hob and bring it to the boil. Gently lower the eggs into the water and bring the water back up to the boil. Cook for 5½ minutes, then drain and run them under cold water until they are just cool enough to peel.

Extracted from Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery Course by Rosemary Shrager (BBC Books, £20.00) Photography by Andrew Hayes – Watkins

SERVES 4–6

2 tbsp olive oil

500g merguez (spicy North African sausages)

80g smoked bacon or pancetta, cut into small strips

140g chorizo, sliced

1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp sweet smoked paprika

100ml good-quality red wine

400g can of tomatoes, drained

400g can of butter beans, drained

250ml chicken stock

1 tbsp chopped tarragon

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Place a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of the oil. Add the merguez and cook them on all sides until golden brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

2 Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and then the smoked bacon or pancetta and the chorizo. Cook over a medium heat until they have both browned and the chorizo has released its oils. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3–4 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir in the smoked paprika and cook for a couple of minutes to release the maximum flavour.

3 Add the wine, bring to the boil and cook until it has reduced by half. Now add the tomatoes, butter beans, browned merguez and the chicken stock and bring back to the boil. Cover the dish and place it in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the sauce has nicely reduced.

4 Remove the casserole dish from the oven and add the chopped tarragon. This is meant to be quite an oily dish but you can drain off some of the chorizo oil if you like. Serve immediately with some hunks of good crusty bread.

Extracted from Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery Course by Rosemary Shrager (BBC Books, £20.00) Photography by Andrew Hayes – Watkins

SERVES 6

23cm pastry case, baked

blind (see pages 220–21)

300g raspberries

150g blueberries

icing sugar, for dusting

mint leaves, to decorate

(optional)

Lemon pâtissière

2 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

60g golden caster sugar

25g unsalted butter

1 First make the lemon pâtissière. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Put the lemon juice in a pan with the sugar, place it over a low heat to just dissolve the sugar, then bring it to the boil. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the butter, then whisk this mixture into the bowl with the eggs.

2 Pour everything back into the pan, place the pan over a low heat and very slowly bring everything to a simmer, whisking all the time. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with cling film, making sure the film touches the mixture so condensation cannot form. Set aside to cool.

3 Fill the pastry case with the lemon pâtissière and arrange the soft fruit on top. Scatter with mint leaves, if using, and dust with icing sugar.

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Competition time!

To celebrate the release, and get your autumn cooking off to a flying start, we’re giving away 5 copies of Rosemary Shrager’s Cooking Course: 150 Tried and Tested Recipes.  Enter on our Facebook page now!