Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen Sample Recipes: Green beans and mushrooms in black bean sauce

THIS IS A QUICK, TASTY STIR-FRY of vegetables. Fermented black soy beans – sometimes labelled as salted black beans – are available from Asian grocers and selected supermarkets. They are, in fact, salted, fermented and dried beans, which may also be flavoured with chilli or ginger. They are normally rinsed before cooking to remove some of the excess salt.

Serves 4
400g green beans, trimmed
225g shiitake mushrooms, cleaned
2 tbsp vegetable or groundnut oil
1 tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed and dried
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Sauce:
2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar
2 tbsp Shaoxing or Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Cut the green beans into finger lengths and finely slice the mushrooms. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. Tip in the black beans and garlic and fry for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add the green beans with a little splash of water. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Stir-fry for another minute or two.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables and toss well. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce begins to thicken and the green beans are tender but still retain a slight crunch. Transfer to a warm plate and bring to the table.

Gordon Ramsay’s Recipes
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Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen Sample Recipes: Cod with Romesco Sauce

ROMESCO HAILS FROM CATALONIA, where it is frequently served as a sauce or a dip. Here, I’m baking cod fillets in a generous layer of romesco. It’s a simple, healthy and tasty way to cook any variety of white fish.

Serves 4
4 thick cod fillets, with skin, about 175g each
3 tbsp olive oil
100g blanched almonds
3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
pinch of dried chilli flakes, to taste
6 ripe beef tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
1 bay leaf
sea salt and black pepper
85g good-quality white bread (about 2 slices), toasted and roughly chopped
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to finish
3–4 tbsp water
3 tbsp sherry vinegar

Check the cod fillets for pin-bones and pull out any that you come across with kitchen tweezers. Chill until ready to cook.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the almonds and garlic and fry gently until lightly golden. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

Add the onion to the pan and fry gently until lightly golden. Add the dried chilli flakes, tomatoes and bay leaf. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are soft.

Meanwhile, put the almonds and garlic, bread and parsley into a blender or food processor with 1 tbsp water. Blend to a rough paste and then stir into the tomato mixture, along with another 2–3 tbsp water. Add the sherry vinegar, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Arrange the cod fillets in an ovenproof dish, pour over the romesco sauce, cover the dish loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the fish, until it is just done. Serve straight from the dish, sprinkled with a little chopped parsley.

Gordon Ramsay’s Recipes
www.gordonramsayrecipes.com

Recipes by Gordon Ramsay, It's quality over quantity, Serves 6-8 Ingredients Veggie korma 5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled 2 banana shallots, roughly chopped 3.