Tom's recipes!

Recipes for two out of the three dishes demonstrated are mentioned in the programme. The one that I thought was the stand out is not, so now is the time that I say that I don't care if everyone thinks I'm obsessive because I carry a small journal around – I wrote as he spoke, here it is :

Tray bake chicken

Heritage tomatoes

Pinch of dried oregano

1 medium red onion

1 tbsp dried polenta (used as a thickener)

sliced salami

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

one buffalo mozzarella

2 chicken breasts

drizzle of olive oil

black pepper and pinch of salt

fresh oregano for garnish

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6

Choose an oven proof casserole approximately 24x24cms square x 6cms deep which should serve 4-6 depending on size of appetite.

I realise there aren't any quantities given but it matters not. Think of this dish as a pizza without a base. It's all about layers :

cut your tomatoes in half or quarters depending

on size and place in the casserole

sprinkle with dried oregano

peel and slice the red onion thinly – layer

on top of the tomatoes

sprinkle dried polenta over the tomatoes and

onion – the polenta serves as a thickener as

the dish cooks

add a layer of sliced salami

add finely sliced garlic

tear and add the mozzarella

slice two chicken breasts at an angle and arrange

on top of the mozzarella

add a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper

and a pinch of salt

Garnish with fresh oregano

Bake for 20 minutes and serve whilst hot

The second recipe was the Pork & feta burger with cucumber and olive salsa. Not for the faint hearted. At the end of the demo – aided by his trusted cameraman who did his best to interfere constantly – it may sound cheesy but it made a change to have fun watching someone who clearly loved what he was doing but didn't take himself too seriously.

Mr. Kerridge has also gone up a notch or two since, having completed the demo and arranged the burger he began to giggle and said “here is the pork burger with a cucumber, feta and olive salsa” - he'd forgotten to include the feta in the burger mix so included it in the salsa. He could have said nothing – other than those on stage, no-one would have known – how refreshing, not that he made a mistake, he said so – hurrah for Tom!

Both this recipe and that of the blackened Cajun redfish are in Mr. Kerridge's book “Tom's Table”

I would definitely go see Tom Kerridge again – he was soooo ordinary and nice in the best possible way.