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Jamie’s Friday Night Feast Cookbook: Recipes from fish tacos to lamb with pineapple salsa
Tying in with his hit TV show, this book rounds up the best of the celebrity recipes, each of which are big hitters and crowd pleasers that you can try yourself at home
The real making of fish tacos is all the trimmings: cabbage, sour cream, fresh guacamole and a spicy salsa (Ella Miller)
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Fearne Cotton’s Mexican fish tacos with charred pineapple salsa and guacamole
Fearne first enjoyed fish tacos like these on holiday in Mexico with her best friend Lolly, so I’ve set out to recreate that vibe for her here. Served with all the trimmings – fresh guacamole, sweet and spicy pineapple salsa, garlicky soured cream and a jalapeño-spiked cabbage slaw – this is to die for.
Serves 4 Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes
1 bulb of garlic ½ a red cabbage (400g) 1 fresh green jalapeño chilli 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 150g soured cream or natural yoghurt 1 lime 4 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley 4–8 flour tortillas 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans Olive oil 4 x 200g haddock fillets, skin on, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources 1 lemon
Pineapple salsa
1 small fresh pineapple 1 small red onion ½ a bunch of fresh mint (15g) 2 fresh mixed-colour chillies 2 limes Extra virgin olive oil
Guacamole
½ a small red onion 2 spring onions 1–2 fresh red chillies 2 ripe tomatoes 3 ripe avocados ½ a bunch of fresh mint (15g) 1 lime
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Place the whole garlic bulb in the oven for 1 hour, or until softened, then remove. To make the pineapple salsa, trim and peel the pineapple, cutting out any brown scraggy bits, then slice into wedges, removing and discarding the core. Dry fry in a large frying pan over a medium heat for around 4 minutes, or until gnarly and charred, turning occasionally. Finely chop, then place in a bowl with all the lovely juices.
Peel the onion, pick the mint leaves, then finely chop with the chillies (deseed if you like) and scrape into the bowl. Squeeze in the lime juice, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then taste and season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, and put aside.
For the guacamole, peel the red onion, trim the spring onions, then roughly chop with the chillies (deseed if you like) on a large chopping board. Halve, deseed and add the tomatoes, destone the avocados and scoop over the flesh, then pick over most of the mint leaves. Chop and mix it all together until fine and combined, then squeeze over the lime juice and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Season to perfection, giving it one final chop.
Very finely slice the red cabbage on a mandolin (use the guard!). Finely slice the jalapeño, then scrunch it all in a bowl with the vinegar to make a slaw. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins, then mash and fold it through the soured cream. Squeeze in the lime juice, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then season to perfection. Pick, finely chop and stir in the parsley leaves. Wrap the tortillas in tin foil and warm them in the cooling oven.
Drain the cannellini beans and put them into a frying pan on a medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they start to pop and blister. Place in a bowl and keep warm. Wipe the pan out and return it to a medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Season the haddock fillets and finely grate over the lemon zest, then cook skin side down for 4 minutes, pressing down lightly with a fish slice. Turn over for a further 3 minutes, or until slightly golden and just cooked.
Divide up the tortillas and top each with a spoonful of guacamole and slaw. Flake over the fish, then top with the pineapple salsa, garlicky soured cream and crispy beans. Pick, chop and scatter over the remaining mint, and serve with extra sliced chilli and lime wedges, if you like.
Prawn and tofu pad Thai, tangy tamarind sauce and dried shrimps
Pad Thai has become a bit of a cult favourite in both street food markets and high-end Thai restaurants, and it’s not hard to see why – it’s ridiculously tasty and seriously satisfying. Packed with proper Thai flavours like dried shrimps, Asian herbs and a beautiful tamarind sauce, it’s fresh and zingy but hearty and warming – a modern classic.
Serves 2 Total time: 40 minutes
150g flat rice noodles 1 fresh bird's-eye chilli 1 fresh yellow chilli 2 limes Groundnut oil 2 red shallots ½ a bunch each of Chinese chives, Thai basil, Thai mint (45g total) 140g silken tofu 4 large raw peeled tiger prawns, from sustainable sources 25g dried shrimps, from sustainable sources 50g shelled unsalted peanuts 1 pinch of dried chilli flakes 1 tablespoon jarred shredded sweet radish 1 large free-range egg 60g beansprouts (ready to eat)
Tamarind sauce
25g palm sugar 2 tablespoons tamarind paste Fish sauce White wine vinegar
Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, make the tamarind sauce. Coarsely grate the palm sugar into a bowl, add the tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, a dash of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water and mix well so the sugar dissolves. Taste, and adjust the flavours if needed – you’re looking for sweet, sour and slightly salty. Halve, deseed and finely slice the chillies, then place in a bowl with the juice from 1 lime to make a quick pickle.
Drain the noodles and toss in a little oil. Peel and roughly chop the shallots, then trim and finely slice the chives. Pick and roughly chop most of the basil and mint leaves. Slice the tofu into rough 1cm chunks. Run the tip of a knife down the back of each prawn and pull out the vein, meaning they’ll butterfly as they cook. Rinse the dried shrimps under cold running water, then pat dry with kitchen paper.
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Place a large wok on a medium heat with a splash of oil, then add the dried shrimps, peanuts and chilli flakes. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. Take the pan off the heat, transfer half the mixture to a pestle and mortar and lightly crush, keeping to one side. Return the pan to a medium-high heat with another splash of oil, adding the shallots to the mix. Fry for 2 minutes, or until turning golden. Toss in the prawns, chives, chopped herbs and shredded radish, then cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until the prawns are almost cooked through. Beat and add the egg, cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then fold through and toss in the tofu, noodles, beansprouts and tamarind sauce until well combined.
Divide the pad Thai between bowls, sprinkle over the crushed nut mixture from the mortar and pick over the remaining mint and basil leaves. Serve with the quick pickled chillies and lime wedges for squeezing over. Delicious!
Gunpowder lamb with pineapple salsa, coconut rice and mint dressing
The small investment in time you make to blend the perfect combo for the gunpowder spice paste is the key to success here. That contrast you get between the outer, dark, gnarly, spicy crust and the blushing, sweet, juicy meat inside is just incredible. Served alongside a feast of rice and outrageous pineapple salsa, it’s a double YUM!
Serves 8 Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus marinating
1 x 2kg butterflied leg of lamb or hogget, bone out (ask your butcher to do this) Olive oil 1–2 fresh mixed-colour chillies
Start by making the gunpowder spice paste – blitz the dried chillies, spices and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper in a spice grinder or blender until you have a powder. Peel and add the garlic, pour in the vinegar and vegetable oil, then blitz to a paste. Trim the excess fat from the lamb, then lightly slash the flesh all over with a sharp knife. Rub the spice paste all over, really getting into all the nooks and crannies, then marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200C/400C/gas 6 and a griddle pan to high (or you can use the barbecue for added smokiness). Sear the lamb for 20 minutes on the griddle, turning regularly to build up a gnarly crust, then place in a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and pop into the oven for a further 20 minutes – these timings are for blushing pink, but feel free to adjust to your liking. Remove to a board to rest.
Meanwhile, make the accompaniments. For the dressing, pick most of the mint leaves into a pestle and mortar, add a pinch of salt and bash to a paste. Muddle in the lime juice and yoghurt, then season to taste with black pepper. For the salsa, peel the pineapple and onion, then cut into wedges (removing the pineapple core). Blacken in a dry frying pan on a high heat, remove to a board, chop into rough 2cm chunks and scrape into a bowl. Squeeze over the lime juice, then finely chop and add the coriander stalks (reserving the leaves). Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and season to perfection.
For the coconut rice, place a 24cm non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the mustard seeds. Pour in 2 mugs of rice and 3 mugs of boiling water and season with a pinch of salt. Halve the chillies lengthways and add to the pan with the creamed coconut. Bring to the boil, give it a stir, then cover and cook for 10 minutes on a low heat, followed by 5 minutes on a high heat – you’re aiming for a crispy bottom. Once cooked, carefully turn out, just like a sandcastle.
Finely slice the remaining chilli(es), then scatter over the lamb with the reserved coriander and mint leaves. Take everything to the table, slice up the lamb and let everyone get stuck in. Delicious served with a seasonal salad.
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