How to eat like the Shelby family with recipes from The Official Peaky Blinders Cookbook
SCOTCH EGGS WITH MUSTARD MAYONNAISE Serves 6
Total time to make 1 hour
6 large eggs
300g good-quality pork sausages
5 sage leaves, finely chopped
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
50g plain (all-purpose) flour
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons full-fat milk
150g cups panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
a handful of watercress, to serve
(optional for the dip: 4 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon English mustard ¼ bunch of chives, chopped salt and ground black pepper)
Tommy might insist on Fabergé Eggs, but we think these Scotch eggs at the bar of The Garrison will cause far less trouble.
Make sure you get your oil good and hot to guarantee a crispy outer crumb. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and carefully lower in the eggs. Boil them for 6 minutes to soft set the yolks, then remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of iced water.
Once the eggs are cold, peel them and set them aside.
Squeeze the sausage meat from the sausage skins into a mixing bowl. Add the sage, parsley and black pepper and mix well.
Divide the sausage mixture into 6 equal-sized balls. Place one of the balls on a piece of baking paper, and flatten it with a damp hand. Place an egg in the middle of the sausage-meat disc and bring the meat up and around the egg. Gently press the sausage meat around the egg, making sure that the egg is wrapped. Repeat with the remaining balls of sausage meat and eggs.
Tip the flour into one wide, shallow bowl, the beaten egg into another and the breadcrumbs into a third. One by one, roll the coated eggs in the flour, making sure they are well covered. Then, turn them in the beaten egg, lifting them out with a fork, and finally turn them in the breadcrumbs to coat – make sure the whole egg is covered in the crumb.
Just before frying, preheat your oven to 150°C/130°C fan. If you have a deep-fat fryer, heat the oil to 180°C. If not, one third fill a medium saucepan with vegetable oil and place it over a medium heat. The oil is ready when the temperature reaches 180°C on a digital cooking thermometer, or when a cube of bread floats and browns within 30 seconds.
Deep-fry the Scotch eggs in batches of 1–3 eggs at a time, depending on the size of your pan and taking care not to overfill, for about 5–7 minutes per batch, turning occasionally, until golden and crispy all over. Remove the cooked eggs to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm
in the oven while you deep-fry the remainder. To make the dip, mix the mayonnaise with the mustard and chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the warm Scotch eggs with the dip, and a watercress salad, if you wish.
BAKED TROUT WITH RICE, FENNEL & LEMON Serves 2
Total time to make 30 mins
2 skin-on, filleted whole rainbow trout (each about 250g/9oz), washed and patted dry with kitchen paper
30g cooked white rice
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 small fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped
50g frozen peas
a handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
5–6 dill fronds, chopped
100ml dry white wine
a knob of butter, softened
salt and ground black pepper
steamed greens (such as samphire or green beans) and lemon wedges, to serve
When gangs go fishing, it might not mean quite the same thing as casting a rod for trout. Oysters, herring, mussels, cockles, sprats and eel were the catch most working-class families would have been eating in the early 20th century, but if you had your eyes set on social climbing, serving up trout would definitely have made a statement.
Preheat your oven to 190°C and line a shallow roasting tin with baking paper. Find some kitchen string. Place one half of each fish fillet, skin side down, on the lined roasting tin and season each with salt and pepper.
Tip the rice into a small mixing bowl and add the lemon zest, fennel, peas and both herbs. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Divide the rice mixture between the two fillet halves, gently pressing it over the surface of the fish to coat. Place the second half of each fillet on top of the first, sandwiching the rice mixture in between. Tie your string around the fillets to secure them together, then pour the wine around the fish.
Brush the fish with the softened butter, season with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve with steamed greens, and with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
PEA & LETTUCE SOUP with FETA
Serves 6
Total time taken 40 minutes
a knob of butter
1 leek, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
2 all-rounder potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 baby gem lettuce, roughly chopped
250g frozen peas
a small handful of mint, leaves picked and chopped
60g feta, crumbled
¼ bunch of chives or 5–6 dill fronds, finely chopped
3½ tablespoons single (light) cream
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
salt and ground black pepper crusty bread, to serve
The feta cheese sprinkled over this soup gives a salty, tangy edge to the creamy, mellow pea. For supper at Arrow House, the Shelbys are serving this hot, but you could just as well chill it and serve it as a gazpacho. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium–low heat. Add the leek, celery and garlic and fry for 10 minutes, until softened. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the potatoes and bring the liquid to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then add the lettuce, peas and mint. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, then blend until smooth. Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper. Divide the soup equally between the serving bowls. Sprinkle a little feta into each bowl and sprinkle the chopped herbs on top. Finish with a drizzle of cream and extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with crusty bread.
Recipes taken from The Official Peaky Blinders Cookbook by The Shelby Company, White Lion Publishing, £14.99
