It's a pity that Gordon Ramsay's exaggerated television personality has somehow eclipsed his undeniable talent as a chef.
Gordon Ramsay Three Star Chef, published in 2007, shows some of the beautiful food that made him famous at his eponymous Michelin three-star London restaurant, and others in that city, such as Petrus.
A blurb in the book warns, "The three star recipes in the book … originate from Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road. They have been adapted and carefully tested for the domestic kitchen. Nevertheless, many of the recipes are still challenging and demand skill and precision on the part of the home cook." Excellent advice: while it's not nearly the most difficult cookbook in my collection, the recipes, with their myriad components, aren't anything you'll be able to whip together to feed a hungry family after a hard day at work. A lobster, langoustine and salmon ravioli dish, for instance, requires saffron pasta dough, a seafood filling, reduced shellfish stock, lemongrass and chervil veloute, buttered leaf spinach and optional tomato chutney and basil crisps. Not all the recipes are so arduous: the one for caramelised apple tarte tatin calls for ready-made puff pastry, rather than home-made.
Other simple-ish recipes include griddled asparagus with sel de Guerande and tomato vinaigrette; salad of asparagus, baby artichokes and Perigord truffles with creamy truffle dressing; and toffee souffle with banana and lime ice cream.
