Five recipes that John Torode and Lisa Faulkner cook at home (2024)

One’s a trained cook and MasterChef judge who’s used to having a whole brigade of chefs to help him; the other’s a keen amateur who wants to keep things simple and save on the washing-up. Between them John Torode and his wife, the actress Lisa Faulkner, have found TV success of a different kind in John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, in which they cook together (and occasionally gently bicker together) in their north London home. Now they’ve brought together some of their most successful recipes in a new book.

Braised shoulder of lamb with potato topping

As much as we love a shepherd’s pie, this is just that little bit more celebratory. Fab for the centre of the table, it’s crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with falling-off-the-bone lamb beneath the potatoes, all in its own gravy. A one-pot wonder.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 50ml olive oil
• 1.4kg half-shoulder of lamb, skin scored
• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6 shallots, peeled and chopped
• Half-bottle of white wine
• 2 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard

For the seasoning mix

• 1 tsp each of ground black pepper, dried rosemary, dried thyme and dried oregano

For the potato topping

• 6 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 50ml olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C fan/gas 3½.

2. In a small bowl, combine the seasoning mix ingredients.

3. In a large flameproof casserole or ovenproof pan that has a lid, heat the oil, then place the lamb in the pan, scored side down, sprinkle with half the seasoning mix and sear for 5 minutes to get a little colour. Turn the lamb and cook the other side for 5 minutes, then season the top side of the lamb (that has been seared) with the remaining seasoning mix.

4. Place the carrots and shallots around the outside of the lamb and pour in the wine; it should come straight to the boil. Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 3 hours.

5. Before the end of the 3 hours, cook the potatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and mix with the olive oil and some salt and pepper.

6. Remove the lamb from the oven, drain off a little of the sauce into a small pan and pull the bone from the lamb; it should slide out easily. Discard the bone. Mix the lamb around in the dish a little with tongs; it will just fall apart. In a rustic fashion, spoon the potatoes on top of the lamb, increase the oven temperature to 200C fan/gas 7, and return the dish, uncovered, to the oven. Cook for a further 1 hour.

7. Reduce the reserved sauce in the small pan and stir in the mustard. Serve the mustard gravy alongside the braised lamb.

Chinese pot roast chicken

This recipe is great with rice, noodles or served in pancakes, like you would with Peking duck — adventurous but not difficult, and a crowd-pleaser.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 100g piece of ginger, roughly sliced
• 3 star anise
• 1 tbsp Chinese 5-spice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 large chicken
• 100ml maple syrup
• 100ml soy sauce
• White sesame seeds, to garnish

To serve

• Pak choi, halved
• Sugar snap peas
• Drizzle each of soy sauce and sesame oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas 6.

2. In a bowl, combine half the spring onions with the salt, sugar, ginger and spices, then stuff this mixture inside the chicken cavity. Use a wooden toothpick to seal the chicken, then shake well and place it breast-side up in an ovenproof casserole that has a lid.

3. Add the maple syrup and soy sauce to a pan and bring to the boil, then pour the mixture over the chicken and let it sit for a couple of minutes.

4. Put the lid on your dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the chicken over so it’s breast-side down and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn again and cook with the lid off for a final 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer the chicken to a board and carve.

5. In the minutes before the chicken is done, blanch the green veg until soft, drizzle with a little soy sauce and sesame oil and then serve them alongside the chicken. Garnish with sesame seeds and the remaining spring onions and spoon some of the warm sauce from the dish over the top.

Pan-fried crispy gnocchi, tomatoes, olives and rocket

Sometimes a recipe is when there are just a few things in the fridge. This is a warm salad, really, with little crispy potato dumplings. It works just as well with spaghetti or any other pasta.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 x 500g packet of gnocchi
• 70ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 350g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp smoked hot paprika
• 20g butter
• Bunch of mixed herbs, such as parsley, dill or chives, chopped
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 x 350g tin of pitted olives (150g olives), some halved and some kept whole
• 1 bag of rocket
• Shaved parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil then add the gnocchi. After a couple of minutes or so, when the gnocchi float to the top, scoop them out carefully, drain the water, add the gnocchi to an oiled tray (using half the oil) and give them a toss.

2. Place a frying pan over a medium heat, add the remaining 35ml olive oil, the onion and a good pinch of black pepper. Give it a good stir and cook down for 5 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and paprika and cook for another 5 minutes or so while you finish the gnocchi.

3. Get another frying pan hot and place the cooked gnocchi in the pan with the oil from the tray. Add the butter and leave to cook; do not move it around for a minute or so. When the butter is foaming, shuffle the pan so the gnocchi get properly coated and start turning golden brown. Once the gnocchi are nice and golden, sprinkle in the chopped herbs.

4. Finish the tomato sauce by adding the capers and olives and stir to incorporate. Add the tomato sauce to the gnocchi, along with a splash of water, if needed. Simmer briefly and stir through half the rocket, then serve with the remaining rocket scattered on the top, and a few shavings of parmesan.

Lisa’s chorizo and broken yolk smash with tomato salsa

This dish was on a menu in a café in Manchester that I would go to while I was filming up there. My favourite thing about it was that it just used egg yolks (the best part of an egg). What’s not to love? Yolks, potatoes and chorizo — yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the smash

• 400g baby new potatoes
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 100g cooking chorizo, roughly chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 egg yolks

For the salsa

• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, quartered
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• Handful of coriander, roughly chopped

To serve

• Roughly chopped coriander
• Soured cream
• Nice crusty bread

Method

1. Bring the potatoes to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until tender, then drain and set them aside. Halve any large ones.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and cook until beginning to soften. Stir through the garlic, paprika and cayenne, adding a splash of water if things begin to stick. Tumble in the chorizo and allow it to brown and release its oil.

3. Add the potatoes to the pan. If soft enough, squash some of them down with the back of a spoon so that they break apart. Season and allow the mixture to sizzle away, again adding a little water if things begin to catch.

4. For the tomato salsa, add a sprinkle of salt to the quartered tomatoes in a small bowl, followed by a splash of vinegar. Mix through the coriander and set aside.

5. Once everything in the potato pan is nicely golden, make four holes in the mixture and spoon in the egg yolks. Break the yolks with a spoon and swish them around the pan. Top with a sprinkle of coriander and serve with the tomato salsa, a dollop of soured cream and some nice crusty bread.

John’s ‘cheat’ seafood fideuà

Fideuà is a Spanish pasta dish which is very similar to paella, but uses vermicelli instead of rice. Amazing what you can make with a few prawns, some pasta and a tin of soup. Delicious and indulgent.

Serves 6 as a main

Ingredients

• 300g vermicelli
• 50ml vegetable oil (if not making prawn oil — see below)
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 300g raw tiger prawns, peeled and deveined (keep the shells if they have them)
• 200ml tinned lobster bisque
• Splash of white wine
• Handful of coriander, chopped (optional)

For the prawn oil (optional)

• Shells of 300g tiger prawns (see above)
• 50ml vegetable oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan/gas 4.

2. Using your hands, crush the vermicelli into smaller pieces, then tip into a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 5 minutes until golden. Give the noodles a stir, then roast again for a couple more minutes; but keep an eye on them as they can burn easily. Set aside to cool.

3. If making the prawn oil, put the reserved prawn shells in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the oil. Cook for 5 minutes until the shells’ flavour has been absorbed by the oil, then strain the oil and remove the prawn shells – this will form the basis for your fideuà.

4. Heat the oil or prawn oil in a large ovenproof frying pan, add the shallots and fry gently until softened without colour. Add the cherry tomatoes, a good couple of grinds of pepper and the smoked paprika. Cut the tiger prawns into bite-sized pieces (if using smaller prawns, keep whole) and cook in the pan until the prawns have just turned pink. Meanwhile, in a jug, mix the lobster bisque with 200ml water.

5. Add the wine to the pan and stir in the toasted vermicelli gradually, mixing it all together thoroughly. Add the coriander, if using. Finally, pour the lobster bisque mixture over the top but do not stir. Turn your oven up to 180C fan/gas 6 and, once the liquid is bubbling, transfer to the oven for 5-6 minutes and cook until crisp on top.

6. Remove from the oven and serve in the middle of the table.

Extracted from John and Lisa’s Kitchen: Everyday Recipes From a Professional Chef and a Home Cook by John Torode and Lisa Faulkner (Quadrille, £25). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members