Life

'You can do it' says MasterChef winner Simon Wood of fine dining at home

He's cooked in world-class kitchens, just released a cookbook, landed a 'dream job' and has plans to open up a business... Simon Wood has been busy since last year's MasterChef win. He tells Gemma Dunn why it's 'all good'

Simon Wood's goat's cheese and beetroot salad certainly has a visual wow factor
Simon Wood's goat's cheese and beetroot salad certainly has a visual wow factor Simon Wood's goat's cheese and beetroot salad certainly has a visual wow factor

FOR lifelong foodie Simon Wood, a career in the kitchen was always a case of 'when', rather than 'if'.

"I've always wanted to cook, I've always watched cookery shows, I've always read cookbooks and I've always wanted to be involved in that. In any concept," the 39-year-old recalls.

"So if I can get a cookery TV show, I want one. If I can write a cookery book, I want to do it. If I can win MasterChef, I want to do it."

And he's a man of his word. Since applying for, and winning, MasterChef 2015 – "I got into work one morning and someone had sent me an email that really rubbed me up the wrong way. I applied and never looked back" – Wood, dubbed the series' brightest ever talent, has enjoyed a whirlwind of success.

"It's been crazy; it's been the quickest year of my life. The best but the quickest," quips the Mancunian, who counts stints at several of London's top restaurants among his exploits.

"It was a massive culture shock, though. Sometimes I still wake up and think, 'Oh God, it's really real', but I've done so much and there's so much more to come."

Rapidly ticking off his bucket list, the father-of-four is seriously busy – first with his debut cookbook.

"I want people to look at the book and say, 'My God, look at that; I couldn't do it', but then actually have a good read and think, 'Yes I can'," he enthuses of the book's 'fine dining made simple' ethos.

"Don't be scared of doing it wrong: just learn and practise," he adds.

There's a section dedicated to the art of plating up, too, and chapters covering a range of themes, including salads, non-gluten, pasta, meat, sweet things, the sea and vegetarian dishes.

"Hopefully it will inspire people to turn out some good quality food for friends and family, and not spend a fortune doing it," says Wood, who suggests going for a taster course menu – five dishes, each from different sections of the book – for a well-balanced dinner party.

As well as his book release, one-time burger-flipper Wood recently landed his "dream job", as executive chef at his beloved Oldham Athletic AFC.

"I'm going to be opening a fine dining restaurant [at the stadium] too," he reveals. "Initially, it will be a pop-up on the third Thursday of each month, called The Boardroom by Simon Wood.

"I'm currently looking at premises [in Manchester] to open a business," he adds, "which is going to be somewhere that's relaxed and contemporary and that serves sophisticated dishes with a modern twist, using wholesome, enjoyable ingredients."

Here are two of Wood's recipes to try at home.

GOAT'S CHEESE AND BEETROOT SALAD

(Serves 4)

200g baby purple beetroot

Olive oil

Smoked sea salt (available in all good supermarkets)

Balsamic vinegar (Wood recommends using Belazu but any brand will work)

1 candy striped beetroot (try your local greengrocer or farmer's market for the more unusual varieties of beetroot, or just use what you can find)

1 golden heritage beetroot

Ice water

Beetroot leaves

300g hard goat's cheese

Cracked black pepper

For the panna gratta:

Stale ciabatta

Olive oil

Garlic clove

Sea salt

To make the panna gratta, take a stale ciabatta and either chop or use a processor to break down into small bite-size pieces and crumbs.

In a large frying pan, add three tablespoons of oil and heat gently. With your knife, crush a garlic clove just enough crack it open and fry off until just brown. At that point, remove it from the oil and add in the breadcrumbs. Coat evenly and season with sea salt. Once they are starting to brown put them on a baking tray and toast gently in the oven for 10 minutes at 150C until dry and crunchy. These will keep for months in an airtight container.

For the roasted baby beets: preheat your oven to 190C. Clean the baby purple beetroot and remove the root tip and cut off the stem and leaves. Set these aside for your garnish later.

Toss the purple beetroots in olive oil and smoked sea salt and place into a roasting tray in the oven until softened. Check them after 45 minutes to an hour, then remove from the oven.

Once cool enough to handle, scrape the skin off with a paring knife and dress in the balsamic vinegar. Next, very carefully peel the candy stripe and golden beetroots and using a mandoline or sharp knife slice around four pieces per person. Next take a 2.5cm cutter and cut a perfect circle out of the beetroot slices.

Set these aside and boil a saucepan of salted water. Tidy the ends of the beetroot leaves and blanch for 30 seconds before dropping them into iced water. This will stop them cooking and keep that great colour.

Drain the beetroot leaves on some kitchen paper and start to plate up, making sure you alternate the different varieties of beetroot.

If you buy a good quality goat's cheese, you only need a little and it is perfect as it is. Use a small baller to create spheres of the cheese and then arrange around the beetroot.

Add a twist of black pepper and finish the dish by piping dots of the balsamic vinegar around the beetroot and goat's cheese, and sprinkling over some panna gratta.

CHARGRILLED LAMB CUTLETS WITH FETA AND AUBERGINE

(Serves 4)

For the lamb:

300g natural yoghurt

50ml olive oil

Large bunch fresh oregano, chopped

Salt and pepper

12 lamb cutlets

For the aubergines:

8 baby aubergines

Olive oil, for brushing

2 small red onions, peeled and halved

1 red chilli

50g black olives

Salt and pepper

To garnish:

150g feta

In a food processor, blitz the yoghurt, olive oil and oregano and season well. Save a third of this for the garnish and then add the lamb cutlets to a bowl and coat well in the remaining marinade. Cook on a griddle until charred and nicely cooked, then set aside to rest.

For the aubergines, brush with a little oil and season, then use the griddle pan to char and cook them through. Add some foil in a frying pan and gently burn the red onion.

Finely slice the chilli and olives and use these along with the remaining yoghurt and oregano to garnish your plate. Finally crumble the feta over.

:: At Home With Simon Wood: Fine Dining Made Simple by Simon Wood is published by Meze Publishing.