You’d think it might be tricky, with 25 cookbooks and even more television programmes to their name, for the Hairy Bikers to think of something new. Like many cookbooks created during lockdown and published this year , their latest, Everyday Winners , focuses on dishes that can be whipped […]
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You’d think it might be tricky, with 25 cookbooks and even more television programmes to their name, for the Hairy Bikers to think of something new. Like many cookbooks created during lockdown and published this year, their latest, Everyday Winners, focuses on dishes that can be whipped up quickly and feed a family, with a heavy dose of comfort to boot.
But there’s a twist: the ideas were crowdsourced from their fans. Expecting 500 responses at most, the Bikers, aka Si King and Dave Myers, put out a request on social media for their readers’ favourite grub. They received 20,000 suggestions for main courses, 8,000 puddings and 4,000 bakes, from people all over the world.
The dishes were wide-ranging. Even those from British fans spanned the globe – a celebration, says King, of “the multicultural cuisine we have in the UK. There aren’t many countries where you can eat your way around the world in most cities. We should be proud of that.”
Whittling the suggestions down to 100 was tough, so the pair decided to merge many together in dishes – a Bakewell tart trifle; fish finger fajitas; Cumberland sausage pie – that may ruffle the feathers of traditionalists. “If it tastes great, it tastes great,” argues King. “I can understand the purity of a carbonara, there should be no cream anywhere near it, and some recipes are about heritage and identity, there’s no need to reinvent them.”
Their spicy fish and chips is not intended to be an improvement on the classic, rather “just a different way of doing it. We try to keep things interesting and get people into the kitchen and empower them to give it a whirl”.
The Bikers’ unbridled enthusiasm is their USP. We speak 10 days after Myers tests positive for Covid. “He’d crawl here if he could,” jokes King. “He’s tough as an old boot, Dave, but it’s always a worrying time. It’s touched a lot of people’s lives.”
For his part, King spent the lockdowns cooking for his local community near Newcastle. At home, he baked bread, ate a lot of pulses and bought fresh fish from local fishermen. His everyday cooking is fuss-free, full of soups, salads and fridge raids – much like the rest of us. “We’re nothing different,” he says, “if there’s beans on toast on offer, I’ll have that, thank you very much.”
Margarita chicken fajitas
A union between two of our favourite things and it’s not just a gimmick – the margarita ingredients of lime, tequila and triple sec work brilliantly with the chicken and make remarkably tasty fajitas.
Halloumi burger
Like many people, we’re eating more halloumi these days and it’s a really useful veggie option.
Spicy fish and chips
Proper fish and chips can be quite a business to make at home. Instead, try our super-easy version with everything cooked in the oven.
Pinto bean casserole
Based on a wonderful Iranian bean dish called loobia chiti, which can be served as an appetiser, as part of a meze selection or a main dish. We’ve added extra greens to our version to make a good substantial veggie/vegan supper. Nice with flatbread.
Roast tomato and tuna linguine
This was inspired by a dish cooked for us by a chef in Sardinia. It’s so simple and straightforward but really superb to eat.
Cumberland sausage pie
Cumberland pie is very similar to shepherd’s pie, so we thought to ourselves: why not make a pie with Cumberland sausages for the full Cumberland experience?
The Hairy Bikers’ Everyday Winners by Si King and Dave Myers is published by Seven Dials (£22). Order your copy from books.telegraph.co.uk
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