Sides

This Hairy Bikers colcannon recipe mashes potatoes with warm cream and butter, then folds in savoy cabbage fried with smoked bacon and spring onions. So their Perfect Pies version serves 6 in about 45 minutes, at roughly 440 calories a portion by my estimate. “A fab accompaniment to a home-made pie” is how Si and …

This Hairy Bikers leek pudding recipe folds softened leeks and onion into a suet, flour and breadcrumb dough, then boils it in a floured cloth. By my timings the Mums Know Best pudding feeds 6 in about 1½ hours, at my estimate of 430 calories a wedge without gravy. This is Si’s mam’s recipe for …

This Hairy Bikers lemon curd recipe cooks the juice of 6 lemons and zest of 3 with eggs, yolks, sugar and butter over simmering water. With my hour of cooling, the Brilliant Bakes batch fills 4 jars in about 1½ hours, at an estimated 620 calories a jar. They remember it as “a good old-fashioned …

Hairy Bikers poached eggs in Chicken & Egg get a 20-second dip in boiling vinegared water, still in the shell, before they’re cracked. That Chicken & Egg method makes 1 egg in about 10 minutes by my estimate, at roughly 70 calories for a medium one. The shell dip is “our special tip” in Meat …

In this Hairy Bikers cranberry sauce, the sherry or port goes in last, once most of the 250g of berries have burst. So by my timings, the Veggie Feasts batch takes 15 minutes on the hob and 30 to cool, giving roughly 8 servings of 45 calories. They can’t agree with themselves on sugar, using …

The trick in Hairy Bikers roast potatoes is two tablespoons of semolina, shaken over parboiled Maris Pipers before they go into hot goose fat. In British Classics, 1.5kg feeds 4 to 6, and I work it out at about 80 minutes and roughly 350 calories a portion for six. They picked up the semolina idea …

Hairy Bikers courgette gratin softens 800g of courgette rounds with thyme and basil, then bakes them under crème fraîche and Gruyère. And the Mediterranean Adventure recipe serves 4 as a side, at about 260 calories each and 45 minutes by my sums. “It transforms the humble courgette into a rich treat of a side dish,” …

Hairy Bikers chip shop curry sauce blends soft-fried onions, ginger and garlic with mild curry powder, turmeric and ¼ tsp of ground star anise. And their Great Curries version makes 6 portions at about 105 calories each, taking around 40 minutes by my sums. “Exactly what was in this sauce was always a mystery,” they …

Hairy Bikers chips are triple-cooked, which means thick Maris Piper batons are simmered until they crack, fried at 130°C, then crisped at 180°C. From 1kg of potatoes you get 4 portions, about 300 calories each by my sums, and I’d allow 1½ hours for the British Classics method. “Yes, it does sound like a long …

Hairy Bikers ratatouille isn’t the usual stew, because it’s a salad of griddled aubergine and courgette with roast pepper, tomatoes and olives. And their Mediterranean Adventure version serves 4 at about 245 calories each by my sums, in around 90 minutes. Hairy Bikers admit they’re “not great fans of stewed ratatouille”, so here all the …