Dark Chocolate Fondants (Serves 4-6)
A perfect dessert for entertaining, impressive, simple to prepare and serve...
Ingredients: 100g Dark Chocolate
130g Unsalted Butter (Cubed)
120g Caster Sugar
100g Flour
4 Eggs (2 Whole, 2 Yolks)
Cocoa Powder (To Dust)
Method:
1. Firstly, butter the moulds. Soften 30g of the butter and brush the moulds with upwards strokes to encourage the fondants to rise when baked later. Once covered, refrigerate for 10 minutes for the butter to chill and repeat the process again. Roll in cocoa powder until the entire mould is lightly coated, tap out any excess powder.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
3. Place a bowl over simmering water to create a bain marie. Place the dark chocolate and remaining butter in the bowl to melt.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and caster sugar in a stand mixer on a medium to high speed until the mixture is pale and thickened to form a sabayon.
5. Once the chocolate and butter is melted, add to the sabayon whilst the stand mixer is still in operation. When fully incorporated, take the bowl out of the stand mixer and fold in the flour.
6. Pour the mixture into a piping bag, before filling the moulds two-thirds of the way up on the mould.
7. Place in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes until the tops have formed a crust and they are starting to come away from the side of their moulds. Leave to cool for 30 seconds before turning out carefully onto a plate to serve.
8. Serve with vanilla ice cream or any variants. Salted caramel ice cream would be a perfect partner for this dessert...
Garlic & Fresh Herb Roasted Chicken, Pomme Puree & Mushroom Sauce (Serves 4)
A versatile, but classic dish which can be used to impress family or friends...
Ingredients: 1 Medium-Sized Chicken (Whole)
1 Bay Leaf
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Sprigs of Rosemary
4 Sprigs of Thyme
1/2 Lemon (Juice Only)
6 Cloves of Garlic (5 Crushed, 1 Peeled & Sliced)
3 Onions (2 Peeled & Quartered, 1 Finely Diced)
4 Carrots (Roughly Chopped)
4 Sticks of Celery (Roughly Chopped)
600g Potatoes (Peeled & Quartered)
100ml Full-Fat Milk
150ml Double Cream
75g Salted Butter (Cubed)
225g Button Mushrooms (Sliced)
100ml White Wine
200ml Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (Finely Chopped)
Method:
1. For the roast chicken, make a herb rub out of 3 cloves of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. By crushing together in a pestle and mortar, until a paste is formed. Rub thoroughly and evenly over the chicken, before covering and placing in the fridge to marinate for 2-3 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, before placing the celery, 2 cloves of garlic, carrot, bay leaf and onion on a roasting tray creating a trivet. Spread another tablespoon of vegetable oil amongst the vegetables before topping with the chicken. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes, but after 45, scrape off any charred remains off the rub if starting to blacken.
3. Meanwhile, for the pomme puree, cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Pass the potatoes through a moulis or potato ricer. At this stage add the butter and fold in until the butter has melted and the puree starts to look shiny.
4. Heat 75ml of the cream and all the milk in a small pan up to a simmer before gradually adding to the puree. Season to taste before leaving on the side.
5. For the mushroom sauce- in a frying pan, fry the onion, remaining garlic and mushrooms for 15 minutes until softened. Add the white wine before reducing by half, add the chicken stock and reduce by half again on a high heat. Pour in any extra juice left by the resting chicken or any juice left at the bottom of the roasting tin. Once the sauce is thickening, pour in the cream to cook for a further 2 minutes. Take off the heat before stirring in the parsley and seasoning to taste.
6. Serve immediately with seasonal vegetables.
Seared Scallops served with White Bean Puree & Glazed Chorizo (Serves 4 as a Starter)
An impressive and inventive dinner party dish, which brings out the sweetness of the scallops...
Ingredients: 12 Scallops (Roes Off)
120g Chorizo (Sliced)
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Teaspoon Clear Honey
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
85g Dried White Beans
1 Bay Leaf
3 Sprigs of Thyme
20g Salted Butter
200ml Double Cream
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt
Ground White Pepper
Pea Shoots (To Serve)
Method:
1. For the white bean puree, soak the beans in water overnight. Drain well before placing the beans into a small pan of fresh water and bring to the boil. Add the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, than cover with greaseproof paper and simmer until the beans are cooked through.
2. Remove the bay leaf and thyme before draining the beans over a large bowl, to keep back the cooking liquor. In a food processor blend the beans, seasoning with ground white pepper and salt. Add the butter and cream. Blend until the puree is smooth, if the puree isn't quite smooth enough, add some of the cooking water and pass through a fine sieve or shinois.
3. In a small frying pan, fry the chorizo on a medium to high heat in a tablespoon of olive oil for 6 minutes or until the chorizo is crisp. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minute. Drain the majority of the oil, leaving 1 tablespoon of excess oil in the pan. Pour in the honey and vinegar and reduce to a syrup like consistency.
4. In a separate frying pan, bring a tablespoon of olive oil up to a near smoking point on a high heat. Season the scallops with salt and ground white pepper, before frying the scallops for 1 minute on each side until golden brown.
5. To serve, warm the white bean puree in a pan, before spooning onto the plate followed by the rounds of chorizo and than the scallops. Garnish with pea shoots just before serving.
Lamb Rump, Wild Garlic Butter, Boulangere Potatoes & Minted Pea Puree
(Serves 4)
A seasonal, restaurant dish, that would impress any dinner party guests...
Ingredients: 4 Lamb Rumps
125ml White Wine
500ml Lamb Stock
400g Fresh or Frozen Peas
1 Shallot (Peeled & Finely Diced)
1 Clove of Garlic (Peeled & Finely Chopped)
100g Salted Butter (Softened)
100ml Double Cream
8 Sprigs of Thyme (Leaves Only)
A Small Handful of Fresh Mint (Finely Chopped)
1 Onion (Peeled & Finely Sliced)
700g Potatoes (Peeled & Sliced 2mm Thick)
A Small Handful of Wild Garlic (Finely Chopped)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. To make the boulangere potatoes, soften the onions and thyme on a low to medium heat for 15 minutes until the onions are softened.
3. In a baking dish layer the potatoes, seasoning each layer alternating with some of the softened onions until the dish is nearly full. Pour over 250ml of the lamb stock and bake in the oven for 1 hour until the potatoes are tender and cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, for the pea puree melt 25g of the butter in a small pan on a high heat, frying the shallot and garlic for 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add half the peas, cooking for a further 1 minute before adding the cream. Once the peas are cooked, transfer the contents to a blender with the chopped mint and blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve or shinois to get a better consistency before seasoning to taste.
5. For the wild garlic butter, mash the wild garlic into the remaining softened butter
before rolling butter up into a small sausage in the clingfilm and place in the fridge to firm up.
6. To cook the lamb rumps, put a large frying pan on a high heat, with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Season the rumps and once the pan is starting to smoke, add the rumps. Brown evenly on all sides, before transferring to the oven for 10-12 minutes (medium) depending on the size of the rumps. Allow to rest for 2 minutes before slicing.
7. To make the sauce to accompany the lamb, de-glaze the pan of which you fried the lamb in with white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the residual lamb essence into the sauce. Once the wine has reduce by two thirds, add the lamb stock and reduce until thickened.
8. In another pan, half fill with water and bring up to the boil. Blanch the peas for 2-3 minutes dependant on if fresh or frozen.
8. To serve, warm the minted pea puree through before swiping on the plate. Portion the boulangere potatoes into 4, placing delicately next to the swipe. Slice a portion of butter on top of the rump of lamb and serve the sauce on the side. Garnish with the cooked peas and wild garlic flowers if available.
Vanilla Pannacotta served with Roasted Pineapple (Serves 4)
An elegant dinner party dish, which can be prepared well in advance...
Ingredients: 250ml Double Cream
250ml Full-Fat Milk
1 Vanilla Pod
4 Gelatine Leaves (Soaked in Cold Water)
1 Ripe Pineapple (Peeled, Quartered, and Cored)
1 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
260g Caster Sugar
300ml Water
Method:
1. In a medium based saucepan pour in the cream and milk and add 60g of caster sugar half the vanilla pod. Bring to a simmer on a medium heat.
2. Once up to a simmer, squeeze out the excess water of the softened gelatine and whisk into the pan until the gelatine is fully dissolved. Pass the contents through a fine sieve or shinois into a jug. Pour into 4 round moulds and set in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
3. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
4. Place the sugar and spices into a heavy-based pan and pour the water over the top. Bring the mixture to the boil on a high heat and stir thoroughly until the sugar dissolves.
5. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and resembles syrup. Strain the mixture into a jug, getting rid of the whole spices and set aside the mixture to cool.
6. Lay the quarters of pineapple on a roasting tray and drizzle over two thirds of the sugar syrup before placing in the oven. Roast the pineapple for 8-10 minutes and baste regularly with the remaining sugar syrup.
7. Allow the pineapple to cool, before placing in an airtight container into the fridge to cool.
8. To serve, allow a quarter of pineapple per person, and slice it thinly arranging the slices in the middle of the plate. De-mould the pannacotta and place on top before drizzling any leftover syrup from the pineapple around the plate.
Dark Chocolate Fondants (Serves 4-6)
