Turkey Meatballs (Polpettine di Tacchino)

For those of you wondering, Polpettine di Tacchino actually translates literally as "Best Meatballs Ever Made By You or Anyone Else" I know this because I tried them.

This is another Mario Batali recipe selected for it's simplicity and the fact we had spare rosemary, garlic and his Basic Tomato Sauce (from the previous blog post) leftover. With the trip to Australia in a few days looming large, we have an eye toward cleaning out the fridge.

These have such rich, deep flavor it is incredible. You could put some pasta under it, if you like, and it would be quite filling. We were fine with this is it was.

MEATBALLS
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground boneless pork shoulder, (or use all turkey)
2 ½ cups breadcrumbs
½ cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 red onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 cup dry red wine
1 sprig rosemary
2 cups BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (see previous blog post)
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 475F.

To make the meatballs, in a large bowl combine the turkey, pork, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and mix lightly with you hands until just combined. Form into golf ball-sized meatballs and place in a shallow casserole.

Roast the meatballs until dark golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and reduce the temperature to 350F.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, in a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the onions and garlic, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, then add the wine and rosemary, bring to a boil and cook until the wine is reduced by half. add the tomato sauce and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the sauce, place the pan in the oven, and cook for 1 hour.

Season the meatballs with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in shallow bowls with the sauce, topped with the parsley.

Tagliatelle with Fresh Tuna Ragu (Tagliatelle al Ragu di Tonno)

We are becoming quite the consumers of freshly made pasta, and since we had some leftover in the freezer, we decided to use it up in this incredibly simple, but delicious, recipe.

This comes out of Mario Batali's "Molto Italiano" which is a ridiculously comprehensive Italian cookbook. It's like 500+ pages and has TONS of recipes in it. It is among my most important cookbooks, and the 'go-to' book for Italian cooking.

I wouldn't have thought to put rosemary and tuna together, but it (along with the spice from the red pepper flakes) was awesome. Whip up a batch of the Basic Tomato Sauce, and save the rest for some quick pasta another night (it freezes great!). You'll find that, with the exception of the tuna, you'll have most of this on hand already. Delicious and simple... as good Italian food should be.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (makes 4 cups)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4" dice
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
½ medium carrot, finely shredded
4 (14-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
salt

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook until the carrot is quite soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, with their juice, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer until as thick as hot cereal, about 30 minutes. Season with salt. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for 6 months.

TAGLIATELLE DISH
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (see above)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 ounces sushi-grade tuna, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
salt
1 ¼ lbs. basic pasta dough, cut into tagliatelle
¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.

Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until almost smoking. Add the onion and cook until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Add the tuna and rosemary, return just to a boil, and remove from the heat. Season with salt to taste.

Drop the tagliatelle into the boiling water and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain.

Toss the pasta into the pan with the tuna sauce, set over medium-high heat, and stir gently to coat the noodles. Add the parsley and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

I Am the Smartest Person Alive: Part II

This is the second in a 983-part series which explores the cooking of Ferran Adria, head chef of the best restaurant in the world, as voted by Restaurant Magazine for the last three years in a row.

Anytime I can duplicate the man's efforts, I am inclined to think I am really smart for having done so. Of course, I would be even smarter if I were smart enough to come up with this stuff on my own.

How smart is Ferran Adria? Let's say he was experimenting with foams and spherical ravioli and stuff, like, 10 years ago. I mean, the British were just getting around to putting grated Parmesan on top of pasta when this guy was making pasta noodles out of Parmesan cheese itself. So, naturally, I get to being pretty proud of myself when I pull something off.

Enough about me. This dish is called "Evolution of the Hot 'Tortilla de Patatas Marc Singla' Foam". For anyone who has been to Spain or is a fan of Spanish food, I hope you have tried the simple Spanish 'tortilla'. In Spain, it's not a thing into which you put taco fillings. It is a baked egg dish, somehwat like a frittata (but not quite a quiche) that consists primarily of eggs, potatoes, caramelized onions and olive oil. It is delicious and I have personally polished off a few during my travels to Spain.

The amazing thing about this dish is that, though he has completely altered the way the Spanish tortilla is prepared and eaten, the dish still stays true to the original, and evokes all of the memories of eating an authentically prepared tortilla. That's the crazy, play-with-your-mind stuff I can appreciate about avant garde cooking.

Anyhow, if you want to try this at home, you'll need a foam canister (ISI makes a great one - you'll want the 1/2 liter size) and some N2O cartridges for it. Everything else is totally do-able. This was really fun to eat.

For the hot potato foam
250 g mashing potatoes (Idaho or other russet)
100 g water used to cook the potatoes
125 g single cream (35% fat)
35 g virgin olive oil
1 ½-l ISI foaming canister
2 N2O cartridges
salt

For the pan-fried onion
250 g onion
50 g 0.4º olive oil
100 g water
salt

For the egg sabayon
40 g egg yolks
30 g water
salt

For the yolk sauce
40 g pasteurised egg yolk

To finish
extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish, if available)

HOT POTATO FOAM
1. Peel, cut and then put the potatoes in salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for approximately 20 minutes.
2. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and keep the water to one side.
3. Put the cooked potatoes and 100 g of the cooking water in the Thermomix at 60 ºC. Blend and gradually add the cream. Repeat the process with the oil until you have a smooth, liquid emulsion. Season with salt.
4. Strain and fill the canister using a funnel.
5. Foam and keep in a bain marie at approximately 70 ºC.

PAN-FRIED ONION
1. Peel the onion, quarter and cut into a thin sticks ("julienne").
2. Stirring continuously, gently fry the onion in the olive oil until it is golden brown.
3. Drain off any excess oil and deglaze with a little water. Continue cooking until the water has evaporated. Repeat the operation until the onions have the texture and colour of a caramelised conserve.
4. Season with salt and keep on one side.

EGG SABAYON
1. Put the egg yolks in a bowl, whisk using a hand whisk and drizzle in the boiling water. Beat quickly next to a heat source until it emulsifies.
2. Season with salt.

YOLK SAUCE
1. Sieve the egg yolks and keep in a baster.

FINISH
1. Fill a cocktail glass in the following order:
- a dessertspoon of pan-fried onion, which should be very hot.
- a teaspoon of yolk sauce
- two teaspoons of sabayon.
2. Make sure that the canister with the potato foam is hot. Shake and fill the top to just 1 cm below the rim. Drizzle a ring of virgin olive oil around it.

Pan-Fried Cod with Spicy Peppers, Chorizo and Black Olives

Every once in awhile, a dish comes along that really makes you take a step back and look at things in a new light. Really, you know, take stock of your life. You begin to ask questions. Do I even like my job? Am I a good person? Do I clean my bathroom frequently enough? Are my recipes complex enough? And the like...

This is such a dish. The components are magic together. I must confess, the recipe was originally intended for red mullet and it was to serve four people as a starter. I went with cod here because it was freshly caught and caught locally, but any meaty white fish would have worked here (halibut, pollack, sea bass, etc.). Plus, I needed something a little more substantial than red mullet to serve this as a main course.

Back to the magic. Food that hits all of the parts of your tongue in each bite are wonderful to eat because it really gets your mouth 'thinking', so to speak. This is a recipe from Jason Atherton's Maze cookbook. Some of you may have seen photos from my birthday last year where we ate at Maze in September (the photo album is on my Facebook). This dish is so simple, yet hits all of the major tastes: roasty sweetness of the peppers, spicyness of the chorizo, saltiness of the black olives, a little more sweetness of the aubergine puree. Crunchy aubergine crisp. Nice, flaky, soft cod with crispy skin. This was a delight. Hope you try it.

COD
4 x 200 g cod fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

SPICY PEPPERS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
100 g fresh chorizo sausage, finely diced
1 teaspoon ras el hanout (Moroccan spice mix)
435 g jar of sweet roasted peppers
2 tablespoons spicy tomato ketchup
10 black olives, halved and pitted
few coriander sprigs, leaves only, chopped

FOR THE CANDIED AUBERGINES
500 g aubergines (about 1 large or 2 medium ones)
80 g caster sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
handful of thyme, leaves only
60 ml hazelnut oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE AUBERGINE CRISPS
1 baby aubergine
groundnut oil, for deep-frying
fine sea salt, to sprinkle

TO SERVE
4 tablespoons candied aubergine
few aubergine crisps
cilantro shoots (or leaves)

FOR THE CANDIED AUBERGINES
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and line a baking tray with a large piece of foil. Cut off the tops and tails of the aubergines, then peel off the skins with a vegetable peeler. Chop the flesh to a fine dice, place in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, lemon juice, chopped garlic and thyme. Spread out on the prepared tray and cover with another piece of foil. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, stirring the aubergines once or twice, until they are very soft and slightly caramelised.

While still hot, transfer the aubergines to a blender or food processor and whiz to a rough paste. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the hazelnut oil and keep blending until the puree is smooth. Transfer the puree to a pan and cook over a high heat to dry it out a little. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

FOR THE AUBERGINE CRISPS
Trim the aubergine and slice thinly lengthways, using a mandolin. Heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer or other suitable deep, heavy pan to 190°C. In batches, deep-fry the aubergine slices in the hot oil until they are golden and crisp. Remove and drain well on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt while still warm.

FOR THE DISH
Trim the cod fillets to neaten and check them for pin bones, removing any you find with tweezers. Wrap and chill until ready to cook.

For the spicy peppers, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the red onion, chorizo and ras el hanout. Fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, drain the roasted red peppers, discard any seeds and cut into thin slices. Add them to the pan and cook for another 3 minutes, then stir in the spicy tomato ketchup and olives. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The peppers can be prepared ahead to this stage and reheated to serve.) When ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a frying pan until hot. Season the red mullet fillets and fry, skin side down, for 2 minutes until the skin is golden and crisp. Turn over and fry the other side for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the fish is just cooked through. Remove from the heat. Reheat the spicy peppers if necessary and stir through the chopped coriander.

To serve, place a spoonful of candied aubergine in the centre of each warm serving plate or bowl. Top with the red mullet fillets and garnish with the aubergine crisps and coriander. Serve accompanied by the spicy peppers.

Mu Shu Vegetables with Pancakes

In my mind, nothing says 'Happy St. Patrick's Day' quite like a nice steaming hot plate of Mu Shu Vegetables! OK, so we sort of overlooked the holiday from a food standpoint. But that is not to say we were disappointed with this dish. It was quite good. Also, doing the pancakes from scratch was kind of cool, and I learned something in the process.

I have a hard time with doing a lot of Chinese recipes as they are written (except for anything by Fuschia Dunlop, she knows how to do it properly). I always have to sex 'em up somehow. In this case, I threw in some Sichuan peppercorns at the beginning and some red pepper flakes. I gotta have a little heat in these sorts of dishes.

This is pretty straight forward stuff and great food to eat with your hands. Top with a nice, sweet Hoisin sauce and away you go.

MU SHU PANCAKES
240 g flour, sifted
250 milliliters boiling water, as needed
3 teaspoons sesame oil
MU SHU VEGETABLES
3 tablespoons sesame oil
14 g garlic, minced
14 g ginger, minced
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
225 g celery, julienne
225 g carrot, julienne
225 g fennel, julienne
225 g Chinese cabbage leaves, chiffonade
285 g red pepper, julienne
4 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
280 g scallion, grilled

PANCAKES
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add 3/4 cup boiling water to the flour and stir it in immediately, adding a little additional water if necessary to make a dough. Knead the warm dough until smooth. Wrap the dough and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Turn the rested dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in half. Use a lightly-floured rolling pin to roll each half out until it is 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 3" circles of dough.

Brush 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil over the tops of 2 dough circles. Lay one pancake on top of another, so that the oiled sides are together. Roll out to form a 6" circle. Repeat with the remainder of the pancakes. Use a damp towel to cover the prepared pancakes.

Heat a skillet over low heat. Add one of the pancake pairs and cook until barely golden. dry and blistered, about 1 minute. Turn and repeat on the second side. Remove from the pan and pull apart . Repeat with the remainder of the pancakes. serve immediately or wrap to hold at room temperature. Reheat the pancakes in a steamer or a microwave before serving.

VEGETABLES
Heat the all in a wok or large saute pan. Add the garlic, ginger, peppercorns and flakes and stir-fry until aromatic, about 15-30 seconds.

Add the vegetables in sequence listed (starting with densest vegetable) and stir-fry until tender. Stir in the soy sauce and hoisin.

Cover the pancakes with a damp towel and warm in a 250°F/120°C oven for 4 minutes.

For each portion: Place 70 g stir-fried vegetables In the center of each of 2 warmed
pancakes. Fold the ends of the pancakes inward and roll to completely to encase the vegetable mixture. Garnish each roll with 28 g grilled scallions.

Lamb Shanks with Lentils

This was gorgeous, perhaps a little autumn-like, but gorgeous all the same.

Lamb shanks usually win because it's pretty hard to mess them up. I mean, leave them in a pot with some liquid on a low heat in the oven and, chances are, things are going to turn out all right. This recipe is from the Culinary Institute of America's Techniques on Healthy Cooking. I don't know how 'healthy' lamb shanks are, but the rest of it seemed good for you.

Really rich, lamb-y flavors coming out of this one and it benefits well with a good whack of herbs stirred through at the end. Oh, did I mention this is SUPER easy?

4 lamb shanks, trimmed
500 ml beef stock
1 bottle dry white wine
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 BOUQUET GARNI
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled, diced
small handful parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon thyme, chopped
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Dry-sear the shanks in a large skillet. Add the stock, wine, lentils and bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and place in a 325F/165C oven. Braise until the lamb and lentils are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove the shanks and keep them warm.

Degrease the braising liquid by skimming the surface. Add the celery and carrots to the sauce and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced slightly. Season the sauce with the parsley, thyme, pepper, juice and salt.

Serve 1 shank with 1/2 cup sauce.

Chocolate-Yogurt Souffles

This ended up quite a bit different than the recipe intended. Namely, this was supposed to be a chilled mousse. Well, we had an issue with bringing the egg whites up to temperature and, in certain parts of the bowl, the egg whites started to cook, which wasn't going to work.

Well, you can't eat raw egg whites either. So we decided, with the chocolate-yogurt mixture already sitting there, that something had to be done. Souffles are essentially baked mousses, so that's what we did.

We had made this in advance hoping to chill the mousses. To make souffles, you really ought to do the egg whites near the time of baking them. We couldn't be bothered, and made the whole thing and chilled them until we needed them. Had we done the egg whites closer to baking time, I'm sure they would have risen higher.

How did it eat? Pretty good, but it could have used some kind of sweet sauce; something like a custard or fruit coulis. Other than that, hot and chocolate-y.

The following recipe makes 8 (we cut it in half). The recipe below is for the MOUSSE. If you want to make the SOUFFLES, skip the step where you warm the egg whites, and just make meringues, and fold it into the chocolate mixture. As I said, do the meringues as close to baking time as possible and bake them for 10-12 minutes at 190C.

480 milliliters nonfat yogurt
57 g dark chocolate
45 g cocoa powder
20 g egg white
100 g sugar

Drain the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined sieve in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

After the yogurt has drained, allow it to come to room temperature.

Melt the chocolate in a stainless-stee l bowl over simmering water. Combine the chocolate with the yogurt.

Sift the cocoa powder twice. Fold the cocoa into the yogurt mixture and warm over simmering water.

Combine the egg whites and sugar In a stainless-steel bowl. Heat to 135F/ 57C over simmering water. Remove from the heat and beat until the whites form medium peaks. Fold the meringue Into the yogurt mixture, mold, and chill until firm.

Spray the molds lightly with vegetable oil and dust with powdered sugar. Place the molds on a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap and fill with the mousse. Chill until set.

Smoked Pancetta, Mozzarella, Fresh Chile, Tomato and Basil Pizza

We were bound to get pizza going here sooner or later. This time, with a bit of chile kick and with a good, tomato-y sauce base, which we don't normally do.

As always, the pizza stone and Jamie Oliver pizza dough recipe triumphs!

TOMATO SAUCE
olive oil
3 roma tomatoes, roasted, peeled and chopped
1 large clove garlic (smoked, if available), roasted, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can chopped tomatoes with juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Sweat the onions and garlic down in some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the onion is translucent (5-7 minutes), add the tomato paste and cook until darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and seasoning and bring to the boil. When boiling, reduce the heat to low, partially cover and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put the contents in a blender and whiz to combine. Blend just little if you prefer a slightly chunkier sauce, or blend through and sieve for a smooth sauce. Check for a nice thick consistency. If it is too thin, put it back in a pan on the stove and let it reduce further over medium-low heat until it's right.

PIZZA DOUGH (make 3-4 bases)
400 g strong white bread flour
100 g semolina flour, or more strong white bread flour
½ tablespoon fine sea salt
7 g yeast, instant packet
½ tablespoon sugar
325 ml water, lukewarm

Add the yeast and sugar to the water and stir through with a fork and leave for a few minutes. Meanwhile, sift the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the flour and mix on low for 10 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth, springy and soft.

Flour the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes. The dough is easier to roll thin at room temperature. Divide the dough into as many balls as you want. Alternatively you can wrap some up now and freeze them until you need them, pulling them out the night to thaw in the fridge - just remember to bring to room temperature (an hour or two should do it) before rolling out.

Timing-wise, it's nice to roll the pizza out 15-30 minutes before you want to cook them. Preheat the oven to 500F/250C. A pizza stone REALLY helps here (or a piece of granite) - if you have one put it in the oven to get it nice and hot, if not, it does help to heat up whatever you are baking it on.

When the stone (or baking sheet) is nice and hot and the dough has been rolled out and is ready, remove the stone from the oven and place on the stove top. Sprinkle some cornmeal over the top of the stone so the pizza doesn't stick. Put the pizza dough on the stone and it will immediately start cooking the bottom. Drizzle a little olive oil on it and spread it around lightly with your fingers.

PIZZA
85 g mozzarella, torn in shreds
1 red chile, finely sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 slices smoked pancetta, thinly sliced
extra-virgin olive oil

Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and dob these over, then scatter over as much chile as you like and season with salt and pepper. Lay the pancetta over the top so it will crisp up during cooking and the juices will cook into the pizza. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, top with fresh basil and serve.

Shrimp-Filled Pasta with Red Pepper Coulis

We had some leftover pasta dough in the freezer that was dying to be put to use. Also, we had some frozen (raw) prawns and some leftover white crabmeat. This dish practically assembled itself.

The mousseline was well-seasoned and this is essential, otherwise it will not stand up to the strong, spicy coulis. It ate wonderfully and the little freshness added by the basil on top tied it all together.

SHRIMP MOUSSELINE FILLING
400 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
55 g part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon basil, chiffonade
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
700 g fresh pasta dough

SHRIMP PASTA
Grind the shrimp to a fine paste in a food processor. Add the ricotta and pulse just until the ricotta is incorporated. Remove the shrimp mixture from the processor and into a small bowl over an ice bath. Fold in the basil, salt, pepper, and juice.

Begin making the ravioli by rolling the pasta dough into thin sheets. Cut into 2" circles or squares. Place the cut pasta on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap when not using to prevent the dough from drying.

To assemble the ravioli, place 1 tsp filling in the center of half the pasta circles or squares. Brush the edges of the pasta with water and top with second piece. Press to remove any trapped air in the pasta and to seal the edges. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

RED PEPPER COULIS
2 red pepper, roasted, peeled and chopped
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
200 ml chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
pinch kosher salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper

Sweat the peppers, jalapeno, onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are translucent. Add the stock and simmer until almost all of the liquid has reduced, about 12 minutes.

Puree the sauce in a blender and strain through a sieve. Adjust the consistency by either continuing to reduce or adding hot stock. Season with the vinegar, salt and pepper.

FINISH

Cook the pasta in simmering water until the pasta rises to the surface and is tender to the bite.

Meanwhile, warm the sauce if not already warm. When ready, spoon some sauce into the bottom of a wide bowl. Top with ravioli and spoon a little more sauce over the top. Top with basil chiffonade. Serve hot.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Soba Noodles

We don't tend to cook very complicated stuff during the week, as it usually requires more prep time and a few more components. There's nothing like an easy knockout - and this was surely one of them.

As always, I modified the original recipe. Vanessa and I like our Asian food with a little kick to it, except we tend to leave Japanese food recipes more or less intact. Here we put some red pepper flakes, Sichuan peppercorns and red chili paste in at the beginning with the garlic and ginger.

Embarrassingly, I used a stock cube, having run out of real stock. I have to confess though, it DID bring a level of umami savory-ness to the overall taste of the dish. It packed a real "I'm-going-to-keep-eating-this-no-matter-how-full-I-am-feeling" sort of quality, which is nice.

We also added some extra veggies we had laying around (a pack of frozen peas and half a pack of leftover bean sprouts) which helped us use up our veg, and it did not compromise the Asian flavor profile. Nice, simple and delicious.

15 g arrowroot or cornflour
220 milliliters chicken stock
75 milliliters beef stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
25 g garlic, minced
25 g ginger, minced
1 tablespoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon red chili paste
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 kg chicken breast, cut into strips
150 g snow peas
200 g frozen peas, thawed
200 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 red pepper, julienne
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 Chinese cabbage, leaves only, chiffonade
1 handful bean sprouts
70 milliliters soy sauce
450 g soba noodles, cooked

To make the stir-fry sauce, combine the arrowroot with enough of the stock to make a smooth paste and reserve. Combine the remaining stocks in a small sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Add the arrowroot paste and simmer until the stock has thickened, about 2 minutes, Keep warm.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan. Add the garlic, ginger, peppercorns, chili paste and pepper flakes and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the chicken and stir-fry until the meat is firm and light in color, about 2 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with 6 T of the stir-fry sauce. Add the peas, mushrooms, peppers, and scallions. Stir-fry until very hot and almost tender, about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts, soy sauce, and enough of the thickened stock to wilt the cabbage, if necessary.

Toss the soba noodles with the remaining thickened stock separately over high heat until the noodles are very hot.

This makes 5-6 servings.

Crabmeat and Shrimp Sandwich

We tried this recipe the original way (original recipe shown below to serve 10, only we halved it to make 5 servings) and it turned out as a super-creamy seafood salad sandwich, in essence. Perhaps a little too creamy for our tastes. I did also add some paprika, cayenne and black pepper to the original mixture to try to put a little kick into it.

So the second time around, we turned these into crab and shrimp cakes by adding about 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs until the mixture was binding together nicely and quite a bit drier. I fried them off for a few minutes on each side in some vegetable oil until they got browned. Happy days. We liked it much better cooked off and then we added some Tabasco and stuff at the table to give it a good Cajun-y feel.

Nice crunch with the sprouts and a good, tangy burst from the tomatoes.

SEAFOOD SANDWICH DRESSING
315 milliliters mayonnaise
400 g part-skim ricotta
420 milliliters yogurt
50 milliliters white wine vinegar
14 g garlic, minced
55 g shallot, diced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt

SANDWICH
225 g shrimp (16-20 count), peeled, deveined and cooked
225 g lump crabmeat, cooked
10 pieces PITA BREAD
225 g tomatoes, thickly sliced
85 g avocado, thinly sliced
140 g red onion, thinly sliced
85 g alfalfa sprouts

MY MODIFICATIONS
-added 1 tsp each cayenne and smoked paprika. Also, pepper and salt to the dressing.
-omitted pita bread, avocado, red onion and alfalfa
-simply put on a toasted bun with tomato slices and bean sprouts
-added 1/2 cup bread crumbs to whole mixture to bind, fried off in oil

Combine the dressing ingredients. Add the shrimp and crabmeat and toss to evenly coat.

For each portion: Fill a pita with 185 g seafood mixture, 120 g tomatoes, 1 tbsp avocado, 14 g onion, and 1 tbsp alfalfa sprouts.

Pan-Roasted Salmon with Moroccan Spices and Lentil Ragout

We have been actively trying to eat a touch healthier around here, in advance of our trip out to Australia in a few weeks. I'm sure we'll blow it once we get there and link up with our good friends Travis and Maria, who are also food/drink enthusiasts. One can do a lot of damage in two weeks...

So for now, we've scaled it back a bit. This was a good one which sacrificed NO flavor whatsoever. Lots of good spices and punchy aromas here. We were well into our second bottle of wine when it came around to cooking time so you will notice the caramelized pearl onions are missing from the plate. Also, I subbed homemade beef stock (reduced) for the Fond de Veau Lie. Sue me.

SALMON
1 kg salmon fillet
4 g coriander seed
4 g cumin seed
4 g caraway seeds
4 g cardamom seeds
4 g anise seeds
4 g black peppercorns
120 milliliters CURRY OIL (see below)
600 milliliters LENTIL RAGOUT (see below)
170 g CARAMELIZED PEARL ONIONS (see below)
140 g frisee

CURRY OIL (makes 1 cup)
1 tablespoon curry powder, plus 2 tsp
1 teaspoon water
1 cup olive oil

LENTIL RAGOUT
30 g bacon
225 g onion, diced
225 g leek, diced
225 g carrot, diced
225 g celery, diced
2 ¾ teaspoons garlic, minced
85 g tomato paste
1.45 liters chicken stock
340 g French or green lentils
1 SACHET D'EPICES
120 milliliters Riesling
60 milliliters sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch ground white pepper
180 milliliters FOND DE VEAU LIE or VEGETARIAN DEMI-GLACE

CARAMELIZED PEARL ONIONS
14 g butter
910 g white pearl onions, peeled, cooked
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

SALMON
Slice the salmon into 100g portions

Combine the coriander, cumin, caraway, cardamom, anise and peppercorns and coarsely grind In a spice grinder. Combine the curry oil with the ground spices. Pour the oil over the salmon and marinate for at least 1 and up to 4 hours.

For each portion: Heat a large saute pan. Remove a portion of salmon from the marinade, letting as much oil drain away as possible. Sear on both sides until golden-brown and thoroughly cooked. Be careful to let the oil drain back into the pan before plating the salmon Place 60ml lentil ragout in the middle of the plate. Place a piece of salmon in the middle of the ragout and garnish the plate with 17g caramelized onions and 14g frisee.

CURRY OIL
Combine the curry powder and water to make a paste. Whisk in the oil. Allow the oil to infuse for 8 to 10 hours at room temperature.

Strain through 4 layers of wet cheesecloth and reserve, You will need only 1/2 cup of curry oil for 10 portions of salmon. The remaining oil can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 8 days.

LENTIL RAGOUT
Render the bacon fat in a soup pot. Sweat the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic in the fat until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste and saute until rust colored. Add the stock, lentils, and sachet. Simmer until th e lent ils are tender, about 45 minutes, Remove and discard the sachet . Add the wine, vinegar, salt , pepper and fond or demi-glace.

The ragout may be properly cooled and stored for up to 1 week refrigerated.

CARAMELIZED PEARL ONIONS
Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onions and caramelize slowly, turning them. Add the sugar and allow the onions to glaze. Season with the salt and pepper.

Penne Pasta with Homemade Italian Sausage and Spicy Ragu

I have been waiting to make homemade Italian-style sausage for some time now, I just hadn't gotten around to it. In the end, it wasn't really different from making Mexican-style chorizo and every bit as gratifying. Once you try it, you'll likely not buy it anymore, as it is so easy and you can control which flavors are getting in there and how strongly, etc...

Pasta is a staple around here and it always delivers. This one is no exception.

SAUSAGE
2 pork chops, boned, fatback and meat cut in cubes
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup pancetta
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
¼ cup parsley
12 leaves sage

PASTA
500 g penne pasta
handful salt
2 glugs extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
100 milliliters red wine, preferably Sangiovese or Chianti Classico
3 cans chopped tomatoes, with juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, to top

SAUSAGE
Combine the pork, pork fat, red pepper flakes, pancetta, salt, pepper, fennel seed, parsley and sage in a food processor. Pulse to combine and spread the herbs and spices evenly through the meat mixture. If you have a meat grinder, remove the mixture and pass through the grinder.

If not, continue in the food processor until it forms a rough paste with the fat having broken down into smaller pieces.

Roll the mixture into sausage shapes and set aside.

PASTA
Get a pot of water boiling. When boiling, add the salt and cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/3 cup of cooking water, and drain the pasta in a colander. Reserve.

(NOTE: Start the pasta water going with about 30 minutes of sauce cooking time left to have the pasta come out ready just at the point when it needs to be added to the sauce.)

In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown off the sausage and any pork bones you may have with a good glug of olive oil. When the sausage has browned, take out of the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard the bones, if used.

Add the onions, garlic, fennel seed and red pepper flakes to the pot, adding oil if needed. Sweat the onions off for 5-7 minutes, until translucent. Turn the heat up to high and add the wine, deglazing the pan by scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce right down to practically nothing.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, sausage, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. When it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer for no less than 30 minutes, but preferably an hour, with 45 minutes of that time covered. Check the seasoning every 15 minutes or so, adding spices, herbs, salt and pepper as needed.

Add the reserved pasta water to the sauce and stir through. Add the reserved pasta to the sauce and stir through to combine well.

Ladle a few ladles full of pasta and sauce into a bowl. Top with cheese and spicy oil, if desired.

Roulade of Duck Breast with Duxelles, Red Wine Reduction and Glazed Carrots

Yesterday was a busy day. I was in the kitchen non-stop from 11:30AM to about 6PM. Here's what all went down.

1) Made the gumbo for lunch (posted yesterday)
2) Made two loaves of Honey-Wheat Bread
3) Made a Shellfish stock out of leftover prawn shells
4) Made the duxelles for this dish
5) Made the marinade for the duck, and marinated the duck
6) Made the red wine reduction for this dish
7) Made the glazed carrots
8) Cleaned out the freezer of unwanted crap

I am exhausted, but we had a good food day.

This is inspired by some of the techniques learned at the school over the past week. You're likely to see a good bit of that in the coming days, as I borrow what I learned from being at school.

This was tasty, richly flavored and light. A perfect light dinner. Be SURE to use a temperature probe for the duck (60C is fine). I lucked into checking it at just the right time and saved it from being overcooked.

4 duck breasts, boneless and skinless
salt and pepper

MARINADE
50 milliliters dry red wine
20 milliliters chicken stock
20 milliliters balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon juniper berries, cracked
1 bay leaf
30 g shallot, diced

DUCK MOUSSELINE
reserved duck tenderloins
2 egg white
30 milliliters double (heavy) cream

DUXELLES
30 milliliters chicken stock
10 g butter
2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
250 g button mushrooms, sliced
salt and black pepper
30 milliliters Marsala
2 teaspoons thyme

RED WINE REDUCTION
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
400 milliliters red wine
1.2 liters duck stock
salt and black pepper
knob butter
thyme, to taste

GLAZED CARROTS
2 large carrot, cut in batons
vegetable broth or water, to cover
1 tablespoon honey
1 knob butter
salt and black pepper

DUCK
Trim the duck breasts and remove the tenderloins. Dice the tenderloins and keep refrigerated. Pound the breasts out into 1/4" thick pieces.

Combine the duck marinade ingredients in a shallow bowl. Add the duck breasts and marinate, refrigerated, for 1 hour.

While the duck is marinating, make a mousseline forcemeat as follows: Place the diced duck tenderloins, egg whites, and cream in a food processor and process to form a paste. Add the chilled duxelles and pulse to combine into a rough paste. Keep chilled. You may need to strain out some of the liquid to firm up the duxelles mousseline.

Remove the duck breasts from the marinade and fill with a tablespoon or so of duxelle mixture. Roll the duck breast up to contain the filling. Wrap tightly in cling film to set the shape and chill until needed, at least 30 minutes or so.

Bake the duck in a 350°F/ 175C oven to an internal temperature of 165F. Rest 10 minutes.

REDUCTION
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic and sweat down until translucent. Add the red wine and bring to a rapid boil. Continue boiling until the red wine has almost evaporated completely, and is a syrupy glaze.

Add the duck stock and bring to a vigorous boil. Reduce down to a sauce consistency. Remove from the heat, add the butter and swirl until melted. Season to taste with salt, pepper and thyme. Keep warm.

CARROTS
Put the carrots, honey, butter and salt and pepper in a small saucepan with enough room to lay the carrots out in a single layer. Cover with water or stock.

Bring to a rapid simmer and allow the carrots to cook and the liquid to reduce down to a glaze. Toss the carrots to coat.

FINISH
Unwrap the duck and sear off in a hot pan to color the outside. Carve the duck into slices and lay them on the plate. Arrange the glazed carrots and drizzle the sauce over.

Kev and Vanessa's Louisiana Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo

Authentic gumbo is a thing of beauty. Good luck finding it in England, though. Even if I did find a creole joint here, I would be pretty skeptical just on principal. We lifted this recipe from a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) cookbook on healthy cooking, of all things.

We noticed some glaring omissions right off the bat - no heat in the original recipe. Well, we fixed that. Cayenne, paprika and Old Bay Seasoning took care of that nicely. I also had some homemade duck stock laying around in the freezer, so we used that instead of the called for chicken stock. It really added a lovely depth to the whole thing.

This is such a soul-pleasing bowl of food. Creole cooking has tons of soul... this just had that extra 'X' factor. I think it had to do with the roux made from the toasted flour. Either way, this was easy to throw together and an absolute JOY to eat.

70 g bread flour
30 g chorizo, diced
2 chicken breasts, chopped
70 g green bell pepper, diced
70 g celery, diced
2 tablespoons jalapeno, diced
¼ cup scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 ½ quarts duck stock
½ cup brown rice
1 pinch Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon basil, chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tomatoes, cut in concasse
50 g raw shrimp, chopped
1 handful parsley, chopped

Toast the flour in a 325°F/165°C oven until it turns dark brown.

Render the sausage in a large soup pot. Add the chicken and saute until browned. Add the peppers, celery, jalapenos, scallions, and garlic and saute until aromatic. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice, Old Bay, cayenne, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, thyme, basil, pepper, onion powder and salt. Simmer until the rice is almost cooked, about 30 minutes. Add the tomato concasse.

Place the browned flour in a large bowl. Slowly whisk some of the soup liquid into the flour until smooth. Add the mixture to the pot and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer until cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and stir through. Check for seasoning and adjust.

The soup is ready to serve now, or it maybe properly cooled and stored. To serve, portion the hot soup into a heated bowl with a ladle.

Cookery School - Day 5

Lunch: Pan-Fried Pigeon Salad, Poached Quails Eggs on Brioche Toast, with Warm Red Wine Shallot Dressing

Dinner: Open Ravioli of Poached Organic Trout, Mussels, Clams, Peas and Creamed Gem Lettuce and Dill Foam

Dessert: White Chocolate and Cardamom Parfait with Seasonal Fruits and Basil Sugar

Pan-Fried Pigeon Salad, Poached Quails Eggs on Brioche Toast, with Warm Red Wine Shallot Dressing
DRESSING
6 medium shallots
300 milliliters red wine
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon English mustard
75 milliliters extra virgin olive oil
75 milliliters corn oil
salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar

PIGEONS
2 large pigeon breasts
corn oil
unsalted butter
salt and black pepper

QUAIL'S EGGS
3 quail's eggs
splash white wine vinegar
salt

DISH
1 slice broiche toast
1 handful mixed greens
drizzle aged balsamic vinegar
drizzle olive oil
salt and black pepper

DRESSING
Finely chop the shallots. Place in a pan and cover with the red wine. Bring the red wine to the boil and simmer until it has all evaporated, remove from the heat and leave to one side to cool.

Add the mustard and balsamic vinegar to the shallots. Stream in the two oils and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

PIGEONS
Place a little corn oil into a frying pan and place on the heat. Add the butter and allow it too melt into the oil and foam slightly. Season the pigeon breasts with salt and pepper and place into the frying pan skin side down.

Gently pan-fry for about 2 minutes on each side, basting all the time with the oil and butter. Drain onto kitchen paper, remove the skin and rest for a couple of minutes.

Carve into thin slices and serve on the brioche croute with the dressed salad leaves, poached quails eggs and red wine shallot dressing.

QUAIL'S EGGS
Crack 3 quail's eggs into a small ramekin and add 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar with the eggs, then leave to marinate for 10 minutes. This will start to separate the eggs before poaching them. Bring a saucepan with at least 10cm of water to the boil, turn down to a rapid simmer and add a little white wine vinegar and salt.

Stir the water gently and then carefully add the eggs to the simmering water. When the white has become firm and the yolk is still runny remove the egg (approximately 2 minutes) and plunge into cold water, trim off any loose white and store in the fridge until required.

Reheat when needed in a little boiling water for 30 seconds.

FINISH
Place the broiche toast on the plate. Top with dressed salad leaves and garnish with pigeon breast slices.

Arrange the quail's eggs on the plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with aged balsamic.

Spoon the dressing over the pigeon breasts and around the plate. Serve.

Open Ravioli of Poached Organic Trout, Mussels, Clams, Peas and Creamed Gem Lettuce and Dill Foam
TROUT
2 trout fillets
salt and black pepper
lemon juice
½ star anise
parsley stems
black peppercorns
bay leaf, torn

POACHED MUSSELS AND CLAMS
200 g mussels
100 g clams
1 large shallot
1 clove garlic
100 milliliters white wine
butter

LETTUCE AND PEAS
80 g frozen green peas
1 small Gem lettuce, shredded
4 scallion, sliced
15 g butter
splash double (heavy) cream
salt and black pepper
reserved mussels and clams, with cooking liquor

DILL FOAM
400 milliliters skim milk
2 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
½ bunch dill, chopped

DISH
6 square pieces pasta, cooked

TROUT
Fillet and pin bone the trout. Poach the trout gently in the court bullion for 3 to 4 minutes until the fish is just cooked. Carefully remove the skin from the trout. Shred the trout by hand, squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish and set aside.

MUSSELS AND CLAMS
De-beard the mussels and remove any barnacles. Throw away any mussels that do not close when tapped. Wash well. Place a heavy based pan with a tight fitting lid on a high heat. Sweat the shallots and garlic in a little butter for 2 minutes without coloring. Add the mussels and pour over the white wine. Place a lid on the pan, bring to the boil and cook for approximately 3 minutes and add the clams. Continue to cook until the clams have opened this should take approximately 2 minutes.

Drain the mussels and clams into a colander and retain the juice to finish the creamed little gem and peas. When cool enough to handle remove the mussels and clams from the shell making sure all beards have been removed.

Place the mussels and clams back into the cooking liquid. Place in a container with a tight fitting lid and reserve until required.

LETTUCE AND PEAS
Sweat the sliced spring onions in a little butter until slightly softened. Add the peas and continue to cook until they start to soften. Add the shredded lettuce and continue to cook until it starts to wilt. Add a splash of double cream and continue to stir until it thickens slightly. Add the shellfish cooking juices and the mussels and clams and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

DILL FOAM
Place the shallot, garlic and dill in a pan and cover with the milk. Bring the milk to approx 70C and turn off. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least 1 hour.

Strain through a sieve into a clean pan, add a little more chopped dill and warm gently. Using a hand blender, create a froth.

DISH
Lay a sheet of pasta down on each plate top with some lettuce mixture and some trout flakes. Repeat two more layers. Top with dill foam and a sprig of dill to garnish. Serve immediately.

White Chocolate and Cardamom Parfait with Seasonal Fruits and Basil Sugar
PARFAIT
8 egg yolk
100 g caster (superfine) sugar
4 tablespoons Cointreau
200 g white chocolate
600 milliliters double (heavy) cream
16 cardamom pods, seeds only

FRUIT
¼ pineapple, skinned, cored, chopped
1 orange, segmented
1 handful blueberries

BASIL SUGAR
100 g caster (superfine) sugar
20 basil leaves

PARFAIT
In a dry pan, lightly toast 16 cardamom pods. Crack the shells open to remove the
seeds and crush them in a pestle and mortar.

Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Be careful not to stir too
much as the chocolate can go grainy. Whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar and Cointreau in a bowl over simmering water to achieve a sabayon. Do not allow this mix to get too hot or it will scramble the eggs. Remove from the steaming water and continue to whisk for a further 3 minutes to cool the sabayon slightly.

Semi-whip the double cream. Add the melted chocolate and the cardamom seeds to the sabayon and fold in. Add a 1/4 of the semi-whipped cream and mix well. Fold in the remaining cream.

Place individual cutters onto a silicone lined baking tray. Fill the cutters with the
white chocolate mousse and place in the freezer.

FRUITS
Prepare and wash if necessary all the fruits. Cut them into even sized pieces and present around the edge of a slice of white chocolate parfait.

BASIL SUGAR
Place the basil and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into a pestle and mortar and pound it for
one minute to release the natural oils. Add the remaining sugar and continue to pound together for a further minute. Sprinkle over the fresh fruit when required.

Cookery School - Day 4

Lunch: Selection of Canapes -
Devon Blue Cheese and Sesame Biscuits
Griddled Courgette, Mozzarella and Bresaola Rolls
Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Rare Beef Fillet
Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
Mini Sausage and Mash
Mediterranean Vegetable Bread Tartlet
Mini Puff Pastry Pizzas
Parmesan Biscuits
Salmon Pinwheels
Cheese Straws

Dinner: Pan-Fried Feather Steak, Mini-Black Pudding and Red Onion Steamed Suet Pudding with Grain Mustard Sauce
Glazed Young Carrots
Fondant Potato

Dessert: Polenta, Almond and Lemon Cake with Marsala Custard and Soaked Raisins

Devon Blue Cheese and Sesame Biscuits
120 g self-raising flour
100 g unsalted butler
100 g Devon blue cheese
50 g sesame seeds

Rub the butter and flour together to create crumbs. Grate or crumble the cheese and add to the flour and butter and mix to a dough. Roll into small balls and coat them in sesame seeds.

Place them onto a baking tray, allowing room for each biscuit to spread. Bake in a hot oven at 220°C for approximately 12 minutes and then place on a cooling rack.

Griddled Courgette, Mozzarella and Bresaola Rolls
courgette, sliced
bresaola, sliced
buffalo mozzarella
olive oil
aged balsamic vinegar

Brush the slices of courgette with olive oil and griddle on a hot griddle pan until cooked. Drizzle the courgette with a little balsamic and place a small piece of buffalo mozzarella on top. Wrap tightly in a slice of breasola and secure with a cocktail stick.

Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Rare Beef Fillet
1 cup eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon English mustard
salt and black pepper
FINISH
fillet steak
horseradish

Whisk the eggs and mustard together for approximately 2 minutes. Pour in the flour gradually and mix well to break up any lumps. Pour in the milk slowly and then add a little seasoning. Chill in the fridge.

In a very hot oven. heat the Yorkshire pudding tray with 5mm of oil inside each compartment for ten minutes. Pour the Yorkshire mix into each compartment until each one is half full. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 220°C.

Place onto a cooling rack.

FINISH
Shallow fry a fillet steak and roast in the oven for 4 minutes to keep it rare. Season
with salt and pepper and allow it too rest for at least 5 minutes. Slice the beef as thin as possible. Place the sliced beef inside the cooked yorkshire pudding and spoon a little horseradish on the top. Serve warm.

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
1 chicken breast, diced
½ clove garlic
1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
60 milliliters soy sauce
60 milliliters mirin
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
¼ teaspoon sesame oil

Soak cocktail sticks in cold water.

Crush the garlic to a smooth paste with 1 tspn sugar. Combine the remaining sugar, the garlic and the rest of the ingredients. Place the diced chicken in the marinade and turn. Leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Thread the diced chicken on the cocktail sticks with about four pieces per stick. Pan fry the skewers over a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes until they are cooked and serve straight away.

Mini Sausage and Mash
cocktail sausages
mashed potato
grain mustard

Grill, pan fry or oven bake the sausages until golden, allow too cool slightly. Add a little grain mustard and seasoning to the mash.

Carefully cut a slit into the sausages lengthways. Pipe a little mustard mash into the sausage. Place all the sausages on to a non stick-baking tray and reheat in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Push a cocktail stick through the middle and serve immediately.

Mediterranean Vegetable Bread Tartlet
bread, thinly sliced
courgette, finely diced
red pepper, finely diced
shallot, finely diced
garlic, finely diced
thyme, chopped
olive oil
quali's eggs, poached

Place the quails' eggs in boiling water for 2 minutes, refresh immediately into cold water and remove the shells.

Using a rolling pin, roll the bread thinly and with a small cutter, cut into rounds and brush with a little melted butter. Line a mini tartlet tin with the bread. Place in a hot oven at 220°C for approximately 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Place them on a cooling rack

Sweat the shallots and garlic in olive oil then add the red pepper and courgette and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper and add a little chopped thyme.

Fill the bread tartlets with the vegetables and top with haif a quail's egg.

Mini Puff Pastry Pizzas
puff pastry
tapenade
anchovies
Pecorino
cherry tomatoes

Roll the puff pastry thinly. Cut into small rounds using a suitable sized cutter and prick the pastry using a fork. Spread a thin layer of tapenade on top of the pastry and then arrange a slice of tomato then anchovy fillet and fin ally a small sprinkle of grated pecorino on top.

In a preheated oven bake the mini pizzas at 220°C for approx 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm straight from the oven.

Parmesan Biscuits
Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Finely grate the parmesan cheese. Using a baking tray lined with parchment paper carefully sprinkle a thin layer of Parmesan into a round cutter, try and fit about 6 on a tray. Place in a pre heated oven at 200°C for approx 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Remove from the oven and wait a minute to allow the biscuit too set. Then carefully place them onto a cooling rack.

Salmon Pinwheels
bread, sliced
smoked salmon, sliced
full fat cream cheese
lemon juice
black pepper
chives, chopped

Remove the crusts from the bread and with a rolling pin roll the slices until they are thin. Spread full fat cream cheese evenly over the bread and then sprinkle with the chives. Arrange slices of smoked salmon to cover the cream cheese. Season with black pepper and lemon juice.

Roll like a swiss roll, cling film tightly to secure the shape and refrigerate. Slice into equal width pieces and serve.

Cheese Straws
puff pastry
Parmesan, grated
egg wash

Roll the puff pastry into a thin square. Lightly egg wash and sprinkle the surface with finely grated parmesan. Fold the pastry over and lightly roll again ensuring all the cheese is secure inside. Using a knife or a pastry wheel cut into 10mm wide strips. Twist into cheese straws, place on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Bake in a hot oven at 220°C for approx 10 minutes until golden.

Pan-Fried Feather Steak, Mini-Black Pudding and Red Onion Steamed Suet Pudding with Grain Mustard Sauce, Glazed Young Carrots and Fondant Potato
SUET PASTRY
150 g self-raising flour
pinch salt
75 g suet
100 milliliters milk
thyme, chopped
BLACK PUDDING FILLING
80 g black pudding, diced
2 small red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
GRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 sprigs thyme
100 milliliters red wine
300 milliliters veal stock
50 milliliters double (heavy) cream
1 teaspoon grain mustard
STEAKS
2x200 g feather steaks
salt
corn oil

SUET PASTRY
Sieve the flour into a bowl. Add the salt, suet and chopped thyme and then mix well. Add the milk a little at a time until a slightly soft, sticky dough is achieved. Knead gently on a floured work surface to a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Roll the pastry and line the pudding basins reserving a little for the lid.

FILLING
Sweat the sliced red onion in a little butter for 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the diced black pudding and mix well. Add the chopped parsley, balsamic vinegar and seasoning. Leave the mix to cool and fill the suet pastry cases with the mixture and seal with a pastry lid and steam for 45 minutes.

MUSTARD SAUCE
Sweat the shallots and garlic gently in a little butter. Add the red wine and reduce to a glaze. Add the veal stock and reduce by half. Add the double cream, grain mustard and chopped thyme. Reduce the sauce to the correct consistency, season, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

STEAK
Pound the steaks flat between a few pieces of clingfilm. Season the steak with salt. Get a heavy pan hot over high heat. Add a drizzle of corn oil and sear the steak on both sides for a few minutes each, browning the surface.

Glazed Baby Carrots
baby carrots
honey
unsalted butter
salt and black pepper

Wash and trim the baby carrots allowing 3 medium-sized per serving. Cover with a little water, a knob of butter, seasoning and a teaspoon of honey. Bring to the boil and cook the carrots until al dente.

Remove the carrots from the cooking liquid. Reduce the liquid until a buttery syrup is achieved. Place the carrots back into the glaze to coat the carrots. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Fondant Potatoes
large potatoes
veal stock
unsalted butter

Peel the potatoes and using a cutter, cut a cylinder shape out of each potato. Cut all the potatoes the same size in order that they cook at the same rate. Pan fry each side of the potatoes in unsalted butter until golden brown on each side.

Place into a roasting tray and pour in the veal stock until it comes halfway up the potatoes. Place in a hot oven at 200°C for approx 30 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked. Remove the potatoes from the tray and reduce the remaining stock until thickened. Brush the potatoes with the reduced veal stock.

Re-heat in a hot oven for 5 minutes when required.

Polenta, Almond and Lemon Cake with Marsala Custard and Soaked Raisins
MARSALA CUSTARD
300 milliliters double (heavy) cream
splash milk
4 egg yolk
30 g vanilla sugar
½ vanilla bean
splash Marsala

CAKE
225 g butter, softened
225 g caster (superfine) sugar
225 g ground almonds
1 vanilla pod
3 eggs
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
110 g polenta
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt

SOAKED RAISINS
100 g raisins
100 milliliters Marsala

CUSTARD
Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla sugar until pale in colour and slightly thickened. Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape all the seeds into the cream. Gently warm the cream with the milk , but do not boil. Pour the cream on to the egg yolks and mix. Return the custard to a clean pan and cook slowly stirring constantly being careful not to allow it too boil.

When thickened strain through a fine sieve and add the Marsala. Place in the fridge until required.

CAKE
Beat the butter and sugar together in a machine until pale in color. Add the ground almonds and vanilla seeds and mix gently. While the machine is running, slowly add the beaten eggs. Fold in the lemon zest and juice. Gently add the polenta, baking powder and salt and mix together.

Place the mixture into lined biscuit rings and bake at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes or until just cooked.

RAISINS
Soak the raisins in the marsala and leave to marinate for 1 hour. Serve with the polenta cake.

Cookery School - Day 3

Lunch: Shellfish Bisque with Poached Oysters
Crab Spring Rolls

Dinner: Canon of Lamb Wrapped in Parma Ham and Baked in Puff Pastry, Redcurrant and Thyme Jus, Saffron Mash and Beetroot Puree

Dessert: Honey-Glazed Apples and Peaches with Cinnamon with Apple and Champagne Sorbet and Ladyfingers

Shellfish Bisque with Poached Oysters
BISQUE WITH OYSTERS
1 crab shell
100 g prawns, shell on
30 milliliters brandy
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
50 g leek, chopped
50 g celery, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato puree
800 milliliters fish stock
50 milliliters double cream
1 bay leaf
20 g unsalted butter
oysters, 1-2 per person
salt and black pepper

BISQUE WITH OYSTERS
Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan and add the chopped onion, leek, carrots, celery and sliced garlic and allow too sweat slowly to release the flavors. Add the crab shell, prawn shells and brandy and break up the crab shell well in the pan. Add the tomato puree and continue to sweat slowly.

Cover the shells with fish stock or water, add the bay leaf and simmer for about 30
minutes. Push the bisque through a sieve putting as much pressure as possible on the shells and vegetables to extract all the flavor.

Reboil and reduce to obtain the correct flavor, add the cream and check the seasoning. Drop the oysters into the boiling soup and immediately remove from the heat. Do not allow them too overcook

Serve immediately allowing 1 or 2 oysters per person depending on how many courses there are on the menu.

Crab Spring Rolls
50 g vermicelli
1 clove garlic
75 g white crab meat
70 g bean sprouts
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped, including stalks
salt and black pepper
20 sheets spring roll wrappers

FILLING
Soak the vermicelli in boiling water for a few minutes, rinse under cold water and chop into approximately 40mm lengths. Crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar.

Gently heat the oil in a wok and add the garlic and fry until golden brown regulating the heat where necessary to prevent burning the garlic. Add the bean sprouts and continue to cook for approximately 1 minute. Add the vermicelli, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and finally the cilantro. Taste and add more seasonings if necessary.

Place the mixture onto a tray and allow too cool. Finally mix with the white crab meat when the mixture has cooled

ASSEMBLY
Make a paste using a mix of flour and water; this will be used as a glue to stick the
spring rolls. Place a small amount of paste at one corner of the spring roll pastry. Place a small amount of filling at the opposite end and roll into spring rolls folding
tightly and securing at the paste end.

FINISH
Deep fry at 190°C until golden and crisp and drain onto kitchen paper. Serve hot.

Canon of Lamb Wrapped in Parma Ham and Baked in Puff Pastry, Redcurrant and Thyme Jus, Saffron Mash and Beetroot Puree
BEETROOT PUREE
1 kg beetroot
water or vegetable stock
horseradish
salt and pepper
sugar

SAFFRON MASH
1 kg potatoes, peeled
100 g unsalted butter
4 tablespoons double (heavy) cream
salt and black pepper
pinch saffron
chives, chopped

CANON OF LAMB
1 best end of lamb
2 slices Parma ham
200 g puff pastry
sesame seeds

REDUCTION
1 chine bone from lamb, chopped in pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
100 milliliters red wine
400 milliliters veal stock
fresh thyme
redcurrant jelly
sea salt

BEETROOT PUREE
Boil the beetroot in their skins in water or vegetable stock until soft. Peel the beetroot whilst hot and place in a food processor. Blend on a high speed until the beetroot is well pureed, being careful to scrape the edges to make sure it is all well pureed. Add a little horseradish sauce, salt, pepper and sugar. Blend again on a high speed and add more seasoning if necessary.

SAFFRON MASH
Place the peeled chopped potatoes in a suitable-sized pan and cover with cold water and a small pinch of saffron. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly over a high heat until the potatoes are cooked all the way through. To test if they are cooked, they should be soft in the middle if you push a small knife through them.

Drain the potatoes into a colander and allow the steam too evaporate; this should take about 5 mins and is very important to help keep the potatoes dry and fluffy.

Mash the potatoes well and keep them in the pan. Toast another pinch of saffron in a separate dry saucepan, add 1 tbsp of water, the butter and the double cream. Bring to the boil and simmer to infuse the saffron. Add this to the mashed potatoes and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, add the chopped chives and serve straight away.

CANON OF LAMB
Prepare the lamb by removing the eye of the meat from the best ends, trimming off any sinews and cutting in half. Seal the lamb very quickly in a very hot frying pan, there shouldn' t be a need to season it first as the parma ham can be slightly salty. Allow too cool and roll each portion tightly in 1 slice of parma ham.

Roll out the puff pastry into a long thin strip approximately 120mm wide and 3mm thick. Place the lamb on top of the pastry at one end and roll in the pastry, tucking the ends in neatly and sealing well. Lightly brush with a little egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.

Place a baking tray lined with a silicone mat in a hot oven at 230°C for 10 minutes. Then place the lamb onto the hot tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Leave to rest on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before carving and serving.

REDCURRANT AND THYME REDUCTION
Chop the chine bones into smaller pieces. Fry the chine bones in a little oil in a suitable sized saucepan until golden brown. Add the onions and garlic and continue to fry until colored. Cover the bones and vegetables with red wine and reduce to a glaze.

Add the veal stock to cover the bones and reduce by two thirds in volume. Strain through a fine sieve, add a little redcurrant jelly and salt if necessary. Finally add a pinch of fresh chopped thyme and serve.

Honey-Glazed Apples and Peaches with Cinnamon with Apple and Champagne Sorbet and Ladyfingers
SORBET
250 g caster (superfine) sugar
250 milliliters water
450 milliliters apple juice
350 milliliters champagne

LADYFINGERS
4 eggs, separated
100 g flour
100 g caster (superfine) sugar
icing (confectioners') sugar

APPLES AND PEACHES
1 ripe peach
1 apple
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
10 g butter
30 milliliters Calvados

SORBET
Stir the sugar with the water in a small pan over a low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and allow to boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

Combine the apple juice and champagne and add the cooled syrup. Churn in an ice cream machine until thick and slushy.

Freeze in a container for at least 1 hour before serving.

LADYFINGERS
Cream together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until creamy and white.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks are achieved. Add a little of the egg whites to the sugar mixture and fold through. Gradually add the sieved flour and the remainder of the whites alternately, mixing as lightly as possible.

Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into 3 inch fingers onto a lined baking tray and sprinkle well with icing sugar.

Bake at 200C for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place the biscuits onto a cooling rack.

APPLES AND PEACHES
Remove the core from the apple and the stone from the peach and cut them both into wedges.

Place the butter into a non-stick frying pan, allow the butter to foam and turn nut brown and add the fruit slices and cook for 1 minute. Add the ground cinnamon to the butter (not the fruit) and then the calvados and flambe. Add the clear honey and continue to cook until the fruit has softened.

Serve immediately with the apple sorbet and a little of the syrup drizzled around the edge. Serve the ladyfingers as an accompaniment.

Cookery School - Day 2

Lunch: Slow-Cooked Belly Pork with a Fricassee of Chorizo, Artichokes and Chanterelles

Dinner: Roulade of Plaice Fillets Stuffed with Spinach and Crab Meat, Red Pepper Coulis, Potato Gnocchi and Saute Scallops.

Broccoli and Mangetout Hollandaise

Dessert: Chocolate Fondant with Amaretto Ice Cream

Slow-Cooked Belly Pork with a Fricassee of Chorizo, Artichokes and Chanterelles
2 kg belly pork
2 liters chicken stock
300 g mirepoix
4 cloves garlic
5 sprigs thyme
1 star anise

FRICASSE
4 artichoke hearts, cooked
40 g unsalted butler
2 small shallot
1 clove garlic
10 chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
10 g chorizo
1 splash vegetable broth
salt and black pepper

Place the chopped vegetables, garlic, thyme and star anise in the bottom of a roasting tray. Put the belly pork on top of the vegetables and pour over the chicken stock. Cover the tray tightly in tin foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 160C for 5-6 hours or until you see that the pork is very soft and tender.

Place the pork on a rack and allow to cool. Reserve until later.

FRICASSE
Slice the shallots and cut the artichokes into small wedges. Peel and remove the soul from the garlic and cut into thin slices. Remove the outside skin from the chorizo and cut into a small dice or small pieces. Clean the chanterelle mushrooms well and cut into smaller pieces if they are large.

Melt half the butter in a frying pan and sweat the shallots and garlic until softened. Add the chorizo pieces and turn up the heat moving the pan all the time to avoid burning. When the chorizo is cooked add the artichoke hearts and mushrooms and continue to cook very quickly. Add a splash of vegetable stock and shake the remaining butter in to emulsify the fricassee.

Taste and season if required and serve with the pork belly.

FINISH
Cut the belly pork into 1 portion squares. Place on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat skin side down. Place in a preheated oven at 200°C for approximately 15 minutes until the pork is hot and the skin has gone a little crispy

To further crispen the crackling it can be removed from the pork and placed back in the oven whilst the pork is resting before serving.

Place the belly pork in the center of a plate and spoon fricasse and sauce all round.

Roulade of Plaice Fillets Stuffed with Spinach and Crab Meat, Red Pepper Coulis, Potato Gnocchi and Saute Scallops
PLAICE
400 g plaice, cut in 4 skinned fillets
20 g spinach
30 g white crab meat
lemon juice
salt and black pepper

SCALLOPS
6 scallops, prepped

RED PEPPER COULIS
2 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
50 milliliters Noilly Prat (or other dry vermouth)
300 milliliters fish stock
unsalted butter
salt and black pepper

PIEDMONT POTATO GNOCCHI
500 g floury potatoes
100 g strong flour
salt
nutmeg

PLAICE
Remove the 2 fillets and skin from the plaice. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Place a layer or fresh spinach leaves and white crab meat on top of the first fillet and roll tightly and secure with a cocktail stick. Repeat with the second fish fillet.

When ready, place the fish roulades into a steamer and cook for 4 minutes or until just cooked in the middle. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish and serve immediately.

Note: if using large leaf spinach it maybe necessary to blanch the spinach leaves

SCALLOPS
Remove the scallops from the shell, trim the dark organs from the white muscle and orange coral with your fingers.

Avoid washing the scallops unless necessary. (Hand dived scallops will be much cleaner and you shouldn't need to wash them). Coat the scallops with a little corn oil.

Preheat a non stick-frying pan until it starts to smoke. Carefully place in the scallops and turn the heat down slightly. Cook for approximately 1 minute on each side so they are caramelized on both sides but undercooked in the middle. This is very important to avoid rubbery overcooked scallops.

Place on kitchen paper, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice and serve immediately.

RED PEPPER COULIS
Sweat the shallots and garlic in a little butter until softened but do not color. Add the red peppers and continue to cook until softened. Pour in the Noilly Prat and reduceto a glaze. Add the fish stock until it just covers the peppers. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

When all the ingredients are cooked and soft, place in a liquidizer and blend on full power until very smooth, then pass through a fine sieve

Bring to the boil and simmer. Whisk in little cubes of butter to emulsify the sauce, season with salt and pepper.

GNOCCHI
Cover the washed but unpeeled potatoes with cold water. Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Cook for about 20-25 minutes from boiling point or until a thin skewer inserted into a potato encounters no resistance . Drain, then return to the hot pan to further dry out the potatoes. Peel one potato at a time leaving the rest in the pan.

Push the potatoes through a sieve or potato ricer onto a work surface, then with your hands pat and shape the potatoes into a compact mound.

When the potatoes have cooled slightly, sieve the flour directly on top. Add a good pinch of salt and grated nutmeg. Start to knead and only add a little more flour if the mixture sticks to your hands or the board and doesn't form a dough. Some potatoes will absorb more but generally less flour is better.

When the dough feels both solid and compact cut it into 5-6 pieces. Flour your hands and the board and roll each piece into a cylindrical shape. Cut at regular intervals to form even sized pellets. Finish the gnocchi by rolling the pellets into a ball in the palm of your hand and pushing your thumb into the center to form a small indentation . This is designed to hold the sauce when they are cooked.

Bring a pan with several liters of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi in small batches. When they float to the surface they are cooked.

Broccoli and Mangetout Hollandaise
1 small head broccoli, cut in florets
200 g mangetout

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
250 g clarified butter
5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 egg yolk
pinch pepper
pinch sea salt
lemon juice

VEGETABLES
Blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Refresh in cold water.

HOLLANDAISE
Clarify the butter by melting it slowly to separate the oil from the buttermilk. Strain off the oil.

Boil the vinegar until it has almost disappeared . Add a tablespoon of water and allow to cool. Pour into a glass bowl and add the egg yolks.

Whisk the egg yolks and vinegar over a pan of simmering water until they double in volume. Do not cook too quickly or the eggs will scramble.

Stream in the clarified butter a little at a time and allow the sauce to emulsify. If it becomes a little thick then a splash of water may be added.

Add salt, pepper and lemon juice and taste. Pour over the vegetables and heat with a blowtorch or place under the grill for 15-30 seconds, until the hollandaise glazes the vegetables. Serve hot.

Chocolate Fondant with Amaretto Ice Cream
CHOCOLATE FONDANT
210 g dark chocolate
210 g unsalted butter
5 eggs
5 egg yolk
130 g caster sugar
150 g flour

AMARETTO ICE CREAM
450 milliliters double (heavy) cream
150 milliliters milk
70 g caster (superfine) sugar
8 egg yolk
Amaretto, to taste

CHOCOLATE FONDANT
Lightly butter inside each ramekin and sprinkle with caster sugar and cocoa powder on the inside so they are well-coated (Alternatively line the ramekins with baking parchment paper).

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until thickened and glossy.

Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and thickened. This can be done in a machine and normally lakes about 8 minutes.

Pour the melted chocolate over the egg mixture and sieve the flour on top.

Carefully fold the flour into the eggs until completely mixed. Do not rush this and stir too quickly.

Divide the mix between the ramekins leaving a little space at the top to allow them to rise a little. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 11-14 minutes.

Pierce a hole in the top of the fondant: it should be a little underdone in the middle.

AMARETTO ICE CREAM
Warm the cream and milk in a heavy-based pan. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until pale. Pour the cream on to the egg yolks and stir gently.

Place in a clean heavy-based pan and cook gently until coating the back of a spoon (just before boiling)

Strain through a sieve and allow to cool. Add the amaretto and taste. Churn in an ice cream machine and chill until needed.