The life of a private chef means hard work and a lot of travelling. As a result it’s easy to lose touch with friends. Neill sets aside some time to drive out to the Boland town of Wellington to meet up with Roger, one of his oldest friends. The venue for dinner is a quaint distillery on a farm and, after serving the first few courses, Neill joins the group for dessert and a long overdue catchup.
Recipe 1: Cauliflower Risotto with Dark Chocolate Jelly.
- 250g Risotto Rice
- 1l Hot Chicken Stock
- 100g Butter
- 150g Grated Pecorino
- 1 Large dessert spoon cottage cheese
- Salt
CAULIFLOWER PUREE:
- 1 head grated cauliflower
- 60ml Chicken Stock
- Olive oil
- Knob Butter
- Salt
CHOCOLATE JELLY:
- 4 Leaf Gealtine Soaked in cold water
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1L Water
GARNISH:
- Parmesan
- Rocket cress
METHOD
RISOTTO:
Melt 50g butter in largest pot possible
Add rice to pot
Stir till toasted over a medium heat
Add boiling chicken stock to rice half cooked
Remove rice from pot and lay out on a flat tray to cool
Place in fridge till needed
WHEN READY TO SERVE RISOTTO:
Gently warm rice in pot adding 1 lable of hot chicken stock
Once warm add cauliflower puree to mixture
Season to taste, then add grated raw cauliflower into mixture
Then add grated cheese and cottage cheese
Stir to combine
Season to taste if necessary
CAULIFLOWER PUREE:
Head Olice oil and Butter in medium saucepan
Add cauliflower and cook till soft over a medium heat
Place mixture into blender
Whilst blending add soft butter
Season to taste
CHOCOLATE JELLY:
Dissolve cocoa power into water over medium heat
Remove from hob,
Add soasked gelatine
Set in tray
TO SERVE:
Place risotto on plate,
Top with rocket cress and grated permisan
Finish off with dark chocholate jelly.
Recipe 2: Lamb Rump with Fennel Puree
INGREDIENTS
- 8 Lamb Rumps
- 1l Lamb Stock
- Salt Slab
LAMB SAUCE:
- Pitted Oilves
- Resting Liquid from Lamb
FENNEL PUREE:
- 3 Fennel Bulbs finely sliced
- 100g soft Butter
- 200ml Water
- Salt and Pepper
- 12 Pink Fir Potatoes
- Handful Fennel tops finely chopped
METHOD
LAMB:
Place lamb rumps in large tray
Add hot stock to tray, cover with foil
Cook at 90 degrees for 90 min
Remove lamb from oven once cooked
Take lamb rumps out of tray and set aside
LAMB SAUCE:
Reduce braising liquid by half over a medium heat
Once removed from heat, add oilves before serving
FENNEL PUREE:
Head Olice oil and Butter in medium saucepan
Add fennel and cook till soft over a medium heat
Place mixture into blender
Whilst blending add soft butter
Season to taste
POTATOES:
Cook potatoes in large pot of seasoned boiling water till soft and tender
Remove from pot and cut inhalf once cooled,
Oil and season the potatoes to char grill
Remove from grill when ready and finish off with fennel tops
Combine mixture together
To Finish:
Place lamb rumps fat side down ina non-ctick pan to render fat out
Once crisp, remove from pan and rest on salt slab
To Serve:
Set puree down on plate, add potatoes,
Top with pea shoots
Add sliced lamb to finish dish off
Drizle with sauce before serving.
Recipe 3: Yoghurt Panacotta with Honey Comb.
- 1L Vanilla Yoghurt
- Large dessert spoon cultured cream
- 250ml Full Cream Milk
- 8 Leaf Gelatine (soaked in cold water)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Powder
HONEYCOMB:
- 350g Caster Sugar
- 80ml Water
- 60g Liquid Honey
- 100g liquid Glucose
- 12g Bicarbonate of Soda
- Sugar thermometer and non-stick mat needed
- 10 Passion Fruits/Granadilla cut in half seeds removed
METHOD
PANNA COTTA:
Warm milk, yoghurt and vanilla in a pot
Add strained soaked gelatine to melted liquid
Whisk cultured cream in separate bowl
Add hot mixture from hob into cultured cream,
Stir to combine, and pour liquid mixture into a jug
Pour into bowls to set in fridge
HONEYCOMB:
Heat honey, sugar, glucose, water in a large pot
Bring temperature up to 155 degrees
Gently stir in bicarb then turn off the heat
When all the bicarb is incorporated into mixture
Slowly pour onto a non-stick mat to cool
To Finish:
Break or cut honeycomb into bite size pieces
Top the panna cotta with passion fruit and
honey comb