Express meal: Ceps on toast
INGREDIENTS
- A couple of fresh porcinis
- Ciabatta
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsps. butter
- 1-2 Tbsps. olive oil
- Salt
- Crème fraiche
- 1 shallot – sliced
- 2 Tbsp. grated pecorino
- 1-2 fresh thyme sprigs
- a handful of fresh wood sorrel
METHOD
- Heat a non-stick pan over a medium to high heat.
- Add a good glug of olive oil.
- Toast ciabatta, and then rub with garlic.
- Slice mushrooms and add to pan.
- Sauté for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Mandolin or finely slice shallots and add to the mushrooms. Add thyme . Season with salt.
- Add butter and cook for another minute or so.
- Add crème fraiche and let it melt into the mushrooms.
- Add a grating of pecorino.
- Finish with wood sorrel.
- Serve on toasted ciabatta with finely grated/microplaned pecorino.
- Finish with a grating of raw cep stems.
Recipe 1: Spelt Risotto, pickled turnip and braised ox tongue
INGREDIENTS
BRAISED TONGUE
- Olive oil
- Salt
- 1 ox tongue
- 1 head garlic – halved
- 1 onion – quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- Sprigs of thyme
- 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
PICKLED TURNIPS
- 3 turnips – peeled and mandolin sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- White wine vinegar
SPELT RISOTTO
- 500g pearled barley
- 1 ½ litres hot chicken stock
- 100g pecorino – finely grated
- 125g cold butter – diced
- 2 Tbsp. crème fraiche
- Olive oil
- 2-3 shallots, finely sliced
- ¼ cup chopped chives
METHOD
PRE-PREP:
Ox Tongue
- Heat pressure cooker with a good drizzle of olive oil.
- Season tongue with salt
- Sear in pressure cooker
- Add shallots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, coriander seeds and fenne seeds.
- Cover with water, pop a lid on and cook on a medium heat for an 45 minutes to hour
- Remove the tongue and strain the liquid, reserving the stock.
- Cool, peel and trim.
- Cut in half lengthways, press between 2 trays, for min of 3 hours.
- Remove and cut into cubes of 1cm.
Turnips
- Put turnip slices into bowl.
- Add sugar, salt and splash of white wine vinegar
- Mix and set aside
FINISHING:
Tongue:
- Sauté tongue cubes till crispy.
- Remove and put into a tray, keeping warm.
Barley:
- Heat olive oil and butter in a pot, and sauté the shallots
- Add barley and toast briefly.
- Add all the stock. Bring to boil.
- Cook for about 30 minutes while stirriing every now and again.
- Add creme fraiche,
- Remove from heat, add chives and pecorino stirring gently .
- Finish with pickled turnips just before serving.
- Plate and serve
Recipe 2: Rabbit in a secret garden
INGREDIENTS
RABBIT:
- 1/4 of a rabbit per person – saddle, shoulder and leg separate (kidneys and livers reserved)
- 2 litres of chicken stock
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breast
- 200ml whipping cream
- olive oil
- salt
- couple of thyme sprigs
- couple of bay leaves
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
SECRET GARDEN:
- Baby spinach – 500kg
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- zest of 2 lemons
- Button mushrooms – 1kg
- 2 sliced shallots
- 1 clove garlic – finely chopped
- Olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- Truffle oil
- Toasted b/crumbs with olive oil and lemon zest
- Chives
- Shimeji mushrooms
- Wood sorrel
- Tapioca multidextrose powder
METHOD
PRE-PREP:
- Break down and debone rabbit, keeping the kidneys and liver
- Debone the saddles
- Heat oil in a pot.
- Sear legs and shoulder meat and add salt, thyme sprigs, a couple of bay leaves and a few garlic cloves
- Deglaze with a little chicken stock and then add all the stock.
- Braise for 1 1/2 hours in an oven at 180-200 degrees.
- Remove the rabbit and set aside, reserving chicken stock/braising liquid for serving.
- Shred meat off legs and shoulders and place into a bowl.
- Add chicken breasts to food processor and blitz, slowly adding cream to form a paste.
- Remove from blender.
- Cover, cling wrap and refrigerate.
- Sauté liver and kidneys briefly and then chop roughly, chill
- Mix the chicken mousse, shredded leg meat and chopped livers
- Cover and chill till needed
- Season rabbit saddles with salt and spread with wholegrain mustard
- Roll about 1/2 cup of mousse filling into a thin sausage the length of the saddle and lay it along the spine of the saddle
- Roll the saddle neatly, making sure the filling is neatly tucked in the middle
- Roll up tightly in clingfilm, tying both ends. Chill till needed.
- Roll any left over mousse into walnut sized bowls, cover and set aside for later
- Add olive oil to a large saucepan and sauté the shallots
- Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for about 20 minutes
- Add a generous splash of balsamic vinegar and a knob of butter and cook until reduced
- Season and pop through a blender
FINISHING:
Rabbit
- Add rabbit rolls to bamboo steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
- Remove from steamer, remove clingfilm
- Pan fry, seam side down first in lots of foaming butter until coloured
- Fry the left over stuffing balls until golden
- Slice the rabbit, laying it down on a metal tray. Season and pop back in the oven right before serving to warm through.
- Sauté shimejii mushrooms briefly in olive oil and season
- Place breadcrumbs, lemon zest, chopped chives and olive oil into pan
- Toast, remove and drain on paper towel
- Wilt spinach in tablespoon of olive oil and couple tbsp. of water.
- Drain well, removing any excess water
- Reduce reserved chicken braising liquid.
- Add tapioca powder to a bowl.
- Whisk in 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil or enough so it resembles snow.
- Plate and serve
Recipe 3: Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
- 250g full fat cream cheese
- 500ml whipping cream
- 200g castor sugar
- 2 squirts vanilla paste/powder
- flesh from 4 passion fruit
- 300g castor sugar
- 300g puffed rice
PRE-PREP:
- Heat cream with sugar and vanilla.
- Pour onto room temp cream cheese, whisk till smooth.
- Put into espuma gun and chill till needed.
- Warm castor sugar gently till caramel forms.
- Add in puffed rice.
- Stir and pour onto silicon mat. Spread out evenly. Allow to set.