Express meal: Rustic Panzanella

INGREDIENTS

• Mixture of leftover bread, torn into rough chunks
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 sprig thyme
• Olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• S&P
• punnet of heirloom tomatoes
• 10 basil leaves – chopped
• 1 red onion – thinly sliced
• 1 green chilli
• crispy garlic chips

 

METHOD

1. In a pan, heat good mount of olive oil. Add thyme and garlic and fry gently to infuse.
2. Add 1/2 the bread and toast. (If necessary add more olive oil), Season with salt.
3. In a large bowl mix the bread, a good amount of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
4. Season with salt.
5. Add your croutons.
6. Cut tomatoes into wedges each and place into a bowl.
7. Add red onions and basil. Toss salad
8. Add chopped chilli and garlic chips

Recipe 1: Soft polenta with a tomato and vanilla caramel and rocket pesto

INGREDIENTS

• 250g pancetta/local ham/bacon

POLENTA:

• 200g polenta
• 800ml milk
• 2 heads garlic halved
• Bunch of thyme
• Salt
• 150g cubed cold butter
• 50g grated pecorino

TOMATO AND VANILLA CARAMEL:

• 20 tomatoes – peeled deseeded and diced
• 200g castor sugar
• 1 vanilla pod

ROCKET PESTO:

• 500g rocket
• 300g grated pecorino
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 300ml olive oil

METHOD

PRE PREP

• Infuse milk with herbs and salt.  Bring up to temp, not boiling, add thyme, garlic and salt. Clingfilm and set aside for ½ an hour or so.
• Strain to remove herbs
• Put back onto med heat and whisk in polenta. 2;1 ration. Milk to polenta.
• Cover with lid and turn down to low heat,
• Cook till done, stirring every few minutes.
• (If needs thinning, add more milk. Consistency of mash potato)
• When cooked, finish with butter and pecorino and set aside

TOMATO AND VANILLA CARAMEL

• Melt sugar with vanilla pod tand sprinkle of salt ill quite dark.
• When caramelised, add tomatoes and stir to coat. (Keep some body to tomatoes, you don’t want puree consistency)
• Cook for about 8 or 9 minutes.
• Pour into colander to remove excess liquid and fish out the vanilla
• Fold through extra tomato concasse
• Set aside

PESTO

• Pop the garlic and salt in a food processor and blend
• Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth
• Decant and set aside

CRISPY PANCETTA/LOCAL HAM/BACON

• Put bacon/ham on racks and dry in oven at 140 (check after 45 mins) for an hour or so.  Check after about 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and put onto paper towel to drain.
• Set aside to serve with the polenta

FINISHING:

• Plate and serve

Recipe 2: Thyme and tea smoked lamb shoulder, glazed orange sweet potatoes and gremolata

INGREDIENTS

• a shoulder of lamb, bone-in
• Salt and pepper
• Bunches of thyme – to serve
• 1-2 ltrs chicken stock
• 1 head of garlic, sliced in half

DRY SMOKE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups demerara sugar
• 2 cups rice
• 2 cups lapsang susang tea (floral flavours)

GREMOLATA:

• zest of 4 lemons
• 2 bunches of flat leafed parsley – finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic – finely grated
• 1 green chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
• salt

SWEET POTATOES:

• 1 -2 small orange fleshed sweet potato per person (small)
• 1/4 cup rendered lamb fat if you have or olive oil
• 100g butter
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp chilli flakes
• 2-4 star anise

SECOND SMOKE INGREDIENTS :

• 4 large bunches of dry thyme sprigs

YOGURT SAUCE:

• 1 cup double cream yogurt
• 1 tbsp chilli flakes

METHOD:
PRE-PREP – LAMB:

• Line metal tray with foil.
• Mix smoking ingredients together and lay onto foil.
• Put the meat on a roasting rack on top of the smoking ingredients
• Place tray on gas burner over a high heat. When it starts to smoke, cover with foil and leave for 8 minutes.
• Turn off heat and leave to smoke for another 20 minutes.
• Remove and put meat onto a clean roasting try.
• Season with olive oil and salt.
• Add 1 ½ litres of chicken stock and cover with foil.
• Roast at 140 degrees for 4 hours
• Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Remove meat from tray and slide out the bones leaving the meat intact.

lay the thyme down in a large tray, pop a roasting rack on top and put the lamb on it. Heat the thyme with a blow torch so it starts to smoke. Smoke the lamb for a couple of miinutes. Pop a bowl over the lamb to catch some of the last smoke.

SWEET POTATOES

• Mix sugar and spices together
• Brush sweet potatoes with olive oil or lamb fat and rub with sugar spice mix
• Place them in a roasting tray.
• Add 100g butter and roast at 180 for about an hour, turning occasionally to glaze.
• Then grill under a hot grill turning to cook and glaze evenly and to achieve a sticky, syrupy consistency
• Remove and set aside

FINISHING:

• Make gremolata
• Reheat sweet potatoes if necessary
• Mix yogurt and chilli flakes
• Portion lamb
• Plate and serve

Recipe 3: Cashew Nut Praline Mille Feuille

INGREDIENTS

PRALINE

• 250g cashew nuts
• 250g castor sugar

CHANTILLY CREAM

• 500ml cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 25ml Frangelico liqueur

LEMONS IN SYRUP

• 6 seedless lemons – sliced
• 500ml water
• 500ml castor sugar
• 1 Star anise

METHOD
PRALINE:

• Melt sugar in pot over medium heat.
• Add cashew nuts and mix to coat evenly.
• Pour mixture out onto silicon mat and spread evenly. Allow to set
• When set, blitz in food processor to a very fine crumb
• Sprinkle crumb into ring mould, pressing down lightly with the bottom of a glass to firm.
• Rebake at 160 degrees until set.
• Remove from oven and set aside.

LEMONS

• Heat sugar and water to form a standard sugar syrup.
• Add the star anise and the lemon slices and cook gently for an hour and a ½.
• When cooked, drain and chop into small pieces to serve with the mille feuille.

FINISHING

• Whip the cream, vanilla extract and sugar till firm
• Mix in the Frangelico
• Stack praline bases with cream to form a tower. (Base, cream, middle, cream, top)
• Plate with pieces of lemon in syrup
• Serve