spoon

Organic Glenarm salmon:-tea smoked, tartar, Ballotine and blinis & salmon eggs

0

Posted on Friday, 30 September 2011 13:34 | By: Tony

Category: , ,

The third course of the evening.
This dish again was designed to create a dramatic effect with a box of salmon being presented at the table, lid removed and a cloud of tea scented smoke filling the room. We knew from the start that this dish would be smoked tableside; we just hadn’t worked out how to do this for 90 people at once. I had been looking around for weeks to try and find anything that would work as a smoked and that wouldn’t cost us a small fortune at the same time. Then I had been in the wine cellar talking to Marco the hotels food and beverage manager, when I saw in the corner a magnum of champagne in a large wooden box, this would be exactly what I needed to smoke the salmon at pop up Belfast. I got on the phone to James Nicholson and before you knew it we had 10 perfect boxes. The boxes again where sent over to Stuart and within a day he had transformed then into a home smoker.

All we needed now would be to find the perfect smoke mixture. Walter Ewing our fish supplier for the hotel, is renowned for his famous smoked salmon, so after a quick phone call to him he had sorted us out with the oak and we mixed it with Lapsang Souchong which has a very distinctive, Smokey character and would work beautifully with the dish.
So below is the salmon 4 ways course, it is a very adventurous dish to recreate at home, but even if you just want to try some of the elements individually, you will still have a great course for a dinner party at home.

Serves 10

Ingredients;

For the Ballontine;

1 side of salmon skinned                                                                                                                                                                           
2tblsp Maldon salt
250g parsley and chervil very finely chopped      

For the tartar;

250g very fresh salmon skinned, pin boned and all brown flesh and belly fat removed
4 shallots peeled and finely diced
50g capers very finely chopped
250g parsley and chervil very finely chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Maldon salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the Blinis;

70g buckwheat flour
70g plain flour
⅓tsp baking powder
⅓tsp dried yeast
175ml warm milk
1 egg separated
125g melted butter plus 1tsp extra

For the poppy seed vinaigrette;

5g Dijon mustard
50ml white wine vinegar
50ml balsamic
200ml hazelnut oil
200ml olive oil
Seasoning
6 cloves of garlic crushed
6 sprigs of thyme
Chervil and tarragon
30g poppy seeds

To serve;

Wooden wine boxes or other boxes you can smoke the fish in
10 white Chinese style serving spoons
10 x 50g portions of lightly smoked salmon
1 Aladin smoker
1tblsp oak wood shavings
1tblsp Lapsang Souchong
10tsps salmon eggs
Baby coriander cress to garnish

Method;

For the Ballontine;

Trim the salmon, remove the tail and the top piece to leave the salmon in a perfect rectangle shape, remove all of the fat and brown flesh from the belly and all of the pin bones. Split the salmon fillet into two lengthways and sprinkle each half with a little salt. Place one piece of salmon on top of the other, season with Maldon salt and roll into perfect barrel shape in cling film, making sure it is very tight, allow to set for 2 hours. Place the salmon into a water bath set at 42c and cook for 1min for every 100g of the salmon weight, plus 20mins extra. Remove from the water and chill overnight.
The next day remove the salmon from its cling film covering and cover with the chopped herbs, season again lightly and re roll the salmon in cling film. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

For the tartar;

In a large clean cold bowl add the salmon. Add the diced shallots, capers and chopped herbs and mix well, making sure all ingredients are evenly distributed. Add the lemon juice and zest and season to taste. Try to make the tartar just before serving as the lemon juice and the salt start to cure the fish and this will change the texture of the overall tartar.

For the Blinis;

Sift the buckwheat flour, plain flour and baking powder together. Mix the dried yeast with the warmed milk, then separate the egg and add the yolk to the yeast mix.
Next whisk this into the dry ingredients to make a smooth batter. Stir in the 1tsp melted butter.
Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks, and then gently fold into the batter, keeping as much volume as possible. Clarify some butter by gently melting it in a pan, then pour off the clear yellow liquid to use (throw away the white bit left behind in the pan). Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan and drop in dessertspoons of the batter. Cook until the surface starts to bubble, then flip over and cook the other side.
Cut the blinis with a small cutter about the size of a 2 pence coin.

For the poppy seed vinaigrette;

Mix the mustard and vinegars together.
Mix the oils together, then slowly add the oil to the vinegar mix, add the seasoning, garlic and herbs and leave in a warm place to infuse for 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, add the poppy seeds and store ready for use.

To serve;

Get the wooden box ready to serve. Place 10 spoons in the box.
Heat a large pan over high heat and add a little olive oil, pan fry the smoked salmon pieces until just golden brown on the service side. Remove from the heat. Flip the salmon pieces over and allow to warm in the residual heat of the pan. Keep the salmon pink in the centre.
Place the salmon portions onto each spoon in the box. Working quickly place the wooden shavings and the Lapsang Souchong tea into the top of the smoker and using a blow torch light the shavings. The smoke will be released through the smoke tube. Place the tube into the box and allow the box to fill with smoke. Shut the lid quickly and allow the smoke to sit in the box while you plate the rest of the dish.
Cut 10 slices of the Ballotine and place onto each serving plate.
Warm the blinis and place onto each plate just beside the Ballotine.
Using two spoons shape the tartar into quenelles; place a quenelle of tartar just above each portion of Ballotine.
Drizzle the plates with a little of the poppy seed vinaigrette and garnish with coriander cress.
Serve each dinner a plate each and bring the box to the table, remove the lid and the smoke will fill the room, guest can then help themselves to a smoked salmon spoon each.

Carpaccio of Organic shorthorn beef, Herring roe, crispy quail eggs and parmesan

0

Posted on Thursday, 29 September 2011 15:46 | By: Tony

Category: ,

This course, the second course for pop up Belfast, again was designed as a sharing platter. Gary Bell had given us this dish and showed us a bone that he usually would serve this in. Johnny and I thought this would be a great idea until the day all of the bones arrived into the kitchen and the realisation of the mammoth task at hand became apparent. All of the bones had to be removed of marrow, scrapped spotlessly clean and scrubbed. Then boiled in salted vinegar water, cooled, scrapped again and this process repeated. Finally after two days they were then buffed and smoothed by Stuart who restores all of the hotels antiques.
The hard work was well worth all of the effort that Johnny and the team put in as now we have 100 perfectly cleaned bones to use as we wish!
The beef carpaccio was a great choice for the second course, light, full of flavour and well balanced, also because it was served cold it gave the team time to regroup after the scallop course.
The quality of the beef is the most important thing in this dish. Good local Northern Irish beef from a good butcher will do the trick. I would recommend Hannon’s just outside Moira.
This is a great dish and can be simply served on a plate at home without the entire dramatic hay and bone garnish.

Serves 10 people;

Ingredients;

For the beef;

500g beef fillet cut from the centre of the fillet and left in one piece
Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1tbslp Melted bone marrow or olive oil

For the parmesan crisps;

1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated through the smallest holes on a box grater.



For the quail eggs;

10 soft boiled quail eggs, each cut in half
2tblsp chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs beaten
3tblsp flour
3tblsp fresh breadcrumbs

For the horseradish aioli;

2 egg yolks
1tblsp lemon juice
300ml of half rendered marrow bone fat and olive oil or all olive oil
3tbsp. prepared white grated horseradish, or to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced or to taste
Maldon salt and pepper to taste

To serve;

1kg sterilized hay or artificial hay
10 cleaned out bones (optional)
20 baby gem lettuce leaves, kept whole
50g Herring roe
1tblsp olive oil
Maldon salt
Cracked black pepper

Method;

For the beef;

Lay the beef onto a work surface and season all over with salt and pepper. Make sure you season well as the beef will be served cold. Place a pan large enough tom hold the beef over high heat. Add the melted marrow or olive oil; add the beef to the pan and brown very quickly on all sides, until golden brown. Remove the beef from the pan straight away and leave to cool.
When cool enough to handle wrap the fillet in cling film tightly to form a perfect cylinder. Place the beef into the freezer and freeze over night.

For the parmesan crisps;

Line a non stick tray with either parchment paper or a nonstick silicone baking pad. Using a tablespoon measurement, drop even mounds of parmesan cheese on the baking sheet. Use your fingers to pat the cheese into a thin circle about 3 inches across in size. Make sure none of the circles are touching. You should get 10 parmesan crisps in total.
Bake five minutes, or until golden and crisp. When the crisps are still warm, cut them through the centre and leave to cool.

For the quail eggs;

Lay 3 small trays onto the work surface. In the first place the flour in the second place the beaten egg and in the third place the breadcrumbs. Dip each egg into the flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the breadcrumbs.
Heat a deep fat fryer to 180c or heat a small pan of oil to 180c. Working in batches, fry until golden brown all over and heated through.
Drain on kitchen paper.

For the horseradish aioli;

Place yolks and lemon juice into the bowl of a blender. Mix lightly. Combine oils and add drop by drop to yolk mixture. As sauce thickens, oil can be added in a very thin trickle. (Avoid adding too much oil at one time, or eggs and oil will not blend.) Add horseradish and garlic, season to taste.
Chill before serving.

To serve;

Remove the beef from the freezer and slice into 30 thin slices.
Place the hay onto a large serving board and place the 10 bones on top. Place two baby gem lettuce leaves into each bone. Place three slices of beef per bone on top of the lettuce. Spoon the aioli over the beef. Spoon 5g per portion of the herring roe on top of the beef. Drizzle all of the bones with olive oil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish each bone with two parmesan crisp halves.
Serve in the middle of the table for all of your guest to share.


Seared scallops, aubergine caviar, toasted almonds, spinach and saffron air

0

Posted on Wednesday, 28 September 2011 16:09 | By: Tony

Category: ,


This was the first course for our very first Pop up Belfast, set in the decaying structure of the Titanic drawing rooms.
We wanted to make an impression with this course because it was to lead the way into this unique dining experience and let the customers (who had followed and trusted us in this secret event), know that they were in for a something completely different throughout the night. The saffron air was proably the most asked question when people where talking about the Pop up Belfast menu. What is saffron air???? They would say confused. Well the saffron air was to be a dramatic effect with dried seaweed, saffron and dry ice put into a bucket. When the tray arrived at the table boiling water was added and a stream of air engulfed the table, bringing with it the smells of seaweed and saffron, an effect that I think worked really well and got the crowd talking.
The recipes created for pop up Belfast are not straight forward and are not the easiest things to create at home, but I really wanted to add these recipes to the blog, just encase anyone on the night might like to recreate this experience at home.

Ingredients;

For the aubergine caviar;

2 aubergines
2 cloves of garlic cut in half
4 sprigs of thyme
1tblsp olive oil
Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 red pepper, roasted, skinned and deseeded
Juice from ¼ of a lemon
4 large leaves of basil very finely sliced











For the saffron foam;

5kg of fish bones, soaked in cold water and guiles removed
5ltrs of cold water
2 onions, diced
2 leeks, diced white part only
2 sticks of celery diced
12 white peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1btl white wine
50g mixed chervil, parsley, tarragon and coriander
1 onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic crushed
200ml white wine
200ml Noilly prat
250ml double cream
1tsp saffron


 
For the toasted almonds;

1tblsp almond flakes

For the scallops;

10 medium Irish scallops, White meat only, trimmed off all coral
Salt and pepper to taste
1tblsp olive oil
25g butter
Squeeze of lemon

For the spinach;

50g spinach, washed and picked
10g butter

To serve;

Cream gun with 2 gas canisters
Seaweed and netting
1 Wine bucket
100g Dried seaweed
1tsp Saffron
200g dry ice

Method;

For the aubergine caviar;

Pre heat an oven to 200c.
Slice the aubergines in two lengthways, and then score the flesh with the tip of your knife in a criss-cross pattern. Rub the garlic halves over the scored sides of the aubergines and stud two halves with sprigs of thyme. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon salt and pepper. Sandwich together, with the garlic halves, and wrap tightly in foil to resemble a Christmas cracker. Repeat with the other two halves. Place on a roasting tray and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
Remove the foil from the aubergines, discard the herbs and scrape the flesh and garlic on to a chopping board. Chop to a coarse paste.
Finely chop the red pepper and add to the aubergine. Add lemon juice and basil and adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside ready for service.

For the saffron foam;

In a large pan sweat the vegetables over medium heat until translucent. Add the peppercorns and bay leaves and pour in the wine, reduce until almost evaporated. Add the bones and herbs and cover with water, bring to the boil and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Simmer for 20mins, remove from the heat and allow to settle for at least 2hours. Skim the stock well and ladle the stock through a muslin lined sieve. Try not to disturb the bones to much as this will make the stock cloudy. Do not be tempted to try and get all the liquid from the pan. At this point the stock for the pop up Belfast would have been reduced by half and put over fresh fish bones and repeated one more time. This will add a very deep flavour to the sauce and also adds natural gelatine to help hold the final foam.
For a simpler version at home reduce by half and add two softened gelatine leaves.
Cool and store in the fridge over night. The next day remove all the fat from the surface of the stock.
Place a medium sized pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until translucent, add the white wine and reduce until almost all has evaporated. Add the Noilly Prat and reduce to ¼ its volume. Add the fish stock and reduce by ¾. Add the cream and bring to the boil, turn the heat to a simmer and continue to simmer for 5mins. Remove from the heat, add the saffron and keep warm.

For the toasted almonds;

Place the almonds in a heavy, ungreased non stick pan. Place the pan over a gentle heat and stir often until golden brown, remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool store in an airtight container ready for service.

For the scallops;

Place a large none stick frying pan over high heat. Add a little olive oil. When the oil is hot, season the scallops with salt and pepper and panfry over high heat for 1½ minutes. This should give the scallops a lovely golden caramelised surface. Turn the scallops over and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt and spoon the butter all over the scallops; cook for a further 45seconds or until just cooked through and no more. Add a squeeze of lemon and remove from the heat and keep warm.

For the spinach;

Cook spinach on medium heat with 5g butter in a small pan. When the spinach has just wilted remove from the pan and place on a clean kitchen towel. Remove as much moisture as possible, season to taste, keep warm and set aside.

To serve;

Prepare a large tray with some seaweed and netting, leaving a space for the wine bucket and the water jug. Warm the scallop’s shells and place on top of the seaweed.
Place a little of the spinach into the bottom of each shell. Warm the aubergine caviar and place on top of the spinach. Place a scallop on top of each shell.
Pour the warm saffron velouté into a cream gun. Add two gas canisters to the gun to create the foam.
Point the cream gun at the scallops and cover the scallops with the foam.
Place the wine bucket onto the tray and add the dried seaweed and dry ice. Place a water jug filled with boiling water at the bottom of the tray and carry the tray to the table.
Pour the boiling water into the wine bucket and this will release the air all over the table.


Coconut crème brulée with caramelised bananas

0

Posted on Friday, 16 September 2011 15:20 | By: Tony

Category:

This is a fantastic dessert, the coconut and the banana working perfectly together. At the Merchant hotel we cook the brulée in metal rings covered in cling film. This allows us to simply serve them without the ramekin. But as this takes a bit of trial and error to perfect at home you could simply serve them as a classic brulée would be served still in the ramekin.

Ingredients;

For the crème brulée;

125g egg yolks
125g sugar
375ml double cream
125ml coconut puree

For the bananas;

100g caster sugar
4 Bananas

Method:

For the crème brulée;

Place the egg yolks and sugar into a large bowl and whisk together until all of the sugar is dissolved. Place double cream and the coconut puree into a pan and place over medium heat, bring to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add two ladles of the boiled coconut mixture to the egg mixture, and whisk until all ingredients are mixed together. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the remaining coconut cream. Place the pan back over a very low heat and warm very slowly until the mixture thickens just enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a metal bowl, place the bowl over another bowl filled with ice or very cold water. Whisk the mixture to cool it as quickly as possible. This stage is very important as it is imperative to cool the mixture as quickly as possible or it may split.
Pour the mixture into small ramekins and cook at 110 degrees, approximately 35 minutes. Or until the custard has just set and has a slight wobble in the middle.

For the bananas;

Slice bananas whatever way you prefer, dust with sugar and grill until golden brown.

To serve;

Place the brulée onto a serving plate. Serve with caramelised bananas and vanilla ice cream.

Venison Loin with vegetable terrine and glazed figs

0

15:09 | By: Tony

Category:

We are so lucky in Northern Ireland to be blessed with a bounty of amazing produce. At this time of year we move away from the farmed dear of Finnebrogue and use the bounty of beautiful wild deer that are just perfect to eat. Figs are also at their best right now and also a great selection of root vegetables giving this dish a fantastic Autumnal feel.
This is a very popular dish served in the great room restaurant, at the Merchant hotel. It is not the easiest of dishes to make, but it is well worth giving it a go, it will really impress your guests at your gourmet dinner party.

Ingredients;

For the root Vegetable Terrine;

1ltr Double cream
4 Sprigs Rosemary
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and crushed
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 Bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
2 Parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Sweet Potato, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Celeriac, peeled and thinly sliced
8 Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

For the venison & sauce;

760g finnebrogue venison loin
40ml jus
10g dark chocolate
Couple drops raspberry vinegar
50g spinach, washed and picked
10g butter

To serve;

6 figs
1tblsp icing sugar
Baby carrots
Parsnip puree

Method

For the root Vegetable Terrine;

Pre heat the oven to 160c.
Add the double cream, rosemary, garlic, onion, bay leaves and thyme into a pot and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5mins, remove from the heat and pass through a fine sieve.
Place all of the root vegetables into a large bowl and mix them all together with the flavoured cream. Layer all of the vegetables into a deep tray, pouring a little of the cream through the layers as you build the terrine. Place the filled tray into the pre heated oven and cook for 35-40mins or until soft and cooked through. Removed from the oven and place a tray on top of the terrine and press overnight with a heavy weight.
The next day remove from the fridge, remove weights and cut terrine into portions, you will need 4 portions the rest can be stored in the fridge for another use.

For the sauce;

Place the jus into a small pan and bring to the boil jus, remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until completely incorporated, add a couple of drops of raspberry vinegar to taste. Set aside ready for service.

For the venison;

Remove all fat and sinew from the venison loin. Place a large frying pan over high heat and sear until golden brown. Place in 220°c oven for 8 minutes and then rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Slice into 12 pieces.

To serve;

Cut figs in half long ways and dust with caster sugar. Pan fry until golden and cooked through.
Warm the terrine in a hot oven. Place the slices of the hot vegetable terrine onto 6 serving plates. Spoon a little parsnip puree in front of the terrine. Place 3 slices of venison to the bottom of the plate. Place figs and carrots on the plate and pour over the sauce.

Butternut squash soup

0

15:05 | By: Tony

Category:

This is a fantastic soup to make at this time of year. Butternut squash is such a fantastic Autumnal vegetable. It has a wonderful sweet taste and takes on velvety smooth texture when turned into a soup.
At the Merchant hotel we finish the dish with a small puff pastry filled with pine nut paste. This is simple to make but can be omitted if whished.

Ingredients;

For the soup;

1butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into 2.5cm/1in cubes
2 tbsp clear honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
110ml/4fl oz white wine
500ml/18fl oz vegetable stock
75ml extra virgin olive oil
150ml/5fl oz double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz crème fraîche
25g/1oz pine nuts, lightly toasted

For the sage oil;

250ml olive oil
30g sage
Maldon salt to taste


Method;

For the soup;

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Place the squash onto a baking tray and drizzle with the honey and olive oil. Place in the oven to roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. Heat a frying pan until hot, then add the onion and garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes, and then add the cooked squash. Place the butternut squash soup into a clean food processor. Add the cream and blend to a purée. Return the butternut squash soup to the saucepan, heat through and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

For the sage oil;

Place the olive oil into a small pan with the sage. Over a very low heat warm the oil and sage. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. Store the oil in a sealed bopttle or jar until ready to use.


To serve;

 ladle the soup into serving bowls, then top with a drizzle of sage oil. Add a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, and if using a pine nut puff.

Braised lamb shanks

0

Posted on Wednesday, 14 September 2011 16:10 | By: Tony

Category:



Northern Ireland is full of great quality lamb farmers. Try to find the best local lamb for this recipe.
The shanks must be cooked very slowly, at below simmering point. This will allow the lamb to stay moist and tender. If the lamb is cooked at too high a temperature it will toughen and become stringy.
This is a great dish for a Autumn dinner party as the entire dish can be made in advance, just leaving you to gently reheat when your guest arrive.

Ingredients;

For the lamb shanks;

1tblsp olive oil
6 lamb shanks
Seasoned flour
1 onion diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 leek, white part only, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ bottle of good quality red wine
Chicken or beef stock to cover

To serve;

12 medium shallots
6 baby turnips
3 small carrots, peeled and halved

Method;

For the lamb shanks;

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof casserole dish, large enough to hold the 6 shanks. Toss the lamb shanks in seasoned flour and fry in frying pans in batches until golden brown.  Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onions, celery, leeks and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and bay leaves, cook for 5mins then deglaze with red wine, reduce by half.
Place the stock into a large pan and bring to the boil. Place the shanks back into the casserole dish on top of the vegetables and cover with hot stock. Cover with foil and place in the oven and cook at 180c for 2½ - 3 hours or until the meat is tender and falling from the bone. Very gently, as the shanks will be extremely delicate, transfer the shanks to a tray with a slotted spoon, cover with foil and keep warm.

To serve;

Strain remaining stock through a very fine sieve and skim the fat from the surface. Bring the stock back to the boil and reduce by two thirds, skimming frequently. When reduced add the shallots, turnips and carrots, turn to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are cooked through. At this point the stock should have a lovely shinny glaze.
Place the shanks back into the reduce stock and coat with the shinning glaze.
Serve in the middle of the table for everyone to share.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)