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Verjuice-poached chicken salad with basil salad cream

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Posted on Thursday, 7 July 2011 12:59 | By: Tony

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This is a very simple summer salad using one of my favourite ingredients, Verjuice!!
But what is verjuice?
Verjuice is a seasoning made by pressing unripe fruit. It has a very tart flavour thanks to a high acid content and it can be used like vinegar or lemon juice in a variety of recipes. Traditionally, verjuice is made from unripened grapes, but it can also be made from apples and other fruits. If a recipe calls for verjuice and none is available, people can use other tart ingredients as a substitute.
This seasoning became extremely popular during the medieval era, and was seen in numerous recipes during this period. Unlike lemon juice and vinegar, it will not alter the perception of flavors in the wines served with food, and may be recommended as a seasoning for meals that will be served with wine so that the wine and food pairings do not clash. It can be used in dressings and sauces, as well as to deglaze pans and add a tart flavour to marinades and a variety of dishes ranging from fish to red meats.
Do try to find verjuice, It is available in some Sainsbury store and a good delicatessen should also stock, if they don't ask them if it would be possible to order some in for you. It is a very versitle store cupboard ingredient and well worth seeking out.

Serves 4;

Ingredients;


750ml  
verjuice
2  
fresh bay leaves
4  
black peppercorns
3  
sprigs thyme
3  
sprigs flat-leaf parsley
3  
chicken breast fillets
100g  
baby endive leaves
100g  
baby rocket leaves
1  
baby cos lettuce, trimmed, washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces
2tbsp  
extra-virgin olive oil
2tsp  
white wine vinegar
1 
8 
avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
Cherry tomatoes cut in halves 

Basil salad cream;

200ml  
pouring cream
150ml  
sour cream
1tsp  
Dijon mustard
1tsp  
lemon juice, or to taste
¼ cup  
coarsely chopped basil


Method;


Place verjuice, bay leaves, peppercorns and herbs in a large, deep frying pan and bring to the boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. Add chicken and simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is just tender. Remove pan from heat and stand, covered, for 12 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, discard cooking liquid, then cool slightly and tear into bite-sized pieces.


For basil salad cream, combine creams, mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl, season to taste and whisk to combine. Cover closely with cling film and refrigerate until required. Just before serving, stir in chopped basil. Makes about ¾ cup.


Place salad leaves in a large, shallow bowl, add olive oil and vinegar, season to taste and toss to combine. Place the salad between 4 plates, then top with avocado, cherry tomatoes and chicken. Drizzle with a little basil salad cream and serve, with remaining basil salad cream passed separately.


Tea smoked duck breast with chilli jam

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Posted on Wednesday, 6 July 2011 15:40 | By: Tony

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One of my all time favourite methods of cooking duck. I was shown this recipe in Australia by a Chinese chef, and I have made it so many times, slightly changing the recipe to suit my own personal taste and I am now very pleased to share with you my results. Hope you enjoy!!! 

Tea smoking duck breasts not only adds a wonderful flavour to the duck it also removes most of the fat from under the skin, so in the final pan cooking you are left with a lovely crisp, roast duck like skin. You will need a wok with a rack and a lid for this recipe; these are available at Asian supermarkets.
This method can also be use for whole ducks as above, but for the home cook it is much easier to start with the breast first.
If you do wish to try the whole duck- Submerge the duck in a Chinese red braising stock (made from water, shoaxing sliced ginger,bulb of garlic, sliced through the centre,onions diced, light soy, dark soy, star anise, cinnamon sticks, dried orange peel and Chinese lump sugar), and cook at a low simmer for 35mins remove from the heat and allow the ducks to completely cool in the stock. Smoke the same as the duck breast but for 12mins smoking and 30mins resting without removing the lid> Then bone the duck and fry to order as for the breast.

Serves 4

4 x 200g duck breasts
Sea salt
Sesame oil

Chilli jam;                                                                            

1 onion, finely diced                                                                      
4 large red chillies, seeded and diced                                       
2 cloves of garlic, crushed                                                            
1 piece of ginger, peeled and diced
10 ripe tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1tblsp red curry paste                                                             
50ml rice wine vinegar
150g caster sugar
25ml fish sauce
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2tblsp coriander, chopped

Tea smoking mixture;

100g Jasmine tea
100g brown sugar
100g un-cooked jasmine rice

Method;

For the chilli jam;

Place a pot onto the stove and add a little oil, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and cook for a further 5mins. Add the tomatoes and curry paste and cook until a thick paste is achieved.
In a separate pan add the vinegar and the sugar and cook to a very light syrup, remove from the heat and stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and zest and the coriander. Pour this into the tomato mixture and cook for a further 5mins, reduce the jam over a low heat, it should be glossy and thick.
Once cooled store the jam in an airtight container or a sterilised glass jar.

For the duck;

Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Trim the duck of any excess fat. Place the duck breasts, skin side up in a large strainer or cooling rack. Put the ducks over a sink and pour over the boiling water, you will see the skin tighten. Remove from the strainer and rub the duck breasts with sesame oil all over.
Place a wok on the stove. Cut a small circle of tin foil about 20 cm in diameter. Pull the sides up to form the shape of a bowl, place the tea smoking mix into the foil and place it on the bottom of the wok. Make sure the extraction fan is up full. Turn up the heat under the wok and once the mix starts to smoke add the rack, place the ducks on top and cover with a lid. Leave on the heat for 5mins, then remove from the heat, don’t lift the lid, allow the wok to cool and the smoke to slowly dissipate.

To complete the dish;

Remove the ducks from the wok and set aside. Place a large frying pan on the heat and add a little oil. When hot add the ducks skin side down and cook until the skin is very crisp. Turn over and cook for a further minute. Rest the duck breast for 3mins. Slice duck breast into thin slices and serve with dressed salad and chilli jam.

Pan fried sea bream with marinated squid, courgette salad and caponata

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Posted on Tuesday, 5 July 2011 17:02 | By: Tony

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Ingredients;

For the Caponata;                                              

2 aubergines, peeled and cut into 1cm dice    
Olive oil  
1 onions, finely diced     
2 cloves of garlic crushed  
2 sticks of celery, diced    
75ml tomato paste   
100ml red wine vinegar
1tblsp caster sugar  
10 black olives, pitted and chopped  
25g capers
1 cup of mixed parsley, basil and tarragon chopped 
Cracked black pepper 
Seasoning


For the squid;  
6 small squid tubes cleaned and cut into 2cm strips 
1tblsp pink peppercorns crushed  
2tblsp extra virgin olive oil   
juice of 1 lemon 
1tblsp basil chopped 
Seasoning to taste


4 fillets of sea bream pin boned season to taste
2 courgettes cut into thin slices with a mandolin 
extra virgin olive oil 
1 tomato peeled, seeded and diced  
12 black olives cut into pieces   
basil leaves to garnish

Method;

For the caponata;

Salt the aubergines for 1 hour then rinse well and pat dry. Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan and fry the aubergine in batches over high heat until golden brown, remove to a pepper towel and drain. In a large pan heat some olive oil and add the onions, garlic and celery, cook until browned then stir in the tomato paste and continue to cook for 5mins. Pour the vinegar and the sugar into the pan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the aubergine, olives and capers to the pan and simmer for 30mins, remove from the stove and add the herbs, allow to cool and store until ready for use.

For the squid;

Place the squid into a small bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients, season to taste and allow to marinate for 30mins.


Place a pan over medium heat and add a little oil, slip the bream into the pan skin side down and cook for 1-2mins or until the skin is crisp. Turn the fish over in the pan and remove from the heat, the residual heat in the pan will continue to cook the bream.
Place the courgette slices onto a tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil season well and place the tray under a low grill, cook for a couple of minutes just to soften the courgettes.
Warm 4 large serving plates, arrange the courgette strips on the plates, scatter over the diced tomato, olives, marinated squid and basil leaves. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a little lemon juice, season to taste and place the bream on top. Spoon some of the caponata to the side and serve at once.


To Serve;

Cod wrapped in fine pastry with tomato and cardamom sauce

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12:45 | By: Tony

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In this dish the cod is pan fried in Chinese spring roll pastry, this is a great way of cooking delicate fish such as cod, the fish steams gently inside as the pastry on the outside crisps beautifully. The final result is two contrasting textures. Spring roll pastry can be purchased in most supermarkets these days, but if you are having trouble finding it go to your closest Chinese supermarket.

Ingredients;

4 x 200g portions of cod, skinned and pin boned
Seasoning
Springroll pastry
Clarified butter
4tblsp natural yogurt

For sauce;

1 onion finely diced
1 piece of ginger, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1tsp turmeric
5 cloves roasted and ground
5 black cardamom pods, roasted and ground
1 tin of good quality plum tomatoes, drained of all liquid and finely diced
1tblsp mixed coriander and basil chopped
Seasoning

Method;

Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan and place on the stove over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook until well caramelised, add the turmeric, cloves and cardamom and cook for a further 5mins, add the tomatoes and cook until a thick salsa like sauce forms, remove from the heat and add the herbs and seasoning.

Lay a sheet of pastry on the work bench, season the cod all over and place in the middle of the pastry. Fold the pastry to over the cod and fold in the edges to completely enclose the fish, trim the edges of any excess pastry. Brush the pastry all over with clarified butter and place in the fridge just to set the butter. Do not wrap the fish to long in advance, 10-15min max as the cod will leak juices and make the pastry soggy when cooked.

Remove the cod from the fridge and pan fry over medium heat for 3-4mins on each side, until the pastry is beautifully golden brown, remove from the pan and rest on crumpled kitchen roll for 3mins.

Spoon some sauce into the centre of your serving plates and place a little yoghurt on top of the sauce. Cut the fish in half and set over the sauce, serve at once.

Shoulder and Rack of Organic Glenarm Lamb

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Posted on Friday, 1 July 2011 16:25 | By: Tony

Category:

Ingredients;

Pot Roast Shoulder;
1 shoulder of spring Irish lamb approx 2.5kg boned
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
4 sprigs of rosemary
Maldon salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste
3ltr chicken stock

Rack of Lamb;
2x400g racks of Irish spring lamb French trimmed
Maldon salt and freshly ground white pepper

Sweetbreads;
4 lamb sweetbreads
Olive oil
 Seasoning

For the Sauce;
15g butter
2 shallots, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic peeled and sliced
3 sprigs of rosemary
100ml white wine
1ltr reserved stock, skimmed of all fat

To serve;
Potato
Carrot
Swede
Asparagus
or any other spring vegetables.

Method;
Pre heat the oven to 200c

For the Shoulder; 
Lay the shoulder on a bench skin side down, sprinkle the inside with garlic, rosemary and seasoning and roll back to it’s original shape. Place the shoulder into the pre heated oven and roast for 30-40mins or until golden brown, pour in the chicken stock to come half way up the side of the shoulder and lower the heat to 130c. Cook the shoulder for 6-7 hours or until very tender. Remove from the stock and place on a wire cooling rack. Reserve the stock and strain through a muslin.
When the shoulders are cool enough to work with roll in cling film until you have a perfect cylinder shape. Place in the fridge along with the stock to cool over night.

For the Racks;
Make sure the racks are trimmed of all fat and that the bones are very clean.
Heat a little oil in a heavy based pan over a medium heat and brown the racks for about 3-4mins on each side or until golden brown, season to taste and transfer to the pre heated oven and cook for 7-8mins, this will leave the lamb nice and pink in the centre. Remove and allow to rest.

For the sweetbreads;
Using a thin sharp filleting knife, remove the membrane from the sweetbreads.
Heat a little oil in a heavy based pan over a medium heat and brown the sweetbreads for about 3-4mins on each side or until golden brown, season to taste and transfer to the pre heated oven and cook for 5-6mins. Remove and allow to rest.

For the sauce;
Melt the butter in a small pan and add the shallots, garlic and rosemary and cook gently until soft. Add the wine and reduce by half, add the reserved stock and reduce to a sauce consistency. pass through a fine sieve, adjust seasoning and keep warm.

To serve;
Remove the shoulder from the fridge and slice into 2cm rounds.
Heat a pan over medium heat and add a little olive oil. Season the shoulder slices and fry until golden on each side and heated through.
Carve the racks into four slices each.
Cut each sweetbread in half.
Place a slice of shoulder onto the plates and place a sweetbread cut in half beside the shoulder. Place the sliced rack at the top of the plate and arrange the vegetables around. Pour over the sauce and serve at once.

Moroccan braised lamb shank

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16:20 | By: Tony

Category:

This dish has all of the flavours that I love about Moroccan cookery. As the lamb shanks cook they absorb all of the flavours from the cooking juices and this then becomes the sauce, making an intense but well balanced dish. Serve this dish with cous cous (available at most supermarkets) for a complete meal.
All the lamb that we use at the Merchant Hotel is grown organically on Glenarm estate. They are then aged for 15 days by Peter Hannon. They have a very distinctive flavour due to their diet of organic clover; the aging process just helps to intensify this already beautiful flavour.

Serves 6

Ingredients;

2tsp ground ginger
1tsp cracked black pepper
1tsp turmeric
1tsp cayenne
2tsp paprika
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp ground cumin
6 lamb shanks
1tblsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1tsp cloves
1 tin of tomatoes, strained and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon sticks
2tsp honey
6 prunes, chopped
3 preserved lemon rinds, diced (available at Asian supermarkets)
Lamb or chicken stock to cover
Coriander chopped
Mint chopped
                                                                                            
Method;

Mix all the top spices together and cover the lamb shanks, allow to infuse for 1 hour.
Heat the oil in a large tray and fry the onions until golden brown, add the lamb shanks and brown all over. Add the remaining ingredients, except the herbs and bring to the boil, cover with tin foil and place in the oven at 160c for 2 hours, or until the lamb is falling from the bone. Remove from the heat.

Remove the lamb from the liquid and take out bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, pour into a large pan and simmer until sauce reduces and thickens slightly.
Place the lamb shank into the reduced stock and simmer gently for 5mins, keep turning the lamb to give an even glaze, remove from the heat and stand for 2mins, stir through the herbs and serve immediately with cous cous.

Organic Glenarm Salmon with avocado mousse, crab and coriander cress salad

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11:48 | By: Tony

Category: ,

This dish may seem very difficult to make, but it is well worth the effort as the final results are outstanding. A beautiful fresh dish perfect for summer. It works well as a light lunch with a little salad and new potatoes or it makes an ideal starter for any summer dinner.


Serves 10

Ingredients;

Ballontine;
2 sides of salmon skinned, preferably Organic Glenarm or wild
1pkt coriander very finely chopped                                                                     
Rind from 6 limes very finely grated                                                                                  
2tblsp Maldon salt

Crab salad;
500g Crab meat picked and check for small pieces of shell            
1 large Shallot, thinly sliced
2 Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced                                                                                                     
Red chillies deseeded, and finely diced

Avocado mousse;
2 avocadoes                                                                                                                      
Juice from 1 lime                                                                                                                                     
1 sheet of gelatine                                                                                                                         
15ml milk                                                                                                            
20ml double creamed

To serve;
Chive battons
Tomato concasse, (Diced tomato that has been skinned and deseeded)
Coriander cress
Lime oil (made by infusing olive oil with lime juice and zest)

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, and sprinkle each half with a little salt. Place one piece of salmon on top of the other, mix together the coriander, lime rind and Maldon salt, completely cover the outside of the salmon in the coriander mixture  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 47c and cook for 1min for every 100g of the salmon weight, plus 20mins extra. Remove from the water and chill until cold.

For the crab salad;

Gently mix together picked crab meat, very thinly sliced shallots, tomato concasse, diced red chilli and dress with lime oil, season with a little Maldon salt and ground pepper.

For the avocado mousse;

Peel and stone the avocados and put the flesh into a blender and blend with the lime juice. Soften the gelatine in cold water. Warm the milk and add the drained gelatine stir until dissolved, pour this into the avocado puree and blend gently. Place the avocado mixture into a bowl and set aside. Whip the double cream to soft peaks and fold into the avocado. Place into a container and allow to set in the fridge.

To serve;

Place one slice of salmon into the centre of a serving plate and sprinkle with a little maldon salt and freshly cracked black pepper; place a spoonful of crab salad on top of the salmon slice. Garnished around the dish with the avocado mousse and diced tomato concasse, drizzle with lime oil and garnish with coriander cress and serve.

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