Stuffed Calamari with mango salsa and a berry reduction

Ingredients

100g medium sized calamari tubes, cleaned

250g feta cheese
50ml sweet chilli sauce
½ of a ripe mango
1 tablespoon sushi ginger finely chopped
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar

 

For the Berry Reduction

1 pint glass of fresh raspberries
37g caster sugar
½ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

Method:

Make sure the calamari tubes are cleaned properly, rinse them with a little salt water if needed

In a mixing bowl, mix together the feta cheese and sweet chilli sauce until it is smooth. Place the sweet chilli and feta mixture into a piping bag, and pipe the mix into the calamari. Fill each tube about ¾ of the way full, then using a tooth pick; close the end of the calamari tube. Fill each tube and repeat the process

To make the mango salsa, finely chopped the mango into cubes and place it into a bowl. Finely chop the sushi ginger and add it to the mango along with the honey and raspberry vinegar. Mix all the ingredients together, being careful not to crush the mango, and then cover and place it into the fridge until you need it.

To make the berry reduction, place the berries, sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan, and place it onto a medium to low heat. Cook the berries until they start to break apart, also making sure all the sugar has dissolved. Blend the reduction and pass through a fine sieve and place it into the fridge to cool.  

To serve the dish, heat up a frying pan with some olive oil, and fry the calamari tubes until they are cooked and golden brown on both sides. Make sure you do not burn the calamari. On each plate, place the a tablespoon of berry reduction in the centre of the plate, then some mixed baby leaf salad on top of the reduction. Then just off centre, put a tablespoon of mango salsa on to the leaves. On top of it all, place 2 to 3 calamari tubes onto each plate. Remove the toothpicks and serve

You can drizzle the calamari and leaves with a little olive oil or lemon oil.

Bon Appétit

Potato Pancakes with Fresh Salmon And Caviar

Ingredients

For the pancakes

1 medium potato, peeled cooked and mashed

1 medium egg

50 g plain flour

50 g potato flour (optional, replace with ordinary flour if unavailable)

½ tsp baking powder

100 ml milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Vegetable oil for frying 

To serve

400g good quality smoked salmon, sliced

250g crème fraiche

80-100g salmon caviar (keta)

Method

Cool the mashed potato down then put it into a mixing bowl with the egg and both the flours and the baking powder. Whisk to form a smooth paste by adding a little of the milk at a time. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Rub a little oil in a non stick pan, or your favorite pancake pan then gently heat, pour one eighth of the mixture into the pan not letting it spread too much as the pancakes need to be fairly thick. Turn the pancake over with a spatula after a couple of minutes or when it has started to turn a light golden brown. Continue with the rest of the mixture. The pancakes can be put directly onto the serving dish then re-heated when served.

To serve, warm the pancakes in the oven for about 5 minutes. Arrange the smoked salmon on the pancake with a spoonful of crème fraiche on top, then the salmon caviar on the crème fraiche.

Bon Appétit   

Pan Fried Scallops and Red Pepper Mousse Recipe

So I did this dish the other night for some of my clients, and they really loved it

Ingredients

3 scallops per person
Olive oil
Lemon Juice
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 char grilled red peppers, skinned and seeds removed
50ml vegetable stock

 Method

Once the red peppers have been skinned and seeded, place them into a bowl, and using a stick blender, blend them until they are smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and it you want the consistency a little more runny, add the vegetable stock a bit at a time, and blend it through until you reach the desired consistency. You can also do this is in a food blender. Place it in a bowl and set it a side

Heat up a frying pan to a medium to high heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil in it. Pan fry the scallops until they have a golden colour on each side. Add the garlic and drizzle the scallops with lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Let the scallops cook for a little longer, until they start to caramelize on each side

When you are ready to serve, warm up the red pepper mousse, and serve the scallops on the mousse

Bon Appétit

 

Cappuccino Brulee Recipe

Ingredients:

400ml milk

400ml double cream
20g ground coffee
12g instant coffee
120g caster sugar
140g egg yolk

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 100 degrees C ½ fan. 

Bring the milk and cream to the boil.  Remove from the heat and infuse the coffees for 20 minutes.  Whisk the egg yolk and sugar together and the temper the hot infused liquid into the egg mixture.

Pass through a fine sieve, and then pour them into individual ramekins.

Cook in the oven on 100 degrees C with ½ fan for 45-55 minutes in a bain-marie. When set cool them in the chillier.

For the topping

75g smooth pastry cream mixed with 25g whipped cream

To serve pipe the topping onto the cooked Brulee and then sprinkle with demerara sugar and glaze with a blow torch. Dust with cocoa powder and icing sugar to finish. 

Bon Appétit

Crab Pate Recipe

Ingredients:

150g onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
20g of finely chopped red chili
40g ginger finely chopped
200g butter
90ml medium sherry
150ml fish stock
1kg brown crab meat
100g white crab meat
Juice of 1 lemon
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
Salt and cayenne pepper
Clarified butter to serve

Method:

Gently cook the onion, chili, ginger and garlic in butter for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the brown crab meat and sherry and reduce by half, then add the fish stock and reduce by half again. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes stirring every so often until it starts to come together. Add the breadcrumbs and remove from the heat. When the ingredients are cold, correct seasoning with lemon juice salt and maybe some chilli sauce for sweetness. Finish the pate with white crab meat and portion into dishes. Allow to cool and finish with layer of clarified butter.

To serve this dish I would recommend toasty some fresh bread, like a baguette. Cut the bread into slices at an angle and toast them under the grill in the oven until golden brown. Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil and sprinkle some on some rock salt.

Bon appétit