Cooking Whelks

Have you ever wondered how to cook a Whelk? These little ocean beauties are pretty easy to prepare and they make for a great dish if they are prepared correctly

 Ingredients

1kg fresh whelks

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stick of celery, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of thyme

10 white peppercorns

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ a lemon

15ml white wine vinegar

Method 

Sprinkle a good handful of salt on the whelks and leave in a bowl for about an hour. Then wash the whelks under cold running water or leave them to soak in fresh water for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile put the rest of the ingredients into a pan with about 1 ½ litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the whelks and simmer gently for 30 minutes for small ones or 50 minutes for large ones. Leave them in the cooking liquor to cool.

Happy Eating



Confit of Trout

Trout

5x200g portions of ocean trout, skinned and boned
500ml olive oil
500ml vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 bunch thyme
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Parsley stalks
Salt
100g thick plain yoghurt
25g amaranth
25g puffed quinoa
1/2 bunch chervil
1/2 bunch chives

Beetroot en papillote

Beetroot en papillote
7 baby golden beets
30ml olive oil
Flake salt and black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ bunch thyme

Beetroot puree

2 large beetroots
500ml water
500ml red wine
Sugar, salt to taste
100ml red wine vinegar
15ml olive oil

Poached Lentils

50g French lentils
25g water
Pinch salt
Pinch toasted ground cumin
15ml olive oil

Garnish

Flake salt
Baby mixed herbs
100ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Double check the trout for bones. Remove any stray bones with fish tweezers and set fish aside.

Combine the oils, garlic, thyme, lemon zest and parsley stalks into a roasting tray and bring the oil up to 50°C over a low gentle flame.

Season the trout portions with the salt, place in the oil and cook at 45-50°C. It will take approximately 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

Once cooked drain the trout portions on paper towel. Use a pastry brush to coat the trout with yoghurt.

Sprinkle finely chopped chives, chervil and puffed grains onto the yoghurt-coated trout to create an even coating and season with another pinch of salt.

Place beetroots in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and thyme and toss to coat.

Wrap beetroots in bundles of 3-4, using foil and cook for 50 minutes in a 170°C oven. Remove the beetroots from the foil and transfer to a large bowl along with the cooking juices. Wrap the bowl in cling film and allow the beets to cool, rub off the skin and remove thyme stalks.

Marinate in the reserved cooking juices until required.

Cut the beetroots into interesting irregular shapes so the pieces stand up nicely on the plate. It is important they are tender throughout.

Cut the beetroot into quarters and combine in a saucepan with a with the water, wine, sugar, salt and vinegar. The beetroots should be covered by the liquid with an extra inch or so.

Cover with a baking paper cartouche and poach until soft. Drain the beetroots from the cooking liquor and reserve both the beetroot and the liquor. Allow the beetroot to cool slightly, peel the skin off, transfer to a bar blender and
blend until silky smooth drizzling in the olive oil to give sheen.

Combine lentils, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring up to a simmer over a medium heat. Poach until
the lentils are tender without becoming mushy.

Drain through a colander reserving the cooking liquor.

Re-moisten the lentils with a little of the cooking liquor, add the cumin, drizzle with olive oil and toss well to coat.

To serve, dress the plate with a generous smear of beetroot puree. Place coated trout portion onto the
puree and neatly scatter the beetroots around. Scatter warm dressed lentils in neat piles on the plate. Place a
few neat bundles of baby garnett cress onto plate and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

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

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

 

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

Fish Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients 

1 kg lightly poached white fish like cod or haddock

200g lightly poached smoked haddock or cod
1.2kg dry mashed potato
14ml anchovy essence
30ml Worcestershire sauce
20g English mustard
Chopped parsley
¼ bunch spring onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method

Mix the mashed potato with half the of the fish, anchovy essence, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and season with salt and pepper.

 

Depending on the consistency of the mix add a little potato powder if necessary. Fold in the remaining fish and mould into 200 g cakes.

 

Bon Appétit