Chocolate tart with raspberry & hazelnut.

This recipe is pretty much the same as the pervious one but I've altered it slightly, I've been playing about with it lately and hoping to get a few alternative dishes put of it for the different seasons. This aims to be the summer one which I'll add a little bit of sorbet to it. 

Base:

250g egg white

300g sugar

200g egg yolk

60g cocoa powder

60g ground hazelnuts

Filling:

600ml milk

600ml cream

100g sugar

200g egg yolk 

700g 70% dark chocolate. 

Whisk the egg whites until peaked, add the sugar whilst still whisking then add the yolks. Fold in the hazelnuts and cocoa. Spread on to grease proof paper and bake in a pre heated oven at 180*c for 15 minutes. It will rise like a souffle and sink again, this is totally normal. 

Heat the milk & cream to a simmer, anglaise with the yolks & sugar to 84*c then pass through a sieve. Cool to 50*c then blend with the chocolate using a hand blender. Pour on top of the base and leave to chill in the fridge. Cut with a warm knife when needed as to retain the fresh look as it dries out quickly if pre cut.

To garnish i've just used a little raspberry sauce, some fresh raspberries and a pinch of roasted hazelnuts. 

Malted chocolate tart, vanilla ice cream & pear.

Malted chocolate tart, vanilla ice cream & pear. 

Base:

250g egg white

300g sugar

200g egg yolk

60g cocoa powder

60g ground almonds

Filling:

600ml milk

600ml cream

200g malt extract

200g egg yolk 

700g 70% dark chocolate

Vanilla ice cream:

800ml milk

150ml cream

200g yolk

225g caster sugar

2 vanilla pods/seeds

Pear:

4 pears

2 tbl fructose 

Whisk the egg whites until peaked, add the sugar whilst still whisking then add the yolks. Fold in the almonds and cocoa. Spread on to grease proof paper and bake in a pre heated oven at 180*c for 15 minutes. It will rise like a souffle and sink again, this is totally normal. 

Heat the malt, milk & cream to a simmer, anglaise with the yolks to 84*c then pass through a sieve. Cool to 50*c then blend with the chocolate using a hand blender. Pour on top of the base and leave to chill in the fridge. Cut with a warm knife when needed as to retain the fresh look as it dries out quickly if pre cut. 

Heat the milk, cream & vanilla to a simmer, then angliase the yolks & sugar with the milk to 82*c, pass and churn. 

Peel the pear and sprinkle with the fructose, heat slowly in a pan until soft and pale then puree. 

As you can see I've just put a little pear caramel on the plate, added the tart, a little pear puree and a rocher of vanilla ice cream. You can play about with it as much as possible but I've kept it very simple. 

Watercress & garlic velouté with black pudding & poached egg.

Every spring spotless streams are filled with watercress and the watersides are flourishing with wild garlic, it's all free, no point in paying for them when you can get them fresh everyday down at your local stream or burn. Now I know its a little early but you can just start to see that spring is coming. When I was a child, watercress was one of the first things i discovered as a wild food when playing about in a small burn that came fresh out of the hills up the back of Largs in Ayrshire. This wee burn was so clean that you could drink the water straight from the ground, watercress was everywhere and that's a clear sign of outstanding water supply and with the wild garlic flourishing all over the place, it was amazing. We used to get our eggs from the farm across the road from my nans house as well as slurry for growing the veggies in the garden. 

Just writing this makes me want to be a little kid again, life was great.  Anyway, on to the recipe before we end up spending too much time going down memory lane. 

Watercress & garlic velouté:

1 sliced white onion

50g butter

3 cloves garlic

Pinch salt

2 chopped potatos

1 chopped leek

100g watercress

5g wild garlic leaves

500ml vegitable stock/nage

Firstly sweat the onion & garlic in a little oil and the butter. Add the salt, leek and potato and cook down for 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to the boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Add the watercress & wild garlic and blend. Pass the soup with a sieve and place into a tub, place the tub into a sink with ice & water to cool it down and retain the vibrant green colour. Chill and use when required. For the garnish, i've  poached an organic hens egg. Don't waste your time with everyday eggs, go and find yourself a little farm, veg shop or butchers that sell local produce that you know is grown organically as you'll get a flavour that is ten fold compaired to bog standard eggs.  Also to garnish, i've made a little garlic oil, picked some garlic flowers and cooked & crumbled some world class stornaway black pudding. It was the only option in my eyes when using black pudding, i could make my own but lets face facts because i'm don't have the skills to make a black pudding as good as Stornaway. When heating the soup back up, add a little stock and foam with a stick blender to produce that velvet texture thus producing a Velouté and not your average soup. 

It may be a few weeks before the wild garlic is everywhere but hopefully with this little teaser, you'll be ready to go as soon as its here. 

Enjoy! 

Chocolate & peanut delice with coconut sorbet

It's clear to see that I'm spending a little bit of time having fun on the pastry section at the moment. I absolutely love being left to my devices and playing about with desserts. It wasn't so a few years ago tho, if someone said pastry I'd run for the hills; or any other section. If I was skilled enough, I'd switch to the pastry forever. He's a little chocolate dish I made this week in work. 

Chocolate delice:

Base:

260g peanut butter

120g chocolate

120g feuilletine 

Heat peanut butter & chocolate and mix with the feuilletine and press into a mould and set in the fridge. 

Cremeux:

700g dark chocolate (70%)

300g egg yolks

450g cream

250g milk

Heat the milk & cream to a simmer, anglaise the yolks & liquid to 84*c then pass and chill to 50*c and add the chocolate and mix by hand. Pour onto  the base and set in the fridge. 

Chocolate glaçage:

500ml 50/50 stock syrup

500g chocolate

Heat the stock syrup and whisk in the chocolate. Cool slightly and pour over the cremeux. Leave to set and cut when required. Its extremely rich and packs a huge chocolate punch so small amount is more than enough. 

Candy peanuts:

400ml water

400g sugar

200g peanuts

Heat the sugar and water to the boil then add the peanuts. Bring to 110*c then strain and place straight into a deep fat fryer at 180*c a d fry until golden brown. The heat caramelises the sugar and once its ready you cool it and the caramel sets to create a crunchy candy peanut. Spinkle a little salt on top if you wish. 

Coconut sorbet:

200g glucose

800g coconut milk

200g natural yoghurt

Heat the glucose and coconut milk then pass and chill. Whisk in the yoghurt and freeze. Churn in a pacojet when required. 

Garnish the dish whatever way you wish, I've added a bit of chocolate sauce and a touch of toffee sauce. 

Enjoy! 

Caramel tart, pear & hazelnut

This dessert literally makes me dribble when I think of it, I had this flavour combination a fair few times but it really is my favourite. Especially the caramel. 

Caramel tart:

Pastry base:

225g butter

275g icing sugar

2 eggs

Pinch of salt

500g plain flour

Filling:

200g sugar

1000ml cream

250g egg yolk

4 gelatine leaves

Poached pear:

4 pears

220g caster sugar

1000ml water

Tuille:

50g demerara sugar

50g butter

50g golden syrup

30g plain flour

20g ground hazelnut

20ml lemon juice. 

Caramel sauce:

450g sugar

110g butter

360ml double cream

Creme friche sorbet:

400g creme fraiche

350ml stock syrup

50ml lemon juice 

Garnish: 

Roasted hazelnuts

Red vein sorrel

Pastry case: Cream the butter & sugar until pale, add the eggs one at a time and  mix until incorporated. Sift in the salt & flour and mix by hand until together. Leave to rest for an hour then roll out onto a sheet and bake at 160*c for 15 minutes. Once ready, place a square pastry case over the top and apply presure to give you a perfectly shaped base. Do not remove the case. 

Filling: Heat the sugar up until you create a dark caramel then add the cream bit by bit until you have a caramel cream. Mix the eggs together and temper with the warm cream. Anglaise the mix until it reaches 84*c then pass. Bloom gelatine and add to the mix. Leave to cool so its still liquid but not setting then pour into the case and set in the fridge for a few hours or until fully set.  

Poached pear: Bring the water & sugar to the boil then turn the heat down until its stull hot but not boiling. Place the pear into the liquid and cover with a cartouche and poach for 25 minutes. Once just about ready, take off the heat and let it cool naturally. Cut to desired shape when cold. 

Tuille: Slowly heat the butter, sugar & syrup until fully disolved then take off the heat. After a few moments, mix in the flour, hazelnut and lemon juice. Once cold, spread onto a baking sheet at bake at 180*c for 10 minutes until crisp and golden. Cut to desired shape, I used a small circle cutter. 

Caramel sauce: Caramelise the sugar until dark & brown, whisk in the butter bit by bit then add the cream. Bring to the boil then pass and cool. Place into a squeezy bottle and store in the fridge. 

Creme fraiche sorbet: Mix all the ingrediants together and freeze in a pacojet container. Churn when needed. 

Assemble the dish the way you feel best and garnish with a few roasted hazelnuts and some red vien sorrel. 

Viennese whirls

So this week Jenny at @SewConfident asked me to make a nice little biscuit to go with an eco friendly tea bag as a way to be more greener. After a lot of brain storming I decided to go with a classic tea biscuit and make a box Viennese Whirls, here's the recipe. 

190g soft butter

75g icing sugar

1/2 vanilla pod

Pinch of salt

35g egg white

225g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 160*c. Place the butter into a mixer and beat well with a paddle or use your hands and a wooden spoon. Beat until pale and light. Add in the icing sugar, salt, egg white & vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Slowly fold in the plain flour. Place a star nozzle into a piping bag and pipe onto grease proof paper any shape you desire. Bake for 20 minutes at 160*c and leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Alternatively, you can dip then in chocolate or dust with icing sugar or ever a little cinnamon sugar. 

Credit to Jenny at Sew Confident for her lovely photo. If you've got a second then check her out. 

Our new allotment...

Over the past year I've been on a waiting list for an allotment, this week I was offered a few plots at my local plotholders and took this little beauty. 

Now it doesn't look like much but in the world of gardening, it's a rather large space; Eapecially if you live in a city. 

This is a bit of a big jump form using good produce to actually attempting to produce good vegitables, salads and herbs. Over the year we'll keep you updated on whats happening on the allotment as well as hopefully producing a few dishes using our own grown ingrediants. It's been a while since I've grown anything, the last was a few tomatoes back into 2007. Last summer I had a few window boxes but growing some tarragon & mustard cress doesn't really count. So bring on spring & summer and hopefully we can make some great food. 

White sourdough loaf

White sourdough loaf. 

Everyones at it these days, sourdough this, farmhouse that. What every you want to call it, its still a belter of a loaf. Below is a very basic recipe shown to me by a fellow chef a while ago. His mother dough was a lot more mature than mine but it still has the flavour.  

Recipe:

1kg strong flour

300g mother dough

600ml water

10g salt

60g yeast

Mix altogether and tip out onto the bench and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to prove until it doubles in size. Knock back and cut into 8 balls and spread between 4 loaf tins. I'm using terrine moulds but thats only because I have no loaf tins kicking about. Prove until it reaches the top and dust with a little flour. Bake at 230*c for 25 minutes. Spray a little water into the oven a few times within the first 5 minutes to create a crust. Tip the bread out the tin and give another 5 minutes in the oven the leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Herb Ravioli Step by Step.

Herb ravioli step by step. 

Every Time I mention ravioli, everyone always thinks of that garbage in a tin they used to eat as a child. Well here's a lovely alternative to that's also a great vegetarian dish.   

Pasta dough:

4 eggs

6 yolks

550g tipo "00" flour

15ml saffron water

15ml olive oil

Filling: 

500g ricotta

250g parmesan

1 lemon zest

20g chives

20g chervil

20g parsley 

Salt

Pepper 

Watercress velouté:

6 shallots

1/2 bulb garlic

50g butter

30ml olive oil

Salt

200ml white wine

500ml nage

200ml cream

200g watercress

This recipe is more about the actual ravioli than the dish its self, i'll do a little walk through on how to make the ravioli, the filling and the method of shaping it. 

Start of by making your pasta dough by either hand or in a mixer, clingfilm and leave to rest for an hour or so in the fridge. To make the filling, chop the herbs and add them to everything else and leave to chill in the fridge. The mix will firm up a little and will make it easier to shape the ravioli. 

Roll out your pasta into large sheets, sprinkle a little polenta on the bench and lay the sheet down. Give it a little brush with some cold water, only a little tho. In the middle of the sheet, place a spoonful of filling every 2 inches until you get to the end. Fold over the sheet in one whole go. Starting from one end using the side your hand, shape it like a "C" and press down on the pasta, you want to try and remove all the air from the ravioli the repeat the "C" shape with the other hand to seal it. Repeat the process until you have sealed all the pasta. 

Using a small round cutter roughly 1 inch in diameter, turn it upside down and press down  on the ravioli, only enough to make a stronger seal, then using a fluted cutter, cut your pasta to the desired size.

 This one is quite small but I prefer these as they based around presentation rather that rustic pasta shapes. If you want to use the all your pasta and have no wastage then you can simple just cut the pasta with a knife making a straight line, producing a really rustic style of ravioli. 

I've served this with a few sauté mushrooms and some watercress velouté and some fresh watercress. The filling can literally be anything from ricotta to ragu or squash to tomato.  

Lemon & pine nut iced parfait, meringue & sorrel granita.

Lemon & pine nut iced parfait, meringue & sorrel granita. 

This is a failsafe dish that I've used for a few years on my set lunch menu's, it's a simple dish thats easily produced and flys out the door at anytime of the year. It's a perfect dish to teach basic pastry skills also. 

Lemon & pine nut iced parfait:

12 lemons juiced

6 lemon zest 

10 egg yolks

200g sugar

60ml water

200g pine nuts

800ml cream

Juice the lemons and reduce to 150ml. Bring the sugar & water to 119*c while you whisk the egg yolks until they are thick and glossy. Once ready, add the sugar mix to the egg yolk and whisk until cold. Toast the pine nuts, add them with the reduced liquid & the zest to the yolk mix. Semi whip the cream and fold it into the yolk mix. Pour into desired mould and freeze. Best stored at -12*c. 

Sorrel granita:

50g sorrel

500ml water

75g sugar

25ml vodka

Bring the water & sugar to the boil, add the vodka and chill over ice. Add the sorrel when cold and blend. Pass and freeze. Scrape with a fork when needed. 

Meringue tuille:

100g egg whites

100g caster sugar

100g icing sugar

Whisk the egg whites until peaked, add the caster sugar and whisk for another few moments until it becomes thick and glossy. Add the icing sugar and fold it in. Spread onto a silmat and bake at 90*c for 30 minutes. Once ready, leave to cool and break into desired size. 

White Chocolate, pistachio & orange

White chocolate, pistachio & orange. 

White chocolate mousse:

400g egg yolks

250g sugar

125ml water

6 gelatine

300g white chocolate 

1600ml cream

Heat the sugar & water to 121*c and whisk the egg yolks in a mixer at full speed. Once white and thick, add the hot syrup to the yolk and keep on full. Add the bloomed gelatine to the hot pan to melt it and then pour that into the yolk also. Melt the chocolate, add that to the yolk mix. Semi whip the cream by hand and once the yolk mix is cold, fold the two together. Set in a tray or rings, this may take a couple of hours. This mix also holds well in the freezer. 

Pistachio anglaise:

500ml cream

500ml milk

200g egg yolks

150g sugar

25g pistachio paste

Bring cream & milk up to simmering point. Mix sugar & egg yolk together then temper with hot liquid. Pour back into the pot and bring to 82*c stirring all the time. Add the pistachio paste and infuse for 40 minutes. Pass and chill. Place into a squeeze bottle. 

Orange gel:

800g orange puree

200ml 22% stock syrup

14g Agar

Bring all to the boil and whisk for 2 minutes. Chill and set. Blend again at 80*c then chill and set. Blend again at fridge temp and place into a piping bag. Pipe as needed. 

Orange tuile: 

100g sugar

50ml egg white

80g plain flour

50g butter 

10g poppy seed

5g orange zest 

40ml orange juice. 

Blend all in a mixer and spread onto a non stick sheet, bake at 180*c for 8 minutes. 

Garnish:

Burnt orange segments

crushes pistachio nuts

Sorrel 

A fairly simple recipe. 

Cannelloni of Strawberry & White chocolate, creme fraiche, lemon & hazelnut

Cannelloni of Strawberry & White chocolate, creme fraiche, lemon & hazelnut. 

So christmas has been a busy one, first time I've had a chance to do anything at all. It's also a time of year where we have a few odds and ends laying about so I thought I'd try and work on a little dish for this summer with my left overs. Yes, yes, the seasonalists (not a real word) will have a pop at me for using strawberries at Christmas but I've got them so I'll use them. Anyway, here's the recipe to what is actually a very simple dessert. If I wasn't shown this before then I probably wouldn't have tried it but it's surprisingly easy. The guys who showed me this know who they are, cheers. 

White chocolate parfait:

150g egg yolk

100g sugar

50ml water

150g white chocolate

500g double cream. 

Heat the sugar & water to 121*c and whisk the egg yolks until pale. Add the liquid to the yolks and whisk hard and fast until it starts to cool. This is best done in a mixer, not by hand. Melt the white chocolate and add to the egg mix. Once its cold, whisk the cream to soft peaks and fold into the egg mix. Pipe into pre rolled acetate tubes and freeze. Once frozen, cut to desired size and roll in jelly then place in the fridge to defrost. 

Strawberry jelly:

700g strawberry puree

200ml water

100ml stock syrup

8g Agar

3 gelatine leaves

Heat the liquid to the boil, add the agar and whisk on the boil for 2 minutes. Add the bloomed gelatine and strain quickly. Set on a tray lined with acetate, and chill. Once set then wrap around the white chocolate parfait and place in the fridge to defrost. It will keep its shape.  

Creme faiche sorbet:

400g creme fraiche

300ml water

150g sugar

50g glucose

10g peppercorns

Bring the water, sugar, glucose & peppercorn to the boil and leave to cool naturally. Whisk the creme fraiche in and strain, churn and freeze. 

Lemon curd:

250g lemon juice

500g butter

500g sugar

11 eggs

3 1/2 gelatine leaves

Heat the butter and the lemon juice in a bain marie. Whisk the egg & sugar together and add to the lemon/butter mix. Heat slowly, stirring every few moments until it thickens up. Add the gelatine and strain into a container and chill. Once set, whisk together and place into a piping bag or a squeeze bottle.  

Hazelnut crunch: 

100g butter

50g sugar

50g flour

100g chopped hazelnuts

Cream the sugar & butter until pale, add the nuts & flour. Back in the over at 160*c for 12 minutes. Once cool, smash up or pulse in the blender. 

Garnish with a few strawberries and a little red vein sorrel. 

Simple! 

Cail Bruich & Odfjell wines.

Cail Bruich & Odfjell wines tasting menu. 

I've previously written about Cail Bruich and their Madklubben food evening and how well they put on a good night with great food, this time it was all about the wine and matching the food to the Chilean wine. Our hosts were Dan Odfjell from Odfjell wines and of course, the ever friendly Cail Bruich team. I'm a massive wine fan but I have to confess that if its not french then it rarely gets a look in but for a cheap £50 you can't complain. We got a 5 course tasting menu with matching wines, some chit chat from Dan about the grapes and the usual wine talk. To be honest, I learnt a few things about chile and its good climate for grapes and that its always raining. The food & drink menu is here for you to have a look over. 

We forgot to take pictures of the first few dishes as we were having such a good time but heres what we managed to get.   

Venison tartare. 

Octopus. 

Ox cheek. 

If you've not been before then I'd recommend it, good food, good wine and its has friendly great service thats relaxed yet professional. Plus, it's where the chefs like to eat so you know your onto a winner. 

Wood pigeon, pomme dauphine, roasted beets, chicory & pigeon jus.

Wood pigeon, pomme dauphine, roasted beets, chicory & pigeon jus. 

Pigeon: 

1 pigeon crown

3g thyme

Salt

Olive oil

Stuff the crown with thyme and seal off all sides and roast in the oven at 180*c for 3 minutes and leave to rest and carve once ready. 

Pomme dauphine:

125g water

50g butter

Pinch of salt

100g flour

1 egg

1 egg yolk

600g pomme puree

Boil the water and butter, add the salt and sieve the flour in. Cook out the flour for 2 minutes then place dough into mixer with the paddle, add the egg one at a time then add the pomme puree, place into the fridge. Shape into desired shape when really cold then deep fry at 180*c until golden brown. 

6 beetroot

Salt

Cut the top & bottom off the beet, season slightly and wrap in foil. Place onto a try covered in salt and bake at 165*c for one hour. Leave to cool naturally and peel once cold. Reheat by roasting in a pan with a little oil. Butter is optional but its not needed unless your looking for that nutty butter flavour.  

1 chicory

20g butter

1/2 orange juiced

Pinch sugar

Pinch salt

Slighty cook the chicory in everything for 20 seconds just to wilt a little. 

Pigeon jus:

Pigeon bones

1 carrot

3 shallots

1 stick celery

5g thyme

1/4 garlic bulb

1 tbl tomato puree

Dash sherry vinegar

1 litre chicken jus

Dash Madeira 

Roast the veg and bones in a pan, add the garlic & thyme and cook for another few moments. Add the puree and cook out. Deglaze with a little sherry vinegar and add the chicken jus. Reduce by half and finish with a little dash of Madeira, check the seasoning and add the left over juice from the roasted crown. 

To garnish

Red amaranth

Celery hearts

Scrabster Cod, Ratte potato, Mussels & Shellfish velouté.

Scrabster Cod, Ratte potato, Mussels & Shellfish velouté. 

I currently have this dish on for lunch and it's a popular little number made using outstanding Cod from Scrabster, nutty ratte potatoes from France & west coast shellfish. 

Recipe:

1 Cod Fillet

1/4 lemon juiced

Salt

A simple pan fried cod finished with a dash of lemon juice. 

Crushed Ratte potato:

100g Ratte potatoes

5g Dill

10g Butter

Salt

Steam the potatoes for 50 minutes at 100*c, crush into a sauce pan and add the butter & salt, then the dill. 

Mussels:

100ml White wine

10 Mussels

Steam the mussels in the wine & their own juice, let them cool and take them out the shells. Make sure you take the beards off the meat. Retain the juice and use it in the shellfish velouté. 

Garnish:

Chervil 

Shellfish velouté:

6 shallots

3 clove garlic

100g butter

5g tomato puree

100ml sherry

200ml white wine

500ml shellfish stock

200ml cream

1 lemon juiced

Sauté the shallot & garlic in the butter, add the tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze with the sherry then add the white wine. Reduce by half. Add the shellfish stock

And reduce by half again. Add the cream & lemon juice. Bring to the boil, blend and pass. If your making this at home then you can buy lobster fumet online and use a tablespoon of it with some fish stock if you don't have any shellfish stock. Check for seasoning and keep at 62*c for the perfect foaming temperature. 

Quick recipe time!

Parmesan risotto, hazelnut & white truffle dressing. 

Risotto:

250g arborio rice

3 shallots

3 clove garlic

50ml white wine

500 nage

70g butter

Salt

100g parmesan

Dressing:

200ml olive oil

45ml white wine vinegar

10ml truffle oil

Salt

Garnish:

Roasted hazelnuts

Chervil

Basic recipe: Meringue.

Basic recipe: Meringue.

300g Egg White

300g Caster Sugar

300g Icing Sugar

It's that simple! 

Whisk the egg whites until starting to peak, slowly add the caster sugar and leave to mix for 5 minutes. Turn off the mixer and fold in the icing sugar. Place into a piping bag and pipe immediately. This mix holds but only for a few hours.  Pipe to desired shape and size, mine are 5cm wide and 5cm high. Everyone likes their meringues different, some soft, some hard. If you want then soft & chewy then bake at 100*c for 1 hour, if you want them hard then bake at 60*c for 8 hours. I tend to leave them on pilot light in the oven over night and take them out in the morning if I'm making them hard. 

Serve with a little passionfruit, chocolate & chopped hazelnuts or Strawberries and cream. 

Classic time... Shellfish Bisque with Lobster Tortellini

Classic time... Shellfish Bisque with Lobster Tortellini. 

A few years back when La Valle Blanche was in full swing, we had this dish on as our alternative soup, we went through so much shellfish that I was going home stinking of the stuff; my girlfriend wasn't best pleased. On a plus note tho, I got to have a bowl every so often for my lunch. I'm always a fan of our top Scottish produce and we got some very special lobster & crabs delivered from Skye 6 days a week. If you can get your hands on anything from the west coast of Scotland, then snap it up straight away as it really is the best about. 

Anyway, less of the rambling and more of the cooking... My recipe takes a fair few hours to produce the bisque but don't let it put you off. 

Bisque:

1kg Shellfish bones 

5 tbl olive oil

1/2tsp fennel seeds

1/2tsp coriander seeds

5 black peppercorn

2 carrots

1/2 fennel

1/2 leek

1 onion

1/2 celery

1 potato

4 tomatoes 

1 tbl tomato puree

100ml sherry

300ml white wine

2 ltr fish stock

200ml double cream

50g butter

50ml lemon juice

Pasta dough:

4 eggs

6 egg yolks

550g flour

15ml olive oil

15ml saffron water

Salt

Tortellini filling:

1/2 pasta dough

150g dry pomme puree

40ml reduced shellfish stock (reduced to a paste)

200g chopped lobster meat

2 orange zest

10g chopped tarragon

Bisque:

Roast the Shellfish bones in the oven for 40 mins at 180*c. I use lobster, langoustine & crab bones. In a large heavy bottom pot, brown the carrot, onion, celery, leek & fennel in the olive oil then add the aromats and cook for a few moments. Add the potato, tomato & tomato puree and cook out for another 5 minutes. Add the shellfish bones & the sherry and reduce by half. And the wine and reduce by half then add the fish stock and simmer for 2 hours. Blend everything with a stick blender and pass through a muslin cloth. Place back on to the heat and reduce by half again. The decant and chill. Take 1/5 of the liquid and reduce to a paste so that you can add to the tortellini filling. 

To turn the sauce into a soup, add the cream, butter and lemon juice to the stock and bring to the boil. Blend with a stick blender to foam and serve when needed. 

Pasta dough: 

Mix the eggs, saffron water, oil & salt together until bound and add to the flour. Work either by hand or in a mixer until a crumble stage and kneed for a few moments. Clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour. 

Tortellini filling:

Mix everything together lightly, check for seasoning and shape the mix into 10g balls. 

Tortellini:

Roll out pasta dough until you get to number 2 on the machine and cut with a size 80 circular cutter. If you cover a chopping board in clingfilm and place the circles onto it and clingfilm again then the disc's won't dry out, you'll be able to work quicker this way. Place the 10g ball into the centre of the disc, fold in half pressing all the air out before sealing to create a half moon shape. Fold in half again so the two corners over lap each other and stick them together with a tiny amount of water. Store on a little semolina flour or polenta if your using them within a few hours. If you want them to last a little longer you can blanche them for 1 minute in boiling water and refresh in ice. They can be stored in the freezer for a rainy day also. If your cooking to order then place into salted boiling water for 3min 30sec and place directly into the middle of the dish and top with foamy bisque. 

Enjoy! 

Cavatelli

Cavatelli

So its clear as day that I've got a serious hankering for pasta again, almost like rediscovering a little bit of magic I've not used in a while. Cavatelli is a small shell shape known as "Priests ears" in Italian, it almost looks like a cross between the dried, common fusilli & orrecchiette pasta's. It can be made with a cavatelli machine or the hard way, hand pressed with a sushi matt. Not that they used the matt in the old days, it would have been a gnocchi paddle. My kids wanted a little go at making their own pasta so I thought I'd start with this one as we could all work at it as a family and you don't need to get it perfect. 

Recipe:

400g Tipo 00 flour

4 Large Eggs

5g salt

10ml Olive oil

It's a fairly basic dough. Mix it altogether and leave it to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or so. Roll out with a pin, or a machine but don't roll it out too thin. Cut it into a lengths and roll it out to create a long thick piece and cut it into 1/2 inch bits. Press them into the sushi matt with your thumb in a forward motion pushing away from you.

 Leave to dry for a while on a pasta board or a floured bench and cook when ready in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Keep it simple and don't over complicate the pasta, we had it with a little ragù and a serious amount of parmesan... Just the way it should be on a wet & windy Monday night.