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.