Crown Prince Squash with Goats Cheese and Cucumber Dressing

Of all the varieties of squash, crown prince has to be my favourite: smooth, creamy and rich. It's a steak if you're a vegetarian. That's why it's perfect with a bit of light cucumber and lemon juice to cut through the richness. This is great for a light lunch or a side dish for your evening winter roast.

1 crown prince squash
200g goats cheese
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper

Dressing:
1 cucumber
1 lemon
Pinch of sea salt

Method:
Cut the crown prince squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Using a sharp knife, peel off the skin and cut squash into large chunks and lay out on baking tray. Drizzle over olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place in oven set at 200ºC for 45 minutes.
For the dressing, cut the cucumber into quarters and place in food processor with juice of lemon and salt, blend together until cumber is puréed.
Once the squash is roasted, serve with large pieces of goats cheese and cucumber dressing.

Quinoa with Roasted Olives, Cashew Nuts and Oranges

Photo provided by Sadiq Food Photography (Click here)

Here's a incredibly healthy and hearty salad that'll keep you sustained throughout the day. Very tasty and fully satisfying which is quite tricky to achieve when it comes to a vegan lunch.

250g quinoa
150g black pitted olives
1 long red chilli
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
100ml extra virgin olive oil
100g cashew nuts
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
Sea salt
2 oranges
1 small bunch basil
70g rocket

Method:
Place a large pot of salted water on to the boil. Thinly slice the red chilli and garlic and lay out on oven tray with olives, bay leaves and half the olive oil, place in oven set at 180ºC for 20 minutes. In a separate oven tray lay out cashew nuts, drizzle over remaining olive oil and season with tumric and salt, place in oven with olives and cook until golden in colour.
Once the water is boiling add quinoa and cook for about 7-10 minutes until tripled in size, drain and cool under cold running water.
Slice the top and bottom off the orange and using a small paring knife run the blade round the orange removing the skin and pith, then slice the segment out of the oranges. Pick the leaves off basil and roughly chop, and in a large bowl add the quinoa and mix in the basil, oranges, olives and cashews until evenly combined. Serve with washed rocket leaves. 

Piccolo Parsnips with Smoked Garlic, Wild Fennel Seeds and Wood Sorrel

Photo provided by Sadiq's Food Photography Blog(Click here)

A very simple and tasty side dish that goes well with any main weather it be roast pork, chicken or even fish. Piccolo parsnips are a smaller, sweeter and more tender type of parsnip--no peeling required, just wash and cook. I've combined this parsnip dish with wood sorrel, which grows wild around tree stumps and is a foraged item. It has a distinct sweet lemon flavour and resembles clovers. Well balanced and no fuss to prepare.

1kg piccolo parsnips
1 bulb smoked garlic
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper
50g wood sorrel

Method:
Wash the parsnips then lay out on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Peel garlic and lay whole cloves over parsnips, lastly sprinkle over fennel seeds. Place in oven set at 180ºC for 20 minutes, then mix parsnips around tray and return to oven for a further 20 minutes.
Once cooked leave to cool for 10 minutes, then rub soften garlic cloves onto parsnips. Serve parsnips with a generous garnish of wood sorrel.

Orange and Purple Cauliflower with Cumin Sauce

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

There are four groups of cauliflower: white, orange, green and purple. Orange cauliflower contains 25 times the level of vitamin A of white varieties and the colouring of the purple cauliflower is due to a natural build up antioxidants which gives its distinctive colouring.
I've combine the two types of cauliflower for contrast and extra benefits of added vitamins. This dish can be eaten hot or cold.

1 orange cauliflower
1 purple cauliflower

1 tablespoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small bunch of coriander
4 cloves garlic
100g salted butter
1 teaspoon dijon
1 lemon
Good pinch of sea salt

Method:
Place a large pot of water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Cut the cauliflower into small bite-sized pieces and place it aside for when the water is ready.

Place a small pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the cumin until fragrant then add the butter and chilli. Once the butter clarifies, remove from heat and in a food processor place butter, oil, coriander, garlic, dijon, juice of lemon and salt. Blend together for 30 seconds then the dressing is ready. Once water is boiling cook the orange cauliflower first for about 4 minutes. Using a strainer sieve out the cauliflower and repeat with the purple variety. To serve simply drizzle the dressing over top.

Crab Apple Jelly

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

Preserving is slowly becoming a lost art in home-making due to the convenience of the local supermarket. There are several thousand types of apples and we literally use a handful of varieties.  This time of year I see crab apples growing round my neighbourhood and all over London, therefore the picking and begging to be made into jelly or fruit cheese. They may be too sour and fiddly in their raw state, however when preserved the finished product looks like edible jewels and, if stored properly, will last a long time in the pantry. Crab apple jelly is lovely on toast or served with a joint of roast pork. Also a massive big thank you to Sadiq for taking a fresh batch of shiny and beautiful pictures.

5kg crab apples
Granulated sugar
1 lemon

METHOD:
Place apples in a large heavy-based pot, fill with water until apples are just covered. Put pot over a high heat and bring to the boil, once boiling cook for about 20 minutes until apples are mushy. Line a large colander strainer with muslin cloth and place over a large bowl or pot. Pour the apples into strainer and leave to cool (don't squeeze or press the apples in strainer, as this will make the jelly cloudy). Once cool, cover strainer with cling film or chopping board, leave to stand for 8 hours or overnight.

Once the apple liquid and pulp has been left to stand, carefully remove the muslin and pulp (you can use the apple pulp to make fruit cheese, the recipe is found below).
For every litre of liquid you will need 750g of sugar, place apple stock, sugar and juice of lemon in a large heavy-based pot and put over a high heat. Avoid stirring as this can mess with the setting point of the jelly. Once jelly is boiling, cook for around 45 to an hour. Using a slotted spoon remove the scum during cooking and place a plate in the fridge to chill. To test if the jelly is ready put a tablespoon of jelly on the plate and leave in the fridge for 1 minute. Once cold run your finger through the jelly, if it wrinkles and doesn't merge back together the jelly is ready.
Using a ladle or stainless steal jug pour the hot jelly into sterilised jars and screw on the lid, leave jelly for 2 days before opening.

Crab Apple Fruit Cheese

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

Fruit cheese is similar to quince paste and can be made using the leftover pulp from crab apple jelly. Because apples are high in pectin the purée sets like cheese after cooking for a long period over high heat. A lovely condiment on crackers served with cheese and pickled onions. The best part is it keeps for several months and a nice little gift for friends and family round Christmas time.

5kg crab apples
granulated sugar
1 lemon

METHOD:
Put apples in a large heavy-base pot and add water until apples are just covered. Place pot over a  high heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling cook for about 20 minutes until apples are mushy. Line a large colander strainer with muslin then place strainer over a large bowl or pot, pour the apples into the strainer. Leave apples to cool, then cover strainer with chopping board and stand for 8 hours or overnight (with the apple liquid in the pot you can make crab apple jelly using the recipe above). Pass mushy apples through a fine sieve and discard the seeds and skin. Weigh the apple pure and add equal amount of sugar to a heavy-based pot. Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir all ingredients together, place pot over a medium-heat and bring to a boil. Once bubbling, turn the heat down slightly and stir every 5 minutes. After about 45 minutes of cooking the fruit cheese should be glossy and clumping together, remove from heat.

Cut about 8-10 square pieces of muslin cloth 20x20cm. To wrap the fruit cheese place a piece of muslin cloth in a tea cup and scoop a couple of large spoonfuls of fruit cheese into cup. Tie the four corners of cloth together making a nice neat ball. Repeat with remaining fruit cheese and line the fruit cheese along one half of a large tray. Place tray in a cool, dark place and prop a small plate under the side of the tray the fruit cheese is on. This will let the remaining unwanted liquid strain away from the fruit cheese and you should get a more firm set fruit cheese. Leave for 3 days, after which you can unravel as needed for consumption.

Polenta Slice with Burnt Pineapple, Pancetta and Blue Sauce

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

Polenta is traditionally an Italian dish but I've tweaked around with the flavours a little. The sweetness and the caramelising of pineapple bounces nicely with salty pancetta and creamy blue sauce over a set polenta. A fun alternative for a dinner main.

Polenta:
250g coarse polenta
675ml water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
25g butter
50g grated parmesan

1 pineapple
24 slices of pancetta
2 red chillies, diced
1 small bunch torn coriander leaves

Blue Sauce:
200g gorgonzola
75ml double cream
100ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

METHOD:
Start by making the polenta, place water in a large heavy-based pot and put over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the polenta and salt, turn down the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon. After about 4-5 minutes the polenta will thicken and will resemble mashed potatoes. Remove from heat then stir in butter and parmesan until well incorporated. Line a 30x20cm (3cm high) tray with parchment paper and pour in the polenta and evenly smooth out. Leave the polenta to cool for about 2 hours before cutting.
To make the cheese sauce place the gorgonzola and cream in a saucepan, put over a medium heat, stir the sauce until the cheese is almost melted. Remove sauce from heat and pour in a food processor with buttermilk and dijon, blend together until smooth.
Lay pancetta on a baking tray and cook at 180ºC for 4 to 5 minutes. Top and tail the pineapple then slice off the skin by sliding a sharp knife round the edges. Slice the pineapple into quarters lengthways then remove the core. Cut each quarter into 1cm thick slices lengthwise place a fry pan over high heat. Once the frying pan is hot and smoking a little grill each slice of pineapple on both sides until it starts to brown and go a little black.
To construct slice the polenta into 8 pieces and lay on a serving platter or individual plates. Layer each polenta slice with 2 slices of pineapple, a good spoonful of blue sauce, 3 pieces of pancetta and finally garnish with a sprinkling of chillies and coriander.

Roasted Chantenay Carrots with Red Pepper Sauce

Here's a very tasty and vibrant little side dish with plenty of bite. Bound to make history at a dinner table near you.

1kg washed chantenay carrots
50ml vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

Red Pepper Sauce:
100g flaked almonds
450g canned roasted red peppers
2 plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 dried red chillies
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
100ml extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Place carrots on baking tray and drizzle oil on carrots then sprinkle salt over top, place in oven set at 190oC for 45 minutes. Half way through cooking stir carrots around the tray and place back in oven to finish roasting.
For the sauce place frying pan over a medium heat and add the almonds, toast almonds while stiring round the pan till golden brown. In a food processor add all the sauce ingredients and blend together for 2 minutes.
Once carrots are roasted serve with a side of red pepper sauce.

Pomegranate Granola

Here's one of my secret recipes revealed, main reason I waited so long is because of the high sugar and fat content. But then I realized people eat banana bread and pan-cakes for breakfast which is basically cake! At least there's a lot of fiber and vitamin C in this recipe and you have the whole day to burn it off. 

1kg pure rolled oats
450ml pomegranate molasses
300g butter
50ml honey
100g dried apricots
100g dates
100g raisins
100g whole almonds
100g hazelnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon

COMPOTE:
500g frozen raspberries
2 granny smith apples
75g sugar

Natural yoghurt for serving

METHOD:
Put molasses, honey and butter in sauce pan and place over high heat, melt together till rapidly boiling then remove from heat to cool. Roughly dice the apricots, dates, almonds, hazelnuts and place in a large bowl with rolled oats and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter/pomegranate mixture and stir together. Spread the oats over a large tray and place in oven set at 180oC and cook for 20 minutes, every 5 minutes remove the granola from oven and roughly stir. Leave to cool completely then place in air tight storage containers and leave for a day before eating.
For the raspberry compote peel and roughly dice the apple, place in sauce pan with raspberries and sugar. Cook over a medium high heat for 15 minutes till apples soften then blitz through food processor till smooth.
To serve layer the granola, compote and 200g of yoghurt in a tall glass or bowl.

Jersey Mid Royals Infused in Cumin

A simple, easy and effective little side dish for dinner or Sunday lunch if you fancy. But you'd better be quick as these creamy sweet little potatoes are probably only going to last for another 3 to 4 weeks.

1kg jersey mid royal potatoes
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
6 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
1 celery stick
1 tablespoon hot mustard
1 bunch coriander
2 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon brandy
100ml vegetable oil
100ml extra virgin olive oil

METHOD:
Wash potatoes and put in a large pot and fill with cold water and 1 tablespoon of salt, place over high heat and bring to a light boil. Once water is boiling cook potatoes for around 10 minutes till just tender, drain and cool under cold running water.
Place a small fry pan over medium heat and toast cumin seeds (make sure they don't burn as this will make the seeds bitter), put cumin seeds in pestle and mortar and roughly crush into a powder.
Cut the roots off coriander and place in food processor with peeled garlic, chilli, celery, mustard, remaining salt, brandy, ground cumin, both oils and blend together for 2 minutes. Place a large heavy based pot over medium high heat and add the cumin paste, once the oil start's to bubble add potatoes. Cook jerseys till the skin starts to brown and remove from heat, eat either warm or cold and garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Yukon Carrot Salad with Olives and Walnuts Cooked in Coconut Milk

Fresh batch of yukon carrots arrived last week from Canada, these carrot grow in a dense rich soil at a higher altitude making carrots more intense and sweet. Even better they have been harvested early meaning they are smaller and super tender when baked/poached. I've combined them with walnuts cooked in coconut milk which give a creamy bitter taste and black olives for saltiness. Very health and visual nor is it boring to behold.
Also a massive thank you to Etienne who has once again taken some amazing pictures, this one in particular is one of my favourite shots.

600g yukon carrots
300ml orange juice
3 cloves garlic
12 sprigs thyme
2 dried red chillies
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sea salt
50ml extra virgin olive oil
200g pitted black olives
100g halved walnuts
150ml coconut milk
70g rocket washed

METHOD:
Trim the tops off carrots and wash then place in deep baking tray with orange juice, thinly sliced garlic, torn thyme and red chillies, bay leaves, honey, salt and olive oil. Roughly mix together and cover in foil, bake in oven set at 180oC for 30 minutes. After the 30minutes roughly mix carrots around in tray and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. Place walnuts and coconut in small sauce pan and bring to the boil over high heat and cook for 5-7 minutes till milk thickens and coats walnuts. Once carrots are cooked put aside to cool, place olives in food processor and blend for about 5 seconds till roughly diced.
To construct salad you can either make one large platter or make individual plates. On the base lay out rocket leaves then drape over carrots with a little excess cooking liquid and pieces of chilli. Garnish salad with walnuts and a good sprinkling of olives and serve as soon as possible.

Flying Duck Sald with Roast Peaches and Raspberry Sour Cream

Its raspberry and peach season and I invented a savoury version of Peach Melba in the form of a salad. You probably think I've pushed this concept too far but it was honestly the fastest selling salad from last weeks menu. Give it a go and let me know what you and your guinea pigs think?

1 large whole duck
2 teaspoon sea salt
Cracked black pepper
50ml olive oil
60 peaches
50g sliced almonds
100g watercress washed

RASPBERRY SOUR CREAM:
300ml double cream
100g raspberries
1 lemon
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD:
Place duck in deep baking tray and pour over 500ml water then drizzle with half the olive oil, half the salt and a good cracking of pepper. Cover tray with foil and bake in oven set at 200oC for 1 hour 30 minutes. In the mean time make sour cream, juice lemon into a bowl and add raspberries, maple and salt, crush together with your hand to make a pulp. Pour in double cream and gently stir together, cover and place in fridge to set.
Cut peaches in half and remove the stone using a teaspoon, lay halved peaches face up on baking tray and drizzle over remaining olive oil, salt and good cracking of pepper. Place peaches in oven with duck and bake for 20 minutes, once cooked put aside and leave to cool.
Warm a small fry pan over medium heat and add almonds, gently stir over heat till they start to turn golden brown then remove from heat and leave to cool.
After duck has cooked for 1 hour 30 minutes remove foil and bake for a further 30 minute. When duck has finished cooking leave to stand and cool for 30 minutes before shredding the meat from carcass.
You can either construct the salad on one large platter or make individual plates. First lay down some watercress followed by tearing peaches over the leaves, drape duck meat over dish. Lastly using a teaspoon drop little bits of sour cream over salad and garnish with toasted almonds.

Raspberry Friands

Another friand variety, every couple of weeks I change the flavour to reflect the change of seasons and keep customers coming back for something different. I'm going to repeat myself and recommend you buy flaked almonds and ground them in a food processor this will give the friands a better crumb and infinitely lighter. You can use pre-ground almonds but I find the final product too dry, dense and smacky on the pallet. Also this mixture will sit happily in your fridge for up to a week and yields around 48 friands.

600g flaked almonds
300g caster sugar
250g good quality salted butter
100ml buttermilk
10 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
150g raspberries

ICING:
200g raspberries
400g cream cheese
100g caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

METHOD:
Place butter in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat till it becomes foamy then remove from heat and leave to stand. Ground almonds in food processor till fine like bread crumbs might take several minutes to get the right consistency. Then place almonds in a large mixing bowl with sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and mix together till combined. Add the buttermilk, egg whites, vanilla, butter to the dry mixture and beat together for 2 minutes.
To bake friands grease friand pan with either oil spray or butter and 3/4 fill each mold then dot 3 raspberries down each friand like buttons. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes.
To make the icing place raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in sauce pan and place over a medium heat, cook for about 10 minutes till a syrup forms then remove from heat and leave to cool till luke warm. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl and using a beater whip air into cream cheese. Pour half the raspberry syrup into cream cheese and beat till well combined. Using a tablespoon place a large dot of icing on top of each friand followed by 1 teaspoon of raspberry syrup and a fresh raspberry then lightly dust with icing sugar.

Baby Aubergine with Wild Garlic Flowers

Just in season are 2 very pretty and delicate ingredients baby aubergine and wild garlic flower. The aubergines have a tender texture and easily soaks up olive oil making creamy and mellow flavours. Garnished with wild garlic flowers which are peppery at first but finish with surprising garlic tang.
Very simple but will give your palette an appreciation for good quality ingredients that compliment each other perfectly.
Also I must note photo production is going up a tad with shinny props and tableware thanks to Etienne's eye for detail and something different. Thanks Etienne!

800g baby aubergine
50ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic dressing
1 tablespoon sea salt
Cracked black pepper
20g wild garlic flowers

METHOD:
Place whole aubergine on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Season with salt and a good cracking of pepper, place in oven at 180oC for 15 minutes, after 15  minutes shuffle aubergines around tray and place back in oven for 10 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool for 10 minutes then using your hands pull the stalk off. When serving sprinkle garlic flowers over aubergines.

Poached Crudite Vegetables with Gorgonzola Dressing

Crudite is traditionally raw sticks of vegetables served with a creamy dip. I've messed with the concept a little and poach the vegetables slightly in vegetable stock, still a little crunch but also delightfully seasoned and finished with a peppery chicory and gorgonzola.  

2 large carrots
4 sticks celery
2 red peppers
1 large red onion
2 chicory
2 liters vegetable stock

DRESSING:
250g cream cheese
100g gorgonzola
100ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 sprig oregano
1 green chilli

METHOD:
Put stock in large pot and place over a high heat, bring to a simmer. In the mean time peel carrots and top and tail, wash celery and cut into 4's, slice peppers in half and remove seeds and stalks, peel onion slice in half and top and tail. Slice carrots and celery into 2mm batons, cut off the bottom and top of peppers and trim the membrane and slice into 2mm batons, lengthways slice red onion.
Once vegetable stock is simmering add celery and poach 2 minutes then using a sieve scoop out the celery. Next add carrots to stock and cook for 10minutes till tender and once again sieve out, then add red peppers and onion to stock and cook for about 7 minutes.
Once vegetables have been poached cut chicory in half separate the leaves and wash. To make the dressing place all ingredients in food processor and blend together for 2 minutes.
To construct salad you can either make a large platter or individual plates, lay chicory on base followed by criss-crossing the poached vegetables, finally drizzle over gorgonzola dressing and serve.

Raspberry Jam

Spring is in the air (sort of) and British raspberries are here (sort of). Actually they've been coming from Spain but still very lovely and makes great jam. Its a lazy long weekend full of fickle weather so why not burn some time by making a batch of jam, this jam to be precise.

1kg raspberries
1 kg granulated sugar
1 small lemon
1 lime

METHOD:
Juice lemon and lime into large pot and add raspberries, place over medium high heat and stir till raspberries turn mushy. When raspberries start to simmer and bubble add sugar, turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, cook over high heat for about 20 minutes. Place a teaspoon of jam on cold plate and leave for 1 minute then run your finger through the middle, if jam doesn't merge back together and clumps slightly then its ready. Pour jam into hot sterilized jars and seal tightly, leave to set for a day before using.

Sushi Salad

Deconstructed sushi and put back together in the form of a salad. Stupidly healthy apart from the wasabi cream, got to have something to lubricate your stomach with. Also if you've never tried samphire before you're missing out. Grown in the northern parts of Europe and picked from the shoreline it has a wonderful salty flavour with a hint of asparagus texture. My personal highlight from last weeks menu and looks great thanks to Etienne's amazing camera skills and photoshop wand haha.

400g raw peeled prawns
400g brown rice
200g samphire
1 cucumber
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

PICKLED GINGER:
100g nob of ginger
250ml water
50ml rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sea salt

WASABI CREAM:
200ml double cream
1 lime
2 tablespoons wasabi
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD:
First place 2 pots of water on to boil over high heat, in the mean time make the pickled ginger. Peel ginger and slice into match stick sized piece's and place in container with water, vinegar and salt. Put ginger to one side to pickle while you carry on with the rest of the salad. For dressing place double cream in a mixing bowl with salt and wasabi and beat together using a whisk till you have a floppy consistency then squeeze in juice of lime and stir till just combine, place in the fridge.
Once water is boiling pour rice in one pot and cook for 30-35 minutes, in the other pot add samphire and cook for 3 minutes then drain and cool under cold running water. Place separate pot over a medium heat and add sesame oil, once oil starts to smoke a little add the prawns and soy sauce, stir periodically for 5 minutes till prawns are just cooked then remove from heat.
Wash cucumber and using a peeler peel off thin long strips of cucumber and place to one side. Now its time to construct the salad, you can either make individual plates or one big platter its up to you. First lay out the rice followed by draping over samphire and strips of cucumber then evenly distribute prawns and garnish the top of salad with pickled ginger and desired amount of wasabi cream and serve.  

 

Gelled Bloody Mary Salad

A bit of a retro classic deconstructed and made ultra healthy. And what better way to burn off the weekend hangover than with a hair of the dog in a salad. Very pretty and last weeks best seller in Kaffeine I highly recommend trying something different and going out of one's comfort zone.

2 gem lettuce
2 celery sticks
10 runner beans
Small handful of flat parsley
Sea salt and cracked pepper

TOMATO GEL:
800ml tomato juice
1 white onion
1 carrot
6 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 stick celery
1 dried red chilli
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon tobasco
Pinch of sea salt
8 gelatin sheets

DRESSING:
200ml tomato juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
4 dash of tobasco
Pinch of sea salt

METHOD:
First make the tomato gel, peel and cut the onion and carrot in half, slice celery into 4 piece's and place in a large pot with tomato juice, garlic, bay, chilli, worcestershire, tobasco and salt. Put the pot over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, in the mean time pour 2 cups of water in a small bowl and cut the gelatin sheets into smaller pieces and soak in water for 10 minutes.
Once the onion has softened and turned translucent strain liquid and discard the solids, place tomato juice back over a medium heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Squeeze the gelatin sheets of excess water and add to tomato juice, stir for 1 minute and remove from heat. Grease a square plastic container with a little olive oil and pour in the tomato jelly. Leave to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then place in fridge uncovered for 6-8 hours.

Place a pot of water on to boil, top and tail the runner beans and slice very thinly. Once water is boiling add the runner beans and cook for 5 minutes, drain and blanch under cold water. Thinly slice celery, finely chop parsley and wash lettuce leaves.
For the dressing place all ingredients in a small bottle with lid and shake together to combine.
Now its time to construct salad, you can either make a large platter or individual plates. First turn out the tomato gel onto a chopping board and cut off a 2cm slice and lay flat, then cut into 3 strips length ways and carefully cut each length into cubes. On a platter or smaller plates tear and lay out lettuce followed by scattering over runner beans and celery. Gently distribute the desired amount of tomato gels and season with salt and a good cracking of pepper. Lastly sprinkle over the chopped parsley and and drizzle in dressing and serve as soon as possible.

Heritage Tomato Salad with Sea Purslane and Hedge Garlic

First of the french Heritage Tomatoes have just arrived, though very expensive I couldn't help myself. All winter I've been dreaming of tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes! Not the dreadful grainy, cloudy, watery, pale and almost artificial Tesco's Finest substitute I've had to put up with every week since September.
Also on the market are some wonderful new cress the first is Hedge Garlic which has an extremely peppery taste followed by a intense garlic flavour. However my favourite new discovery is Sea Purslane which is grown in the sea marshes and picked during low tied. Wonderfully salty leaves that actually taste of sea air and pair's nicely with ripe tomatoes and hedge garlic.

800g heritage tomatoes
100g watercress
100g hedge garlic
100g sea purslane
Cracked pepper

DRESSING:
small bunch of basil
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 red jalapeno
1 teaspoon sea salt

METHOD:
First make the dressing by placing all ingredients into a food processor and blending together for 1 minute, put the dressing to one side and start preparing salad.
Wash watercress, hedge garlic and sea purslane and gently pat dry with a tea towel or paper towels. Pick off the leaves from hedge garlic and sea purslane, discard the stalks. Mix watercress, hedge garlic and sea purslane together in a large bowl. Wash tomatoes and cut into uneven bite sized piece', lay half the green leaves over a platter followed by half the chopped tomatoes and lastly drizzle with the desired amount of dressing and cracked pepper. Repeat the layer and serve as soon as possible.

Jersey Mid Royal Rosti

 

Just on the market are jersey mid royals but they wont be round for long. In the month ahead they will grow bigger and become plain old jersey royals, slightly more expensive but well worth the price and time it takes to prepare my very popular rosti.

1.2kg jersey mid royal potatoes
200g mature cheddar
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 sprig rosemary
1 teaspoon sea salt
Cracked pepper

METHOD:
Put potatoes in large pot, cover with cold water and place over a high heat, bring to the simmer and turn down the heat slightly. Cook potatoes for about 15 minutes till just tender and drain into a clean sink. Place plug in sink and fill with cold water and leave the potatoes to cool for half an hour.
Grate cheddar and finely chop the rosemary leaves, once potatoes have cooled grate and place in large mixing bowl with cheese, rosemary, oil, salt, good cracking of pepper and mix together using your hands. Grease a 30cm fluted flan dish with removable base using oil spray or butter, gently press potato mixture into dish and cook in pre-heated oven 200oC for 45 minutes.  Once cooked garnish with a little extra rosemary leaves and cracked pepper.