WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 14th June Breast of Gressingham duck, confit crushed potatoes, café au lait sauce

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1 Daniel Woosey WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 14th June 2015 Breast of Gressingham duck, confit crushed potatoes, café au lait sauce Duck breasts are really reasonable in the shops and extremely forgiving when you cook them - it s quite hard to get them wrong. The sauce which goes with this is light and creamy, with a very subtle coffee note in it. You ll be amazed, it just goes so well with the gamey duck. 4 duck breasts 600g new potatoes washed and dried 2 red onions, very finely diced Half bunch parsley chopped 500g duck or goose fat 250ml double cream 1 tbsp instant coffee 1 tbsp gravy granules or 50ml red wine jus Salt and pepper Herbs to marinade (optional) - thyme, rosemary, garlic, orange zest, bay leaf Trim the edges of fat off the duck breast and gently score the fat without going into the meat. Lightly marinade with a little thyme, rosemary, garlic, orange zest and bay leaf. This is not compulsory and using any or all of these has a great effect. The longer the marinade the more the flavour. Place the new potatoes in a saucepan, cover with duck fat, a pinch of salt and very gently simmer until potatoes are soft, drain and keep. If you prefer, you can simply boil them but cooking them in duck fat gives them a lovely deep extravagant feel! In a frying pan or sauce pan, slowly cook the onions with a little oil and Page 1

2 seasoning until very soft or caramelised. Take off and keep. Put a little drop of oil on a wide frying pan and place on a low heat. While the pan is cool, place the duck fat side down. As the pan heats up the fat is rendered out. After 5 minutes (or when the duck fat is nicely browned and crisp), turn over the breast and cook the flesh side, basting the duck with the pan fat. When the duck flesh is quite firm, but not too firm and springs up when prodded, it should be ready. Remove from the pan and rest for 10 or 15 minutes. Place the granules in a saucepan and add a little water, slowly heat up and whisk to make a smooth gravy. Whisk in the instant coffee then the double cream. Bring the sauce to a boil then simmer for 5-6 minutes or until thickened. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Lightly crush the potatoes in a bowl, add the onions and the parsley, a good pinch of salt and pepper and fold together. Reheat using a microwave if needs be. Slice the duck breast diagonally into 4 or 5 pieces and serve it on top of the potatoes, drizzled with the cream sauce. Serve with vegetables of your choice. Page 2

3 Chocolate Nemesis If you love rich and naughty chocolate cake then this decadent dessert is for you. If you happen to have wheat intolerance, then fear not as this is completely gluten-free! 350g dark chocolate (minimum 55% cocoa) 225g butter 5 eggs 290g caster sugar 125ml water Fresh berries Whipped cream to serve - but this WILL make extra Preheat oven to 160C/ Gas Mark 3 Line a tray (20 x 30cm) with greaseproof paper Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and set it on a saucepan of boiling water and melt. Occasionally stir to combine. Dissolve 200g of the sugar with 125ml water in a saucepan on a low heat until a syrup is made. Whisk the syrup into the chocolate, take off the heat and cool for 6-7 minutes. Using an electric hand whisk, beat the 90g of the sugar with the eggs until quadrupled in size and nice and fluffy. Whisk the chocolate mix into the eggs for seconds maximum. Pour into the lined tray and bake for 30 minutes or just set. You really want these chocolate nemesis desserts to be soft in the middle. When cooled, turn over to serve. The crust underneath is now the top. Cut the nemesis into portions and serve with whipped cream and red fruits. Page 3

4 Macaroni Cheese with crayfish and peas The classic mac and cheese with a fishy twist! 250g Macaroni pasta 40g butter 40g plain flour 200ml milk 200ml fish stock 80g mature cheddar grated + 20g for top 40g parmesan cheese grated + 20g for top 150g cooked crayfish tails 100g peas Small bunch parsley Preheat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 Bring a medium saucepan of water up to the boil with a little salt. Plunge the macaroni into the water and cook for 5-6 minutes until al dente or firm to the bite, cooked but has a slight crunch to it. Refresh under cold water, drain and save. Combine the milk and fish stock and bring to boil. Melt the butter on a low heat in a saucepan, add the flour and vigorously beat until a smooth paste or roux is formed Add the milk/stock little by little stirring until a smooth sauce is made. Simmer this for 3-4 minutes. Add the grated parmesan and cheddar and stir in well until completely incorporated. Add a good pinch salt of pepper Combine the macaroni to the sauce, mix in the crayfish, peas and parsley and put in a small casserole dish. Cover with the extra cheese and a little black pepper, bake for 8 10minutes or until cheese is nice golden and textured. Page 4

5 Saira Hamilton Mum s Cod Curry This is wonderful! Bengali household menus feature a lot of fish, but when my parents first came to the UK they couldn t always get hold of the types of fish they were used to. So Mum experimented and her first and most successful English fish dish was cod cooked with new potatoes, tomatoes and coriander. Us children loved it - no bones and lots of yummy sauce to mix with the rice. Such a simple way to cook fish for great results and you can of course use any firm white fish as a substitute for cod. 150 grams waxy new potatoes such as Charlotte, par boiled 1 onion, finely sliced 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 2 small green chillies, sliced lengthways in half 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder 1 level teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 800 grams boneless cod fillets or loins, cut into large chunks A handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 mild green chilli, cut into fine rings or strips A small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped You will need a large frying pan with a lid. I would serve this dish with plain steamed basmati rice and a wedge of lemon and a salad of red onion and tomatoes. Par boil the potatoes for 10 minutes or so, then drain and slice lengthwise into halves or quarters depending on size. Put the potatoes, onions, garlic, chillies, salt, spices, oil and cod all in a cold frying pan and mix together very well with your hands until the fish is coated with all the spices and the ingredients are well combined. Be delicate with the fish though! Page 5

6 Put the pan on a high heat and wait for the pan to start to sizzle. When it does, reduce the heat to a medium setting and put the lid on. After 10 minutes remove the lid, and you should see that a sauce has started to form around the fish. Carefully turn the fish pieces over once. Scatter over the cherry tomatoes and replace the lid. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Garnish the dish with the chillies and coriander and serve. Welsh Cakes Not a lot of people know this but I am actually Welsh - born in the heart of the Rhondda Valleys. I was only 2 when we moved away but there are a few traditions I like to follow to maintain my Welsh-ness! One is following Wales Rugby (great during the 6 Nations) and the other is Welsh Cakes on St. Davids Day. But these delicious tea time treats can be enjoyed any time of day and any time of year. 450 grams self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon mixed spice or ground cinnamon 200 grams butter 150 grams caster sugar 150 grams currants 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon milk Pinch of salt Caster sugar for sprinkling -6 You will need a heavy based frying pan or skillet and an oven pre-heated to 160C/ Gas Mark 3 Mix the flour with the baking powder and spices. Page 6

7 Add in the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and currants. Whisk the eggs and milk together with a pinch of salt. Pour into the flour mix and bring together with a wooden spoon and then hands until you have a soft dough. Flour the work surface and then roll out until the dough is 1 cm thick. Use a 6cm round cutter to cut out the cakes. Heat a heavy based frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the cakes for 2 or 3 minutes on each side until they are nicely browned on each side. If they still seem a bit doughy in the middle (hard to get them completely right unless you have a traditional bakestone) then I will sometimes finish them off in a low oven (160C/ Gas Mark 3) for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the cakes with caster sugar and enjoy with a cup of tea or glass of milk. American style blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup American pancakes are my favourite type of brunch, reserved for those Sunday mornings when the children have sleepovers so that their friends all think that I m a really cool mum! Serve with anything you like, but my luxury choice would be good quality streaky bacon and real maple syrup. 140 grams self raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoons caster sugar 130 millilitres of milk 1 large egg, beaten a pinch of salt 2 tablespoons melted butter or plain vegetable oil 150 gram punnet of fresh blueberries Small amount of vegetable oil or cooking spray for the pan To serve Page 7

8 8 rashers of streaky bacon maple syrup **You must leave the batter to develop for at least 10 minutes after it has been made or the pancakes won t rise!** Mix together the flour, baking powder and caster sugar in a mixing bowl. In a jug, whisk together the milk and egg with the salt, then pour into the flour mix and whisk everything together really well. The batter should be quite thick. Stir through the melted butter then leave the mix aside for 10 to 15 minutes. You should see small bubbles or craters in the surface of the mix to tell you when it is ready. Add in the blueberries and carefully fold them in with large metal spoon. Pre-heat a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and either wipe with oil or use a cooking spray. Add in small amounts of the batter - about 2 tablespoons worth in one go - and leave them to cook on one side. After 2 or 3 minutes you should see small bubbles on the surface which means they are ready to flip over. Flip over once and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side. Keep the pancakes on a warmed plate and covered with a clean tea towel until all the pancakes are cooked. In the meantime, cook the bacon as you like it, but it ideally should be nice and crispy. Serve 3 pancakes for each person with 2 rashers of bacon and plenty of maple syrup drizzled over the top. Page 8

9 James Winter Pasta Trapanese Sometimes known as Sicilian pesto this sauce is from the Trapani region of Sicily. Genoese traders brought pesto to Sicily but used the local almonds and tomatoes instead of the traditional pine nuts. Simply delicious! 2 handful of blanched almonds skins removed. (keep one back for finishing the dish) 2 cloves of garlic 1 handful of fresh basil leaves no stems 1 handful of pecorino cheese 6-8 ripe tomatoes on the vine Large pinch (4 fingers) of sea salt 100ml of virgin olive oil or thereabouts. 500g of fusilli or you favourite shape If you need to blanch and peel the almonds, simply pop them into boiling water for a minute, remove and peel. Place all ingredients except the olive oil and pasta and cheese in a food processor and pulse to a paste. Pour in the oil and pulse to to combine then add the grated cheeses and combine by hand. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions. Loosen the pesto with a little of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and stir in the sauce until well covered. Add the remaining whole almonds. Serve immediately with a little more cheese on top and a grind of black pepper of you like. Page 9

10 Poached Pear Puff Pastry Parcels You are going to LOVE these. A tasty party snack or dessert for a dinner party. Get the ripest of the ripe pears. They are helpfully labelled in the supermarkets these days as perfectly ripe too! 500g caster sugar 500ml water 8 cloves 4 ripe pears, peeled, halved and the core removed. 1 sheet ready rolled all butter puff pastry 4-6 pancakes (you can use store bought ones if you want) Handful of mint chopped finely Put the sugar and water and cloves in a pan. Bring to gentle simmer then add the pears and poach for 10 minutes. Cool in the pan then transfer to a bowl and leave in the fridge. Once the pears are cool. Cut into pieces about 2cm square. Cut the pancakes into strips. Place each piece of pear with a sprinkling of mint on a piece of pancake and roll so that it is just covered. Roll the puff pastry thinly out to about 2mm in thickness then cut into squares or around 8 x 8cm. Place the one pear rolled in pancake onto the pastry and bring up two opposing corners then pinch together. Do the same with the other two corners and you will create a sealed parcel. Repeat until all the pears have been used. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Turn on your deep fat fryer to 180C or bring a pan of oil carefully to 180C. Fry each pear parcel until the pastry is golden. Sprinkle with sugar and eat! Page 10