Recipe: Mille-Feuille of Iced Pear Parfait, Warm Poached Pear, Liquorice and Caramel Shot

For the parfait
300g caster sugar
63ml cold water
300g whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1 ltr whipping cream
500g pear puree

Method
Mix the water and sugar together and boil. heat to 120c.
Mix the egg yolksand eggs together and whip.
Whisk the sugar in to the egg to make a sabayon.
Allow to cool.
Whip the cream.
Fold the egg, puree and cream together.
Freeze in moulds until required

For the pears
4 pears
1 ltr water
375g sugar
2 lemons

Method
Put the water, sugar and lemons in to a pan and bring to the boil
Peel the pears and add to the poaching liquid
Poach the pears until they are just cooked, remove from stock and allow to cool

For the filo
4 sheets of filo pastry
2 egg yolks

Method
Cut out 24 discs,
Coat 12 of the the discs with egg and top with the other discs, bake until golden brown

For the latte
200g sugar
200ml double cream
100ml water
2 leaves gelatine
4 liquorice straws

Method
put the sugar in the pan with 20ml water
Cook until golden
Remove from the heat and add the rest of the water
Add the gelatine, pour into a shot glass and chill

To serve
Layer the parfait and pastry to build the mille feuille. Put the poached pear and the latte onto the service dish. Pour the cream on top of the latte and add the liquorice straws

Recipe: Mulled Wine Poached Pear

Recipe

250ml mulled wine
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp orange zest
Juice of 1 orange
4 peeled pears

Method

Pour all of the ingredients into a pan and stir, bring to the boil
Add the pears to the stock and poach them for 25 minutes
Remove the pears and reduce the stock by half.

Serve the pears with the stock and add vanilla mascarpone or ice cream.

Recipe: Swaledale Goats Milk Cheese Salad

It is thought that cheese making was first brought to the Yorkshire Dales in the 11th century by Cistercian monks who arrived from Normandy and settled in the local abbeys. They in turn passed on the cheese making techniques to the local farmers of Swaledale and thus, Swaledale cheese was born.

Since then Swaledale cheese has provided a fine array of artisan cheeses including Goats Milk Cheese, the dish below has been cooked to demonstrate how flavours like this combine and deliver a simple but tasty salad.

Ingredients

1 baby beetroot, quartered

1 golden beetroot, diced

2 blanched peeled cherry tomatoes

3 cubes of bread crumbed goat’s cheese

Citrus vinaigrette and water cress for dressing salad

Method 

Warm the beetroot and Place it on the plate

Add the golden beetroot to the dish cold

Arrange cress on the beetroot and season

Add the cherry tomatoes and a bit more cress

Deep fry the goat’s cheese until crisp, do this carefully so the bread crust does not split

Dress the salad with the citrus vinaigrette

Top the salad with the goat’s cheese

Recipe: Pan Fried Pigeon, Pickled Vegetables, Foraged Wild Blackberry and Rapeseed Dressing

Recipe

1 pigeon breast, marinated in rosemary, juniper berries, shallot and a little oil for 24hrs
30g home pickled vegetables (these have been pickled and stored in an air tight jar until required)
5g pea shoots
2 table spoons blackberry and rapeseed dressing

Method

Pan Fry the pigeon in a hot pan with oil and butter, 3 minutes each side
Once cooked allow to rest for 4 minutes
Place the pickled vegetables on the plate
Top the vegetables with pea shoots
Flash the pigeon to warm through, slice and plate
Finish the dish with dressing

My love for Beetroot..

The beetroot plant “Beta Vulgaris” can grow in a number of soils, Beetroot evolved from the wild sea beet which is a native of coast lines from India to Britain Today beetroot is common throughout Europe, it is extensively used in Eastern European & Russian cuisine. Today many varieties are available;

Albino

Bull’s blood

Golden

Detroit dark red

Early wonder

Red ace hybrid

Ruby queen

Touchstone Gold

 

In my kitchens I use a lot of beetroot for it’s a good source of carbohydrates, good source of protein, contains high levels of vitamins, minerals & micro-nutrients, practically no fat and no cholesterol. I use a number of varieties of beetroot for a number of dishes and today and I would like to share a soup recipe that I often use. This recipe was found one day I was pondering my cook book collection whilst cooking dinner for the family, although it is not one of my own recipes I do feel it is a success in its own rights.

Beetroot Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon light olive oil

3 ounces onion

6 ounces carrot

1 medium parsnips

0.50 teaspoon ground coriander

2 pints vegetable stock 12 ounces beetroot

4 teaspoons dill

1 pomegranate

4 teaspoons yogurt

2 tablespoons walnut pieces

Method

Heat the oil in a saucepan, then sweat the onion, carrot and parsnip for 5 minutes, until starting to soften. Add the stock and beetroot. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 20 minutes, adding 2 teaspoons dill for the final 2 or 3 minutes. Cut the pomegranate in half and extract the juice using a lemon squeezer. Blend the soup in a food processor or blender. Add pomegranate juice to taste. Reheat the soup, then served garnished with the yogurt, walnuts and remaining dill.

Recipe: Lillies Blackberry Jam

Ingredients

1.5kg hand picked blackberries
2 lemons
1kg jam sugar

Fruit is always best hand picked

Method

Wash and place the berries into a colander to air dry. Once dry, cover the berries with sugar and stir. Allow them to chill in the fridge for 3 hours. Place the berries into a thick bottomed pan, add lemon juice and gently heat then bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat and allow the jam to simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the jam from the heat and allow to cool for 40 minutes. Ensure the pots that you are using are sterilized and air dried. Pour the jam into the jars, seal and label.

As a family that makes a lot of Jam during the summer months we often find ourselves giving it away to friends and family. Our jam is not as thick as some but we use it for a lot of things rather than with the traditional toast. My wife enjoys it with Greek or natural yoghurt, the kids love it in ice-cream sundaes and I enjoy it with shortbread biscuits and a cup of tea in the garden.

Recipe: Earl Grey Pannacotta

Ingredients

3 leaves gelatine

850ml double cream

285ml milk

170g caster sugar

1-2 tsp loose Earl Grey tea

Method

Lay the gelatine leaves in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak. Pour the cream and milk into a large saucepan, and then add the caster sugar and loose tea. Bring to the boil gently, reduce the heat and infuse for about 5 minutes – not longer or else the tea will stew. Lift the gelatine from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Whisk the gelatine into the warm creamy milk until it has completely dissolved, then pour through a sieve into a jug to remove the tea leaves. Pour into 8 vintage tea cups and leave to set in the fridge for about 4 hours or overnight. Once the Pannacotta has chilled serve it with fresh strawberries, apricots and home made short bread.