SNACK – Perfect Welsh Rarebit

PERFECT WELSH RAREBIT

INGREDIENTS

50g/2oz flour
50g/2oz butter
250ml/9oz strong beer, warmed
250g/9oz strong cheddar, grated
2tsp English mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
black pepper
Sunblush Cherry Tomatoes
Sprigs of Flat Parsley
4 large slices granary bread

METHOD

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter and make a roux with the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring to prevent the roux from burning. Stir in the warm beer by degrees, until you have a thick but smooth sauce. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. You should now have a thick paste. Mix in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce and season well with black pepper.

2. Lightly toast and butter the bread, then pile up the cheesy mixture on each slice. Cook under a hot grill for a few minutes, until browned and bubbling.

3.  Garnish with flat parsley sprigs and sunblush cherry tomatoes

MAIN COURSE – Aromatic pork belly hot pot

AROMATIC PORK BELLY HOT POT

INGREDIENTS

1.5kg/3lb 5oz belly pork, with rind still on
570ml/1 pint pork or chicken stock (if available, otherwise water)
12 spring onions
100ml/3½fl oz light soy sauce
75ml/2½fl oz Chinese rice wine
25ml/1fl oz rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp demerera (or light brown) sugar
3 star anise
10cm/4in piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced in rounds
a good pinch of dried chilli flakes
METHOD

1. Cut the pork belly in large rectangular chunks (2.5×5cm/1×2in), put in a large pan, pour over enough boiling water just to cover, then bring back to the boil. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, skimming off the scum that rises to the surface, then drain through a colander.
2. Rinse out the pan if necessary, return the pork to it and pour over enough boiling hot stock (if available) or water to cover it again.
3. Cut 5 of the spring onions in half and add to the pan with the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, sugar, star anise, ginger and chilli flakes. Cover tightly and simmer very slowly for about 2 hours, turning the meat occasionally, until the pork is very tender, soft and succulent.
4. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid, ideally through muslin or a fine chinois, into a clean pan. Skim off as much fat as you can (but dont worry about leaving a little), then boil the stock hard to reduce and concentrate the flavours. It should be lightly syrupy and intensely aromatic, but don’t over reduce as the soy sauce may make it very salty.
5. Thinly slice the remaining spring onions on the diagonal. Return the pork to the sauce and heat through.
6. Serve over plain noodles in a warmed soup bowl, with plenty of the sauce ladled over, and the sliced spring onions scattered over the meat.

STARTER – Roasted Tomato Soup with Pesto

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP WITH PESTO

INGREDIENTS1kg/2½lb ripe plum tomatoes or other well flavoured toms, washed and halved
3 tbsp olive oil
three whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
150ml/5fl oz light chicken or vegetable stock, or water (optional)

For the Pesto:a generous fist full of basil leaves
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp of pine nuts
2 tbsp of olive oil

METHOD1. Place the tomatoes cut side up in a baking tray, add the whole garlic cloves. Season well with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the sugar and drizzle over the olive oil. Roast in a moderate oven (180C/375F/Gas 4) for about 45 minutes, until the tomatoes are lightly browned and beginning to ooze juice. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool for a few moments.

2. Pick out the roasted garlic cloves and squeeze the soft flesh out of the browned papery husks onto a saucer. Place a sieve over a bowl and rub the tomatoes through it to extract the juice and flesh. Rub the roasted garlic pulp through the sieve as well, along with any oily juices from the pan.

3. Tomatoes vary in juiciness and flavour, so taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings. Thinning with a little stock, or even water, may help to get the flavour and consistency you want. Remember that the flavours will be muted somewhat when the soup is chilled.

4. Place the bowl in the fridge and chill for at least four hours (or accelerate the chilling process by placing the bowl in a larger bowl of ice and water and stirring occasionally).

5. Pound together, or chop together with a large knife, the basil, garlic and pine nuts, until you have a fine grained pulp. Stir into the olive oil. This pesto is meant to be quite runny. Leaving to stand for an hour or two will mellow the harsh edge of the raw garlic.

6. Serve the soup by ladling into chilled bowls and drizzling a generous tablespoon of the pesto over each bowl.

FISH – Gravadlax

GRAVADLAX

INGREDIENTS

1 whole salmon, preferably wild or organic, (or sea trout, or large trout) about 2-4kg/4½-9lb

For the cure:

This quantity should be increased proportionately according to the size of your fish. It is also sufficient for about six average size mackerel. Fish too big to fit in the fridge can be cured in a cool cellar or outhouse (provided it never exceeds 6C). Failing that, you’ll have to make two parcels.
2-3 large bunches fresh dill
125g/4oz rough sea salt crystals
250g/8oz caster sugar
30g/1oz freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp English mustard
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp wine vinegar

METHOD

1. Gut and wipe clean the salmon then take two large fillets from each side, as close to the backbone as possible (use the carcass for stock or soup).

2. Roughly chop the dill and mix thoroughly in a bowl with the salt, sugar and pepper. Lay out a sheet of foil or cling film about 4 times the width of a salmon fillet. Spread a quarter of the pickling mix over a fillet-size area on one side of the foil with a good 15cm/6in margin for folding over.

3. Place one fillet, skin side down, on top of the pickle mixture and cover with slightly more than half of what is left. Place the second fillet on top, skin side up, to make a sandwich. Scatter the remaining pickle mixture over the skin.

4. Wrap up the parcel tightly, tucking the ends and edges in underneath the fish.

5. Put the package on the tray and place a similar size tray, or a plank of wood on the top. Weight it down, with a brick or two or anything else handy (the contents of the fridge?).Turn the package daily for at least five days, and no more than eight. Do not discard the pickling liquid that oozes from the package unless it threatens to spill over the side of the tray.

6. At least one hour before you wish to serve the fish, combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake well together. Leave to stand and shake again to emulsify before serving.

7. To serve: unwrap the gravad lax and wipe off any excess pickling liquid. There is no need to scrape off the dill pieces though, as some recipes suggest. Slice fairly (but not too) thinly then serve with the sauce and buttered brown bread.

8. Unused gravad lax can be re-wrapped in clean cling film or foil and kept in the fridge for up to five days.

VEGETARIAN – Risotto of fresh (wild) mushrooms

RISOTTO OF WILD MUSHROOMS

 

INGREDIENTS

350-500g/12oz-1lb2oz porcini/ceps (and/or other fresh wild mushrooms), cleaned and sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
125g/4oz butter
350g12oz arborio rice
1 litre/1¾ pint good stock
at least 110g/4oz fresh parmesan
1 tbsp best olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD

1. In a large pan bring the stock almost to the boil and keep hot on a very low flame.
2. In another pan melt the butter and sweat the onion until softened but not brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add the rice, stir well and cook until well coated and slightly translucent.
4. Add a ladle of hot stock and let it simmer gently until absorbed by the rice. Add another, and so on, until the rice is cooked (15-20 minutes). As a general rule for risottos, you need four times as much water as rice, by volume. And the rice is done when tender but still just a tiny bit chalky in the middle.
5. Check the seasoning and stir in the olive oil, remaining butter and a couple of spoonfuls of grated parmesan.
6. Serve at once with the rest of the parmesan on the table.