Welsh Rarebit

Ingredients

Sourdough bread.
50g flour.
50g butter.
250g vintage cheddar cheese, or other strong hard cheese, grated.
250ml strongly-flavoured ale, or other beer, room temperature.
1 egg yolk.
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard.
Large dash Worcestershire sauce.
Paprika.

Method

Melt butter in pan over low heat.
Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute to form a roux.
Remove from heat and stir in beer.
Return to heat, reduce to form a veloute.
Remove from heat, whisk in cheese, until melted.
Stir in egg, mustard and Worcestershire.
Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
Rest mix in fridge until it has cooled and thickened.
Thickly slice bread.
Grill one side under salamander.
Spread rarebit mixture thickly with sauce.
Grill under salamander until crispy and brown.

Beef Carpaccio

Ingredients

Rib-eye beef fillet, or other lean beef fillet.
Black peppercorns, roughly ground.
Capers, chopped.
(For the sauce:)
1 egg yolk.
75ml lightly-flavoured olive-oil.
1 lemon, juiced.
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard.
4 dashes Tabasco.
Teaspoon single cream.

Method

Brush a large piece of foil with olive oil, then scatter with ground peppercorn.
Tightly roll the foil around beef fillet, securing with twine.
Rest fillet in fridge for ½ hour.
Seal fillet in very hot pan, for 20 seconds on each side.
Place in freezer for around 3 hours, to firm.
Whisk egg yolk, Tabasco and mustard.
Continuing to whisk yolk mixture, gradually add oil, to emulsify.
When all oil is added, stir in cream.
Season with lemon juice, salt and white pepper.
Remove beef from freezer and unwrap.
Using a very sharp knife, slice beef as thinly as possible.
Arrange on plates with sauce and capers.

Rocket and Pamesan Salad

Baby rocket.
Parmesan cheese, shaved.
Balsamic dressing.

Sirloin Steaks with Cafe de Paris and Chips

Choose thick steaks.
Start with steaks at room temperature.
Season steak well before cooking.
Melt 20g butter in saucepan with ½ clove of garlic, chopped, on a hot stove.
Place steak in pan. Turn only once.
Cook around 3 min each side for medium-rare, 4 minutes for medium.
(Rare – internal temp 60°C; Medium – internal temp 70°C).
Rest for five minutes, then season well again before serving with Cafe de Paris Butter and Chips.

Cafe De Paris

Ingredients

250g butter, soft.
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.
5 capers, finely chopped.
1 small eschalot, finely chopped.
½ garlic clove, finely chopped.
Juice of ½ a lemon.
Stalk of parsley, stalk removed and finely chopped.
6 chives, finely chopped.
Sprig thyme, stalk removed and finely chopped.
4 tarragon leaves, finely chopped.
½ teaspoon Keen’s curry powder
Dash ketchup.
Dash Geo. Watkins anchovy sauce.
Dash brandy
Dash Worcestershire sauce.
Pinch paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch white pepper
Pinch salt.

Method

Lightly beat the butter.
Mix the other ingredients together, then massage through butter.
Roll into cling film to form a sausage, twisting tight and closed at each end.
Harden in fridge.
Slice to serve, laying slices under salamander until melted.

Chips

Choose good-quality, long, desireé potatoes (or similar).
Peel and (using a mandolin) cut into batons.
Boil for 2 minutes in salted water.
Strain.
Bring frying oil to 190°C.
Cook potatoes for 4 -5 minutes, until light gold.
Remove, placing on absorbent paper.
Re-fry for 1 – 2 minutes before serving, until deep gold.
Place on fresh paper, seasoning very well with salt and a touch of pepper.

Pork and Jellyfish Salad

Ingredients

1 handful of Chinese BBQ pork (Char Sui).
1 handful of Chinese Jellyfish.
1 handful fresh thin Chinese noodles, such as .
1 tbsp sesame oil.
3 shallots.*
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded.
1 carrot, peeled.
2 stalks celery.
1 tbsp soy sauce.
1 tbsp rice vinegar.
1 tsp white sugar.

Method

Boil the noodles for 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
Mix noodles with sesame oil.
Cut pig, jellyfish, carrot, shallots, cucumber, carrot and celery into thin batons.
Mix soy, vinegar and sugar together well.
Toss everything.

Bruschetta

Ingredients

Tomato, diced.
Basil, shredded.
Olive Oil.
Garlic.
Chiabatta.

Method

Mix basil and tomato and sit.
Drizzle olive oil on bread and char-grill.
Rub garlic over face of bread.
Top with tomato mixture.
Season.

Pesto

Ingredients

1 clove garlic.
25g pine nuts.
40g basil leaves.
20g parmesan, grated.
75ml olive oil.

Method

Crush garlic, nuts, cheese and basil in mortar.
Add olive oil in a steady stream, continuing to mix in mortar.

Chargrilled Octopus

Ingredients

1kg baby octopus, cleaned and tenderised.
150ml olive oil.
4 sprigs of thyme.
2 bay leaves.
Lemon.

Method

Strip leaves of thyme stalk and mix with octopus and other ingredients.
Season.
Marinate overnight, sealed.
Skewer octopuses.
Char-grill 7 -8 minutes each side, bushing with marinade.
Rest for 5 minutes, season, and serve with lemon wedges.

Tomato Salad

Ingredients

Tomatoes.
Basil.
Balsamic dressing.

Method

Slice tomatoes, and toss with balsamic dressing and torn basil.

Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

1/3 Balsamic vinegar.
2/3 olive oil.

Method

Whisk together and season with salt and pepper.

Supli

Ingredients

Risotto, room temperature.
Some good quality buffalo pizzarotta or mozzarella.
Some basil.
Breadcrumbs.
2 eggs.
Frying oil.

Method

Beat the eggs and mix with risotto.
Dice the pizzarotta into ½ inch cubes.
Tear the basil into largish strips.
Form a pocket with handfuls of risotto and place a piece of basil and pizzarotta in each portion. One serve of risotto should make around 10 balls, depending on size.
Roll each ball in a plastic bag of breadcrumbs to coat.
Heat oil to 180°C (350°F) and cook balls in batches for 4 minutes.
Serve with a tomato salad or with napolitana sauce.

Risotto

Ingredients

1 litre chicken stock.

400g aborio or carnaroli rice

50g butter.

150ml white wine.

½ an onion, diced.

Some lemon.

Some parmesan cheese, grated.

Some parsley, chopped.

Method

Warm the wine and the stock in a saucepan and keep on the simmer.

Soften the onion in a large deep frypan with half the butter on low heat.

Add the rice and start stirring.

Don’t stop stirring for 15 minutes at least.

After one minute add a large ladle full of warm stock mixture, to cover rice.

Stir for a minute or two until the stock is absorbed.

Add another ladle of stock and stir till absorbed.

Don’t stop stirring.

Repeat until all the stock is absorbed—about 15 – 20 minutes.

Add a handful of grated parmesan and parsley, and stir well.

Season with pepper and lemon juice.

Watercress Soup

Ingredients

1 Onion
125g potatoes, peeled and diced.
600ml chicken stock.
600 g watercress, large stalks removed.
120ml cream.
Nutmeg.
Chives.

Method

Soften onions in pan with butter.
Add potato and stock.
Bring to boil then simmer for 10 min or till potato soft.
Add watercress and reduce for 1 min, turning.
Puree very thoroughly.
Stir in cream.
Season well.
Warm if necessary.
Serve with chives and nutmeg

Veal Saltimbocca

Ingredients

Veal Escalopes, Tenderised to minute-steaks
Sage
Prosciutto
White Wine or Marsala

Method

Place prosciutto on veal, then pin one or two sage leaves to prosciutto using toothpick.
Season with pepper only.
Pan fry, bottom side only, for three minutes or so in olive oil and butter mix.
Deglaze plan with wine or marsala and extra butter to make sauce.