Osso Bucco Alla Milanese

Ingredients

8 pieces of veal osso bucco, about 4cm thick.
250ml white wine.
60g butter.
1 garlic clove, crushed.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped.
1 bay leaf.
3 tblsp parsley, finely chopped.
1 tblsp grated lemon rind.
½ tsp ground cinnamon.
½ tsp allspice.
Flour.
Lemon wedges.

Method

Truss each piece of osso bucco with twine.
Season flour with salt and pepper.
Toss osso bucco in flour to lightly coat.
In a large, heavy-based casserole, brown the osso bucco over moderate heat with butter and crushed garlic, in batches if necessary.
Return all oxxo bucco to casserole, add wine, bay leaf, cinnamon and allspice.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then add 250ml water.
Cover, continue to simmer for 3 ½ hours, adding additional water as needed.
Lift osso bucco from casserole, discard bay leaf.
Increase heat and reduce liquids until thicl.
Reduce heat, stirring constantly.
Add lemon rind, chopped garlic and parsley.
Stir well, season and cook for further 1 min.
Return osso bucco to pan until warm.
Serve with lemon wedges and polenta or risotto on the side.

Rotolo

Ingredients

800g kipfler potatoes.
60ml olive oil.
1 cavolo nero, coarsely chopped.
150g salami, coarsely chopped.
1 egg, lightly beaten.
Sheet of fresh pasta, rolled to 2mm thick and about 35cm square.
Muslin.

Method

Steam potatoes for 20min over salted water and allow to cool.
Coarsely crush potatoes.
Arrange potatoes, salami, cavolo nero on pasta sheet, seasoning well and drizzling with olive oil.
Roll sheet to form long tube containing mixture, about 5cm in diameter.
Brush joining pasta with egg and press to seal.
Wrap rotolo tightly in muslin, securing ends with twine.
Truss rotolo at intervals to secure.
Simmer rotolo for 20min in salted water.
Rest for a further five minutes, remove muslin, and serve in thick slices.

Horseradish Mayonnaise

Ingredients

100ml grape-seed oil.
50ml olive oil.
30g fresh, horseradish, finely grated
1 tsp hot English mustard.
1 egg yolk.
Tarragon vinegar.
Worcestershire sauce.
Paprika.

Method

Whisk egg yolk and mustard in a large bowl.
Combine oils, then gradually add oil mixture to egg yolk, whisking constantly to emulsify.
Whisk through horseradish.
Season well with Worcestershire sauce, paprika, pepper and tarragon vinegar.

Crispy Salmon with leek sauce

Ingredients

Salmon fillets, skin on.
Lemon.
1 leek, finely chopped.
½ onion, finely chopped.
125ml white wine.
30ml white wine vinegar.
Additional vinegar.
30g butter.
30ml olive oil.
Paprika.

Method

Begin by making the sauce.
Sweat leeks and onion in a covered pan with butter over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add wine and vinegar, sauté for a further 2 min.
Remove from heat.
Puree.
Force puree through fine sieve.
Season with salt, pepper, paprika and additional vinegar, if necessary.
Add water to correct consistency.
Place sauce aside.
Carefully bone salmon fillets.
Lightly score skin, season skin side of fillets with generous salt and a touch of pepper.
Prepare a wash of 1/3 lemon juice, 2/3 water, seasoned well.
In a heavy based pan over moderate heat, fry salmon fillets skin down with olive oil for 5 – 7 minutes, until skin in crispy.
Brush underside of fillets with wash on occasion.
Warm sauce.
Reduce heat, cook fillets a further 1 – 2 minutes (to taste) and serve with sauce.

Flounder with Normandaise Sauce

Ingredients

1 flounder, about 800g, cleaned, trimmed and head removed.
200ml dry cider.
150g Swiss brown mushrooms.
120g butter.
100g school prawns.
75g crème fraîche.
4 eschallots, finely sliced.
1 tblsp cider vinegar.

Method

Sauté eschallots with 20g butter over moderate head in a large saucepan for 5 min.
Add mushrooms, cook for a further 5 min.
Add cider and prawns, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Place aside, keep warm.
Season flounder, and cook in a large frypan with remaining butter for about 5 minutes each side.
Return saucepan to heat, stir through crème fraîche, cooking until warm.
Season sauce with salt, pepper and cider vinegar.
Serve sauce over fish.

Braised Witlof

Ingredients

2 witlof, trimmed and halved lengthways.
75ml chicken stock.
15g butter.
1 tsp demerara sugar.
Dash tarragon vinegar.
1 tbsp crème fraîche.
Nutmeg.

Method

Sauté witlof in a frypan with butter over moderate heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
Add sugar, vinegar and stock.
Bring to the boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove witlof and keep warm.
Increase heat and reduce liquid by ½, stir through crème fraîche, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Pour sauce over witlof.
And serve…

Roast Poussin with Walnuts

Ingredients

1 poussin, about 500g.
2 rashers streaky bacon.
100g walnuts, finely chopped.
85g prunes, finely chopped.
4 eschallots, finely chopped.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped.
30g butter.
Additional butter.

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Clean and trim poussin.
Combine walnuts, prunes, eschallot, garlic and butter well, season, and stuff poussin.
Lay bacon across poussin breast, truss poussin, season, smear with additional butter.
Roast on a rack.

Poussin cooking times:
20 minutes, plus an additional minute for every 50g above 500g.

Remove from rack and rest for five minutes.
Meanwhile, deglaze tray with 100ml water, reduce heat to a simmer, stir through 40g flour, bring to a boil for 1 – 2 min, season, and serve as gravy.

Rustic Baked Snapper

Ingredients

1 whole snapper, cleaned and lightly scored.
6 shallots, finely sliced.
3 sprigs thyme.
4 sprigs parsley.
1 – 2 sprigs tarragon.
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, cut half-ways.
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced.
250 ml white wine.

Method

Arrange ingredients in deep, greased ceramic baking tray, cover with foil and bake at 200°C for 45 minutes, checking fish after 30min for wellness.

Duck Pie

Ingredients

400g duck meat, chopped (I tend to buy a whole large duck, use the breast for a terrine, the marylands for confit, and the remaining off-cuts make about 400g).
400ml duck stock (you can use the carcass for this).
150g carrot, chopped into 1cm square cubes.
200 kipfler potatoes, chopped into 1cm square cubes.
½ onion, finely chopped.
1 sprig thyme.
1 bay leaf.
Puff pastry.

Method

Pre-heat oven to 150°C.
In a heavy based oven-proof pot, brown the duck meat over moderate head with a dash of butter.
Add stock, herbs, cover, and bake in oven for 3 ½ hours.
Remove from oven, lift out meat and reserve liquid.
In pan, sauté onion over moderate heat with butter until browned.
Lift out onion.
Return liquid to pot, return to moderate heat and stir in a dash of flour, cooking for 2 – 3 min to form gravy.
Return onion and duck to pot, add potatoes and carrot, cover, and return to over for a further 1 ½ hours.
Remove pot from oven, and increase heat to 220°C.
Spoon pie mixture into individual ramekins, covering with puff pastry.
Wash pastry with milk or beaten egg.
Bake at 220°C for about 20min, until pastry is brown.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin, about 1kg, cleaned and chopped to make 700g.
350ml beef or veal stock.
1 small onion, finely chopped.

Method

Soften onion in a large saucepan.
Add pumpkin and stock, simmer over moderate heat for 20min, until pumpkin is soft.
Puree, adding additional stock if necessary.
Season, and serve with crusty bread.

Small Duck Breast Terrine

Ingredients

700g duck breast (about 2 large breasts), coarsely chopped.
350g pork shoulder, coarsely chopped.
50g chicken or duck liver, coarsely chopped.
50g pork flare or back fat.
6-8 slices bacon or speck, very finely sliced.
75g baby spinach leaves.
30ml cognac.
1 tblsp parsley, finely chopped.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped.
½ tsp quatre-épices.
1 sprig of thyme, stalk removed, finely chopped.
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten.
25g salt.
Pinch black pepper.

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Line a small (about 400ml capacity) terrine with bacon slices, leaving the edges overhanging—when the dish is full you will fold these over to wrap the terrine.
Blanche spinach for 1 – 2 min, drain well, squeeze dry and finely chop.
Combine spinach and all remaining ingredients and mix very well.
Press the mixture into terrine dish, folding over bacon to form a cover.
Cover with terrine lid (or foil) and bake in a bain-marie for 1 hour.
Reduce heat to 140°C and bake for a further 4 – 5 hours, internal temperature 70°C.
Remove from oven, allow to cool, and drain well of any fluids.
Remove terrine lid and apply a heavy weight to terrine—at least 1 kg—ensuring that even weight is applied across the terrine.
Rest, weighted, in refrigerator overnight, before removing weight and covering.
Serve with cornichons, cherries, and toasted sourdough.

Mushroom Sandwiches

Ingredients

About 200g of 4 or 5 types of wild field mushrooms.
About 4 garlic cloves.
2 tblsp parsley, finely chopped.
Lemon.
Butter.
Rye bread, thickly sliced.

Method

Sauté each variety of field mushroom individually with a touch of garlic and butter for 4 – 5 minutes each.
Combine mushrooms, season with salt, pepper, parley, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Return to pan for 1 – 2 minutes to reheat.
Meanwhile, toast buttered bread under salamander until lightly browned.
Serve as a sandwich.

Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

1 cauliflower, cut into florets.
500ml milk.
150g strong cheddar cheese, grated.
100g butter
100g flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Arrange cauliflower in a deep oven tray, lightly greased with butter.
Warm milk and set aside.
In a heavy based saucepan, melt butter, and add flour to form a roux, cooking for 2 minutes without browning.
Remove pan from heat.
Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.
Return to the heat stirring constantly, bring to the boil, reduce heat and cooked until thickened to make a white sauce.
Stir through cheese, and season with salt and white pepper.
Pour sauce to cover cauliflower, and bake for 20 min.

Confit Duck Legs

Ingredients

6 duck marylands.
Approx 1 ltr of either duck fat, goose fat, lard, or a combination of all three.
About 100g salt.
6 – 8 black peppercorns.
2 – 3 bay leaves.
2 – 3 garlic cloves, crushed.
2 – 3 juniper berries, crushed.
Sprig rosemary.
Sprig thyme.

Method

Liberally rub marylands with salt, then rest for 2 – 4 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 80°C.
Rinse marylands under water and pat dry.
In a large, deep oven dish or casserole, arrange marylands and herbs.
Cover entirely with fat; legs must be covered by at least 1cm of fat above top of flesh.
Cook in oven for 5 hours.
Carefully remove marylands from pan, rest aside.
Reserve fat.
Once fat and legs are cooled, strain fat through fine sieve.
Place marylands in a sterilized container, covering with strained fat, and refrigerate.
Marylands will keep like this for some time, and are best after at least 1 – 2 days.
To serve, remove marylands from fat, leaving a fine layer of grease, and either 1) pan-fry over moderate heat for 8 – 10 minutes, until crisp, or 2) roast at 180°C for 20 – 30 min, until crisp.
Serve with a salad of rocket, walnuts, and finely diced pear, dressed with a simple dressing.

Gordon Ramsay’s Pasta with Bacon and Peas

Ingredients

200g dried fusilli.
1 small onion, finely diced.
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.
100g bacon, chopped into fine batons.
100g peas (Gordon recommends frozen, but I prefer freshly shelled).
200ml crème fraîche.
2 tblsp parsley, chopped.
2 tblsp parmesan cheese, grated.

Method

Cook pasta and set aside.
Soften garlic and onion with dash of olive oil over moderate heat for 2 – 3 min.
Add bacon, sauté for further 5 min until crisp.
Add crème fraîche, reduce by half.
Add peas, cook for further 2 min.
Remove from heat, add parsley & parmesan, season.
Stir through pasta and serve.