Rosemary Shrager
Feuilletes of Langoustines
If you use frozen pastry this dish works out, but if you go to
the trouble of making your own, it's magnificent. It can be prepared
well in advance.
Serves 4, either as a generous first course, or as a light lunch.
Ingredients:
1 lb. (450g) puff pastry
8 large scallops, shelled, washed and cleaned
8 large langoustines or prawns, shelled
1lb. (450g) fresh spinach, washed and prepared
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg yolk
Handful of fresh tarragon leaves
1 tbsp. chopped chives
For the sauce:
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup fish stock
½ cup dry vermouth
2 pieces of preserved gingerroot, chopped, syrup reserved
Good pinch of saffron
1 cup (200ml) heavy cream
Seasoning
Oven: 400ºF / 200ºC
Method:
Roll out the pastry to ½ inch (1 cm) thickness then cut into
four rectangles. Using a sharp knife, score the pastry ½
inch (1 cm) inside the edge, like a picture-frame, taking care not
to cut it all the way through. Put the squares onto a baking tray
and brush them with egg-yolk, making sure you don't go outside the
frame or the pastry will not rise evenly. Bake for 15 minutes, until
golden brown. While it's still hot, remove the inner squares (which
are going to be lids) and discard the stodgy insides, so that you
have 4 clean boxes.
Blanch and refresh the spinach in a bowl of ice water. Drain it
and squeeze all the water from it.
Make the sauce by softening the shallot in the vermouth and reducing
it, before adding the fish-stock and reducing it again to 1/3. Add
the ginger, the saffron and the cream and simmer for two minutes.
Season and add a little ginger-syrup to taste. Keep it warm.
To finish the dish, make sure the scallops are dry, then slice
them in half horizontally and turn them, with the langoustines,
in the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Sear them quickly on both
sides in a very hot, dry frying pan.
Turn the spinach in the butter over a gentle heat and assemble
the feuilletes by putting a spoonful of spinach in the bottom of
each pastry-box and filling it with shellfish and some sauce. Sprinkle
with chives and tarragon and put the lid on top.
Extras:
Puff Pastry
Makes approx. 5lbs. (2.5kg)
Ingredients:
7¾ cups all-purpose flour
10 tbsp. well-softened unsalted butter
2 tbsp. salt
4 egg yolks
2 ¼ cups water
9 ½ cups unsalted butter
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Method:
In a large mixing bowl mix the flour, salt, egg yolks and water
into a dough. Make the dough into two equal size balls, cut a cross
half way down in the top and then place into the fridge. Now soften
the butter, either on a table or in a mixer (not food-processor)
with the 3 ½ cups of flour and blend in to one large cake
before refrigerating.
At this stage it is important to have the pastry and butter at
more or less the same stage of suppleness when rolling out. Roll
out the dough to form a clover shape, rolling each clover leaf out
separately. Place the butter on the top of the dough. Bring the
sides up over the butter so there are no gaps and it is well sealed.
Carefully roll the dough into a rectangle shape, place on a tray
and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Afterwards, roll gently into a thinner rectangle about 1/8 inch
thick, each time rolling from the center out to each end. Fold the
dough back to two thirds up the rectangle and fold the final third
back onto the dough. Place this in the fridge for a further 20 minutes.
Place the folded dough open side facing you and roll out again.
Then fold again and repeat one more time. Put into the fridge for
a further 3 hours. Finally, cut up in to the required sizes, and
freeze or refrigerate.
Blanching and Refreshing
This means it's been plunged into boiling water and lightly cooked;
then plunged into very cold water, which quickly cools it and stops
it cooking. Blanching and refreshing cooks vegetables but doesn't
make them soggy. Blanching also removes some very strong tastes
- like cabbage or onions. They still have flavor, but won't overwhelm
the delicate flavors of the dish.
How to prepare scallops
You can buy scallops that have been already prepared by a fishmonger
- but if you can get them fresh in the shells, this is how to open
them!
Hold the scallop, flat side up in a thick cloth. Put the point
of a small, strong knife, into the gap near the hinge and twist
it sharply to open. Then take a long-bladed knife, and slide it
right across, just inside the flatter shell, severing the connecting
muscle that automatically opens the whole thing up. Scoop it from
the other half, with a similar action, keeping the contents intact.
On a board, cut off the frill (which is really the scallops' eyes)
and keep it for sauces. Discard everything except the pink roe and
the white meat.
Where to get scallops
If you can, buy the scallops that have been gathered by hand. This
is not just to do with the quality of the scallops themselves, because
divers can find them in places where dredgers cannot reach, but
dredgers do considerable harm to the ecology of the sea bed.
Cooking scallops
Never over-cook them - they need the briefest time imaginable, and
are even perfectly delicious eaten raw, finely sliced and dressed
with olive oil, pepper and lemon juice.
How to peel langoustine
Remove the two large claws, then the legs. Cut them in half lengthwise,
firmly, with a large knife - you want to keep the shell intact.
Identify, remove and discard the stomach sack from around the meat
in the tail. Do the same with the tiny, black thread-like intestine
and then find the greenish meat (the tomalley) near the head and
reserve it for future use in pasta or sauces. Take all the meat
out of the claws and pack it into the head.
Loin of Venison with Red Cabbage
Don't waste this scrumptious dish on anyone but your very best
friends. This cut of venison comes from a saddle and is tastier
than the very best fillet steak. Ask your butcher if you can have
the bones for stock (for 4).
Ingredients:
1 strip of venison loin, weighing about 1½ lbs. (700g),
cut into two pieces.
1 medium red cabbage
7 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped very small
4 slices bacon, chopped very small
2 apples peeled and diced
4 tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 tbsp. clear honey
3 tsp. salt
Pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 rounded tbsp. orange marmalade
½ lb. (225g) blueberries (optional)
For the sauce:
1 slice smoked bacon, chopped
1 leek finely-chopped
½ bottle red wine
1¼ cups venison or game stock
1 tsp. Rowan jelly (see below) or sour cherry preserves
½ cup port wine
8 tbsp. butter
Oven: 450ºF / 230ºC
Method:
Start with the cabbage. Over a low heat melt the butter and add
the onions. After a minute or two, add the bacon, followed by the
cabbage, apples, honey and vinegar. Set it over a low heat for an
hour, stirring occasionally. Finally add the salt, pepper, marmalade
and blueberries.
Then prepare the sauce. Soften the bacon and leek in 7 tbsp. of
the butter and cook it gently for 15 minutes. Add red wine and reduce
to 1/3 then add the stock and the rowan jelly and reduce it again,
this time to half so that the sauce develops a thicker consistency.
Pass it through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add the port and
salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the venison by removing any trace of fat or sinew, then
sear it in hot oil. Roast for eight minutes, while you finish off
the sauce by beating the remaining 1 tbsp. butter into it. Slice
the meat and serve it on a bed of red cabbage, ideally with baby
onions and potato puree. If you really want to impress, you could
scatter a few blueberries around the plates.
Extras:
Good venison
The season for stags runs from August to mid-October, and the season
for hinds follows on over the winter, until February 15th. The venison
we eat at the Castle comes from the red deer that roam freely over
the estate. The meat is sweet and tender, with very little fat.
We don't hang our venison for very long - rarely more than three
days. I like to cook the saddle mostly - which compromises the fillets
and loins - but the haunch is good for slow roasting and casseroles,
while meat from the shoulder or flank makes an unusual terrine.
Although there isn't much red deer available outside Scotland, other
varieties, such as the fallow and the sika, are becoming more widely
farmed and their meat is also delicious.
Recipe for stock
Ingredients:
Carcasses from game birds
Venison bones
2 large onions, quartered
2 large carrots
The tops from 2 leeks
4 stalks celery
Bunch parsley
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 tbsp. juniper leaves
4 bay leaves
Oven: 450ºF / 230ºC
Method:
Roast the bones for half an hour then put them with all the other
ingredients into a large pot, cover with water, bring it to the
boil and simmer it for 4 hours. Finally, strain.
Sieve everything
Sieving is something that makes everything taste that little bit
more special. Sieve sauces, mousses, even things like mashed potato
- to make them extra smooth.
Lime Mousse
Ingredients:
1 recipe biscuit base mixture
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 tbsp. sugar
Zest of 3 limes
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp. gelatin powder
4 tbsp. cold water
2/3 cup whipping cream
Italian Meringue
Equipment:
1 x 10" (25 cm) stainless steel ring, 2" (5 cm) high
1 cake board
Method:
Soak the gelatin in the 4 tsp. water and leave for about 15 minutes
to soften. Place the ring onto the cake board and line with the
cooked soft biscuit base.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar, boil the milk and whisking all the
time add to the egg mixture. Put back into a clean pan and carefully
heat, stirring continuously until it starts to thicken. Be careful
not to make lumps.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the softened gelatin and stir
until completely dissolved. Now add the zest of the lime and add
the strained lemon and lime juice. Cool down till you can see the
custard thickening.
To make the meringue put two tablespoons of cold water into a small
heavy saucepan and add the sugar. Heat it gently and steadily (have
a bowl of cold water and pastry brush handy in case crystals begin
to form in which case brush around the inside of the pan to disperse
them). When it has reached 250ºF (120ºC), set it aside,
and start whisking the egg whites. When they have just reached soft
peaks, add the syrup slowly and whisk continuously for five minutes
until very smooth and the mixture has cooled down. Now whisk a third
of the meringue mixture into the lemon and lime custard then fold
in the rest followed by the cream.
Pour into the prepared ring with the biscuit bas and put into the
fridge for at least four hours. Serve with lime sorbet.
Extras:
Recipe for base
Ingredients:
Carcasses from game birds
Venison bones
2 large onions, quartered
2 large carrots
The tops from 2 leeks
4 stalks celery
Bunch parsley
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 tbsp. juniper leaves
4 bay leaves
Oven: 450ºF / 230ºC
Method:
Roast the bones for half an hour then put them with all the other
ingredients into a large pot, cover with water, bring it to the
boil and simmer it for 4 hours.
Finally, strain.
Recipe for lime sorbet
Ingredients:
Juice of 10 limes
Zest of 6 limes
1 1/8 cups approximately sugar syrup
Syrup:
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup glucose
Method:
Have the syrup mix made up. Grate the zest of the 6 limes then squeeze
the juice of the 10 limes. Strain through a juice sieve. Mix the
syrup to taste. Put into ice-cream machine.
If you don't have a stainless steel ring to set the mousse in
Use a loose-bottomed cake-tin, but line it with cling film, this
will stop the metal reacting badly with the fruit.
Don't overwhip your egg whites
If you overwhip your egg whites, you'll beat the air out of
them. You want soft peaks - not hard ones. You can hold a bowl of
correctly whipped meringue over your head without it falling out
- but don't do this unless you're REALLY confident it's at the right
consistency (or if wearing clothes that need dry cleaning).
What is Rowan Jelly?
The Rowan is a small deciduous tree, also known as the mountain
ash, native to much of England and Scotland. It produces a large
number of edible berries that are traditionally made into a jelly
served as a condiment with game. It is a tart/sweet jelly with a
slight bitter finish.
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