Alternative Christmas

With Christmas around the corner I did some turkey alternatives on the menu to mix things up a bit.

BEEF
Sirloin. I stripped back the fat and cleaned up the meat, cut in half and seasoned. Protein glued the fat back on, rolled in cling film and chilled for 24 hours. Then we portioned, vac-packed and sous-vide at 64 degrees for 15 minuntes, pan seared to finish.

PRESSED POTATOES-
Like Boulangere the potatoes are thinly sliced with layers of caramelised onion, picked oxtail and stock, tastes a bit like stovies.

BRAISED RIB-
Jacobs ladder slow cooked, bone removed and pressed.

PHEASANT
I got the protein glue out again with this one. I removed the Pheasant breasts and skin, glued them together, wrapped them in blanched chard leaves and rolled them in cling film to set for 24 hours. The legs are split, the thighs confit, the drumstick and bones I used to make the sauce.

FONDANT POTATO-
Scott makes them with butter, thyme, garlic and sugar first then stock. They are amazing.
Simply finished with roast root vegetables and a squash puree.

Textures of pear with parsnip and vanilla

The combination of pear and parsnip works really well together in savoury dishes like pork or pheasant, also works well in desserts like I did on Best Dish.

I'm really in to maximizing and emphasising the taste and textures of a single ingredient at the moment and with the pear I did fluid gel, poached, compressed, crisp, sorbet and the forgotten jelly.

The jelly was a thin sheet that I had cut in rounds and piped in fluid gel and parsnip puree and folded the jelly like a half moon, ravioli almost.

The microwave cake was amazing. I had read a few things on the internet a while back about this method. I found that the consistency of the mix was very important before you put it in the isi whipper. The result was great and I think there are so many other things that could be done with it.

I also made a vanilla dressing using chardonnay vinegar, stock syrup, vanilla and olive oil to give it a bit of a fresh zing.

This is the dish:

Here's a link to the recipe & episode.

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=289232

http://www.itv.com/food/recipes/textures-english-pears-parsnip-and-vanilla

Second rosette

 My team and me here at Due South are very happy with getting our second rosette!

Check out the plate, looks good. 

All Stars at 'The Pass'

A little while back I got an invite from Matt Gillan to cook one course at his special 3 day event All stars 9 courses 9 different chefs, each chef got an ingredient to focus on, mine was lemon.

The Menu

Jerusalem artichoke by Elizabeth Allen

One of my favourite vegetables, there was a broth, dumplings, brunoise, mock truffle (Jerusalem artichoke rolled in ash and thin sliced) smart, apple and foam.

Scallop by Simon Hulstone

Pan seared scallop with a cabbage & lemon risotto and a foam.

Beef by James Knappett

Tongue and tendon with about 12 other components- what a dish.

Crab by Steve Bennett

Picked crab, 2nd season asparagus, chargrilled baby gem, asparagus juice.

Venison by Daniel Clifford

Potato "cannelloni" filled with braised venison blue cheese foam, pine nut, cabbage, venison loin, chocolate sauce.

Cheese by Matt Gillan

Two different types of cheese with an apple crisps, sweetcorn, popcorn and mustard leaf.

Lemon by Michael Bremner (me)

Take on a lemon meringue pie, lemon tart, sweet paste crumb, iced tea, marshmallow, wild honey butterscotch butter, a goat curd sorbet, lemon balm and dehydrated lemon curd.

Pear by Hanna Payne

Pear parfait bomb rolled in brioche crumbs, pear compote, pear jelly.

Chocolate by Ben Goldsmith

Different textures of chocolate in the shape of a jigsaw, liquid, brownie, ice cream, shortbread and milk jelly.

The whole experience was amazing. It is in my top 5 favourite nights I have worked. I came home buzzing. Nerve racking getting there though. Some big named chefs there, also the fact that Matt and his team have just won a Michelin star so there was no pressure.

If I had to pick my favourites there were all great but I think the beef by James and the pear from Hanna were amazing, but Daniel Clifford's venison was stunning too.

I really enjoyed working with Matt and his team Hanna, Richard and Adam, thanks guys.

The Pass: http://www.southlodgehotel.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE_HOTELS/eating_and_drinking/the_pass.aspx

Some pictures from the night: http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/media/allstars/default.aspx

Here is my lemon dish.

Agar

Agar is a vegetarian setting agent obtained from several species of red algea, and is very interesting to use.

There are a few things I use agar for in the kitchen from clarifying consomme to setting jelly and serving warm.

For the clarification use 1.2g of agar to every 1lt liquid, bring to the boil, chill, freeze and defrost in muslin at room temperature. The agar does not melt at room temperature using the jelly as a filtration.

On this day we were making jelly spaghetti from escabeche marinating liquid which has a fresh sweet and sour taste.

First the liquid, bring white wine, white wine vinegar and sugar to the boil with fennel, star anise, coriander and saffron, take off the heat and infuse for 20 min and pass through a sieve.

Then we take 200ml of the liquid and mix with 1.2g agar and inject into thin tubes and place in an ice bath til set which takes seconds.

You need the attachment to the isi whipper to get them out.

Cook carrots, garlic and shallot in some olive oil gently so they still have a crunch, add to the pickle liquid to marinade.

We got some red mullet off one of the local boats which is a great fish at the best of times but works really well with this.

You have to cook the fish on the skin side, a good tip is to stop your fish from sticking put some parchment paper in the pan it works very well.

And this is the finished dish, because agar melts around 85 degrees it could be served at room temperature.