Red Wine Jus Steak & Celeriac/Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Glazed Carrots

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RECIPE_INFO1

Simple, hearty, earthy, juicy! What more is there needed to say about this awesome dish. Easy to put together with lovely strong flavours and great textures this is proper comfort food. There aren’t much better things in food than a big, juicy, well cooked steak covered in a rich, deep red wine sauce. Enough said.

INGREDIENTS

For the Red Wine Jus & Steak

  • Two large filet steaks
  • 2 chopped shallots
  • 175 ml port
  • 175 ml red wine
  • 1 sprig rosemay
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 759 ml good beef stock
  • salt to tase
  • 2 tbs butter

For the Celeriac and Sweet Potato Fries

  • 1 large celeriac (1.3kg/3lb total weight)
  • 2 large Sweet Potato
  • 3-4 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp paprika

For the Honey Glazed Carrots:

  • 4 small, thin and conical carrots
  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbsp runny clear honey
  • 1 tbp D’Jon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • Salt
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • White Wine (OPTIONAL)

MUSIC I COOKED TO:

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Preparation Method:

  1. Pre heat an oven to 230C/Gas 8/fan 210C
  2. Peel the celeriac, slicing off the top and bottom and sweeping down the sides with a heavy, sharp knife to remove the tough skin. Cut the celeriac into thumb-thick slices and then into chips. Peel and chip the sweet potato
  3. Bring a very large saucepan of salted water to the boil, throw in the chips and blanch (boil rapidly, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes). Drain the chips, pat dry with kitchen towel and throw back into the saucepan. Add the oil, paprika and sea salt. Toss until well coated.
  4. Spread the chips over a large heavy baking sheet, leaving plenty of space (you may need 2 sheets). They take around 30-35 minutes to cook – wait until they are caramalised and crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
  5. For the red wine jus pan fry the finely diced shallots over a medium high heat until caramelised
  6. Add  the port, red wine and herbs. Simmer until reduced by half.
  7. Add the stock and reduce by half.
  8. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. Add back to the pan and set aside.
  9. Remove the green leaves from the carrots, leaving some greens still attached. Wash them well under cold running water and peel them.
  10. In a small bowl, add the honey, the mustard and the lemon juice and stir well until combined.
  11. Add the butter and heat over medium-high heat. When the butter has almost melted and is foaming place the carrots into the pan. Pour the honey-mustard-lemon juice mixture over the carrots and add salt to taste. Allow the carrots to cook for about 30 minutes over medium heat, until they are softened and caramelised, making sure to turn them every now and then in order to cook evenly. Continue to baste and cover them every so often with the cooking juices, when the pan starts to get a little dry you can deglaze it with some white wine if you have some to hand (or you can use a just a little water or vegetable stock). Never add too much liquid to the pan.
  12. When they are ready, remove them from the pan and arrange them on a platter. Pour some of the melted butter-mustard sauce on top.
  13. Heat a grill or pan to hot, smear the steaks with oil and salt and cook them, turning once, 3 mins each side.
  14. Bring the jus back to boil and remove from heat then whisk ( ‘monte’) in the butter.
  15. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  16. To plate up place the steaks next to the carrots in the centre of a plate, scatter some fries next to them and drizzle over some of the red wine jus.

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Duck Breast Salad & Candied Soy Walnuts on a Sweet Potato Pancake with Raspberry Vinaigrette

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RECIPE_INFO1

This bright, fresh, fruity and light duck salad is a great spring dish. It makes a great light lunch to enjoy in the early spring sun. It also makes a good first course of you’re doing one of those dinner party things 🙂 The savoury notes of the rich, tender duck meat, sweet potato pancake and the asparagus combine beautifully with the sharp fruit flavours of the raspberry vinaigrette and the caramelised walnuts. All the stages are pretty quick and easy to put together – make sure you’re careful with the duck and don’t overcook it or you’ll end up with tough, leathery meat. Not nice. If you did want to save a little time and effort you could always omit the sweet potato pancake… though I wouldn’t! You could also replace this element with a fritter or sweet potato bread or roti too.


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INGREDIENTS

For the Duck:

  • 2 duck breast
  • salt
  • mixed salad leaves to serve

Sweet Potato Pancakes:

  • 500g of sweet potato
  • 3 tbsp of milk
  • 3 tbsp of single cream
  • 3 tbsp of plain flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • 750ml of chicken stock
  • sunflower oil
  • salt
  • black pepper

Asparagus

  • 4 asparagus spears
  • 1 tbsp of unsalted butter

Honey Soy Walnuts

  • 150g of walnuts
  • 20ml of light soy sauce
  • 2tbsp of honey
  • sea salt

Raspberry vinaigrette

  • 1 punnet of raspberries
  • 1/2 tsp of Dijon Mustard
  • 200ml of olive oil
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • sea salt
  • pepper

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Preparation Method:

  1. To make the potato pancakes, peel and quarter the potatoes then cook them in a pan of boiling salted water/stock until tender.
  2. Drain, then while still hot put them through a blender or use a masher to purée and set aside to cool. Do not over blend to avoid the texture becoming gluey
  3. Once the potatoes are completely cool, put them in a mixing bowl with the milk, cream and flour. Beat in the whole eggs one at a time
  4. In a large clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form then fold them into the batter.
  5. To cook the pancakes, heat a blini pan with some sunflower oil until hot, then tip out the oil.
  6. Put a ladle of pancake mixture in the pan, leave on the heat for a few seconds, and then place in the oven (or under the grill) until the pancake is firm to the touch and lightly browned. Keep warm while you repeat with the remaining batter
  7. Preheat the oven to 175˚C/gas mark 3 1/2. Mix walnuts, honey, soy sauce and salt.
  8. Place onto a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes, remove and place back into their original bowl to mix with any left over mixture. Be careful to keep an eye on these so they don’t burn. Allow to cool on the tray.
  9. Combine the raspberries, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard in a bowl. Whisk gently, slowly pouring in the olive oil until thoroughly combined. Season to taste and set aside.
  10. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4
  11. Place a dry pan over a medium high heat and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt.
  12. Lightly score the skin and place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in the pan
  13. The fat will slowly render out of the skin. As it does so, remove with a spoon to allow the skin to crisp up nicely- this will take 4-5 minutes
  14. Add the duck breasts to the tray. Cook in the oven for 4-5 minutes, then remove and allow to rest for a further 5 minutes before serving.
  15. To cook the asparagus, snap off the woody ends and peel the stalks
  16. Blanch the spears for 1-2 minutes (depending on thickness) in a pan of boiling salted water, then drain and refresh in iced water. Drain again then trim the spears so that they are all the same length
  17. Melt butter in a large skillet and add asparagus. Sautee over medium-high heat, until the asparagus begins to blister, around 2 minutes.
  18. Combine the salad leaves and asparagus in a large bowl and mix in some of the raspberry vinaigrette.
  19. Arrange the sweet potato pancake on the centre of the plate. Place the salad and walnuts around the pancake in the middle of each plate. Place the sliced duck breast on top of the pancake and then finish with the asparagus. Drizzle with some more vinaigrette, some flaky sea salt and serve immediately.

MUSIC I COOKED TO:

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TWICE COOKED, TWICE FLAVOUR, CHINESE CHICKEN WITH CHILLI AND SPRING ONION

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This bright, colourful, simple Chicken dish has been passed down through my mum’s family. The distinctly asian flavours and aromas are deep, and strong but quite fresh. The dish is simplicity itself to put together and cook. Julienning the ginger and vegetables beforehand will make things easier for you. If you have the time, the only difficult decision you have is whether to take a break from the cooking after the Chicken has braised in the first section of prep and let it marinade for a few hours… though obviously this turns a dish that is quite quick to cook into an all day affair (though you can obviously just leave the chicken marinating and go and do your own thing). Twice cooking the chicken is an important process for the flavours and textures – the first slow braising step imparts rich colour and flavour to the chicken as well as making the flesh succulent and tender. Roasting the chicken after this and basting it gives the chicken an indulgent crispy sticky covering that holds a real flavour punch. Served with fresh tangy spring onions ,spicy chillies and simple boiled rice this dish springs off the plate and into your mouth with a awesome medley of complimenting tastes and textures –

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INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

  • Small whole chicken
  • Cup of Water
  • Cup of chicken stock
  • 3 small yellow onions
  • 4 spring onions
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled, bruised
  • 6cm piece fresh ginger
  • 3 star anise
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1/2 cup Chinese rice wine
  • 6 tbsp Light soya
  • 4 tbsp Dark soya sauce
  • 2 long red chilli, thinly sliced
  • heaped tbsp sesame seeds
  • Steamed jasmine rice to serve

For the marinade:

  • 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chang’s sesame oil

For basting:

  • 500ml of Chicken stock.

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Preparation Method:

  1. Wash chicken and pat dry skin and body cavity with kitchen paper towel. OR leave to air dry for about 30-40 mins.
  2. Butcher the Chicken into its disassembled pieces – breast, wings and legs and thighs.
  3. Slice the ginger and onion into thin strips around 5-6 cm long.
  4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the ginger and yellow onion until starting to colour. Add half the sliced chilli and fry for around a minute.
  5. Place garlic + chicken pieces in pan in a single layer. Brown on one side, then turn over all the pieces and brown the other side.
  6. Sprinkle rice wine onto chicken and add stock and water into wok with chicken. Then add soya sauce (light and dark), oyster sauce, star anise and the sugar.
  7. Turn heat to medium-low then cover wok and braise chicken until cooked; turning frequently to avoid burning skin. When the liquid in the wok becomes thicker then leave uncovered and continues to cook on low heat and spooning the liquid onto chicken to colour the skin. This gives the chicken a lovely brown colour on the skin and cook the meat in a way which is succulent and tender. It takes appox. 35 mins. to cook the chicken.
  8. At this stage – if you want you can let the dish cool and place into the fridge with all the pan juices for 4hrs (or even up to 12hrs.) – Though it will add flavour to the dish,  its not really necessary.
  9. Transfer to a roasting pan, skin side up. Pat dry with paper towel.
  10. Meanwhile, make marinade Combine hoisin sauce, honey, five spice, soy sauce, chilli and sesame oil in a bowl. Reserve 1 tablespoon mixture.
  11. Roast for 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven. Rotate chicken. Brush chicken with remaining marinade. Cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and dark brown. Baste throughout with chicken stock and any leftover marinade.
  12. Meanwhile toast some sesame seeds in a pan.
  13. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Cover with foil. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
  14. Thinly slice remaining spring onion. Place individual portion of chicken on a plate, sprinkle a pinch of toasted sesame seeds on top. Garnish chicken with spring onion and chilli.
  15. Serve with rice and drizzle over some of the pan juices.

MUSIC I COOKED TO:

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