Pheasant and Foie Gras Terrine

Pheasant and Foie Gras Terrine

Serves 8
4 x Pheasant Breasts on the bone
500g Foie Gras
250g Jerusalem Artichokes
1 Savoy Cabbage
100g Golden Sultanas
250g Shitake Mushrooms
25g Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt
Pre heat oven to 160°c/ 325f/gas mark 3
1. Double line a terrine dish with cling film leaving enough over hang to seal.
2. Take the foie gras out of the fridge to bring up to room temperature
3. Roast pheasant breast in the oven for 16 minutes, remove and cool. Once cooled carefully remove the breast in one piece from the bone and set aside.
4. Separate the small foie gras lobe from the large lobe. Take the handle of a spoon and carefully remove the vein running down the centre of each lobe, keeping the lobe intact, season with salt and reshape, set aside.
5. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and cut out the centre stem and blanch the leaves in a pan of boiling water and refresh in iced water then drain well, pat dry with a t- towel.
6. Soak the sultanas in some warm water.
7. The artichoke flesh will discolour if exposed to air so place the peeled vegetable in a bowl of acidulated water until ready to cook. Cook in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes then drain and cool.
8. Clean the mushrooms and trim of the end of the stalk. Melt the butter in a frying pan with the olive oil and gently sauté the mushrooms until just cooked. Set aside.
9. Increase the oven temperature to 230°c/450°f/Gas 8
10.Place the prepared foie gras on a lightly oiled oven tray and put into the oven for 6 minutes until the outside is golden and the inside is just cooked. Remove and cool, retaining the juices in the oven tray
11. Assemble the terrine, starting with cabbage leaves at the bottom which have been coated in the foie gras juices, then 2 pheasant breasts, followed by ½ the soaked sultanas, ½ the mushrooms , ½ the artichokes, also coated in the fois gras juices, then all of the foie gras and continue layering up in reverse order- cabbage, mushrooms, artichokes, sultanas, pheasant and finally finish with cabbage leaves
12. Fold over the cling film. Place into the fridge with something to weight the top down, we use a carton of juice and leave for 12 hours.
13. To serve slice a thumbs width and serve with toasted brioche and a nice spiced fruit chutney.

THE BATH COFFEE FESTIVAL

Today we did a food and drink demo at the Bath Coffee Festival. See below for the recipes.
COFFEE CREME BRULEE

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

125g castor sugar

600ml Double cream

2tbsp ground coffee

1 vanilla pod

1 tbsp Tia Maria (optional)

Icing sugar

Pre heat oven 160c

In a heavy based pan, gently heat the cream, ground coffee and the split vanilla pod plus its seeds. Once it reaches boiling point, this is when you can see small bubbles forming around the sides of the pan, turn off the heat and leave to infuse.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the castor sugar and egg yolks until light and mousse like in appearance. Add a small amount of sieved cream to the egg mixture, mix then gradually then add the rest, whisking as you add, if using Tia Maria add it at this point. Return the mixture to a pan and gently reheat to boiling point stirring all the time until the mixture thickens slightly , you will know you have reached this point when you can make a line on the back of the spoon and the mixture doesn't go back in to the line, remove from heat. Sieve one more time and the pour into 6 ramekin dishes and place in a high sided oven tray and pour boiling water around and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes until just set, do not over cook you want them just firm to touch. Remove from oven cool slightly and put into a fridge fro a minimum of 2 hours. Best eaten on the same day.

When ready to eat them shake on 1 teaspoon of icing sugar and using a bowl torch caramelise the sugar , if you do not have a blow torch place under a hot grill. Serve.

COFFEE MARTINI

Makes one Martini

Ingredients

1 measure of vodka

1 measure of Kahlua

1 esspreso shot

1 measure of sugar cane syrup

A handful of ice

Put all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake till all the ingredients have blended. Then pour into a martini glass.

BEEF CHEEKS BRAISED IN RED WINE

700g Beef Cheek, cut into large pieces
100g Flour, seasoned
50ml Sunflower oil
150g Carrots, peeled and diced
1 large Onion, diced, large pieces.
750 ml Red wine
250ml Beef stock
4 Cloves garlic, chopped roughly
Thyme
Bay leaf

Pre heat the oven to 200c/400f/gas 6

Toss the beef cheek into the seasoned flour, don't worry about the fat this will dissolve in the cooking. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed oven proof pan, brown the meat in batches. Add the onions and garlic and sweat gently for 10 minutes. Pour off excess fat then deglaze the pan with the wine, bring to the boil and add the carrots , stock and herbs. Put a lid on the pan and place in the oven for 2 hours, stir regularly and if it is drying out add some water . Serve with mash and dark green vegetables.

CALVO DE NERO AND HARICOT BEAN SOUP

Recipe By Carey Auge

Serves 4

5 leaves of Calvo de nero- sliced 1cm. You can use swiss chard.
400g tin of Haricot beans
1 onion finely chpped
2 tbsp butter
4 rashers streaky bacon chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
4 slices of french stick bread- toasted
2 garlic cloves peeled
50g parmesan grated
extra virgin olive oil.


Melt the butter in a large pan, add the bacon and saute gently until softened and the bacon is lightly browned. Add the calvo de nero and cook for 3 minutes.Add the stock and beans. Season and simmer for 15 minutes. While this is cooking rub the toasted bread with the garlic cloves and place a slice in the bottom of each serving bowl, top with the parmesan. When the soup is ready ladle over the bread and add a swirl of extra virgin olive oil.Serve.

DAUPHINOISE POTATOES

Dauphinoise Potatoes

1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes peeled and placed in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning

NB use floury potatoes such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree

3-4 cloves garlic

500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will need a large gratin dish

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2.

2. Slice the potatoes into thin slices, about 2mm-3mm/0.13in thick. Place the slices into a bowl as you cut them.

3. Trim the ends off the garlic cloves but don't peel. Grate the cloves on a grater. The flesh will go through the fine holes and the skins will be left behind. Scrape the grated garlic flesh into the bowl with the potatoes.

4. Season the potatoes, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.

5. Pour the cream over the potatoes and mix well again.

6. Place the potato slices into the gratin dish. They should come to just below the top of the dish. Press the potato down with the back of a spoon or your hands so it forms a solid layer. The cream should come to just below the top layer of potato (top up with more double cream if necessary).

7. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, then check it. If the cream looks like it's splitting, your oven is too hot, so turn it down a bit. When cooked, the gratin should be golden on top and the potatoes tender. If necessary, give it another 15-20 minutes.

8. Serve the dauphinoise as a side dish to roasted meat or poultry.

RHUBARB CREME BRULEE

Rhubarb crème brulee

serves 6

300g / 11oz fresh rhubarb
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 vanilla pods
300ml / 11fl oz double cream
200ml / 7fl oz full fat milk
8 egg yolks
80g / 2 ¾ oz sugar

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F/Gas 1.

Roughly slice up the rhubarb and place it in a pan with the caster sugar and 5 tablespoons of water. Simmer until tender, divide between 6 small serving dishes which your brûlée will be cooked in, then set aside.

Score the vanilla pods lengthwise and run the knife up the pod to remove the vanilla seeds. Scrape these into the pan with the pods, cream and milk and slowly bring to the boil.

Meanwhile beat together the yolks and the sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.

When the cream and milk are just boiling , remove the vanilla pods and add little by little to the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Remove any bubbles or froth from the mixture before dividing it into the serving dishes, on top of the rhubarb.

Stand these in an appropriately sized roasting tray filled with water half way up the containers, and bake in the pre-heated oven for around 25 minutes until the custard mixture has set but is still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Allow to cool to room temperature then place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Sprinkle with sugar and caramelize under a very hot grill or using a kitchen blowtorch.

RED PEPPER COULIS

8 Red Peppers diced
3 / 4 Cloves Garlic Chopped
5 leaves of Basil
80 g Butter
½ pt White Wine
1 ½ pt Water
Tabasco, Cayenne Seasoning
1. Remove Seeds from Peppers. Chop into a bits making sure they are all approximately the same size.
2. Melt Butter in a pan and add Peppers, Garlic and Basil. Season well
3. Cover with a lid and place on a very low heat.
4. Sweat it down until the peppers have become almost liquid. Make sure to stir frequently to avoid the peppers sticking to the pan
5. Add White Wine and, turning up the heat, reduce until the mixture appears to be quite thick.
6. Add the water, Tabasco and Cayenne and reduce by a 1/3
7. Blend and pass through a fine sieve and check seasoning

This will go very well with Dishes that involve Goats Cheese or a White Fish like Cod

ElderFlower Cordial

This recipe is one we have used for two years now and is excellent every time.

20 elderflower heads

900g sugar

One Pack of citric acid (available from a chemist)

Zest and Juice of Two Unwaxed Lemons

Zest and Juice of an Unwaxed Orange

Sterilised Bottles.

Shake the elderflower heads to dislodge insects and rinse briefly in water. Bring one litre of water to the boil and remove from heat. Add all of the sugar and citric acid, zest r and juice of the lemons and the rind and Juice of the Orange, Stir until the sugar is dissolved and immerse the elderflower heads. Leave to infuse overnight, remove the flowers and strain the cordial into clean, sterilised bottles. Serve diluted with water to taste.

Carey's Stuffed Cabbage

Serves 5

Ingredients

Savoy Cabbage.
250g minced pork
250g sausage meat
1 onion finely chopped
2 gloves garlic finely chopped
50g pine nuts – roasted and roughly chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp herbs chopped (sage thyme coriander parsley oregano rosemary)
1 egg
70g breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper.

Tomato Sauce
2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp olive oil
300g tinned tomatoes.
75g strong chicken stock or ¼ chicken stock cube

Separate the cabbage leaves and put aside 10 large leaves (The rest can be used in another dish.). Blanch them in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute and then plunge into a bowl of iced water. Pat dry with a tea towel.Mix together all the stuffing ingredients. Divide into ten portions. Take a cabbage leaf and place a portion of stuffing into the centre of the leaf and fold up the sides and place fold sides down on to a plate.

Place into a steamer and steam for 25 minutes.While the cabbage steams make the tomato sauce. Place all the ingredients into a liquidiser and blend, then pour into a pan and gently heat until needed. If using a stock cube do not season it will be salty enough.

Ladle some sauce into the centre of a plate and place 2 parcels in the centre on gently resting on the other.

Salsa Verde

Recipe by Head Chef Rob

Here is a recipe i picked up when working in Bermuda. It is for Salsa Verde (Green Sauce Literal Translation). It goes very well with White Fish and tossed through Pasta. It's best to make it fresh but it can be stored for up to 3/4 days.

Ingredients

150g Flat Leaf Parsley
40g White Bread (Crust Removed)
15g Shallot
25ml of Dry White Wine (Sweet wine will numb the Parsley flavour)
35g Capers
6 Anchovy Fillets (Preferably brine soaked and not Pickled)
2 Medium size Garlic Cloves
250ml Olive Oil (Try to avoid Extra Virgin as it will overpower the flavour and render the rest of the ingredients tasteless)
Seasoning
Lemon Juice to Taste

1. You can place all the ingredients in a Blender and blitz up. However, it is also worth firstly blending the Bread, Anchovies, Shallots and White Wine before adding the rest of the Ingredients.
2. It can either be slightly coarse or fine depending on your personal taste. I find it is better Coarse when with the Fish but smoother through the pasta. But at the end of the day it is down to personal taste.

Classic French Dressing

Recipe by Carey Auge 

Ingredients
1tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1tsp Sugar
1tsp English Mustard Powder
3floz White Wine Vinegar
9floz Sun Flower Oil
Optional 1 Garlic Clove smashed

Mix together. Store in a jar in your fridge, use it when you want.

Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Ingredients
Medium Leg of Lamb (Boned)
15 Basil Leaves
Handful of Capers
4 to 5 Garlic Cloves Sliced
Rock Salt, Kibbled Pepper
2 Red Onions
2 Large Sweet Potatoes
2 Large Potatoes
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
500ml Stock (preferably lamb)
300ml Red Wine
1.Make several incisions in the lamb with a small knife to insert the sliced garlic.
2.Push basil, capers and 2 sliced cloves into the middle of the joint. Season well.
3.Rough chop red onion, put into a roasting tin and place lamb on top.
4.Roast in oven at 180° for 20 minutes then down to 120º for 70 minutes.
5.Peel and cut potatoes and sweet potato into ½ inch batons.
6.Place in salted water and bring to boil.
7.Boil for 2 minutes then drain.
8.Put into a roasting tin, with the garlic and salt/pepper
9.Take out meat and allow to stand with tin foil over top.
10. Return roasting pan to the heat.
11. When hot add red wine to deglaze and reduce by two thirds.
12. Add stock and reduce by half.
13. Strain through sieve.
14. Boil Purple Sprouting Broccoli, when cooked drain water, toss in butter.
15. Serve

Moules Farci

Recipe by Carey Auge 

Serves six as a starter
Ingredients
1.75kg (3lb 14oz) mussels
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
150g (5½oz) butter, slightly softened
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
40g (1½oz) breadcrumbs
25g (1oz) freshly grated parmesan (optional)
1.Clean the mussels. Wash the mussels really well, scrubbing off any barnacles and removing any 'beards’. Tap each one on the side of the sink. If it doesn’t close when you tap it, throw it away
2.Put them in a pan with 150ml (5fl oz) water and the onion. Cover and steam over a medium heat for four minutes, shaking the pan now and then.
3.When the mussels have opened leave them to cool, then drain and tip on to the work surface. Throw away any that haven’t opened.

4.With the others, leave the mussel in half of its shell and discard the other half.

5.Mix the butter, garlic and shallot, spread a bit on each mussel and put in a single layer in a large gratin dish (or a few smaller ones).

6.Scatter on the breadcrumbs and the cheese (if using) and bake in an oven preheated to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 until golden – about 10 minutes.

Crepe with Beurre Noisette

Recipe From Head Chef Rob
Here is my favourite recipe for pancakes. I have tried many different recipes but this one, which i found when i was a lowly commis, has always come out on top. I have found that the Beurre Noisette (Nutty Butter) adds a little extra to the flavour. For the best result you need to make it at least an hour in advance and allow it to rest in the fridge.A non stick pan is handy to use but not essential. It is all in how well you coat the pan and how you work the mixture once it is cooking.

Ingredients
4 Medium Size Eggs
4 Egg Yolks (Medium)
50g Sugar
Pinch Salt
250g Plain Flour
600g Full Fat Milk
75g Beurre Noisette (Butter melted and cooked until the solids have started to turn brown)
Oil for Cooking

1. Whisk together the eggs and the egg yolks
2. Add the flour,sugar and salt then whisk until the mixture is a smooth paste
3. Add the milk and mix well then add in the warm beurre noisette
4. Whisk the mixture well making sure that there are no lumps.
5. Pass the mixture through a sieve. This will ensure that if there are any lumps or possibly egg shell, they will be removed
6. Cover and rest in the fridge for an hour
7. Cook the pancakes as you would normally do so

Crepe with Caramelised Apples

Recipe by Carey Auge
Next Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday which means Pancake Day. We have come up with an alternative recipe to the much loved crepe with lemon and sugar.

Crepe with Caramelised Apples
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tbsp Golden Syrup
250ml Cloudy Apple Juice
1 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
30ml Butter (Cold)

Apples
3 Crisp Apples-cored and each divided into 6
1tbsp Sugar
30g Butter

Batter
2 Eggs
4oz Plain Flour
1/2 pint Milk
Large knob of melted butter'

Vanilla Ice Cream

1.Make the batter by whisking all the ingredients together and keep for 30 minutes until used. Make the pancakes and pile up on a plate until required.
2.Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in pan (not the butter) and biol until reduced by half and then whisk in the butter. Can keep in fridge for a week.
3.Caramelise the apples by melting the butter in a frying pan, Cook for 5 minutes and then add the sugar and cook until caramelised. Best served immediately or put in fridge until required.
4.Put a pancake on the plate and place the apple in the centre and fold in the sides.Drizzle with the sauce and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Savoury Hearts

Recipe by Carey Auge 

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry
Grated Gruyere
Grated Cheddar
Grated Parmesan
Poppy Seeds

Pre heat oven to 190c .
1.Roll out the pastry and scatter some of the cheese over the surface
2. Fold over and re roll.
3.Cut out the hearts, place on a baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and sprinkle on a few poppy seeds.
4.Bake in oven for 10 minutes.Cool and EAT..

Pheasant Normandy

Freshly shot pheasant by Jean Pierre.

A good recipe for Pheasant Normandy

Ingredients

a brace of young pheasants

4 sweet apples (Cox's or the like)

155g/4oz butter

1tsp brown sugar

150ml1/4 pint Calvados

600ml/1 pint thick cream

salt and freshly ground pepper

Peel and core the apples, slice into rings and fry in 55g/2oz of the butter. Add the sugar and cook until golden brown and slightly caramelised.Reserve.

Melt the rest of the butter in a flameproof casserole large enough to take birds. Brown the creatures on all sides, turning and coating with the butter. Cover with the lid and place in a preheated oven at 190C/375F/Gas 5 to cook for 40 minutes; or you can cook them on top of the stove, turning at half time.

Carve the birds into good-size pieces and lay them in a shallow gratin dish. Make sure to pick every little piece of meat from the bones. Place the legs at either end. Keep warm. Scrape any morsels from the carving into the casserole juices and heat until bubbling, then pour in the warmed Calvados. Set fire to the mixture, but round until the flames subside. Add the cream and continue cooking, stirring the while with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens. Season to taste.

Place the apple rings over the pheasant pieces, then pour the sauce over the whole dish and bring to table. If you prefer, you can serve the apple rings separately. Wild rice with fried celery would be excellent with this dish, and a watercress salad should suffice.