CRAB SALAD WITH AVOCADO CREAM

Ingredients

Crab salad

·         4 crabs, live

·         3 tbsp of crème fraîche

·         2 tbsp of lemon juice

·         2 tbsp of finely chopped mint

·         2 tbsp of finely chopped tarragon

·         2 carrots, finely sliced

·         2 turnips, finely diced

·         salt

·         pepper

Avocado cream

·         2 avocados, large

·         2 tbsp of crème fraîche

·         2 lemons, juiced

·         salt

·         pepper

Lemongrass vinaigrette

·         1 lemon grass stalk, heart only

·         125ml of olive oil

·         1 lemon, zest and juice

·         2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar

·         1 tbsp of chilly sauce

·         1 garlic clove, minced

·         1/2 tsp of  Dijon Mustard

·         salt

·         pepper

To plate

·         4 tomatoes, quartered

·         2 pink grapefruit, segmented

·         1 handful of mint leaves

·         4 sprigs of chervil

·         1 handful of watercress, sprigs only

·         For the vinaigrette, finely chop the lemongrass and place into a pot with the oil. Fry until the lemongrass starts to sizzle.

·         Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 30minutes - 1 hour before straining the oil into a bowl and discarding the lemongrass.

·         Combine the infused oil with the remaining ingredients, whisk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

·         For the avocado cream, blend the avocado flesh with the crème fraîche and half the lemon juice until smooth.

·         Season well and pour the remaining lemon juice on top. Chill until ready to serve.

To make the salad, marinate the carrots and turnips in the lemongrass vinaigrette for 10 minutes.

·         Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the crabs and cook for 6 minutes.

·         Plunge into cold water for another 5 minutes before removing the flesh. Mix with crème fraîche, lemon juice, chilli and herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

·         Serve onto plates with the marinated vegetables, tomato quarters and pink grapefruit segments. Pour over the avocado cream and garnish with mint leaves, chervil and watercress.

SCALLOPS, PEA PURÉE AND CUMIN FOAM

Ingredients

scallops

6 scallops

1 tbsp of olive oil

10g of butter

1/2  lemon

salt

black pepper

Pea purée

20g of shallots, very finely diced

1 tbsp of oil

400g of frozen garden peas

4g of salt

200ml of milk

Cumin foam

55g of crème fraîche( Sour cream)

110ml of Fish stock

2.5g of cumin seeds

2g of salt

2.5g of lecithin

Method

·         To make the pea purée, sweat the shallots in the oil until soft but not coloured. Add the garden peas salt and milk and simmer for 8 minutes.

·         Drain off the milk into a jug and pour the peas into a blender. Blitz for 2 minutes until ultra smooth adding enough of the milk to make a thickish purée. After blending, cool as quickly as possible as the colour will begin to fade fairly quickly.

·         Heat a non stick pan over a medium flame. When the pan is hot, pour in a spoon of olive oil, add the scallops and cook until golden on one side. After approximately 2 minutes turn over, add a knob of butter, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Transfer to a plate along with the cooking juices.

·         To make the cumin foam, combine the ingredients and blitz in a blender for 1 minute. Gently heat to approximately 40°C and no higher than 50°C.

·         Using a hand blender fitted with an aerator, foam up the mix then let it rest for a minute.

·         Spoon some pea purée into the centre of the bowl. Add a cooked scallop and some pea shoots around the edge. Spoon the foam around to finish and serve immediately.

SCOTTISH TABLET

Ingredients:

500 ml / 1 pint of water

225 gm/ 8 oz butter, chopped in pieces

1.8 kg/4 lbs of super refined fine caster sugar

450 gm / 1 lbs of condensed milk

optional

flavoring as desired

Preparation:

Butter a 30cm x 10cm /12" x 4" or 18cm/ 7" square tin.

In a large, deep pan saucepan, absolute 4 pint minimum but preferable larger (a stock pot works very well) heat the water to a low simmer then add the butter. Stir until melted. Add the sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat to high and bring the sugar to a hard boil for 5 minutes (the mixture should boil really fiercely which helps to reduce the liquid and colour the mixture) stirring all the time to prevent the sugar from sticking and burning. If you have a thermometer take the temperature to 120°C/ 250°F (also known as hard ball stage in candy and toffee making).

Once the sugar is boiling, slowly add the condensed milk - TAKE CARE - the sugar is at a very high temperature and may splatter. Stir well then lower the heat and simmer for 20 mins. The mixture will bubble and resemble a moon crater, but don't be put off, keep cooking. The mixture will also start to slightly darken.

After twenty minutes or once the mixture is visibly thickened, remove the pan from the stove and beat the mixture vigorously for 5 - 10 mins, add any optional flavorings (see note below).

Pour into the greased pan and when the tablet is cool but still soft, cut into 1" squares - you can even put the pan in the freezer to make sure it is completely cold.

Wrap in grease proof paper and store in an airtight tin.

Write up in FWD magazine

You can check out the magazine through the URL down below
http://issuu.com/fwdlife/docs/august_2014/113?e=3833061/8663093

RIB-EYE STEAKS WITH CHIPS AND BEARNAISE SAUCE

Ingredients

For the béarnaise sauce

2 tbsp tarragon vinegar

50ml/2fl oz white wine vinegar

1 tsp white peppercorns

1 shallot, finely chopped

4 egg yolks

200g/7oz unsalted butter, melted

salt and black pepper

¼ lemon, juice only

2 tbsp chopped tarragon leaves, finely chopped

For the chips

vegetable oil, for deep frying

400g/14oz frozen chips

For the rib-eye steaks

4 x 280-350g/10-12oz rib-eye beef steaks

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g/1¾oz butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation method

For the béarnaise sauce, place the vinegars, white peppercorns and shallot into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by half.

Remove the peppercorns and pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl. Add the egg yolks to the bowl and whisk well.

Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk the eggs together until pale and thick. Gradually add the melted butter, whisking constantly. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the lemon juice and chopped tarragon leaves. Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the warm pan until ready to serve.

For the chips, preheat a deep-fat fryer to 160C/325F. 

Place the chips in the fryer, a few at a time, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender but not coloured. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper and increase the temperature on the fryer to 190C/375F.

Meanwhile, for the rib-eye steaks, season the steaks with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a frying pan until very hot and add the butter and olive oil. When the butter is foaming, add the steaks and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes (for medium) or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the heat, cover and rest in a warm place for at least two minutes before serving.

For the chips, return the chips to the oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked all the way through. Remove the chips again using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Season with salt to taste.

To serve, pile the chips on one side of each plate. Place the steak next to the chips along with a spoonful of béarnaise sauce.

Gaelic Coffee (traditional Scottish coffee)

Here are some good ways to round off a meal - whether it has been a Scottish one or not.

Ingredients: 

3 dessertspoons Drambuie liqueur/whisky 
1 level dessertspoon light brown sugar 
Fresh, strong coffee 
Double cream

Method: 

Heat a stemmed wine glass with hot water and dry quickly. Add the Drambuie and stir in the sugar. Pour in the coffee, leaving an inch below the rim. Keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved and pour in the cream over the back of a teaspoon so that it floats on the surface to the depth of about half an inch.

Black pudding and goat's cheese

Ingredients

2 slices black  pudding

2 slices of goat's cheese (with rind)

1-2 teaspoons of modena balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon of clear honey

mixed salad leaves and a few cherry tomatoes.

Method

1. cook the black pudding slices on a baking sheet or tray under a medium grill.

2. when nearly cooked through, place the slices of goat's cheese on top of the black pudding slices and return to grill under a low heat.

3. combine the balsamic vinegar and honey in a teacup.

4. when the goat's cheese has softened and gone very light brown, remove from grill and transfer to a serving plate.

5. garnish with the salad leaves and a few chopped cherry tomatoes and then drizzle the plate with the balsamic dressing.

6. serve and enjoy