Cauliflower & blue Cheese Soup
This is a classic combination of flavours. This is quite a filling soup recipe so a little goes a long way. For a varied flavour why not try adding in a little curry powder when cooking the soup for a mild curried alternative or go bolder and add some strong cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
- 50 g butter
- 1 large onion chopped roughly
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 large head cauliflower chopped
- 750 ml vegetable stock
- 200 ml cream
- 75 g Cashel blue cheese
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add in the chopped onion and garlic.
- Sweat the vegetables off for approximately 2 minutes over a gentle heat until they are softened down. Add in the cauliflower pieces, and continue to cook a further moment or two. Season the mixture lightly at this stage.
- Now pour in the warm chicken stock and the cream and allow the entire mixture to come to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Remove from the heat, stir in half of the cheese and blend the soup with a hand blender adding additional stock if you desire. Correct the seasoning of the soup and reheat it gently.
- Serve the soup garnished with some additional crumble of cheese on top.
Hoisin Beef and Scallion Roll
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 200 g Striploin Steak
- Salt and pepper
- 50 g butter
- 1 cm ginger sliced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 4 spring onions
- 4 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
Instructions
- Drizzle some oil on the Striploin steak. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the sauté pan over high heat. Place the striploin and grill for 2-3 minutes. Turn the steak and add the butter, garlic, ginger, chilli, and rosemary. Continue to cook the steak for a further few minutes over medium heat, then remove to a warmed plate to rest.
- Cut the spring onions in half, then slice into thin slivers. Slice the steak into thin slices and wrap around 4 – 5 spring onion slivers.
- Using a pastry brush, gently spread some hoisin sauce over each beef slices . just before serving drizzle a small drizzle some sesame oil if desired to enhance flavours.
- Sprinkle with extra fresh herbs and serve hot or cold.
Smoked Salmon Gateau bites
Ingredients
For the crepe
- 110 g plain flour
- 1 egg
- about 150 ml milk
- sunflower oil for frying
- salt and pepper
for the filler
- 300 g smoked salmon sliced
- 225 g cream cheese
- 1 shallot thinly sliced – optional
- 1 tbsp fresh chives snipped
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- salt and pepper
To serve
- 25 g baby salad leaves
- lemon wedges to serve
- 2 – 3 tbsp Mustard Dressing
Instructions
- To make the pancakes, sift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt, then make a well in the centre. Break the egg into the well and add a little of the milk. Mix the liquid ingredients together, then gradually beat in the flour until smooth. Beat in enough of the remaining milk until you have achieved the consistency of thin cream. Cover with cling film and leave to stand in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Heat a heavy-based frying pan. When hot, brush with the minimum of oil. Pour a small amount of the batter. Swirl it around until it is evenly and thinly spread over the bottom. Cook over a moderate to high heat for about 1 minute or until the edges are curling and the underside is golden. Flip over and cook the second side for 30 seconds or so until golden.
- Leave to cool.
- In the meantime, in a bowl, whip the cream cheese with the shallots, chives and lemon juice and zest. Season to taste. Keep aside.
- Prepare a 8-inch cake tin or terrine mould. Line with cling film, to allow easy lifting from the tin later on.
- Layer the first slice of smoked salmon on the base of the tin, then spread some cream cheese mixture. Add the crepe, more cream cheese then smoked salmon. Create layers following this pattern until at least 3 layers of smoked salmon are achieved and finish with a layer of crepe. the top layer will be the base when turned upside down to serve.
- Close the cling film over the pancake. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight, or until needed.
- To serve, remove from the cling film and slice portions. Place on the serving platter and decorate with salad leaves, slices of lemon and a drizzle of mustard dressing.
Baked cheese and Potatoes in Pastry
Add some extra flavour like cooked smoked bacon, chorizo or truffle for extra flavours.
Ingredients
- 5 baby potatoes cooked and sliced
- 50 g chorizo thinly sliced
- 200 g puff pastry
- 250 g whole camembert or small brie
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 egg wash
- 2 tbsp panko bread crumb
- 2 tsp thyme leaves plus extra sprigs for the cheese
- 1-2 mixed seeds optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220Ëšc. line a small baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the baby potatoes in a saucepan covered with salted water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, and continue to cook for a further 25-30 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cooled, slice the potatoes and keep aside.
- In the meantime, prepare the camembert. Cut the cheese in half length ways. Season both sides with some pepper, sprinkle the seeds and add a few slices of garlic.
- Cut a large disc of puff pastry, double diameter of the cheese, and place on the prepared tray.
- Place a layer of potato on the base, then, a few slcies of chorizo, the first piece of cheese, more potatoes, chorizo, the second piece of cheese and a few more slices of potatoes. Warp with the puff pastry around the cheese and potato stack.
- Brush the sides with egg wash and sprinkle with bread crumb and extra seeds. Season well.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is fully cooked and the mixture has melted and coloured well.
- Serve warm.
Christmas Savoury Sausage Roll
Ingredients
- 50 g Butter
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 6 slices streaky bacon
- 1 chicken stock pot
- 450 g Sausage meat
- 100 g breadcrumbs
- 50 g Parmesan grated
- 2 tbsp. tomato pesto
- 1 egg optional
- 1 puff pastry rolled
- 1 egg wash
- Salt & Pepper to season.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6
- Melt the butter in a non-stick pan and add the onions, bacon, chicken stock pot and slowly fry for
- 4 – 5 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl.
- Add the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, parmesan, tomato pesto to the onion mixture, add the egg to
- create a richer result. season with some salt and pepper.
- Combine to create a sausage mixture. Create a long sausage or 8 balls if you want to do mini
- individual version.
- Next, unroll the pastry and brush with an egg wash. Wrap the sausage meat around the pastry
- and place on a baking tray. Score and brush again with more egg wash.
- Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes until coloured and cooked throughout.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
The tastiest Prawn Cocktail
How many times has this dish reinvented itself and each time it comes back stronger than ever. There is something about it that always draws my mind to it on a menu and as much as I try I just can’t resist. This is my version or my twist on the classic dish. Firm prawns, crisp lettuce, tangy sauce-just what could be better?
This makes a great starter or light main course option.
Ingredients
- 16 wild Atlantic prawns
- 1 small head of iceberg lettuce-Finely shredded
- 2 shallots-thinly sliced
- Lemon wedges-for garnish
- 1 bay leaf
- Marie-rose Sauce:
- 150 ml mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoons of tomato ketchup
- 1 pinch paprika
- Dash of Tabasco sauce
- 30 ml brandy
- 2 tbsp whipped cream
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the sauce.
- Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, paprika together and stir until well combined.
- Stir in the Tabasco and the brandy to suit your own tastes. Proceed with caution with the Tabasco as it can give excessive heat to the dish.
- Retain the sauce in the fridge. Fold the whipped cream last minute.
- Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
- Prepare the prawns by cracking them at the base and just pulling off the tail-to revel part of the flesh of the prawn. Try to remove the inner intestine of the prawn in this manoeuvre. Alternatively, your friendly fish monger will do this for you
- Add a piece of lemon and a bay leaf to the boiling water and plunge the prawns in.
- The water will immediately cool down so you must allow the water to come to the boil again and then once the water re boils leave the prawns to cook for between 60-90 seconds or until they are firm to the touch.
- Have a large bowl of iced water standing by and once the prawns are cooked, plunge them into the water for 4-5 minutes to cool them rapidly before they become over cooked.
- The boiled water in which you cooked the prawns can be chilled and/or frozen and used as a simple fish stock for other recipes.
- To Serve:
- Choose a deep bowl or large martini glass.
- Mix the shredded lettuce with the thinly sliced shallots and arrange it at the bottom of the bowl or glass.
Lemon Curd And Mixed Berry Trifle
This dessert will be the queen of dessert, it is for guest that don’t enjoy the classic Christmas cake or trifle. Prepare the trifle ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 400 g frozen mixed berries
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 lemon juice
- 500 ml fresh custard
- 100 g mascarpone
- 300 ml lemon curd
- 200 ml cream whipped
- 300 g trifle sponge cut into squares.
- 4 meringue nests
Instructions
- In a sauté pan, warm the honey and add the mixed berries with the lemon juice. Cook the berries for 2-3 minutes and set aside to cool.
- Next, in a bowl, combine the custard, mascarpone, and 50ml of lemon curd.
- In a third bowl, beat the cream until soft peak.
- Now, start to build the trifle. You can use a sharing bowl or individual cocktail glasses.
- Lay a layer of the mixed berries on the base of a trifle bowl add some lemon curd leftover on the edges to create contrast of colours and flavours. Then add a few spoons of lemon custard mixture, and one crushed meringue.
- Dip a few pieces of sponge in the cooled mixed berry mixture a few second to just slightly soak the sponge, and place over the custard mixture.
- Layer some more mixed berries, a layer of custard and again with more sponge and fruits until the bowl is nearly full.
- Set aside in the fridge for a few hours to settle covered with cling film.
- Just before serving, crush the meringues and decorate the top of the trifle.
- Decorate with more berries. Serve within a few hours.
Mulled wine Poached Pear Bakewell Tart
Ingredients
- 4 pears halved
- 200 g caster sugar
- 250 ml red wine
- 100 ml port wine
- ½ tsp mixed spices
- 2 clementines zest and juice
- 250 g short crust pastry ready-made
- 150 g ground almond
- 120 g caster sugar
- 120 g butter very soft
- 30 g corn flour
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Place 200g of caster sugar, red and port wines, spice and clementine juice and zest into a wide-based saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and add the halved pears. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, until just tender and turn off the heat. Set aside to cool in the syrup. Once cooled, gently lift the pears from the syrup and place them carefully on a tray. Do not throw the syrup away.
- Preheat the oven to 160C. grease an 8inch fluted tart tin with a loose base or use individual tart shells.
- Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface, and lay in the prepared tart tin. Keep in the fridge until needed.
- Next prepare the almond mixture. In a bowl, combine the ground almonds, the rest of the caster sugar, and butter, stirring until fully combined and smooth, then add the cornflour and again combine thoroughly. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, until you have a lighter batter.
- Pour the batter into the tart base, then carefully layer the poached pears pieces on top.
- Transfer in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until set with a very slight golden-brown colour around the edges.
- While the tart bakes, boil the poaching syrup for 10-15 minutes or until it becomes syrupy and pourable like a liquid honey. Remove from the heat and keep aside.
- As soon as the tart comes out of the oven, using a pastry brush, glaze the tart liberally with the syrup.
- Serve warm within a day.