RUSTIC PANZANELA
INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil for frying and dressing
1 sprig thyme
2 cloves garlic
Leftover bread, torn into rough chunks
Salt and pepper, to taste
Balsamic vinegar
1 punnet of heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
10 basil leaves, chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 green chilli, chopped
Crispy garlic chips
METHOD:
In a pan, heat a good amount of olive oil
Add thyme and garlic and fry gently to infuse
Add 1/2 the bread and toast, If necessary, add more olive oil
Season with salt
In a large bowl, mix the remainder of the bread, a good amount of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar
Season with salt and pepper
Add the croutons, tomato wedges, basil and onion
Toss salad to mix
Top with chilli and garlic chips
POLENTA, PESTO, PARMA HAM
METHOD:
POLENTA
In a pot, infuse milk with garlic, thyme and salt, turning up the temperature without bringing it to a boil
Cook for 15 minutes
Remove and clingfilm, set aside for ½ an hour
Strain to remove herbs
Put back onto medium heat and whisk in polenta
Cover with lid and turn down to low heat
Cook until smooth, stirring every few minutes (if it needs thinning, add more milk so that the consistency is that of mashed potatoes)
When cooked, mix in butter and pecorino and set aside
TOMATO AND VANILLA CARAMEL
Melt sugar with vanilla pod and a sprinkle of salt until quite dark
When caramelised, add half the tomatoes and stir to coat, being sure to keep some body to the tomatoes, as you don’t want a purée consistency
Cook for about 8-9 minutes
Pour into colander to remove excess liquid and remove the vanilla
Fold through remaining tomato concasse
Set aside
PESTO
Pop the garlic and salt in a food processor and blend
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth
Decant and set aside
CRISPY PANCETTA/LOCAL HAM/BACON
Place bacon/ham on racks and dry in oven at 140 degrees Celsius 45 minutes or crispy
Remove from oven and put onto paper towel to drain
Set aside to serve with the polenta
FINISHING
Plate and serve polenta topped with tomato concasse, pesto and pancetta
INGREDIENTS:
250g pancetta/local ham/bacon
POLENTA:
800ml milk
2 heads garlic, halved
1 bunch of thyme
Salt, to taste
200g polenta
150g cold butter, cubed
350g grated pecorino
TOMATO AND VANILLA CARAMEL:
200g castor sugar
1 vanilla pod
Salt, to taste
20 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced
PESTO:
3 cloves garlic, peeled
½ teaspoon salt
500g rocket
300g grated pecorino
Juice of 2 lemons
300ml olive oil
SMOKED LAMB, SPICED YOGHURT
INGREDIENTS:
DRY-SMOKE INGREDIENTS:
2 cups demerara sugar
2 cups rice
2 cups lapsang souchong tea (floral flavours)
LAMB
Shoulder of lamb, bone in
Olive oil, to season
Salt and pepper, to taste
1.5L chicken stock
4 large bunches of dry thyme sprigs
1 head of garlic, sliced in half
SWEET POTATOES:
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
2-4 star anise
10 small orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup rendered lamb fat or olive oil
100g butter
GREMOLATA:
Zest of 4 lemons
2 bunches of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Salt, to taste
YOGHURT SAUCE:
1 cup double-cream yoghurt
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
METHOD:
DRY-SMOKE
Line metal tray with foil
Mix dry-smoke ingredients together and lay onto foil
LAMB
Put the meat on a roasting rack on top of the smoking ingredients
Place tray on gas burner over high heat
When it starts to smoke, cover with foil and leave for 15 minutes
Turn off heat and leave to smoke for another 20 minutes
Remove and put meat onto a clean roasting try
Season with olive oil and salt
Add chicken stock and cover with foil
Roast at 160 degrees Celsius for 4 hours
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly
Remove meat from tray and slide out the bones, leaving the meat intact
Lay the thyme down in a large tray, pop a roasting rack on top and put the lamb on it
Heat the thyme with a blow torch so it starts to smoke
Smoke the lamb for a couple of minutes
Place a bowl over the lamb to catch some of the last smoke
SWEET POTATOES
Mix sugar and spices together
Brush sweet potatoes with olive oil or lamb fat and rub with sugar-spice mix
Place in a roasting tray
Add the butter and roast at 180 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour, turning occasionally into a glaze
Once glazed, grill under a hot grill, turning to cook and glaze evenly and to achieve a sticky, syrupy consistency
Remove and set aside
FINISHING
Make gremolata by mixing all ingredients together
Reheat sweet potatoes if necessary
Mix yoghurt and chilli flakes
Portion lamb
Plate and serve lamb with sweet potatoes, gremolata and yoghurt sauce on the side
MILFEAU, CULTURE CREAM, LEMON
METHOD:
PRALINE
Melt castor sugar in a pot over medium heat
Add cashew nuts and mix to coat evenly
Pour mixture out onto a silicon mat and spread evenly
Allow to set
When set, blitz in food processor to a very fine crumb
Sprinkle crumb into small ring moulds , pressing down lightly with the bottom of a glass to firm
Bake at 160 degrees Celsius until set
Remove from oven and set aside
CONFIT LEMON
Heat castor sugar and water to form a standard sugar syrup
Add the star anise and lemon slices and simmer gently for 30 minutes
When cooked, drain and chop into small pieces
FINISHING
Whip the cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar until firm
Stack praline discs with cream and confit lemon to form a tower
Topping with cream and confit lemon
Serve
INGREDIENTS:
PRALINE
500g castor sugar
500g cashew nuts
CONFIT LEMON
500ml castor sugar
500ml water
1 star anise
6 seedless lemons, sliced thin
CHANTILLY CREAM
500ml cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons icing sugar
25ml Frangelico liqueur