Almond and orange cake with whisky-soaked segments
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
50g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
225g caster sugar
250g ground almonds
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated zest of orange
4 free-range eggs
80ml freshly squeezed orange juice
60g brown sugar
1 tablespoon marmalade
Handful of sliced almonds, toasted
Butter a round cake tin, approximately 20cm wide. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar,and add the ground almonds.
Whisk the butter with the orange zest until pale, then add the eggs one at a time.
Fold in the dry ingredients with a metal spoon.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until cooked.
Meanwhile make a syrup by boiling the orange juice with the brown sugar. Leave to cool.
Once the cake is cooked, prick several times with a skewer to the base and pour on the cooled syrup.
Leave the cake to cool completely before brushing on a little warmed marmalade and sprinkling it with a few toasted, sliced almonds.
Lovely served with orange segments marinated in a generous splash of whisky and a little demerara sugar.
Breast of Guinea fowl with artichokes and broad beans
This is another adaptation of a great Escoffier classic.
The tea gives a lovely smokiness to the cream that marries well with the flavour of the bird.
Serves 2
Ingredients
200g broad beans (shelled weight)
80ml double cream
6 small globe artichokes
1 lemon
3 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 guinea fowl supremes
1 slice of ventrèche (or dry cured bacon) about 4cm thick
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
2 tbsp very strong Lapsang Souchong tea (no milk)
2 slices of best quality cooked ham ( about 80g)
salt
black pepper
Blanch the broad beans in salted boiling water, then refresh them in iced water & remove the husks. Put the beans in a food processor, heat the 80ml of double cream, then add it to the beans and blitz to a purée. Season with salt and pepper.
Prepare the artichokes. Take the artichoke and snap off the stem. Remove the outer leaves until you reach the soft yellowy leaves. Cut off the top part of the artichoke where you see the slight indentation in these leaves, then trip them off a little more to reveal the firbrous choke. Scoop out the choke with a teaspoon. Trim any dark leaves off the base of the artichoke, rub the cut surfaces with lemon and leave it in a bowl of water and lemon juice while you prepare the rest. Cook them in salted boiling water with a squeeze of lemon until tender. Drain and fill the artichokes with the broad bean purée. Top with a little of the cream (a tablespoon in all) and a sprinkling of Parmesan and brown the filled artichokes under a preheated grill for a few minutes.
Trip the guinea fowl supremes to neaten them up. Cut the ventrèche into 6 thick matchsticks. Using a skewer or a small knife, push 3 matchsticks into each supreme, working diagonally through the meat.
Heat the butter and hazelnut oil in a pan until foaming. Add the supremes and cook them gently for 8 - 10 minutes, taking care that the butter doesn't burn and the meat colours only slightly. Remove, cover & leave to rest.
Bring the tea & remaining 2 tablespoons of cream to the boil, then reduce to make a very thick sauce. Cut the cooked ham into julienne strips and roll them in the sauce. Serve the guinea fowl with a few drops of the cooking butter, the ham with it's sauce, and the artichokes.
Petit pâté de Pézenas
Sweet Mutton Pies
Makes 5 pies
Ingredients
Pastry
250g flour
2 pinches of salt
100g cold unsalted butter, diced
125ml water
beaten egg or water
Filling
250g lamb or mutton shoulder, trimmed
100g lamb kidney
fat pinch each of cumin and cinnamon
grating of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of demerara sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
salt
black pepper
These little sweet, spicy mutton pies were first introduced to France by Clive of India, who ordered his servants to cook them when he stayed near the village of Pézenas in the Languedoc-Rousillon region. The pies caught on and have become a classic dish. It is essential to get the right balance of sweet, salty and spicy flavours so check th seasoning carefully. The size and shape of a cotton reel, the pies make a lovely starter for a special meal or could be served with salad as a light lunch.
Make the pastry first, as it needs to rest before use. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, then work in the butter with your fingertips. Add the water and bring the pastry into a ball. Wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Check that you've removed all the sinew and gristle from the lamb or mutton and chop the meat with the kidney fat to make a coarse mixture. Season with the spices, sugar and salt and pepper and add the lemon zest. Quickly fry a tiny piece of the mixture and taste it to make sure you have the right balance of flavours.
Roll out the pastry until it is quite thin and cut out 5 strips measuring 20 x 6 cm, then cut into 10 discs of 6cm across for the tops and bases. Take a pastry disc, place it on a baking tray and arrange a strip on top, shaping it round like a cotton reel. Use a little beaten egg or water to seal the edge in place. Repaet to make 4 more little pastry cases. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/Fan 200ºC/Gas7. Carefully fill each pastry case with the meat mixture and top with a pastry disc. Use a little beaten egg or water to stick down the edges and then make a little incision in the top. Cook the pies in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until golden and cooked through. Serve warm with a salad.
