Mother's Day Menu
This week chef has given us a an amazing recipe to completely spoil mum!
Prawn Cocktail
- 650g prawns in their shells, cooked ( peeled prawns)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 100g/4oz cucumber
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp snipped dill
- 1 small ripe avocado
- 50g watercress
- pinch cayenne pepper, for sprinkling
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 5 tbsp fromage frais
- 1½ tbsp tomato ketchup
- splash Tabasco sauce
- splash Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp brandy
Method:
- Peel the prawns. Rinse them in a large sieve under a cold tap, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Lay the prawns in a shallow dish and squeeze over 1 tbsp of the lime juice, then add a twist of pepper. Set aside.
- Chop the cucumber into small dice and tip into a dish. Spoon over the vinegar, scatter over the dill and a grating of pepper, then set aside. Halve, stone and peel the avocado, then chop into small dice. Spoon over the rest of the lime juice and toss together gently with a twist of pepper.
- For the sauce, mix together the mayonnaise, fromage frais and ketchup. Stir in the Tabasco, Worcestershire and brandy with a twist of pepper.
- To serve, put a small spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of each cocktail glass. Very coarsely chop most of the watercress, leaving a few sprigs whole. Lay the chopped watercress on top of the sauce. Drain the cucumber well, then spoon it over the watercress with the avocado. Pile over the prawns, then spoon over the rest of the sauce. Tuck in the sprigs of watercress and serve with a sprinkling of cayenne.
Roast Chicken
FOR THE HERB BUTTER
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 6 shallots, peeled and halved
- 1 whole head garlic, clean, unpeeled and cut in half horizontally
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 chicken, 4 – 4 ½ pounds, cut into pieces (or 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts)
- Herb butter (above)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Make the herb butter: Pull herbs from the stems and chop finely. Combine the chopped herbs, shallots, lemon zest, honey and butter in small bowl and blend well. Set aside .Place the shallots and garlic in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil (it's okay if the garlic breaks apart a bit). Pat the chicke Very dry with paper towels and place in the roasting pan; do not crowd. Use a soup spoon to rub the herb butter all over the chicken and under the skin too .Sprinkle the kosher salt evenly all over the chicken and season with fresh pepper to your liking. Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown. Turn the heat down to 375F degrees; continue to roast for 15-20 minutes more, or until done. Chicken should be done in less than an hour; do not overcook.
Transfer the chicken and the shallots to serving platter to rest and cover with foil. Discard the garlic. Pour off all the fat, leaving the brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan. Add the chicken broth and place on the stove over high heat; bring to a boil and whisk in Dijon mustard. Using whisk or wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the broth and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 5-8 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the sauce into a gravy boat and serve alongside chicken.
Yorkshire pudding:
- 140g plain flour (this is about 200ml/7fl oz)
- 4 eggs (200ml/7fl oz)
- 200ml milk
Sunflower pol for cooking
Method:
Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8.
- Drizzle a little sunflower oil evenly into two 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tins or two 12-hole non-stick muffin tins and place in the oven to heat through.
- To make the batter, tip 140g plain flour into a bowl and beat in 4 eggs until smooth.
- Gradually add 200ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the batter into a jug, then remove the hot tins from the oven. Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes.
- Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned.
Roast potatoes:
- 1kg Maris Piper potatoes
- 100g duck or goose fat , or 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- Malden Salt to served
Method
- Put a roasting tin in the oven (one big enough to take the potatoes in a single layer) and heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
- Peel 1kg potatoes and cut each into 4 even-sized pieces if they are medium size, 2-3 if smaller (5cm pieces).
- Drop the potatoes into a large pan and pour in enough water to barely cover them.
- Add salt, then wait for the water to boil. As soon as the water reaches a full rolling boil, lower the heat, put your timer on and simmer the potatoes uncovered, reasonably vigorously, for 2 mins.
- Meanwhile, put 100g duck or goose fat or 100ml olive oil into the hot roasting tin and heat it in the oven for a few mins, so it’s really hot.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander then shake the colander back and forth a few times to fluff up the outsides.
- Carefully put the potatoes into the hot fat – they will sizzle as they go in – then turn and roll them around so they are coated all over.
- Spread them in a single layer making sure they have plenty of room.
- Roast the potatoes for 15 mins, then take them out of the oven and turn them over.
- Roast for another 15 mins and turn them over again. Put them back in the oven for another 10-20 mins, or however long it takes to get them really golden and crisp. The colouring will be uneven, which is what you want.
Scatter with Maldon salt and serve straight away.
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