The Food Passion Blog

White Chocolate Mousse with Spiced Raspberries

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
• 225g fresh raspberries
• 4 tbsp Bottlegreen Spicy Berry Cordial
• 250g good quality white chocolate, e.g. Green & Blacks
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 medium eggs, separated
• 150ml whipping cream
To decorate: 50g white chocolate

Methods:
1. Reserve 12 raspberries for decoration then divide the rest between 6 glasses or dishes that are about 200ml capacity. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the Spicy Berry Cordial over each.
2. Break the white chocolate into a bowl, add the milk, and then place over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt. Remove the bowl and stir until smooth and then beat the egg yolks into the mixture. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whip the cream until softly peaking.
4. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate mixture and then fold in two tablespoons of egg white. When completely mixed in, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
5. Spoon the mousse into the glasses and chill for 3-4 hours before serving. Using a vegetable peeler, make curls from the rest of the chocolate and carefully place a few on each mouse to decorate with the reserved raspberries. Ready to serve.

Cockles and what? That is often the response of visitors to Swansea, one which I was once guilty of. Cockles are pretty self explanatory – a delicious, juicy, plump little shellfish gathered in estuarine locations nearby. But what on earth is laverbread, (and it doesn’t come wholegrain or white)!

So if you are a visitor reading this, let us make you feel at ease about this local delicacy: seaweed, dark, green, gloopy, traditionally served at breakfast with cockles and maybe a bit of toast. Not impressed? Neither was I the first time I tried it. Now I adore it, even on its own, cold.

But I wouldn’t recommend that you go this far – instead here is a day trip for you, completely based around laverbread. Has this guy gone mad, you are probably saying to yourself? Probably, but read on anyway.

•    Get yourself down to the beach for the day, have a look to see the seaweed unadorned.

•    Then, late afternoon, move on to the Swansea market to see it somewhat prepared, in oatmeal or au naturel.

•    Now unless you have your cooking equipment with you, book a table in one of the local restaurants (you should find it on the menu at most of those in this guide) and ask for a dish that has laverbread. As an added bonus you’ll almost certainly find cockles alongside. Don’t worry, the chefs here know how to treat it well and it often comes in very small quantities.

Follow these 3 simple steps and you’ll get a real taste of Swansea and its finest delicacy. And, if like me, you fall madly in love with laverbread, you can take these simple recipes and a tub of the green stuff home from the market and carry on your affair! Enjoy.

Laverbread Mash Potato

Cook off some spring onion in a little butter, adding a small amount of laverbread (you don’t want green mash!). Then turn this mixture gently into some of your finest mashed potato and serve hot. It goes wonderfully with fish.

Bacon, Laverbread and Cockle Fishcake

Add a little laverbread and some cockles to some unsalted mashed potato, and leave to cool. Cook some bacon in boiling water, drain and finely mince. Add to the mash, mix together and shape into tennis ball sized sphere. Lightly roll in flour, then egg, and finally breadcrumbs. Pan-fry in a little oil until warmed through.

Recipes contributed by Ieuan Williams, sous chef at Patricks Restaurant

Most of us cook because we have to, and dream of creating the mouth-watering concoctions that our TV chefs seem to rustle together so easily. Then there are a smaller number of us who like to dabble at dinner parties, and usually make a fine host for friends and family.

And there are those who would rather be in the kitchen than anywhere else. Someone like Ben Griffiths, who as 2nd chef, calmly supervises within the heat and clamour of the kitchens at Patricks with Rooms. The restaurant’s motto is Seriously Good Food, so by implication, Ben should be a Seriously Good Chef. The food at Patrick’s is certainly good, but I wanted to investigate further Ben’s story behind this Swansea success story.

At 24, he has done very well for himself. Initially Ben had hopes of becoming a teacher, though he always loved cooking from a young age. Unlike many teens, he cooked all his own meals and from an even earlier age was baking home made fairy cakes. In 1998 he began his working life as a pot-washer, one of the less glamorous jobs in the world of fine dining. Soon enough though, his culinary interests were noted and he began to cook for the Patrick’s kitchen team.

8 years on, and he has just recently returned from competing for the Gordon Ramsay Scholarship 2005. When I questioned him, Ben admitted to being quite nervous on the day, especially when his rivals turned up with the all the latest culinary equipment, and a pedigree from some of the country’s best known Michelin-starred restaurants. His daunting task for the semi-final was to cook a meal using the ingredients from a mystery box. This was no mean feat, but after creating his own dish to get him into the competition, he was fairly confident in his ability, which was enough to get him through to the semi-finals.

Interested in what motivates Ben now, I asked him what the best thing was about his job. “Being able to buy and cook ingredients as I please, and meeting with suppliers on a daily basis to find out what the freshest, most seasonal produce is.” His enthusiasm is evident, if only by the fact that his wife, whom he met whilst they both worked in Patrick’s, despairs at the fact that Ben buys a new cookery book each week!

Whilst happy in his current role, Ben has longer- term ambitions: ‘I would love to work in France, and maybe spend some time in Australia, before opening my own restaurant with my wife Jackie.”

All chefs have their ups and downs though. Ben described how during his early years of training, he managed to make green custard. Yes, green custard. ‘It tasted fantastic, but kept turning green. I couldn’t figure it out so the head chef asked me to show him how I was making it. In the end it turned out that it was the pan making the custard green!’ Just goes to show that even the best chef’s are capable of mistakes!

‘I would recommend that anyone who is thinking about making this a career works their way up from the bottom, in an establishment with a good reputation. It gives you a good understanding of how demanding a kitchen can be and will tell you straight away if it is for you.’

Ben has been good enough to let us in on the secret to his winning quarter final recipe to us, so have a go making it, knowing that a Swansea boy has cooked this in front of Gordon!

Recipe:

Slow Roasted Gower Lamb Shank, on Butternut Squash Puree, with Balsamic Glaze (Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 Gower Lamb Shanks (trimmed)
1Bulb of Garlic (split in half)
6 peeled and chopped carrots
4 peeled and chopped white onions
6 sticks of chopped celery
4 sprigs of rosemary
200ml Balsamic Vinegar
1 large butternut squash
1 oz butter
1 dessert spoon tomato puree
Olive oil
Tomato concasse (de-seeded, skinned and finely chopped tomatoes)
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof pan, heat olive oil, place in shanks and brown on all sides. Remove and put to side, then sauté the chopped vegetables and garlic in the remaining olive oil until browned. Now create the jus by deglazing the pan with the balsamic vinegar. Stud the lamb with rosemary and place on top of the vegetables. Pour the lamb jus over the top of the shank and place the pan in the oven on Gas Mark 5 for 2 hours.

While the lamb is cooking, peel and remove seeds from butternut squash, dicing into 3 inch cubes. Boil until nice and tender, drain off and place in blender whilst hot, adding butter and puree until nice and smooth. Season to taste and keep warm. Once the lamb is cooked, drain off pan juices through a sieve into a pan and reduce, add the tomato puree and keep reducing until you have a nice sticky sauce consistency.

Place 4 large spoonfuls of squash purée onto the plates followed by topping it off with the shank, drizzle the balsamic glaze over the shank and a little around the plate. Garnish with a little tomato concasse and serve.

Our very own Fairyhill Hotel and Restaurant have featured on CooksforCooks.com recently, and you can get some of their great recipes right here. Here’s what Cooks for Cooks had to say:

This dish, created by Wales’ award-winning Fairyhill restaurant, is an original twist on a breakfast theme using Penclawdd cockles and free-range eggs and was inspired by a piperade enjoyed in Biarritz. It makes a great snack or lunch dish as well as a starter. It can be accompanied by another Gower speciality - laverbread.

Recipe - Scrambled Eggs with Cockles and Roasted Peppers

Serves 4. Cooking time is short.

INGREDIENTS
1 red and 1 yellow pepper
Olive oil
4 slices bread
2 cloves garlic, halved
8 eggs
150ml  double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g fresh cockles
Salt and black pepper
Chopped chives

METHOD
Place peppers in a hot oven until brown and blistered.  Remove and put in a plastic bag to cool. When cool split in half, remove seeds and skin.  Cut into 5mm strips. Put to one side.

Cut 3 heart shaped croutons from each slice of bread. Rub with cut garlic and fry in some olive oil until golden and crisp. Drain well and keep warm.

Whisk the eggs and cream together with some black pepper.

Place a little olive oil in a pan and add most of the peppers (reserve 4 red and 4 yellow strips for garnish).  Add the egg mixture and start to scramble.  When half scrambled add the cockles, continue to cook until desired consistency is achieved.

Place three croutons on each plate, arrange scrambled eggs in the middle and place a cross of pepper on top of each portion and sprinkle with chopped chives.

 If you’d like to get some more great recipes from Fairyhill’s own chefs, just click here!
 

Cooks for Cooks.com has given us another of their great recipes. This one is from Richard Phillips - he was one of three guest chefs featuring on ITV’s food series too many cooks and can be seen regularly on ITV’s Daily Cooks, Saturday Cooks, and UK TV Food’s Great Food Live.

Everyone should know how to make the ultimate steak sandwich – and here it is. Inspired by New York diners but using great British ingredients, this is less of a sandwich and more of a meal in itself. Delicious. Satisfying. Seconds, please..!

Serves: 1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:  30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
 
• 150g piece of rump steak (no fat or sinew and not to thick)

For the sauce:

• 1 x red onion, finely sliced
• 50g button mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 tsp chopped thyme
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 2 star anise
• 75ml double cream
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp grated mature cheddar cheese

For the relish:

• 5 plum tomatoes, blanched, de seeded, chopped
• 1 x shallot finely chopped
• 1 x tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 5 drops of Tabasco
• 8 drops of Worcester sauce
• Large pinch of sea salt

• 5 thin slices of pancetta, grilled
• 1x ciabatta
• Rocket leaves
• Drizzle of olive oil

METHOD
1. In a pre-heated pan, cook the sliced onions slowly without colour until there is no bite with the star anise. Next add the thyme and rosemary, then the mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes.

2. Next, add the double cream and reduce, then fold in the mustard and cheese and set aside.

3. Place a sieve over a bowl. Place the tomatoes in the sieve and sprinkle over salt. Leave the tomatoes to strain for 20 minutes and stir in the shallot, tomato ketchup and sauces.

4. Using a griddle, season and cook the steak for 3-4 minutes, until med rare (or longer for med/well done).

5. Cut the ciabatta in half and toast. Spread with butter, place the mushroom mix on the base, then the sliced steak, then a little of the tomato mix, then the grilled pancetta, then a little salad. Place the other piece of toast on top, place 2 skewers into the sandwich then cut in half.

6. Serve with a few tossed rocket leaves and the tomato relish on the side.

Our latest Food Passion and Daily Cooks recipe for June! 

Serves: 2
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole red mullet, 400-500g, filleted
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 1cm ginger, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp good dry white wine
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 bok choi
• soy sauce
• toasted sesame seeds
METHOD

1.) Drizzle some olive oil onto some tin foil and place one of the fillets on top, skin-side down. Please the rest of the ingredients on top of the fillet and then top with the remaining fillet. Leave to marinate for one hour.
2.) Close the tin foil to make a complete parcel and cook in a saucepan for 10 minutes
3.) Heat the sesame oil in a wok and add the ginger and the garlic for 30 seconds, and them remove and discard. Add the bok choi – stalks first and then the leaves – and season with soy sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds.
4.) Place on a large serving platter, open the foil and serve with bok choi with soy sauce and a scattering of sesame seeds on top.

Haddock is a particularly low fat fish and at only 197 calories per portion, this is a great but tasty low fat recipe. The crunchy horseradish herb crust gives the fish a welcome bite.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 pieces haddock
• 6 tablespoons fresh wholegrain breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons creamed horseradish
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• salt and a pinch of white pepper
• lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4
2. Combine the breadcrumbs, horseradish, herbs, spring onions and olive oil and season with salt and white pepper
3. Place the washed fish in an oven proof dish and spread the creamed horseradish on top of each piece
4. Press the herb mixture evenly on top of the fish and pour 4 tablespoons water around the fish
5. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes
6. Serve with green beans and wedges of lemon