Simple Beginnings: Beading. Aiden Byrne

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СКАЧАТЬ kg cod fillet

      75 ml fish stock (see page 200)

      100 ml double cream

      2 kg watercress

      1 large potato, peeled and finely sliced

      1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced

      25 g butter

      1.5 litres boiling vegetable stock (see page 198)

      4 large organic hens’ eggs

      75 ml white wine vinegar

      2 tablespoons chopped chives

      salt

      cracked pepper

      BEFORE YOU START have a large bowl of iced water ready with another large bowl (preferably stainless steel) sitting on top of it so that you can chill the sieved soup immediately and keep its freshness and colour. Fill your deepest saucepan with water and bring to a high boil.

      HEAT THE MILK with the garlic and thyme sprigs, remove from the heat and leave to infuse. Meanwhile, season the cod with salt and cracked pepper. After 15 minutes return the milk to the heat, put the cod in the milk and allow it to cook slowly for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave the cod until the milk cools. Remove the fish from the milk and flake it onto a plate. Set aside.

      PUT THE FISH stock in a saucepan and heat to reduce by half. Add half the double cream, reduce the liquid again by half and keep warm.

      PICK THE LEAVES from the watercress stalks. Sweat the onion and potato together in the butter in a covered, heavy-bottomed pan, making sure that they do not colour. If the potato sticks add a little vegetable stock and remove the stuck potato with a wooden spoon. Cook until the potato is soft. Add two-thirds of the watercress leaves and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the hot vegetable stock and return to the boil. Add the rest of the cream and reboil. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend in batches until smooth. Add the remaining watercress as you blend; this will give a fresher soup, in both flavour and colour. Pass the soup through your finest sieve into the bowl set on iced water then immediately transfer to the refrigerator.

      CRACK THE EGGS into four separate cups and turn down the boiling water to a low simmer. Add the vinegar and drop the eggs in one by one. (I don’t whisk the water, because if you have enough water the eggs should form teardrop shapes on their own.) Cook the eggs for 1½ minutes and plunge them into iced water to stop cooking.

      TO SERVE, gently reheat the soup. Reheat the cod flakes in the fish cream and add the chopped chives. Reheat the poached egg in hot water. Put the soup in four bowls, spoon in the creamed cod and top with a poached egg.

      This is a perfect vegetarian starter that would also serve two as a light lunch. It’s quite a substantial dish and has a very strong flavour.

      Tomato Confit and Braised Lettuce Tart with Braised Lettuce and Courgette Purée

      SERVES 4

      1 carrot

      1 shallot

      1 garlic clove

      4 sprigs of thyme

      4 baby gem lettuces, cut in to quarters lengthways

      300 ml vegetable stock (see page 198)

      1 packet ready-made puff pastry

      2 quantities tomato confit (see page 210)

      10 large torn basil leaves

      1 kg courgettes

      10 g butter

      20 g grated Parmesan cheese

      baby basil cress, to garnish

      salt and pepper

      PEEL AND ROUGHLY CHOP the carrot, shallot and garlic, put them in an ovenproof pan and cook to slightly caramelize. Add the thyme sprigs and place the lettuce on top. Cover with the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper and cover. Braise in a preheated oven at 140°C/275°F/gas 1 for about 1 hour or until the lettuce is soft.

      MEANWHILE, roll out the pastry and cut 4 circles 4 cm across. Any unused pastry can be frozen for use later. Place the circles between two baking trays (see page 46) and cook in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 20–25 minutes. Remove the top baking tray and cook for a further 5 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

      LINE FOUR SMALL blini pans with clingfilm and layer the tomato confit ‘petals’ in the bottom, leaving an overhang of tomato pieces to fold over later.

      WHEN THE LETTUCE is cool chop it fairly coarsely, mix in the torn basil leaves and pack into the blini pans on top of the tomatoes. Once the tart is full, fold the petals back over to seal in the lettuce. Allow to sit for a couple of hours.

      USE A SMALL knife to peel away the skins from the courgettes. Discard the flesh and finely chop the skins. Cook the skins in a warm, covered pan with the butter until they are soft. Season and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth, pass through your finest sieve and chill immediately over a bowl of iced water.

      TO SERVE, reheat the tomato and lettuce in a steamer. Turn it out on the tart bases, sprinkle Parmesan over the tomato and put in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 10 minutes. The cheese will melt, the base will stay crisp and the tart should be piping hot. Warm the courgette purée through and spoon a little onto each plate and garnish with the baby basil cress.

      The main ingredients in this recipe are at their best at roughly the same time of year. The creamy pine nuts, the sweetness from the ripe peaches, the pungent flavour from the basil and the acidity from the tomatoes make this a well-balanced summer starter. Look for peaches that have a yellow or creamy colour (these will be the sweetest) and avoid any that are too soft because they will spoil very quickly.

      Tomato and Peach Salad with Pine Nut Vinaigrette

      SERVES 4

      2 large Heritage tomatoes (any colour)

      4 ripe peaches

      25 g caster sugar

      3 leaves gelatine, softened

      4 cherry tomatoes

      50 g pine nuts

      25 ml sherry vinegar

      100 ml olive oil

      50 СКАЧАТЬ