Spelt Risotto with confit wild rabbit

This recipe contains two fantastic British products, organic pearled Spelt and Old Winchester cheese. We've been trying to move towards using mainly British produced ingredients in the restaurant, and although we have a long way to go yet, these two products will definitely remain on our menu for the future.

I discovered Spelt recently through the 'Taste of The West' awards. It's an ancient grain and a distant cousin of wheat, introduced to England, it's thought, by the Romans.

I had been looking for an alternative to rice and the pearled spelt is as good as, if not better than, rice. It doesn't have the stickiness of risotto rice but retains an aldente centre which gives a wonderful bite to the texture.

Old Winchester is a vegetarian, hard cheese, with a delicious deep flavour which I use in place of Parmesan.

Confit can refer to preserving by immersion, historically this was fruits preserved in sugar. More commonly confit is used to describe a method of cooking by slow poaching in oil or fat, French confit is typically Duck or Goose poached in fat whereas in Italy it is poached in olive oil. I use vegetable oil or duck fat, a few herbs in the oil will infuse a great flavour to the meat, the meat is seasoned with brine before slow poaching for a few hours to create a delicious flavoursome meat. Rabbit works brilliantly as it is a lean meat and the method of cooking stops it drying out which is often a problem when roasting rabbit as they are naturally very lean.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients
Spelt Risotto:

120g pearled spelt (available from Sharpham Park - Tel. 01458 844080 or www.sharphampark.com

2 x Onions

75g Old Winchester cheese (finely grated) (available from Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers - Tel. 01794 390451 or www.lyburnfarm.co.uk

500ml Stock (Chicken or vegetable)

250g Bag of spinach or 200g nettle leaves (if in season)

Knob of butter

Pinch of salt

Confit wild rabbit:

1 wild rabbit (cleaned and quartered by your butcher)

100g salt

1.5 ltr vegetable oil

Small bunch of thyme
Method

Spelt Risotto:

• 
  
  Finely chop the onions and sauté in a pan with a little butter and salt until translucent
• 
  
  Add the Spelt and mix. Add approx 1/3 of the warmed stock and bring to a low simmer. Stir whilst simmering until the liquid is absorbed
• 
  
  Add another 1/3 of the warmed stock and stir. Once the liquid has been absorbed, you have a choice; it'll only take 10 minutes to finish the dish, or you can store the risotto for up to 48 hours in the fridge
• 
  
  Add the remaining stock. Simmer and stir until most of it has been absorbed, then add the finely grated cheese, and stir
• 
  
  Add the spinach or washed nettle leaves, stir until all the liquid has been absorbed and the leaves are cooked

Confit wild rabbit:

• 
  
  Make a brine by mixing the salt with 1.5 ltr water. Place the rabbit pieces in a bowl and pour the brine over until the rabbit is well covered. Put in a fridge for 24 hours
• 
  
  To make the confit, take the rabbit out of the bowl of brine, wipe-off excess moisture and place in a suitable large pan (where the rabbit pieces have enough space not to be touching)
• 
  
  Pour the vegetable oil over the rabbit until it is covered and throw in the thyme
• 
  
  Bring the pan to a temperature of 80-90C (this might be best to do in an oven). Leave at this temperature for 4 hours
• 
  
  Remove the pan from the oven and take the rabbit out. Dry-off any excess oil
• 
  
  Flake the meat from the bones

To serve, spoon the risotto into a large bowl and place the rabbit meat on top. Decorate with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Lemon Sole with caper and lemon butter sauce

Fresh Sole, baked to perfection and topped with a buttery, citrus, sweet and vinegar caper and lemon butter sauce. My recipe is borrowed shamelessly from a classic Sole Meunière recipe which uses Dover sole and parsley in the lemon butter sauce.
This is another regular dish from the restaurant, simple and quick to make, the skill is in the timing of the dish and ensuring the temperatures are correct, follow the recipe carefully to get a perfect sauce and ensure your fish is as fresh as possible as it is served slightly rare to capture the flavours of the fish.
This can also be used for John Dory and Plaice, for Megrims and Dover Sole get your fishmonger to skin the fish before cooking. Ensure all fish used comes from a sustainable source, Megrims are a great local South West alternative to Dover Sole which are becoming scarcer.

Serves 2

Butter sauce
100g unsalted butter
1 Lemon
tblsp Capers

Method:
Heat the butter moderately till it foams, when the foaming stops reduce the heat and add fine zest from the lemon, as soon as the butter colours turn the heat off.
Wait till the butter cools and then add ½ the juice of the lemon (no sooner or the butter will burn) and the capers before reheating till the sauce foams again, immediately taking off the heat when it foams.
Serve warmed over the cooked fish

For the Sole
1 Sole
Vegetable oil
Plain flour
Seasoning

Method:
Gut and rinse your fresh Lemon Sole
Slash the skin in crossed diagonal strips (as per the picture) on both sides
Drag the sole in a plate of seasoned flour and lay on a oven tray, (hint: use a teflon sheet to ensure you can get it out of the tray !)
Pour about ½ cup of oil over the fish and rub it into the fish on both sides to cover.
Bake in hot oven for 10-15 minutes
Probe the middle of the fish and remove from the oven when the centre of the fish reaches 60C degrees, crisp for a few moments under the grill.
Plate and pour a generous portion of the sauce over the plate

Serve with some samphire and fresh salad (foraged sea vegetables work great if you have a source for them).

Venison with Jerusalem artichoke purée and Rowan berry sauce

January is a challenging month for wild foods as the prospect of a warm house will often win the battle for motivation to get out and pick, plus the choice, admittedly, is limited. What is great to eat at this time of year are the fantastic wild meats, Venison, Pheasant and Rabbit to choose three we often use in the restaurant. These are great choices for something that is in season and reasonably priced, and a good alternative to supermarket meats.
 
To enjoy Venison I prefer a less hung animal, often no more than a week, so as not to be too gamey and to allow the more subtle flavours to come through and enjoy a few accompaniments too.

I like to accompany a good piece of venison with some seasonal vegetables, and berries. The stand out vegetable at this time of year is a Jerusalem artichoke which, while not growing wild in the UK, was a staple food for North American Indians, in the USA it is also known as the Woodland Sunflower although I have never seen one in flower.

For berries, unless you made some preserve in October/November them it is time to look into the freezer, I'll give you a simple recipe that can be used for wild berries but also look for frozen british berries, I prefer red berries for flavour and appearance.

Berry sauce
This is too easy and you'll never buy shop bought again once you try. Use berries (fresh or frozen), I use a mix of the below to get a sweet, bitter, dry sauce which works brilliantly with Venison, but do use what you can find or purchase.

100g Blackberries
80g Redcurrants
20g Rowanberries
sugar to taste

Place the berries in a wide pan and add a little water to just cover the pan base
Heat gently till the water just simmers
Leave the pan on the heat for about 15-20 minutes till the berries are starting to break down, don't be afraid to use the back of a wooden spoon to encourage them to mash a little.
Take off the heat and strain through a sieve, use the wooden spoon to squash the juices though the sieve.
If the sauce is too thin then simmer for a little while till it is reduced to the right consistency
Add a little sugar to taste, err on the side of tartness to get a great flavour with meats.

Jerusalem artichoke purée
Jerusalem artichoke can be intimidating to prepare at first appearance, nothing could be further from the truth.

Soak the root in a sink for 10-15 minutes to loosen any dirt, then, with the back of a small vegetable knife, scrape the skin off the root, don't worry about any little lumps or bumps as we'll deal with them after cooking.

Chop into small pieces and boil in salted water for approx 15 minutes
Force the cooked root through a sieve into a small pan, leaving behind skin and any other bits we don't want to eat.

Add a little cream and salt to the sieved mash and beat with a wooden spoon over a moderate heat till the puree is an even, pale colour and smooth, this will take about 5 minutes. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

To cook Venison
Venison steak, about 150-200g per person, the steak should be about 1" thick, Have your butcher prepare this for you.

Season your Venison steak with a generous pinch of salt per side and a little ground pepper, leave for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Heat a pan to a moderate heat with a decent knob of butter, to coat the pan about 2mm deep in butter when melted.
As soon as the butter stops foaming place the steak in the pan and cook for approx 2 to 3 minutes per side with the heat turned up, a little longer for a thicker piece. This will result in a medium rare steak which is the perfect way to eat venison. If you like your meat cooked well done then Venison is probably not for you as it becomes unpleasantly tough when overcooked.

Rest for two minutes then serve

Serve the Venison on a bed of hot Jerusalem Artichoke purée and pour over a little berry sauce.

Four Alternative Christmas Recipes (with Russian Standard Vodka)

Here's some recipes I've done with Russian Standard Vodka ... great vodka, and hopefully some alternative ideas for your Christmas dinner.


Russian Standard Vodka has teamed up with MasterChef 2009 winner Mat Follas to bring you something different for your dining table this Christmas and has come up with four alternative recipes to serve your hungry guests. Instead of the traditional turkey and Brussle sprouts this year why not indulge in alternative high dining with some tantalising Russian Standard cocktails to celebrate in style! Portion sizes are for four people:

Non traditional, Partridge and pear

 “My Partridge & Pear recipe gives a nod to an old Christmas song but is served in a modern and non-traditional way. I guess my feeling is that, like any home-made present, putting a lot of thought and care into recipes, makes them a better Christmas gift to customers, friends and family.”
Partridge:
4 partridges
4 sprigs of Thyme
100g wild mushrooms
150g butter
Marsala wine

• Buy prepared partridges. Roughly chop the mushrooms and mix with 100g of soft butter. Stuff the partridges with the mushrooms and butter mix. Season the birds and place inside some cooking foil with a sprig of thyme on top, making a loose fitting parcel with the foil taking care not to touch the sides of the bird
• Place the birds in an oven at 220C for 30 minutes
• Take the birds out, rest for 10 minutes them pan fry quickly in hot butter to brown, finishing with a little flambe Marsala wine

Lentils:
200g Puy Lentils
400ml veal stock
150ml good red wine
50g finely chopped cabbage

• Add all ingredients to a pot with a little seasoning and simmer gently for 45minutes till cooked

Salad:
Mixed salad leaves, get a good mix of lettuce, rocket, watercress, red endive or similar
50g Hazelnuts
1 pear

• Cook off the hazelnuts in a dry pan till lightly browned, remove and gently crush in a pestle and mortar
• Peel the pear and cut into rough squares, lightly caramelise in a hot pan
• Mix the salad ingredients in a bowl with a little French dressing
• Serve the partridges on a bed of lentils surrounded by the salad

Russian inspired Sevruga Caviar dish with a Standardtini cocktail

For those who’d like a Russian twist on Christmas Mat has created a traditional, hearty Russian dish; Sevruga Caviar, smoked roe, squid and chilli which would go very well with a ‘Standardtini’ – Russian Standard vodka and Dry Vermouth served glacially cold and dry, a great contrast to the rich, salty seafood
20 g Sevruga Caviar
200g smoked herring roe
4 baby squid
1 lime
sesame oil
2 medium red chillies
1 red endive
100g white miso paste
100ml beef stock

• The Sevruga Caviar is a lighter, more delicate caviar and a little more reasonably priced than Beluga. Salmon roe is a good alternative but for Christmas why not splash out and try some real caviar? Buy from a source that uses farmed and traceable caviar
• Slice the chilli diagonally and finely to create attractive pieces of red chilli
• Cook the miso and beef stock together till combined
• Prepare the squid, slice the body to create a single flat piece of squid meat and keep the tentacles together. Lightly cross cut the body meat
• Cook the squid and a few chilli slices in a hot pan in a little sesame oil for 20 seconds, then squeeze the lime over to take the heat off
• Serve the squid on the plate then on top place slices of herring roe and then squid tentacles and dress with a little caviar. Around the plate drizzle the miso sauce

35ml Russian Standard Vodka 
10ml Vermouth
Shake ingredients gently over ice. Strain and serve in a chilled martini glass. Alternatively combine ingredients with crushed ice in a mixer glass and stir well. Strain and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a small cornichon cucumber. Serve immediately

Vegetarian: Chestnut and caramelised sweet red onions

For the vegetarians amongst you, Mat’s created a wonderful chestnut and caramelised sweet red onions on French bread with melted gorgonzola cheese and sprinkled walnuts to whet your appetite
6 medium red onions
200g chestnut puree
100g chestnuts
400ml good quality vegetable stock
150g Gorgonzola cheese
1 French style 'Bateau' loaf
100ml double cream
75g walnut halves
unsalted butter

• Prepare the onions by chopping into slivers from top to bottom. Add a generous pinch of salt then cook in a little butter on low for approx 30 minutes till caramelised. Add the stock and simmer till reduced to a thick sticky consistency
• Crumble the Gorgonzola into the cream and cook gently to create a thick paste
• Cook the walnut halves in a dry pan till lightly browned, remove and roughly crush in a pestle and mortar
• Slice the French bread in half lengthwise then across to create four pieces. Gently toast under a grill
• Spread the puree on to the toast then add some whole chestnuts and grill to warm before adding the hot onions. Pour over with the Gorgonzola cream then sprinkle with the walnut pieces and serve

Low Cal (less than350kcal/portion) Spelt risotto with pomegranate and edamame beans with turkey

Finally, Mat’s low calorie Risotto recipe will leave you feeling less guilty about those Christmas calories; allowing you to splash out on the festive cocktails! His Spelt Risotto with pomegranates and edamame beans with turkey is a light and refreshing alternative to the traditional Christmas menu and ‘The Fountain of Youth’ is the perfect cocktail to compliment its flavours. Feel the pomegranate and Russian Standard Vodka explode with fresh energising flavour with every sip you take
200g pearled Spelt
600ml good quality vegetable stock
1 pomegranate
100g frozen edamame beans
2 turkey breasts (75g per portion)
100ml good quality white wine
bunch watercress

• Clean the turkey breasts, removing all the skin and poach in a pan with the vegetable stock and wine for 20min at a low simmer. Remove the breasts and set aside. Skim the stock of any fat or scum then leave on a low heat
• Remove the pomegranate seeds from the fruit and clean the watercress
• In another pan place the spelt, add approx 1/3 of the cooking liquor from the poaching and bring up to a low simmer. Simmer for 35min stirring regularly. Add another 1/3 of the liquor when the risotto starts to dry out. When the final 1/3 of liquor is needed add it to the pan then add the edamame beans, check the seasoning to taste. While the final liquor is reducing roughly chop the breasts and add to the risotto. Check the spelt is cooked, it should be soft with a slight al dente firmness in the middle
• When completed stir through some of the pomegranate seeds and watercress then serve, use the remaining seeds and cress to dress the plate.

35ml Russian Standard Vodka
45ml Pomegranate Juice, freshly squeezed where available 20g/0.7 oz thinly sliced ginger
Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice, double strain and pour into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a piece of ginger, pass a mint leaf around the glass rim

Our Score was 9.5/10 (including 0.25 taken off for a wobbly table) ... not bad ! Here's the online version of the review:

Restaurant review: The Wild Garlic, Beaminster, Dorset

Mat Follas, 2009 MasterChef winner, has opened a restaurant. Has he bitten off more than he can chew? Far from it

• Matthew Norman
• The Guardian, Saturday 3 October 2009
• Article history

The Wild Garlic, Beaminster: What a difference a year makes – Mat Follas has gone from winning a TV cooking competition to setting up this little beauty of a restaurant. Photograph: David Partner

Adducing a corpse as a witness for anything is a cheap and distasteful gambit, so let me begin by suggesting that Keith Floyd, who died after lunching elsewhere in Dorset a few days after our visit, would have adored Mat Follas's first restaurant and might even have identified him as the fruit of his culinary loins. Although familiar to many of you as this year's MasterChef winner, Follas was a new face to me due to the Grossmanophobia that makes watching that show impossible even now, years after that stoic sufferer from irritable vowel syndrome departed. Follas's career is the mirror image of Floyd's, the latter becoming a telly character off the back of being a chef-proprietor and the former achieving the trick in reverse, but otherwise they are as one. The vibrant passion for food – the sourcing and foraging for it, as well as the cooking of it – with which Floyd laid the populist ground for programmes such as MasterChef shines through at the Wild Garlic in the pretty town of Beaminster.

• The Wild Garlic
• 4 The Square,
• Beaminster, Dorset
• DT8 3AS
• 01308 861446

• Open lunch, Tues-Sun, noon-2pm (11am-2pm Sun brunch); dinner, Thurs-Sat, 7-11pm. Price per head for three courses, wine, coffee and service, £40-45.

There is so much else to admire that the traditional Hazgush warning must be issued. The twin traps of fierce lighting and lousy acoustics that often ruin otherwise impressive restaurants are nimbly avoided. The light green walls are unencumbered by hideous paintings, the furniture is farmhousy solid, and the room resounds with the appetite- stimulating buzz of relaxed people relishing their grub.
The short printed menu, meanwhile, bolstered by a wide range of blackboarded daily specials, is perfectly judged and resists the temptation to impress with technical wizardry that afflicts many gifted amateurs when they turn pro. Follas understands that encouraging first-rate ingredients to taste of themselves has the edge over poncery and ostentation. He also has unusual mastery of presentation, adorning the starters with an exquisite little salad dotted with edible flowers. Pan-fried garlic scallops (three plump beauties for £7; the pricing of both food and wine is without chutzpah) came alluringly browned, and with absurdly delicious miso-infused seaweed. My wife was lukewarm about her caramelised goat's cheese ("Nice enough, but a bit pointless"), but my smooth, subtle chicken liver pâté was great, while ceviche of brill was spectacularly fresh and zingy, and had a limey kick to keep a fleet of Tudor galleons scurvy-free for a year.
There then followed a moment that had me cooing at Follas's business sense. The inter-course hiatus was plugged by an amuse-bouche of a dozen clams garnished with capers and garlic mayonnaise, one of those cute touches that costs a restaurant thruppence but leaves punters purring at what seems a lavish freebie. Two of us then went for the lemon sole, a vast and blameless fish served whole and on the bone, and laden with more capers and garlic butter. My wife thought her ribeye steak of water buffalo well seasoned and cooked to the ideal medium rarity, but lacking the depth of flavour of beef, and for what the marital ledger reveals to be the ninth time in 18 years of holy wedlock, we were in full agreement there. However, she was wild about the "smoked mash" – a mound of fluffy, creamy potato suffused with a hickory, mesquitish twang – that also came with my five ruby-red slices of sensationally tender and flavoursome sika venison.
Fresh berry mess was magnificent, and chocolate brownies with cream, chocolate twizzle and berries was "absolutely the best I've had outside the Popeseye," said my wife of a beloved west London steak house.
All in all, this was one of the most pleasing meals I've eaten in years, served with warmth and expertise by a dramatically mustachioed manager and a droll waitress in pole position to do something about it, since her day job is running the old-fashioned barber's bang opposite. Follas is an exceedingly rare talent. Nothing the programme could ever accomplish could compensate for unleashing Loyd Grossman on this island, but MasterChef should be very proud of itself indeed.

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