Category: Seasonal

Charred Peaches with Bee pollen, and toasted Tobermory hazelnuts

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40235242_536045196825722_8663833709100662784_n40194718_1114348522036565_5496608938222682112_n40160080_582027832211740_7477611304413298688_n40094503_2164338923637220_4600825137057497088_n40143861_272958716650812_4694328958798266368_n40073352_452552145249126_8498093523898204160_n40068324_205827356811826_5644026393508446208_n40069304_330097440891812_1525105877076410368_n40086244_2398898940127710_1289677751552311296_n40021492_2295972597085212_8638572386502836224_n40068310_685122281847125_2317818816848986112_nIngredients:

  • 5 large ripe sweet flat peaches
  • 60 grams of golden caster sugar
  • 150 grams of toasted hand picked hazelnuts
  • Sustainable and locally sourced bee pollen (bought at Godalming farmers market)
  1. To begin this beautiful sweet light dessert, use a sharp preparing knife, slice your peaches in half, by running your knife around the stone.
  2. If your peaches are too hard or not yet ripe, to soften, you can poach them in a light sugar syrup infused with vanilla pod.
  3. Dry the cut sided of your peach.
  4. Sprinkle with golden caster sugar, using a blowtorch brûlée the peaches. This gives you the most amazing texture of crunchy sugar compared with the subtle sweetness of a fresh peach.
  5. De-seed and toast your hazelnuts until they go a beautiful golden colour, using a pestle and mortar crush your hazelnuts.
  6. To plate, sprinkle your nuts into the base of an artisan bowl, next add your peach and lastly sprinkle with the bee pollen.
  7. This dish is lovely and simple as it is celebrating three ingredients, to transform this dish either serve with freshly cured vanilla ice cream, or a light organic honey infused crème anglaise.

Mackerel on toasted buckwheat with picked dill and samphire

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40234947_530122160782849_8833908405363015680_n40059057_459126464581072_1958313763362832384_n40135993_317963438975607_8614473977840009216_n40079675_291141411680265_8031072068759977984_n40079700_318563428700404_4312734553501335552_n40253106_368894280317366_2201485620432338944_n40297205_1808323099217544_3729021903537438720_n40135773_468077293679337_6164292893222633472_n40072716_1899378350369870_4410138136827396096_n40054314_1198864373585931_6099311244919963648_nFor this recipe you will need;

  • 5 sustainably sourced mackerel fillets – which if you’re feeling brave can fillet and pin bone yourself (but if you’re not confident doing this, ask your fish monger to do this for you)
  • 100 grams of toasted buckwheat
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 lemon cut in half
  • Dill stalks
  • Freshly picked dill
  • Samphire
  1. As this dish is very quick to cook you need to be ready, place a large saucepan onto a medium heat, along with another large frying pan.
  2. Into the large saucepan place a cup of salted water. Once boiling, add your lemon and dill stalks to infuse them,
  3. Next add your buckwheat, cook for one minute until the buckwheat is al dente and tender.
  4. Drain and using a spoon, remove the flesh from the lemon and stir through to fragrance the buckwheat.
  5. To cook your mackerel, add a little olive oil to the frying pan, once the pan has began to lightly smoke, season your fish and then place it into the pan, skin side down. (You want to cook mackerel on the skin for about 80% of the time as this helps to protect the fish but also ensures for that beautiful crispy skin)
  6. To plate, lay your fragrant buckwheat onto a pre-warmed artisan plate, next place your mackerel.
  7. Now time for the samphire, this will be your garnish. In a small saucepan, foam some butter, add your samphire and quickly sauté, to finish add some fresh dill.

Serve along side a basket of rustic breads and a jug of mint and cucumber San Pellegrino sparkling water.

Oysters with lemon & tabasco

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For this dish you will need:

  • 4 sustainable native oysters
  • Ice
  1. To begin this dish you will need to place an even layer of ice out onto your chosen plate or bowl.
  2. Using an oyster knife and tea towel safely shuck your oysters. To do this place your knife in the natural hinge of the shell and applying some force part the shell open.
  3. Now that the shell is open, so that you don’t damage the oyster, when releasing the muscle, place your knife along the top of shell and just scratch the shell to release.

Enjoy with a cold glass of champagne with family and friends.

Heritage tomato salad with garden Basil

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40076883_292379074826530_3862677836930220032_n40183397_288034618659467_4661161529121439744_n40215523_1925308087507649_3775260799891668992_n40098632_283440638920557_888803263833440256_n40072196_1882223838558499_1777429918611668992_n40143695_1914353838874465_4564719258260471808_n40253712_712176575787176_5426503449770459136_n40161752_245719932754038_437830074255802368_n40137794_229852581025501_4734185117138812928_n40119768_278747426075536_7134423304131051520_n40135778_257296871578868_9174280126869798912_n40011747_512496182497433_3333066373143199744_nIngredients:

  • Freshly picked tomatoes
  • Freshly picked basil
  • 1 cap of red wine vinegar
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 10 twists of pepper
  1. For this dish you want to slice your tomatoes into large chunks, so that you can see their beauty and all the different colours and textures.
  2. Place them into a large serving bowl along with a pinch of sea salt, 10 twists of pepper and a cap full of red wine vinegar.
  3. To finish this salad pick off freshly picked and washed basil leaves along with a little drizzle of olive oil.

Baby heritage carrots, charred onions and purple sage

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40222272_333968727427235_7430355368393310208_n40164221_287549598509867_8396779613367304192_n40084257_254282538551416_5393336475360165888_n40075291_1985435564841475_5984267878721912832_n40097013_1840931075993293_6454538695662895104_n40242579_1136199649865193_5291213766652854272_n40074902_941452016039469_6492259108501061632_n40221135_259241764698900_7196470699496570880_n40140020_269771447194085_1818435908416831488_n40100517_411392009394741_6751737620658651136_n40114708_292238088229800_2480664980072955904_nIngredients:

  • 3 bunches of large salad onions
  • 5 heritage carrots
  • Fresh sage
  • Crispy sage leaves
  1. To begin this dish place a large frying pan onto a medium heat, wash and dry both your carrots and onions.
  2. For the onions, take them whole and slice them in half and place into a dry hot pan, as you want to caramelise their natural sugars. Once charred and al dente place them onto an oven tray.
  3. For the heritage carrots slice them in half again, place them cut slice down into a dry pan and cook until lightly coloured and caramelised
  4. Remove from the pan and drizzle with cold press olive oil, a pinch of pink sea salt and 2 twists of black pepper.
  5. Now place them into a pre-heated oven to finish off their cooking. You want them to be al dente and sweet. To finish off the carrots, add a teaspoon of organic runny honey, this both glazes the carrots but also gives them that beautiful candy sweet note.
  6. Cook both the onions and carrots for 10-15 minutes at 160 degrees.
  7. Whilst the vegetables roast, pick some fresh purple sage leaves, wash and dry them. For this dish, there are two textures of sage; fresh leaves and crispy sage leaves.
  8. To create the crispy sage leaves, place a knob of butter along with a drizzle of olive oil into a small frying pan.
  9. Once the butter is lightly foaming add your leaves and cook until they go a lovely light golden colour.
  10. Remove from the pan and place onto some kitchen roll to drain.

To plate lay two pieces of charred onion onto a pre-warmed plate, along with your carrot, to finish drizzle with a little organic honey and dot your sage leaves around the dish.

Serve with some rustic bread of your choice

Gourmet Gent Harissa Baked Eggs

on By

39403792_316557935570743_4321737689717014528_n39453608_687463384939847_8940901289156411392_n39303872_284863612300017_4183987217972068352_n39409422_2216472191971080_5010261998563229696_n39467636_2259504637410537_3447973898115612672_n39288475_267491827200823_1256091936226279424_n39393131_444286119409292_143141673608675328_n39294432_749062052091611_1433425960442527744_n39468576_309990402893507_5314749972686569472_nIngredients:

  • 1 x orange chilli
  • 2 x banana shallots
  • 2 x garlic cloves
  • 1 x teaspoon of harissa powder
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • 3 x plum tomatoes
  • 1 x tin of cold water
  • ½ bunch of Thai basil
  • 6 x free range eggs
  • Tobermory sunny orange cherry tomatoes
  1. To begin this quick breakfast, lunch or dinner place a large saucepan onto a medium heat, add your finely diced garlic, shallot and chilli to the pan along with a little olive oil
  2. Sweat the aromats with no colour, once they are sweet and tender add your harissa powder along with the three tins of plum tomatoes, ensure that these are good quality.
  3. Next add a pinch of sea salt and a twist of black pepper, along with half a bunch of picked Thai basil.
  4. Allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.
  5. In an ovenproof dish, place your cherry tomatoes on the base as they bake in the oven, they will burst and offer a beautiful hit of freshness.
  6. Once the sauce is ready pour into the dish and using a spatula make six little pools in the sauce, crack your eggs into these and place the dish into a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees.
  7. Bake for ten to fifteen minutes until the eggs are cooked through with a runny yolk.
  8. To serve place onto pre-warmed artisan plates, aerve along side a loaf of fresh bread, and rocket salad.
  9. For the fresh rocket salad, simply pick some fresh wild rocket and dress with a little olive oil and lemon juice, this is such a great way to eat fresh peppery leaves because with a heavy dressing their beauty would just be lost!

Lavender Shortbread

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38639261_292420847980576_4350256143713435648_n38643191_229760447734522_5936922663216742400_n38663657_2252143088340469_2996733028996218880_n38700085_1632686676859569_4247960064356253696_n38689535_261187387827538_162265002609213440_n38752974_665926117139464_6922610205880483840_n38544433_1889046298068653_914412096530153472_n38679729_217236782287533_5029156504591138816_n38688845_275564206567244_1267316734470127616_n38775448_1919281121471458_1882438458794835968_n38752167_1883423235295507_2948627471135670272_n38711310_218767952121502_6875670512597467136_n38734795_212696436071972_6903269487110258688_n38800233_257812131701585_6542902927609036800_n38692650_647239482315415_2250338043040890880_n38651750_306129573266014_1480859433230663680_n38652754_232871667370011_8206451230021517312_n38692647_940496266140006_4049499254924771328_n38485848_309298422966025_4092848346958397440_nTobermory Lavender Shortbread with Vanilla Chantilly cream, Richmond organic honey, Horsell Honeycomb, bees pollen, and fresh lavender shoots

Ingredients:

  • Zest of one lemon
  • 2 ounces of freshly dried lavender
  • 12 ounces of sieved plain flour
  • 4 ounces of caster sugar
  • 8 ounces of softened butter
  1. Firstly weigh up all of the ingredients as outlined above
  2. Into a large mixing bowl add your softened butter and flour. Using the rubbing technique, incorporate the flour and butter together until you have to consistency of breadcrumbs.
  3. Next add your sugar along with the freshly zested lemon, using a large wooden spoon stir to incorporate, to finish the dough off; knead with your hands until it comes together leaving the bowl clean.
  4. Onto a floured surface, roll out your dough until it has reached the thickness of a pound coin. For my GG citrus shortbread I used the rim of a drinking glass as this gave me the perfect diameter for my shortbread, you can use any cutter of your preference.
  5. Place the cut shortbread discs onto a pre-lined large tray with baking parchment. Ensure when you place your shortbread onto the tray you leave a little space between each biscuit, to allow for spreading.
  6. Bake in the oven for half an hour at 150 degrees, until lightly golden brown and crisp.

Top tip: when you are cutting your shortbread discs, don’t throw away the off cuts, place these onto the tray as these can give you a good indication as to when shortbread is cooked!

Chantilly cream:

  • 150 ml of double cream
  • 2 heaped tablespoons of sieved icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean extract (or a whole vanilla pod)
  1. Place all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, whisk until the cream can hold light peaks
  2. Serve along side the other elements of the dish.

Tobermory Blackberry Muffins

on By

38280407_2143718152538768_4110885225326706688_n38444376_2143718295872087_6491864173373292544_n38439932_2143718189205431_3094783404332285952_n38481220_2143718395872077_4632131248167321600_n38489887_2143718052538778_98720450363785216_n38297977_2143718429205407_5875566946564440064_n38277437_2143718085872108_4899964665716539392_n38392387_2143717742538809_5058062210018836480_n38239079_2143717639205486_5048036119967432704_n38239079_2143717622538821_6689792686032945152_n38274516_2143717802538803_7768163625784573952_n38458555_2143717855872131_5223291255458365440_n38279366_2143717752538808_300336578994110464_nIngredients:

  • 175 grams of butter
  • 175 grams of self raising flour
  • 175 grams of golden caster sugar
  • ½ tsp of baking powder
  • 3 large free range eggs
  • ½ tbsp. of vanilla paste
  • The zest of one lemon
  • 6 washed large blackberries
  • ¼ of a teaspoon of Tobermory Blackberry Jam (per muffin)
  1. To begin this recipe weigh out all of the ingredients as stated above.
  2. Pre-heat your oven to 180.
  3. In a large mixing bowl cream together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
  4. Once at this stage, add your eggs into the mixture one at a time, then add your flour along with your baking powder.
  5. Using a folding technique incorporate the mixture, ensure that you don’t knock out all of the air.
  6. Next add your vanilla paste, lemon zest, go cautiously with this or otherwise it will just overpower the cakes.
  7. Place your muffin cases into a large muffin tray. In each of the cases place a blackberry, then half fill each of the cases with the cake mixture, once half filled, place ¼ of a teaspoon of jam in the middle. Now fill the cases with more mixture.
  8. Place into the oven for 18 minutes, until they are golden brown and cooked through.
  9. Whilst they are still warm dust them lightly with icing sugar and place one blackberry on top.

Enjoy with a cup of artisan coffee!

The Gourmet Gent.

French Toast

on By

37984070_2138145879762662_4745043528902508544_n37954412_2138145889762661_1546189416265940992_n37935705_2138146089762641_7530814949799493632_n38085250_2138146156429301_7689210423098212352_n37979764_2138145966429320_919726706242093056_n38072521_2138146609762589_954018566946947072_n38036887_2138146246429292_6464389469444243456_n37969558_2138146439762606_5666532829593337856_nFor this classic midmorning snack, light dinner or just down right indulgence, you will need…

  • 150 ml of semi skimmed milk
  • 3 free eggs
  • 4 slices of French brioche
  • 4 heaped tablespoons of Greek natural yoghurt
  • Fresh herbs
  • Gooseberries

(Serves four)

1. To begin this beautiful classic, in a medium sized bowl whisk together your eggs and milk.

2. Place a large frying pan onto a medium heat, allow to come up to temperature, once up to temperature add a knob of butter allow to melt gently.

3. Taking a slice of your brioche bread dip each side in the egg and milk mixture.

4. Place the bread into the pan, allow to cook on both sides until lightly golden and crisp.

5. Place onto a pre-warmed artisan plate, and dust lightly with a little icing sugar.

6. I wanted to make this snack a little healthier so I substituted the normal clotted cream for 0% fat extra thick Greek yoghurt, so add a big dollup in the middle.

7. As Gooseberries are in season, I wanted to use a selection, so I lightly pickled some gooseberries, made a compote and kept some raw.

8. To finish garnish with fresh lemon thyme, mint and drizzled organic Richmond Honey.

Great British Classic Gooseberry Fool

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37661040_671452039873856_4004932067216326656_n37591226_671452133207180_2643726278208782336_n37573080_671452063207187_953577929072181248_n37653813_671452153207178_58115318446292992_n37631199_671452019873858_5431947788969574400_nYou FOOL!

Gooseberry Compote:

  • 150 grams of picked and washed gooseberries
  • 50 grams of sugar
  • 10 ml of water
  • A squeeze of lemon juice
  • 1 bay leaf
  1. In a medium sauce pan add all of your ingredients, place onto a medium to high heat
  2. Once the berries have just began to break down reduce the heat and cook to your desired consistency
  3. To finish add a squeeze of lemon juice and 1 bay leaf.

For the fool:

  • 200 grams of double cream
  • 200 grams 0% fat Greek yoghurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 teaspoon of sieved icing sugar
  1. Place the yoghurt and double cream into a large mixing bowl, whisk the mixture to lightly aerate the mix. (You want the mixture to be just under stiff peaks)
  2. Once you have achieved this, add your vanilla bean extract, along with one teaspoon of sieved icing sugar – as this will offer a little sweetness and cut through the sharpness of the gooseberries.

Sweet pickling liquid:

  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  1. Bring the liquid to the boil so that the sugar dissolves, add your bruised bay leave.
  2. Allow to infuse pour over 150 grams of washed gooseberry’s and place into an air tight jar.

Garnish:

  • Pickled gooseberries
  • Mint leaves
  • Lemon thyme leaves

To serve…

Chill a large glass or jar, ripple the compote through the fool mixture, to garnish add a couple of pickled gooseberries and a few sprigs of mint and lemon thyme leaves.