Black Cherry Sauce (ideal with duck and pheasant)

This sauce shows how a sweetness with tremendous flair and flavour can be used to complement game and similar tasting meats. Using a haute cuisine / a la carte approach, this sauce always goes down well in dinner parties and restaurants alike!

(Approx 10 - 12 servings)

You will need...

Moderate sized saucepan
Black Cherries (Canned ones are excellent, beacue theyre already pitted and have their own syrup)
Garlic Clove x 2 (Crushed)
Game Stock (Chicken if not available)
Tarragon (1 tsp dried, or 1 stem of fresh)
Water

Put the cherries in saucepan, if pitted. If not cut in half and remove seeds, and then add to pan.
Add approx 10& water to the mix.
Peel and crush garlic cloves, and add to mix.
Add game or chicken stock to the mix. If fresh stock not available, use 1 tbsp bouillon or 1stock cube
Add tarragon to mix

Bring mixture to the boil, and then simmer until reduced to approx 80% of original volume. Make sure cherries have fallen or softened sufficiently.

Serve with game, ideally duck or pheasant.

Game Sauce St. Clements

This sauce also goes well with all game dishes. With a distinct Citrus Flavour, this sharp tasting sauce provides the perfect compliment to game whilst adopting a traditional approach.

(Serves approx 10 -12 Portions)

You will need

4 Large Oranges
2 Large Lemons
Garlic Clove x 2 (Crushed)
Thyme (1 sprig fresh, 1 tsp dry)
3 tbsp sugar
Fruit Zester
Sharp Knife
Juice Extractor (Optional)
Moderate Sized Saucepan
Water (1 cup)
Arrowroot powder

Zest the oranges and lemons then cut in half horizontally. Leave one orange and one lemon uncut. Put the zest int he pan, and squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemons into the pan. Add 1 cup of water and the thyme, then add the sugar.

Peel and segment the remaining orange and lemon, and add the segments to the mix. Add the remaining juice to the mixture also.

Bring mixture to the boil, and then simmer until fruit has softened sufficiently. If necessary use arrowroot powder to thicken mixture.

Serve with game such as duck, pheasant or turkey.

Cod & Chicken "Parcel" with fragrant herbs

This amazing recipe combines eastern flavours with a Thai / Oriental flavour, whilst at the same time, obeying a western / european influence.

You will need:

Chicken Breast
Cod fillet
Parma Ham
Fresh Coriander
1 Lime
Paprika
Butter
Chilli Powder
Dash White wine
1 tsp. Honey
1 Clove Garlic
Butter

Equipment:

Tinfoil
Kitchen Kinfe
Roasting Tin (small preferrably)
Oven.

Serves 2

Fisrt of all take the chicken breast and slice in half, so that you have two equal pieces (roughly square). Do the same with the cod fillet.

Place 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh corainder on top of the chicken breast, and put the cod fillet piece on top. Place a few more sprigs of corainder on top of this pile, and wrap with the parma ham (2 slices). You should now have two moderately sized "parcels".

Line a roasting tin with tinfoil, and place the parcels inside the tin. Cut the lime in half, and squeeze the juice out of both halves, over the parcels. Add in the spent lime halves, and sprinkle the parcels with 1 tbsp of paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder. Drizzle parcels with a teaspoon of honey. Crush the clove of garlic, and half of each clove to the top of the parcel.

Add four teaspoons of butter (2 for each parcel) on top of each parcel, and cover the top of the tin in tinfoil.

Place in moderately hot oven (160 degrees Celsius) for approximately 45 mins.

Serve with green vegetables, and potatoes. If you wish, a good sauce that goes well with this is hollondaise / bearnaise.

Delicious!

Monkfish tails, with lime & thyme butter

This recipe was originally designed to be put on the new menu at The Church, but was amended in the butter department to accommodate economy of resources with other fish dishes on the menu. I have always liked monkfish. The standard way of doing things these days with monkfish tails is to wrap them in parma ham (Proscuito di Parma), pan fry them and then finish them off in the oven, and serve with something sweet (and possibly spicy) such as a salsa or a compote.

The approach I used for this dish showed promise in its simplicty, ustilising the base flavour of the fish, then accenting and complimenting it with the zesty flavour of lime, and the fragrant tone of thyme, bound with the wonderful texture of butter. I have, for a long time, favoured using butter with fish - in particular white fish. When cooked with butter, the fish adopts a wonderful colour and glaze, and keeps the texture of the fish wonderfully tender.

You will need: (Serves 2)

1 Monkfish tail
1 Lime (zested)
2 sprigs of thyme
1/2 block of butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Equipment:

Small roasting tin, or ceramic cooking dish.
Heavy bottomed frying pan
Chopping board Sharp knife you are comfortable with.
Fruit zester or canelle knife.
Ceramic or glass bowl.

Mise en place..

Firstly, prepare the monkfish tail. It should come already skinned for you, but you will still need to remove the membrane from the meat of the fish. This can be done very easily, by making a small incision at the thin end of the tail into the membrane. You can then lift the membrane and it should then peel off very easily, without damaging the meat. Cut the tail into six even pieces, (which makes three each) and set to one side whilst you prepare everything else.

For the butter, place the block of butter in a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Add the melted butter to the ceramic bowl. Zest the lime, or cut ribbons from the zest with a cannelle knife. Cut the lime in half and squeeze over a sieve to extract the juice (but not the pips) into the ceramic bowl. Add the zest to this mixture, then strip the thyme from the stem and add to the butter. Leave to cool for a short time then refrigerate (for use later).

Service

Set your oven to 200 degrees C. Add the oil to saucepan and heat until it begins to smoke slightly. In the pan, sear both sides of each monkfish piece until golden brown. When the fish begins to color, remove from the heat immediately and add tot he roasting tin / ceramic dish. Add the butter to the roasting tin with the fish, then place at the lowest point in the oven for approximately 8 minutes.

The texture of the fish should be soft yet springy. The butter will have flavoured and "braised" the fish in this time also, helping to keep the meat tender. You will also notice a pleasant glaze present on the fish after cooking with butter. When ready, serve!



Note: White fish can be served when still slightly pink, and often this is the optimum texture for white fish. I always cook white fish slightly under, to allow for resting period and texture (just like a steak).

Enjoy!