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Starter: Seared scallops with celeriac purée, cider and mustard sauce
To Drink: Domaine Andre Dezat Sancerre Blanc 2005
- 16 scallops shelled and cleaned, including coral
- A few drops of lemon juice
- 1 celeriac, peeled and cut into small dice
- 600ml milk
- 600ml water
- 1 bay leaf
- Sprig thyme
- Salt and white pepper
- 200ml double cream
- 1ltr dry cider
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon crème fraîche
- Caster sugar (just in case)
- A few small salad leaves for garnish
Boil the celeriac in milk and water flavoured with bay and thyme until cooked right through. Drain and blitz in a food processor. For a really smooth finish, rub the purée through a fine sieve then stir in enough double cream to reach the consistency of lightly whipped egg whites. Taste and season, cover and keep warm.
Put the cider to boil in a saucepan and reduce right down to 1/8 volume. Remove from heat, stir in crème fraîche and mustard. Taste and if too tart add a little caster sugar.
Heat a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan to very hot. Lightly brush the scallops with vegetable oil and sear in the pan for no more than 30 seconds per side, splashing the pan with lemon juice half way through. Transfer the pan to the oven for 2 minutes to finish cooking.
Spoon a circle of celeriac purée into the centre of each warmed serving plate and top with two scallops. Drizzle over and around a little of the cider reduction and decorate with two or three small salad leaves.
Main dish: Breast and stuffed leg of guinea fowl with purple sprouting broccoli and potatoes Anna.
 To Drink: Veenwouden Classic 2001 (Cabernet Merlot)
- 4 guinea fowl
- I head garlic
- Few sprigs fresh rosemary
- Few sprigs thyme
- 2 handfuls fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 large onions finely chopped
- Handful chestnut mushrooms finely chopped
- 2 ltrs good chicken stock
- 2 carrots and two sticks celery roughly chopped
- Juice and finely pared zest of one lemon
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 1kg purple sprouting broccoli
Unsalted butter
- 1 ½ kg potatoes (Desiree or Maris Piper)
- ½ bottle Italian medium dry Marsala
Bring the chicken stock up to a simmer in your largest stock pan and add the chopped carrot, celery and a sprig each of rosemary and thyme, plus the whole head of garlic.
Remove the wishbones from the birds and remove the legs and set aside.
Trim the wings back and chop away leaving a small length of exposed bone still attached. Add the wing tips to the stockpot.
Poach the bodies in the simmering stock for 10 minutes, remove, drain and allow to cool. Remove the breasts from the crowns and reserve.
Fry the chopped onion in butter until beginning to take on a little colour, then add the chopped mushrooms, finely chopped rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until the moisture is driven off the mushrooms. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan, along with the lemon zest, stir for a few moments then begin to add hot stock a little at a time until the ‘stuffing comes together.
Bone out the guinea fowl legs, fill with the stuffing and secure with string. Brown the legs in butter and olive oil, season and remove to the oven. Roast for 20 minutes.
Remove the legs from the pan and keep warm. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala, boil and reduce to half. Add 500ml strained cooking stock and reduce by three quarters volume. Strain and keep at a slow simmer.
Blanch the broccoli in hot water for three minutes, drain and chill in iced water.
Peel the potatoes and slice thinly with a mandolin. Place the potato slices in a bowl, add a mixture of well seasoned olive oil and melted butted with a few tiny leaves of thyme and mix thoroughly to ensure all the slices are well coated.
Build up neat overlapping layers of potato inside a loose-bottomed, non-stick cake tin (approx 160mm diameter). Keep going right to the top. Press down hard and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Press down with the back of a spoon a few times during cooking. Use a skewer to test that the potatoes are cooked right through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down a little before turning out onto a baking tray. Paint all over with more melted butter and return to the oven to brown off all over.
Melt some butter in a large skillet and brown off the guinea fowl breasts. Add the stuffed legs to the pan, season with salt and pepper and a few drops of lemon juice.
Toss the broccoli in a non-stick pan with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Mount the sauce by whisking in small pieces of chilled unsalted butter to give a glossy finish.
Place a breast and a stuffed leg onto each warmed plate with a few broccoli sprouts and a wedge of potato cake. Drizzle with the sauce and serve.
Dessert: Forced Rhubarb Fool with orange and ginger biscotti
To Drink: Domaine de Durban Muscat Beaumes de Venise
- 900g Forced rhubarb
- 150ml orange juice
- 50g caster sugar
- For the biscotti:
- 250g plain flour
- 100g granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 175g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- Finely grated zest of an orange
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- For the custard:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 75g caster sugar
- 300ml single cream
- I whole vanilla pod
- 300ml double cream
To make the biscotti, sift the flour, salt, ground ginger and baking powder into a bowl and mix in the granulated sugar. Rub in the butter with your fingertips to achieve the texture of breadcrumbs. Whisk the eggs with the orange zest and stir into the flour mixture with a fork until the dough holds together. Scrape out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly.
Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a cylinder about 12 inches long. Place the cylinders onto a baking tray lined with parchment and flatten them with the palm of your hand so they are about ½ inch thick. Bake in the oven at 180 for about 30 minutes until well risen and golden. Cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into diagonal slices about ½ thick. Arrange the slices on the tray, cut side down and return to the oven for about 20 minutes until the cut surfaces are crunchy and deep golden.
Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut into lengths of about 1 inch. Put the orange juice and caster sugar into a pan and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rhubarb and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down.
To make the custard, place the egg yolks and half the sugar into a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy. Put the single cream into a saucepan along with the remaining sugar and the seeds and pod of vanilla. Bring to the boil stirring constantly. Remove the vanilla pod and pour the boiling cream into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking continuously and then pour the mixture back into the pan and heat very gently. Stir with a wooden spoon until the custard reaches a coating consistency. Be careful not to overcook or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and have to throw the whole lot away. Strain the custard into a clean bowl and cool. Lightly whip the double cream and fold into the custard.
Place some rhubarb in to a glass, top with the cream mixture and serve with the biscotti.
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