Mouthwatering tour of Cumbria’s finest
Last updated at 14:13, Thursday, 08 July 2010
A new book offers a mouthwatering tour of some of Cumbria’s finest restaurants and hotels.
Each one provides recipes for a high-quality three course meal for adventurous foodies to try at home.
Relish Cumbria is introduced by Nigel Mendham, the Michelin-starred head chef at The Samling on the shores of Windermere.
“It’s a lovely looking book and there are some great dishes in it,” he said.
In his introduction to the book, he raves about the foods available on our doorsteps in the county and says: “It isn’t just the quality that stands out for me, it’s the sheer wealth and uniqueness of produce available.”
Nigel moved up to The Samling five years ago.
Although he lost the Michelin star awarded to the hotel, he has maintained its three AA rosettes and this year regained the coveted Michelin star.
His menu of red mullet with parmesan custard with tomato marmalade, Herdwick mutton and ‘all things Scotch’ and chocolate peanut crunch offer a hint of the refined flavours he produces.
“I included the mullet because the Michelin inspector had, so it’s pretty good! The Herdwick is in because it is a good, flavoursome dish and the pudding because everyone likes a chocolate fondant, but this is with a twist.”
Among the other kitchens featured are those at the Michelin-starred Sharrow Bay on Ullswater, The Quince and Medlar restaurant in Cockermouth, Winder Hall country house hotel near Cockerm outh and Borrowdale Gates Hotel, near Keswick.
The recipes in the book aren’t for beginners and some expect a fair amount of culinary nous and some special ‘cheffy’ ingredients.
But it is well-presented and gives you an idea of what to expect from the different venues if you want to go out for a top-class meal.
Here are a few recipes from the book to get your tastebudes tingling:
The Samling’s Chocolate peanut crunch (serves four):
Ingredients:
chocolate fondant
125g butter
125g dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
60g sugar
25g plain flour
peanut crunch
25g dark chocolate
30g cocoa butter or butter
55g feuilletine or crushed wafer
115g peanut butter
30g chopped peanuts
peanut bombe
2 eggs
45g icing sugar
120g double cream
2 leaves gelatine
110g smooth peanut butter
Method:
For the fondant
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Evenly brush four pudding moulds or ramekins with butter and then coat the buttered moulds with cocoa powder, tapping off any excess. Transfer the prepared moulds to a baking sheet.
2 Melt together butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the surface of the water. Stir until melted and smooth.
3 Whisk eggs and yolks until tripled in volume and slowly add sugar
4 Keep whisking and slowly add melted chocolate mixture
5 Pour into ramekins and bake for 4-5 minutes.
For the peanut crunch
1 Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water.
2 Beat peanut butter until creamy. Add a pinch of salt and chopped nuts.
3 Add the melted chocolate mixture and the feuilletine.
4 Roll out thinly (about 3mm) between two sheets of baking paper and freeze.
for the bombe
1 Beat peanut butter until creamy
2 Whisk eggs and icing together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until soft peaks
2 Bring double cream to the boil, then add soaked gelatine
3 Slowly add the cream to the peanut butter, whisking all the time
4 Fold in whisked eggs and pour into moulds and leave 2-3 hours to set in freezer
To serve, cut out a disc of peanut crunch the same size as the bombe, put a bombe on each disc and return to the freezer until ready to serve with the fondant. Serve with caramelised banana.
The Quince and Medlar’s Thornby Moor smoked Cumberland cheese souffle wrapped in courgette on char grilled mushroom and baked sweet potato with a pomegranate reduction (serves 4)
Ingredients
42g butter
42g unbleached white flour
275ml milk
2 medium eggs, separated, and one yolk
125g Cumberland smoked cheese, grated
salt pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper
2 medium courgettes, thinly slice lengthways
1 small sweet potato, sliced, seasoned and baked for 10 minutes in a medium/hot oven
4 large mushrooms, stalks removed, and grilled for 3/4 minutes under a hot grill
4tsp creme fraiche
pinch of smoked paprika
Pomegranate and red wine reduction
57g butter
1 chopped shallot
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 pomegranate seeded
200ml red wine
1tbsp chopped parsley
Method
Preheat over togas mark 5 (190C)
For the souffle
1 Melt butter in pan over a low/medium heat, stir in the flour, then gradually add milk, stirring all the time until thickened
2 Cool slightly and add cheese and seasonings
3 Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, beat the yolks into the sauce, then fold in egg whites
4 Spoon mixture into four buttered ramekins and sit these in a high-sided baking tray
5 Half fill the tray with water and put in the pre-heated oven
6 Bake until firm to the touch – 20-25 minutes.
7 Remove from over and take out of ramekins when cool.
8 Turn up the over to gas mark 6 (200C)
9 Place slices of sweet potato inside the mushrooms, sit souffle on top. Wrap courgette slices around souffle and mushroom and top with a dollop of creme fraiche, a sprinkling of grated cheese and paprika or cayenne pepper.
10 Bake for 20 minutes
For the pomegranate reduction
1 Sweat shallots in butter for two minutes
2 Add all other ingredients and simmer until reduced by a third
3 Liquidize, pass through a sieve and serve with souffle
Relish Cumbria (£17.50) is available from bookshops now.
First published at 08:58, Saturday, 03 July 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
