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Pat's Perfect Autumn Dinner MenuThe days are getting shorter; the sun is grappling with chill breezes and grey clouds. But when autumn starts drawing in, there is great comfort to be had in a warm kitchen and cosy company. So let's all cook, eat, entertain and celebrate the culinary season of plenty with...
Parsley Soup with Poached Oysters & Scallops
Roast Partridge, Glazed White Turnips, Button Onions & Madeira Sauce Hazelnut Parfait with Chocolate Sauce  Delicate, robust, simple, wholesome and most certainly underestimated, soups have always played a huge part in my life, from my grandmother's Broth and Suet Dumplings to making leek and potato soup at 3.30am to satisfy my wife's craving whilst pregnant with our first child. Parsley Soup with Poached Oysters & Scallops is a long-standing favourite which I created back in 1989. This soup is the perfect marriage between earth and sea and with the new season oysters in abundance, it's a must. Of all the game birds, partridge is my favourite. For my Roast Partridge - with glazed white turnips, button onions and Madeira sauce - I have used the fine English Grey Legged Partridge rather than the slightly larger French Red Legged Partridge. These birds are at their best at the beginning of autumn when they are still full of leftover corn from harvest time. I can recollect my father scattering the ‘chaff' that collected on the combine harvester at the edge of the wood, and watching both pheasants and partridges carefully taking the remaining pieces of corn. The button onions are a wonderful accompaniment, sweet and full of flavour. Hazelnut Parfait with Chocolate Sauce is a fairly complicated dish, but a favourite since the early 1990s when voted Egon Ronay's Dessert of the Year. I thought I'd share its success with you to prove it's well worth the effort! Parsley Soup with Poached Oysters & ScallopsServes 48 x fresh oysters in the shell8 x fresh scallops in the shell 500ml x fish stock 100ml x white wine 100ml x Noilly Prat (dry vermouth) 50g x chopped shallot 25g x butter 150ml x double cream 2large x bunches flat leaf parsley Salt and ground white pepper 1. In a large deep saucepan melt the butter, add the shallot, and cook until tender but without colour. 2. Add the wine and Noilly Prat and reduce by half then add the stock, again reducing by half. 3. Open the oysters and scallops reserving any juices once opened, place the parsley in the stock and add the cream. 4. Bring the liquid up to the boil, remove and pour carefully into a liquidiser, blend for approximately 3-4 minutes. 5. Pass through a sieve into a clean pan and correct the seasoning. 6. Lay in each bowl 2 oysters and 2 scallops and pour over the light, frothy pale green liquid. 7. The heat from the soup is sufficient to poach the oysters and scallops. 8. If you are feeling really decadent then a spoon full of Caviar makes this the ultimate soup. Roast Partridge, Glazed White Turnips, Button Onions & Madeira SauceServes 44 x Partridges (English Grey legged)8 x cloves garlic, crushed 4 x bay leaves 50ml x olive oil Salt and ground white pepper 24 x baby white turnips, with tops 100g x butter 250g x button onions (see recipe below) 4 x rosti potatoes (see recipe below) 4 x portions Madeira sauce (see recipe below) 1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. 2. Place inside the carcass of each bird 2 cloves of garlic and a bay leaf and then season with salt and pepper. 3. Tie with string the legs and the parsons nose together giving the bird a nice firm shape, and then seal the bird in a roasting tray with the oil and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a further 10-12 minutes. 4. Remove the tops (don't throw away) and peel the turnips still leaving ½ inch of green stem on each and place into a saucepan with the butter, a small amount of water and some salt. 5. These will take approximately 15 minutes to cook until tender, just before they are ready add the tops to the same pan for 2 minutes, then drain off all the liquid. Heat through the onions, sauce and potatoes, remove the legs and breast from each bird and sit a rosti in the centre of each plate with the partridge on top, place the turnips and onions around with the green tops and pour over the sauce.
Glazed Button OnionsButton onions are often called pearl or silver skin onions. Because you are going to cook the onions, here is the guaranteed method for peeling onions without tears. Simply boil a pan of water, remove the root from each onion, immerse them in the boiling water for two minutes, remove and refresh under cold running water, peel as normal.250g x button onions, blanched and peeled 100g x butter 50g x caster sugar 2 x sprigs of fresh thyme Salt and ground white pepper 1. In a frying pan heat the butter and sugar, add the onions, splash of water, and the thyme. 2. Cover the onions with a butter paper or some foil loosely, allowing steam to escape, cook until all the liquid has evaporated the onions are tender and the butter and sugar has caramelised, gently roll the onions in the glaze, season and serve. This would work equally as well with small shallots. Pomme Rosti500g x Maris Piper or Desiree potatoes50ml x olive oil 50g x butter Salt and ground white pepper 1. Peel and wash the potatoes, using a fine grater, grate the potato into matchstick sized pieces then in a tea towel squeeze out any excess water and season with the salt and pepper. 2. Heat a large frying pan with the oil and butter; into the pan place a 4-inch round metal pastry cutter and place quarter of the grated potato inside. 3. Gently fry until golden on one side then turn the cutter and potato over with a flat slice and colour the other side. 4. The starch will make the potato hold together and form a rosti cake. 5. Repeat the process using the remaining grated potato to make four. Madeira Sauce500g Chicken wings, diced4 shallots, sliced 12 button mushrooms, sliced 4 cloves of garlic, sliced 2 sprigs thyme 1 small bay leaf 6 black peppercorns, crushed coarsely ¼ bottle Madeira 1tbspn red wine vinegar 1 x litre chicken stock 25ml x olive oil 1. In a saucepan heat half the oil and sear the chicken wings until golden brown, turning frequently. 2. In a separate frying pan, with the remainder oil, add the shallots, mushrooms, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and garlic. 3. Sauté over a moderate to high heat until light brown in colour. 4. Add the vinegar and reduce until all the moisture has evaporated. 5. Add the shallots, mushrooms etc to the meat. Pour over the Madeira. Reduce this by half. 6. Add the stock and bring to the boil, skim and reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40mins. 7. Allow to rest for 5mins off the heat, pass through a fine muslin cloth several times to remove any impurities and this should give a wonderful clear sauce. Hazelnut Parfait with Chocolate SauceServes 6100g x blanched hazelnuts, lightly roasted150g x caster sugar 15ml x hazelnut oil 4 x egg whites 250g x caster sugar 250m x double cream, half whipped 450g x caster sugar 75g x glucose 50g x flaked almonds 15ml x hazelnut oil 4 x portions of chocolate sauce (See recipe below)  1. In a heavy-based pan boil the hazelnuts and 150g of caster sugar together to a light caramel, remove from the heat and pour onto a tray oiled with the hazelnut oil, and allow to cool. This is now your praline.2. In a separate heavy-based pan boil the 450g of caster sugar, glucose and flaked almonds together again to a light caramel, remove from the heat and pour onto a tray lightly oiled with hazelnut oil and allow to cool. This is now your craqualin. 3. Whisk the egg whites to a ribbon stage and add the 250g of caster sugar, then beat to a stiff meringue, break the hazelnut praline into pea-sized pieces and fold into the meringue. 4. Fold into the meringue the half whipped cream. Pour into a container, cover with cling film, and freeze for 6-8 hours. 5. Break the craqualin into small pieces and place in a food processor and blend to a fine powder. 6. Pass this through a fine sieve to give a very fine dust-like texture. 7. On a piece of baking parchment, shake through a sieve the powdered craqualin mix and place in a hot oven for 3-5 minutes until melted. Remove and mould or cut out the desired shapes and allow to cool. 8. Remove the parfait from the freezer and allow to stand for 2 minutes, moulding the parfait to suit the craqualin pieces and placing on the plate, pouring around the chocolate sauce and serving. If you don't wish to make the craqualin, simply freeze the parfait in a terrine, turn out, slice and serve Chocolate SauceMakes 12 portions350g x good quality dark bitter chocolate, broken into pieces300ml x water 50g x butter, cold and unsalted 100g x caster sugar 2tspn x cocoa powder 1. In a saucepan over a gentle heat, melt the broken chocolate and cocoa powder; add the water and sugar then bring to the boil, stirring constantly. 2. Finally whisk in the cold unsalted butter, allow cooling before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When serving from cold allow the sauce to stand at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Bon appetite! Click to share this story on your favourite Social Networking site.               |