SHEPHERD’S PIE

SHEPHERD’S PIE

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• Shallot, peeled, finely chopped: 250 gm
• Button mushroom, washed, finely chopped: 250 gm
• Carrot, diced: 250 gm
• Thyme: 1 ½ tsp
• Red wine, non-alcoholic: 500 ml
• Worcestershire sauce: 40 ml
• Tomato, chopped : 125 gm
• Tomato puree: 100 gm
• Flour: 1 tbsp
• Oregano, picked, chopped: 1 tsp
• Salt, freshly ground to taste
• Pepper, freshly ground to taste

For the mince:

• Beef, lean, minced: 1 ¼ kg
• Lamb, lean, minced : 1 ¼ kg
• Vegetable oil a drizzle
• For the beef stock:
• Beef stock: 2 cube
• Water: 2 litre

For the potato mash:

• Potato: 1 kg
• Double cream: 150 ml
• Butter, unsalted: 150 gm
• Table salt : 1 tsp
• White pepper : tsp

Method

For the mash: Peel and roughly chop the potatoes. Bring to a boil in salted water then simmer until soft. Remove from the heat, drain and mash. Warm the cream and the butter in a ramekin until just soft, then add to the potato and season the mash with salt and pepper.

For the beef stock: Dissolve the beef stock cubes in two litres of boiling water.

For the mince: Heat the vegetable oil until very hot in a large pan. Season the mince with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Continuously stir the mince until brown in colour. Remove pan from heat and drain meat off in a colander to remove excess liquid.

Heat the shallot, button mushroom and carrot in a little oil over medium heat and cook until light brown. Mix in the tomato puree and cook for 2-3 minutes; add the meat, the non-alcoholic red wine and reduce. Dust with flour and mix thoroughly.

Add the Worcestershire sauce and chopped tomatoes, then the beef stock (just enough to cover).

Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes, then season with freshly ground salt and pepper. Add extra Worcestershire sauce if desired. Finish with the chopped oregano.

Allow to cool, then place into round pastry rings or mould into a circular shape and pipe over the mashed potato.

Cook in a hot oven at 180°C until golden brown and piping hot inside (approx 12-14 minutes). Serve.

ETON MESS


Serves 8 – 10

Ingredients

For the meringue

• Egg white: 100 ml
• Caster sugar: 150 gm

For the cream:

• Whipping cream: 500 ml
• Icing sugar: 2 ½ tbsp
• Vanilla bean, scrapped: 1 piece

For the sauce:

• Strawberry, frozen: 500 gm
• Caster sugar: 70 gm

To serve:

• Meringue sticks to garnish
• Strawberry, fresh 2-3 per person

Method

For the meringue, whisk the egg white and caster sugar until there are stiff peaks and the mix is fluffy. Bake at 100°C for an hour.

For the cream, whip all the ingredients together and refrigerate till needed.

For the sauce, place the strawberries in a saucepan and simmer on low heat.

Once all the strawberries have secreted their juices, add the caster sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes more then remove from heat.

Blend in a blender until combined, then strain.

Place the whipped cream, meringue bits, a little strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries in a mixing bowl. Combine the ingredients but do not over-mix so the cream does not start to run.

Pour some of the sauce at the base of a dessert glass. Add some fresh strawberries and place a scoop of the mixed cream and meringue into the glass filling half way up.

Add some more sauce and finish with the remainder cream and meringue. Garnish with meringue sticks and fresh strawberries. Serve immediately.

SHELLFISH COCKTAIL


Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Crabmeat, fresh, white, picked: 120 gm
• Lobster meat: 120 gm
• Prawn, peeled: 12 pc
• Iceberg lettuce: 175 gm
• Cucumber, peeled: 150 gm
• Spring onion: 25 gm
• Dill, chopped: ½ tsp
• Cayenne pepper to garnish

For the Marie Rose dressing:

• Mayonnaise: 200 gm
• Tomato ketchup: 125 gm
• Tabasco sauce: 2 ml
• Worcestershire sauce: 3 ml
• Lemon juice: ½ a lemon

Method

Cook the crabmeat, prawn and lobster and then refrigerate.

Prepare the Marie Rose sauce by whisking all the ingredients together. Adjust the seasoning to your taste and add the chopped dill.

Peel and finely slice the cucumber and spring onion. Shred the iceberg lettuce.

To serve, place a spoonful of the sauce at the bottom of a chilled dessert glass, add some of the shredded salad, then the seafood, spoon over more sauce and then repeat the process.

Finally, top with sauce and sprinkle the cayenne pepper on top. Serve immediately.