Slow Cooked Lamb Shank with Rosemary, Anise & Tomato

This is a simple and delicious way to cook lamb shank (serves 4).

The first step is to brown the meat. Heat a thin layer of sunflower oil in a large casserole pot. Season 4 shanks and carefully place into the pot. Brown on all sides, remove the shanks and drain off the oil. Turn the heat to low and return the shanks to the pot and the pot to the heat. Add 4 whole (peeled) shallots, 1 chopped leek, 2 (peeled) diced carrots, a slug of balsamic vinegar and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Add 250ml of chicken stock. Add 2 star anise and 2 pinches of chopped fresh rosemary and bring to a simmer.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and place the pot in a pre-heated (150C) oven . Cook for 2 hours. Serve with the sauce and vegetables from the pot and some creamy mash potato.

Lamb Shank

Barbary Duck Confit

Duck confit is a specialty of Gascony. The legs of the duck are cured in salt, and flavoured with thyme and garlic. They are then rinsed to remove the salt, dried and cooked slowly in duck fat until they are extremely tender. The cooked legs are then left to cool in the fat. In this state the confit will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

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Confit Duck with Puy Lentils – serves 4

4 Barbary duck legs
4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaf
30g salt

200g Puy lentils
Olive oil
1 small onion – finely chopped
1 carrot – finely chopped
1 leek – finely chopped
Dijon mustard
chopped parsley & tarragon

Stage 1

• Smash the garlic & chop the thyme & bay. Rub into the duck legs. Scatter over the salt & leave for 24 hours to cure.
• Pre-heat oven to 150C.
• Wash & dry the duck legs & place in a deep oven tray.
• Place the duck fat in a saucepan & heat.
• Pour the fat over the duck legs. Cover tightly with foil & cook for 3 hours.
• Remove & allow to cool in the fat. Store under fat in the fridge until needed.

Stage 2

• Pre-heat oven to 200C
• Scrape fat from the duck
• Return the duck to oven skin side down to crisp up and re-heat. A non-stick pan is ideal for this.
• Place lentils in a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil.
• As soon as it boils drain the lentils & set aside.
• Heat a little olive oil in a pot and gently cook the vegetables until soft.
• Add the lentils and reheat, adding enough water or stock to give a sauce.
• Stir in mustard & herbs to taste.
• Season and serve with the crispy duck.

Slow Cooked Beef Brisket with Red Cabbage & Roast Parsnip Mash

This is a really hearty dish. Sure to warm you up after a hard days work. It needs a good 5 hours in a low oven but the aroma that fills the house it almost as satisfying as the dish itself. I have added star anise to a bouquet garni of thyme and rosemary. When you sear the beef in hot oil you get a maillard reaction; the anise does a wonderful job of intensifying the meaty flavour that this reaction creates.

The first step is to rough cut a selection of vegetables for the pot. I have cut these quite chunky but you can cut smaller and let them incorporate themselves into the sauce. Using a large casserole dish heat a thin layer of sunflower oil until very hot. Season the brisket and gingerly place in the hot oil. Sear each side on a high heat until the surface is a rich brown colour.

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Remove the beef, reduce the heat and add the vegetables to the pot. Give them a good stir to dislodge any sediment stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in enough flour to soak up the oil (about 2 tablspoons). Cook for a few minutes on a low heat then add half a bottle of red wine and enough beef stock to cover the vegetable. Return the beef to the pot with a bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and star anise. Bring back to a simmer.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook in a pre-heated oven at 150C for 5 hours. Cut into thick slices and serve with the braising liquid and some of the slow cooked vegetables . A slightly sharp dish of braised red cabbage and some sweet parsnip puree compliment the dish perfectly.

Slow cooked Ox Cheek with Anise, Roast Parsnip Puree & Winter Greens

Rich, comforting and wonderfully intense this is a great dish to lift the spirits and help beat the January blues. The secret to the dish is very slow cooking, which tenderises the meat and softens the gelatine, causing much of it to melt away, thickening the sauce and imparting a wonderful flavour. I have added a bouquet garni of star anise and herbs. To make this simply wrap the anise and herbs in muslin, tie tightly, and drop into the pot.

For the parsnip puree place the parsnips in an oiled baking tray and season. Drizzle with honey and dot with butter. Roast until soft, allowing the parsnips to take on a little colour.  Once cooked process with a dash of cream until it reaches a nice consistency. Place in an oven dish, cover with grease-proof paper and keep warm until ready to serve.

Slow Cooked Ox Cheek with Anise

Serves 6

3 Ox cheeks
2 Onion – diced
4 Carrots – diced
2cl Garlic – smashed
500ml Red wine
500ml Chicken or beef stock
1 Tin of Chopped tomato
Bouquet Garni – Star anise, rosemary, thyme & bay
6 Parsnips – peeled, diced
6 Handfuls Greens – boiled for 2 minutes then tossed in butter.

• Remove the sinew and silver skin from the ox cheek.
• Cut each check into 5 or 6 large chunks.
• Heat some oil in large pot and sweat the onion, carrot and garlic over a low heat until soft.
• Season and fry the diced ox cheek in a little vegetable oil until nicely coloured. Add to the pot.
• Add the wine, stock, tomato & bouquet garni and bring to the boil
• Simmer on a low heat for about 3 hours.
• Serve with the parsnip puree and greens.

Roast & Braised Pheasant with Port Jus

This week our Christmas menus at The Guildford Arms and Inside Restaurant really get into full swing. For game lovers we have pheasant, partridge and grouse on the menu. These are roasted and served with with simple garnishes, such as braised red cabbage, duck fat roast potatoes  and a gravy made from the cooking juices.  We also have a starter at Inside of pheasant pithivier; a rich stew of pheasant cooked inside buttery puff pastry and served with girolles.

Downstairs at The Guildford Arms we are serving roast pheasant with Puy lentils and roast parsnips. Cooking pheasant successfully does require a little care as the breast meat, which is delicate and light, requires a different cooking time from the tougher leg meat. To remedy this we will be roasting the crown and braising the legs. Before roasting we remove the breastbone, as this makes carving a lot easier. After roasting, we cover and keep in a warm place for 10 minutes before serving. This resting time is very important as the residual heat gently completes the cooking process without overcooking and drying the meat. It also relaxes the flesh, making it tender and juicy.

Roast Pheasant

Roast & braised pheasant with Port jus – serves 4

• Ask your butcher to remove and joint the legs. Heat a little oil in a large pot, season the legs and brown them all over. Add some chopped onion, carrot, garlic and thyme. Pour in a glass of red wine and cover with water or stock. Simmer for about an hour.
• Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil with 50g of butter in a large ovenproof pan. Season the crown and cook on either side until it is golden brown.  Roast in a pre-heated oven at 220°C for about 15 minutes, basting every 5 minutes. Remove the pheasant, poor off the oven juices, cover, and rest in a warm place before carving.
• Reduce a glass of port to a syrup in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Pass the braising liquid and roasting juices through a fine sieve and add to the port. Add a sprig of thyme and boil until it thickens to a sauce consistency.

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon, the classic French stew from the heart of Burgundy, is proving very popular at The Guildford Arms this autumn.

We braise chunky pieces of diced beef chuck with onions, carrots and herbs in red wine, adding sauteed button mushroom, baby onions and smoked bacon half way through. We then leave the dish to cool and refrigerate overnight. This is an important stage as any unwanted fat will rise to the surface and can then be easily removed. It also gives a chance for all the flavours to mingle, creating a more harmonious dish.We serve it with some winter greens, or braised red cabbage and a smoked garlic mash. A few steamed carrots complete the dish.

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon – serves 6

1.5kg Diced Beef Chuck
1 Onion – diced
1 Carrot – diced
1cl Garlic _ chopped
Bottle Burgundy
Bouquet Garni (Bay, Thyme, Rosemary)
500ml Veal Stock
250ml Tomato Juice
200g Smoked Bacon Lardons
24 Pearl Onions
300g Button Mushrooms

• Place the onions, carrot, garlic, bouquet garni & red wine in a pot and bring to the boil. Leave to cool, then pour over the beef and leave overnight.
• Drain the beef and dry. Season & shallow fry in vegetable oil until browned all over.
• Meanwhile sweat the onions, carrot & garlic in melted butter until soft. Add the beef and stir together. Stir in 3 or 4 tablesppons of flour to adbsorb the fat, and cook over a low heat for a minute.
• Add the wine, tomato juice and stock and simmer for about two hours. It may take longer but it’s a good idea to check now.
• Sautee the button mushrooms, pearl onions & bacon lardons until they are golden. Add to the stew after the first hour of cooking.
• When the beef is tender allow to cool in the liquid.
• To reheat the dish, bring back to the boil and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes before serving.

Welsh Rarebit with Beetroot & Red Onion Chutney

I am really looking forward to Tuesday the 15th of November, as it marks the start of a collaboration between The Guildford Arms and the Cheeseboard. Our first evening is a cheese and beer tasting, and will feature beers from the world famous Meantime Brewery.

To mark the event I will be making some cheese based canapes, such as Mini Jacket Potatoes with Goats Cheese, Chives & Black Olive Tapanade and Baby Gem with Roquefort and Toasted Walnuts. The walnuts unfortunately won’t be coming from the tree in my garden as I only harvested three, but they will be delicious all the same.

Home Grown Walnuts

The other canape I plan to do Welsh Rarebit with Beetroot & Red Onion Chutney; perfect on a cold winters night.

Welsh Rarebit

50ml Milk
150g Strong Cheddar
1 teaspoon English Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Flour
Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Pinch Salt
1 Egg

• Heat the milk over a low heat and whisk in the grated cheese until melted.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard, flour, Worcestershire sauce and salt.
• Cool a little, then beat in the egg.
• Spread over some thick slices of bread and grill until golden

Welsh Rarebit

Beetroot & Red Onion Chutney

1 Red onion
2 Beetroot
150ml White wine vinegar
150ml Caster sugar
1/2 Tbsp Cornflour
Mustard seeds

• Finely slice red onions.
• Sweat in olive oil.
• Peel & grate raw beetroot. Add to onions
• Add white wine vinegar and caster sugar.
• Cook, gentle and covered for 30 minutes.
• Thicken liquid with cornflour paste

Beetroot & Red Onion Chutney