Rabbit, boned, rolled, and stuffed

 

Delicious on the day, and arguably even better, served cold a day later, when the flavour of the jelly in which the vegetables sit is intense and splendid! 

Serves four – six. 

Ingredients: 1 boned rabbit; 3 slices parma ham; 1 tsp chopped rosemary and thyme; seasoning; 3 large carrots;2 sticks celery; 1 medium onion; 2cups white wine. 2 tbs olive oil. 

Method:

 

1. Peel one of the carrots, and slice it longitudinally into 4. Cut half of one of the celery sticks into pieces the same size as the carrot pieces. In a small pan of boiling, salted water, blanch the carrot and celery pieces until tender, about five minutes. Chop all of the remaining carrots and celery, along with the onion.
2. Heat the oven to 160 degrees C.
3. Lay the boned rabbit out, flat, and sprinkle it with the herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Lay the parma ham slices over the rabbit, and arrange the blanched carrot and celery so that the rabbit will be rolled up around them. Roll the rabbit, and secure it (either use trussing thread, or skewers….these days, I use a very useful powder which is called ‘meat glue’).
4. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole, and in this colour the rabbit on all sides. Remove the rabbit from the casserole and put into it the chopped onion, carrot, and celery. Over medium-high heat, cook the vegetables until they begin to collapse, and then return the rabbit to the casserole. Pour the wine over the top, and season the whole thing, quite generously.
5. On the stove, bring the mixture to the boil, and then cover it, and transfer to the pre-heated oven, for an hour.
6. Let it sit for five minutes or so before you slice the rabbit, as that way the slices are more likely to stay in one piece.
7. Serve two slices per person, along with a spoonful of the vegetables. Good theatre on the plate, and absolutely delicious.

Pasta con Ragù

 

It’s High Summer – too hot to faff in the kitchen. Hence, pasta con ragu (simple Spag Bog, in plain-speak).

 Ragù has many uses (with pasta, in risotto, in lasagne or ravioli…), and so it’s worth making a batch, and keeping in the fridge or freezer and use it up over time. 

Ingredients: 3 tbs olive oil; ½ cup each of finely diced carrot, onion, and celery; 2 cups minced beef; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup red wine; 1 can tomatoes. 

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan, and add to it the carrot, celery and onion. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for about five minutes, until the contents have all collapsed.

2. Add the minced beef and salt. Continue cooking until the meat has lost its raw colour, and then add the wine.

3. Over high heat, reduce the wine by about half, and then add the tomatoes. As soon as the mixture comes to the boil, turn the heat down as far as it will go. Partially cover the pan, and leave to simmer for about an hour and      a half. Check it from time to time, to ensure nothing disastrous has happened – but basically you can just leave it to do its own thing.

And that’s it….

Granita of Raspberries, Red Wine, & Mint...

 

This is ….SO…seriously …delicious!

For four servings.

Ingredients: 500ml red wine (the lighter the wine, the more the raspberry flavour will come through; with a stronger wine, I find that the end result is more like blackcurrant than raspberry – which is equally delicious, but a different thing…); 75g sugar; half a dozen sprigs of mint; 300g fresh raspberries.

Method:

1. In a small pan, bring the wine, sugar, and mint sprigs to the boil, and then pour into a bowl.
2. Liquidise the raspberries, and then sieve them, and ad this puree to the wine in the bowl.
3. Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge, before churning to a soft, smooth texture (yes, I know a granita should traditionally be made in an ice tray in the freezer, breaking the crystals up from time to time; I just happen to prefer it this way, where it turns out more with the rich texture of a sorbet.)
4. Serve, garnished with more mint, if you like. And then, taste it and swoon…

Tart of Tomato and red peppper

 

A re-working of something from Robuchon. A phyllo and almond tart shell, filled with a thick purée of tomato and herbs, flavoured with garlic and onion, and, beneath a topping of tomato slices, a layer of finely diced red pepper. An excellent first course, at any time of the year.

For two individual tarts.

Ingredients: 1 sheet phyllo; 1 tbs slivered almonds; three medium tomatoes; 1 small onion; 2 cloves garlic; 2 tbs olive oil; 1/4 medium red pepper; 1 tsp dried thyme; approx 40g butter.

Method: 

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees C. Melt the butter, and use some of it to brush the phyllo; divide the phyllo in 4, and use it to make two individual tart shells of two layers of phyllo each. Divide the slivered almonds between the two shells, between the two layers of pastry. Bake for about ten minutes, until crisp and brown, and remove from the oven.

2. Slice two of the tomatoes into thin rounds, and chop the remainder. Put the sliced tomatoes in a bowl, salt them lightly and then spoon a little melted butter over the top. Set aside. In the remaining melted butter cook the onion, finely diced, along with the chopped garlic, until it has softened,  and then add to this the chopped tomato and half of the dried thyme.Stirring from time to time, cook over high heat, until the whole mixture has reduced to a dense mass. Taste and season.

3. Pile the tomato mass into the pastry shells, then cover with a layer of finely diced red eper, and finally arrange the tomato slices over the top. Sprinkle the remaining thyme on top, and bake for about 25 minutes, just until the tomato starts to colour. Remove from the oven and drizzle a little olive oil over the surface of each tart. Allow to sit for a few minutes before transferring the tarts from their tins to serving plates.

Funghi Trifolati

 The weather is sultry, and slightly heavy. We eat late, and to the background chorus of cicadas, and the gentle splashing of the fountain in the lily-pond. Those few people in town who stayed put through lockdown appear all to have disappeared to the coast or the mountains, and we have the city more or less to ourselves. Funghi trifolati is perfect as a cold first course to an undemanding summer dinner...

For two servings.

Ingredients: approx 500g mushrooms; 1/3 cup oil; 1 small onion; 2 garlic cloves; 4 tbs chopped parsley; salt and pepper.

Method:

1. Heat half of the oil in a large shallow pan (I use a paella pan for this). Chop the onion small, and saute it in the hot oil until it has wilted and is just starting to colour.

2. Add to the pan the mushrooms, sliced wafer thin, and the rest of the oil. Lower the heat, until the juices start to run out, and then raise it again, and cook the mushrooms for four or five minutes until all the liquid has gone.

Add seasoning to taste. transfer to a bowl, and thoroughly stir in the copped parsley. You can serve it warm or at room temperature, but my personal preference is for it to be good and cold, when I think the mineral arthiness of the favours comes properly through.

St Clement's Cheesecake

Flavoured with the zest of orange and lemon, and on an almond shortcake base, this is rich, and dense, and dangerously more-ish...

For a ten-inch, deep cheesecake.

Ingredients: For the base: 0.75 cup flour; 0.75 cup ground almonds; 0.25 cup sugar; 1 egg, separated; 0.5 cup butter

For the filling: 1125g cream cheese; 1.75 cup sugar; 3 tbs flour; grated zest of one lemon and one orange; 2 egg yolks + 6 whole eggs; 0.25 cup cream.

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees C. Grease the inside and line the base of a 10 inch spring-form pan.

2. Process together all of the base ingredients - apart from the white of the egg - and press it into the base and up the sides of the pan. Bake for approx 18 minutes, until coloured and crisp. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and brush the base with the egg white, lightly beaten. Increase the oven temperature to 235 degrees C.

3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and, still beating, add to it the flour, sugar and zest. One by one, beat in the yolks and the whole eggs, and finally mix in the cream.  Pur the filling into the pan. Bake at 235 degrees C for fifteen minutes, and then lower the temperature to 100 degrees C and bake for an hour. At the end of this time, turn off the heat, and leave the cheesecake in the cooling oven for a further hour. Then, remove from the oven, and once properly cool, place in the fridge to chill before serving.

Vanilla Bavarois

Served here with blackberries which have been macerated in orgeat. If you want to ring the changes on the flavour, then the vanilla specified here could most easily be replaced with either a tbs instant coffee or a tbs of powdered chocolate. And, of course, Other Flavours Are Available...

For six servings:

4 egg yolks, 4 tbs sugar, 2 tsp gelatine, 1/2 pint milk, 1/2 tbs vanilla, 1/2 pint cream.

1. Thoroughly grease the inside of the mould you intend to use (I always use baker's spray for this sort of thing).

2. Heat the milk in the top of a double boiler, while you beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the heated milk to the egg mixture, and stir to amalgamate; return the mixture to the double boiler, add the gelatine, and continue to cook, stirring from time to time, unil it has visibly thickened.

3. Allow the mixture to cool completely (an hour or so), and then whip the cream until dense, and fold the cooled custard into it.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared mould, and refrigerate until it has properly set - I normally allow at least six hours for this.

5. To un-mould, sit the base of the mould in hot water for half a minute or so, and then up-turn it over the serving plate.