Summer Recipes By Searcys

 

Salmon confit, salsify, courgette, soft-boiled egg, fennel

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

Confit salmon

About 500ml rapeseed oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and halved

1 thyme sprig

4 x 140g skinned and pin boned salmon fillets

Salsify puree

200g salsify

200g chicken or vegetable stock

30g unsalted butter

50g crème Fraiche

2 eggs

1 courgette, quartered lengthwise with seeds removed

1 bulb Florence fennel, shaved into thin slices

1 lemon, juiced

1 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil

Chervil

Borage flowers

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

• Pour rapeseed oil into a thick-based pan or roasting tin that will fit the salmon fillets in one layer snugly.  Add garlic and thyme and gently heat for a few minutes to allow the flavours to infuse, turn off the heat.
• Cook peeled salsify in stock for about 20 minutes or until soft.  Remove from the heat and drain.  Process (either with a stick blender or in a food processor) with the crème Fraiche and butter until smooth and creamy.  Season to taste.
• Boil eggs for 8 minutes, drain and cool in cold water.  Cut in half.  
• Chargrill courgettes for 2-4 minutes until coloured and tender.
• About 20 minutes before you want to serve, slip the salmon into the warm oil and cook on a low heat for 8 minutes, then take off the heat.  Leave salmon in oil for 5 minutes, then remove and drain well on kitchen paper.
• To build dish; place salmon on a plate, put a quenelle of salsify puree at right angles to it, add the chargrilled courgette alongside the salsify.  Add half a boiled egg.  Sprinkle over some shaved fennel, some borage flowers and chervil leaves.  Finish with a spritz of lemon and some extra virgin rapeseed oil. 

 

Courgette, cherry tomato, new potato and broad bean salad

Serves 4

 

INGREDIENTS 

400g courgettes, spiralised

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

200g small new potatoes, cooked until tender

100g broad beans, podded and deskinned 

1-2 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil

100g Berkswell cheese, grated – optional leave out if vegan

Fresh mint leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

• Halve or quarter potatoes depending on size.
• To build salad; in a large bowl gently toss together courgettes, tomatoes, new potatoes, broad beans and mint.  Dress with rapeseed oil to coat and season to taste.  Pile onto a serving dish and sprinkle over Berkswell cheese, if using.

 

 

Elderflower posset and strawberries

Serves 4

 

INGREDIENTS

36og English strawberries, hulled and quartered

4 tbsp elderflower cordial

300ml double cream

100g caster sugar

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Mint sprigs and icing sugar to decorate

METHOD

• Place strawberries and 2 tbsp elderflower cordial in a bowl and set aside.
• Place cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer slowly until the sugar has dissolved.  Cook for 1 – 2 minutes.  Stir in lemon zest and juice and remaining cordial.
• Place half the strawberries in the bases of 4 serving dishes (glass ones look pretty) and pour over the cream mixture.  Chill for 2 – 3 hours.  Serve topped with remaining strawberries and mint sprigs and a dusting of icing sugar.

 

Strawberry frosé

Serves 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS

1 x 750ml bottle chilled rosé

100g caster sugar

250g strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 lemon, juiced

200g ice cubes

METHOD

• Pour wine into a large shallow baking dish or plastic lidded box.  Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight until semi-frozen and slushy.
• Tip the sugar into a small saucepan with 100ml water and dissolve over low heat.  Add strawberries, remove from the heat and leave to stand for 1 hour.  Strain the strawberry syrup through a sieve into a bowl.  Set aside the strawberries.  Cover the strawberry syrup and chill for at least 20 minutes.
• Scape the frozen rosé into a blender or food processor with the lemon juice, strawberry syrup and ice.  Blend until smooth then transfer back into the baking dish and freeze again for at least 30 minutes.
• To serve; remove from the freezer and blend once more until it reaches a slushy consistency.  Divide between glasses and top each with some of the reserved macerated strawberries.

 

Rhubarb and white chocolate mousse

Serves 6

 

INGREDIENTS

400g pink rhubarb, sliced into 1.5cm pieces

100g caster sugar

125g white chocolate, broken into pieces

300ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

METHOD

• Place rhubarb and caster sugar in a shallow pan and add 2 tbsp water.  Stir gently over medium heat for 5 – 8 minutes to dissolve the sugar.  Cover and gently simmer for 5-8 minutes by which time the rhubarb should be tender but still holding its shape.  Allow to cool and then chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Set a bowl over a gently simmering pan of water and add 100g chocolate, allow to melt then remove and cool.
• Whisk cream to soft peaks, add vanilla extract and melted chocolate and gently fold through.
• Divide chilled rhubarb between 6 wide-necked wine glasses and spoon mousse on top to cover.  Finely chop or grate the remaining chocolate and sprinkle over the mousse.  Chill in the fridge for 2 hours and serve.

 

Spring onion and Lancashire cheese soda bread

Serves 8

 

INGREDIENTS 

400g plain flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch spring onions, chopped

125g Lancashire cheese, crumbled or coarsely grated 

300ml buttermilk – or 200g natural yoghurt mixed with 100ml milk

1 tbsp milk to glaze 

 

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
• Sift flour, bicarb and salt into mixing bowl, add some black pepper.  Stir in most of the spring onions and cheese, reserving a little for the top of the loaf.
• Make a well in the centre and add enough buttermilk to bring it all together, it needs to be quite sticky so add some additional milk if needed.
• Shape into an 18cm round and place on prepared tray. Use a sharp knife mark the loaf into quarters, cutting almost all the way through.  Brush with a little milk and scatter with the remaining spring onions and cheese.  Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until the loaf is crisp and sounds hollow.  Cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack before eating.