NEIL'S RECIPES: CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

“I am very lucky that I have a small cherry tree in my garden, producing a few handfuls of the delicious stoned fruit every year. It’s a real treat to be able to eat a few straight from the branches. I’m a massive supporter of the UK cherry industry. Sadly, we are losing many old orchards due to cheap (and tasteless) foreign imports with no story, or local history, attached. So why don’t you plant a cherry tree in your garden and watch it grow! Clafoutis is simply a sweet batter (sometimes with almonds added) that entombs fruit (traditionally the cherry) – it’s just a lovely pudding. Some people leave the stones in their cherries, but I take them out so you can take a big mouthful without worrying about your teeth! Accompany with something creamy, all I ask is that you serve the clafoutis warm.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

80g plain flour

80g melted butter

60g caster sugar

150mls milk

2 handfuls of pitted British cherries, pitted

Icing sugar for dredging

A small knob of butter for greasing

Vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche or clotted cream to serve (optional)

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 185°C.

Start by greasing 1 large or 4 small oven-proof dishes with butter.

Then make a batter by combining the egg, flour, melted butter, caster sugar and milk in a bowl. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes.

Divide the pitted cherries between each dish and cover with the batter onto the fruit and bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and risen. It may soufflé up a little and fall when it gets to the table – that’s fine!

To serve, dredge with icing sugar, and serve with something creamy and rich.

NEIL'S RECIPES: BEEF CHEEKS WITH TONGUE, BACON AND CHANTERELLES

“A great use of parts of the animal that sometimes get overlooked. Cheek and tongue have huge flavour and texture. I love them both, and here they are mixed with bacon and delicious mushrooms, making a hearty dish, served with buttery mash and greens. Rich but very tasty.”

Serves 3 to 4

INGREDIENTS

1 large beef/ox cheek

200g piece ox tongue, brined then braised in beef stock, chilled and diced into 1cm cubes

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of thyme

1 large glass of good red wine

1 clove garlic

1 star anise

A handful cleaned chanterelles

100g small bacon lardons

750ml good beef stock

12 small button onions or small shallots, cooked in stock for 20 minutes

1 teaspoon roughly-chopped curly parsley

2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil

A knob of butter

Good salt and pepper

Buttered greens

Mash to serve, optional

METHOD

Place the beef cheek in a plastic tub and add the wine, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, star anise and thyme. Give it a good mix, cover and marinade overnight in the fridge.

The next day, remove the cheek from the marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper. Reserve the wine and veg.

Pre-heat oven to 150°C.

Heat half the oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear until well browned all over on a high heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the beef from the pan and add the marinated veg to the pan to fry until golden brown - about another 5 minutes. A good golden colour is important here. Then add the wine and bring to the boil. Reduce for 5 minutes then add the beef stock and bring to the boil again. Simmer for 5 minutes before returning the beef cheek to the pan. Cover with a lid and braise in the oven for 3 to 4 hours.

When the beef is ready it will be quite fragile and soft so leave it in the pan out of the oven for an hour. Carefully remove the beef from the pan and roll it in cling film to keep it moist. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, pass the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Reduce for 5 to 10 minutes until it’s nice and sticky.

Remove the beef cheek from the cling film and cut into 3 or 4 pieces and place into the pan with the reduced stock and gently reheat. Leave it to warm up for 20 to 25 minutes, gently turning each piece now and again.

Next, heat the remaining oil frying pan on a high heat and add the bacon lardons and tongue. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes stirring and tossing as you go. Add some thyme and the onions and season. Then add the chanterelles and the parsley, followed by a knob of butter and toss again.  

Whilst this is frying, prepare some buttered greens of your choice.

To serve, arrange the buttered greens in the centre of the plate and top with the beef cheek. Garnish with the mushrooms, bacon, tongue and onions. Serve with a big bowl of buttery mash.

NEIL'S RECIPES: CREAM, OATS, RASPBERRIES AND HONEY

“We all know this pudding as Cranachan, a favourite 70’s dinner party classic. It’s very rich and extremely tasty. The more berries you add, the better it tastes!. For a richer whisky flavour, soak the oats in a wee drop of whisky overnight.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS 

750ml double cream

4 tablespoons runny honey

A handful of pinhead oats

A splash of whisky

A handful of raspberries

Mint leaves to garnish

METHOD

Whip the cream carefully to ribbon stage and chill for a while. Be careful not to over-whip the cream or it will turn into butter.

Meanwhile, toast the oats on metal tray under a grill, then allow to cool.

Add a splash of whisky to the raspberries and leave to macerate for 10 minutes.

Remove the cream from the fridge and add the honey, retaining a little for garnish. Then fold the oats and boozy berries into the cream.

To serve, either spoon into a glass and decorate with a drizzle of honey, or place in one large serving bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour or two until your guests arrive. Garnish with a few mint leaves if you like.

NEIL'S RECIPES: MACKEREL FILLET WITH GOOSEBERRY & APPLE CHUTNEY

“Mackerel has a wonderful flavour. It’s relatively easy to prepare but must be absolutely fresh, and here the sharp fruit chutney cuts through the rich, oily fish so well. I adore gooseberries—they go beautifully with oily fish, as well as in a sweet crumble or fool.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 fillets of fresh mackerel, boned and filleted, try doing it yourself or get a fishmonger to help

250g gooseberries

1 Bramley apple

1/2 onion, peeled and finely chopped

100ml cider vinegar

75g unrefined sugar

A few spices like a star anise and a clove or two

1 tablespoon of cold-pressed rapeseed oil for frying

A squeeze of lemon juice

Good salt and pepper

Edible flowers and wild wood sorrel (optional)

METHOD

Begin by peeling and coring the apple. Cut it into a medium dice and add to a pot along with half the gooseberries, the onion, vinegar, spices and sugar then bring to the boil. This should only take about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and, keeping an eye on the pot, let it cook gently for about an hour until the ingredients almost resemble a purée.

Then add the remaining gooseberries, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook on a low heat for a further 20 minutes until all the ingredients are cooked and it looks like a light-coloured chutney. This will keep well in a sterilised jar in your fridge or cupboard. You can play around with different fruits and spices next time you make some.

To cook the mackerel, place a non-stick frying pan on a moderately hot heat on the hob, and add the cold-pressed rapeseed oil. Season the fillets with salt and pepper and make sure the fish is dry. When the oil is hot, gently add the fish to the pan, skin side down, and cook carefully. If it seems to hot, turn the heat down. Cook on the skin side for 2 to 3 minutes until it’s a lovely golden colour then carefully flip the fish over using a palette knife or fish slice and cook until the fish is warmed through. Check the seasoning and add a splash of lemon juice.

Serve at once with the chutney (cold or warm) and garnish with wood sorrel and a few edible flowers.

NEIL'S RECIPES: CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

“My tree at home produced a good crop this year, and so we made this recipe. It is so good—not too sweet, but just right. The cherry flavour really comes through when cooked. Be careful not to overcook the tart as it can dry out. This goes beautifully with crème fraîche, a scoop of ice cream, or even clotted cream.”

Serves 6

45 minutes prep, 1 hour cooking

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry:

120g butter, unsalted

60g icing sugar

220g plain flour

1 egg, beaten

Extra flour for sifting

For the frangipane:

150g butter

150g caster sugar

150g ground almonds

50g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

A pinch of salt

A splash of cherry brandy or kirsch, optional

A tablespoon of flaked almonds

250g washed, and stoned cherries

Crème fraîche or clotted cream to serve

METHOD

To make the pastry, rub together the sugar and butter until creamed. Then add the egg a little at a time and then fold in the flour a little at a time too. It will seem a tad wet but will harden once chilled. Wrap the pastry in cling film and store in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and roll the pastry on a floured surface until 3mm thick.

Line a well-greased and floured bottomless 12'' tin with the pastry. Remove the overhanging edges and leave to rest again whilst you make your frangipane.

Heat the oven to 165°C.

To make the frangipane, beat together the butter and sugar until pale. Add the almonds gently and then the flour. Slowly incorporate the eggs, then add the salt and the liquor and mix well.

Pour a third of the frangipane mix into the pastry-lined tart case. Then add the cherries to the remaining mix and add this to the tart case. Smooth over with a wet palette knife and sprinkle over a few slithers of flaked almonds and bake for 45 minutes then check and bake for a further 15 minutes if required. Your knife should enter easily and exit clean with only cherry juice on it.

Allow to cool slightly then remove from the tin and serve warm with dollops of crème fraîche or thick clotted cream.

NEIL'S RECIPES: LOIN OF VENISON WITH GREENS AND BARLEY

“The flavours of a roasted piece of venison—even in summer—are delicious. The trickle of meat juices and the barley go so well here, and a kick of wild garlic, if you have it, is very welcome. A few leaves make it a lovely dish.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

450g piece of loin of venison, red deer or roe deer

200g of pearl barley, washed in a sieve

1 Savoy cabbage, or equivalent of spring greens

3 nobs of butter

A few hard herbs, like thyme

Good salt and pepper

A trickle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil

METHOD

Drain the barley and place in a pot. Cover with water, season with salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until just soft. Drain and add a nob of butter on top. Keep in a warm place.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and season the venison with salt and pepper. Fry in a trickle of rapeseed oil with a wee nob of butter and some thyme. Baste as you go, cooking for 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown all over. The longer you cook it for, the more well done it will be.

Allow the venison to rest before carving. At least 5 minutes, then give it a flash under a grill to heat up again.

Cut the cabbage into strips and wilt down in a pot with a nob of butter and salt and pepper. I like it quite crunchy.

To serve, carve the venison and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle the barley and drape the cabbage over and around the meat. Delicious and simple.

NEIL'S RECIPES: WHISKY AND OAT PARFAIT

“For this pudding I’ve used a 10-year-old Arran Malt with notes of citrus and honey followed by vanilla and butterscotch. It makes a wonderful parfait. I’ve started to appreciate whisky properly and am better at distinguishing all those complex flavours. I know some people don't really get it, but go on, give it a try!”

Serves 4 

INGREDIENTS

4 organic egg yolks

125g caster sugar

100mls water

500mls double cream

A good splosh of whisky

A handful of pinhead oats, lightly toasted

A handful of porridge oats, fried in butter and sugar until golden

A few Scottish strawberries

Sweet cicely for a garnish

METHOD

Add the water and the sugar to a pan and gently bring to the boil. It must reach soft-ball texture, so it looks like a clear syrup. Whisk the egg yolks and trickle in the sugar solution a little at a time - you can use a Kenwood for this - until the mix is full of volume. Allow this mix to cool for about 10 minutes.

In a clean bowl, semi-whip the cream until it reaches ribbon stage. Then gently fold it into the egg yolk and sugar mix, using a cutting/folding action.

Add the whisky to taste, then the toasted pinhead oats and combine. Pour into a terrine mould double-lined with cling film and freeze overnight.

To serve remove from the freezer, tip the parfait out of the mould and remove cling film. Then cut into slices and place on cool plates and serve with a few berries, some sweet cicely and some of those buttery sugary oats. Now eat!

NEIL'S RECIPES: SCALLOPS WITH LEMON, PARSLEY AND GARLIC BUTTER

"Always, only buy hand-dived scallops—the dredged ones are awful and do untold damage to the seabed, wiping out the habitat of so many species. Cheap scallops are exactly that. They are in great demand at Cafe St Honoré, but we take them off the menu regularly to allow stocks to recover. Simply served, as here, is an absolute classic." 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS 

Allow 3 scallops per person

2 large garlic cloves, bashed, peeled and chopped quite finely

150g unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons of freshly-chopped curly parsley

Zest and juice of 1 very large organic lemon

Good salt and pepper

METHOD

Keep the scallops in the shell - ask your fishmonger to do this for you, and leave the orange coral on too.

To make the butter, add the chopped garlic to the melted butter and add some fine zest of lemon and season with salt and pepper. Add the parsley and mix.

You can fry the scallops in a hot pan with a little rapeseed oil, one at a time, but I prefer to spoon on the garlic butter on to each scallop in the shell and place under a very hot, pre-heated grill or the top shelf of a very hot oven (250°C) until they are golden brown but not over-cooked.

Serve in the shells with a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of good salt and a lemon wedge. Eat at once.

NEIL'S RECIPES: SUMMER PUDDING

"This has to be the perfect pudding to have when the weather is warm and fruit is in abundance. The flavour of cooked fruit—sweetened, but not too much—and soaked bread is lovely, served with either crème fraîche or clotted cream. The addition of vanilla makes a big difference."

Serves 4

20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking

INGREDIENTS

4 to 6 slices of white bread, the best you can find, not too thickly cut, crusts removed

4 handfuls of blackcurrants

4 handfuls of redcurrants

8 large strawberries, tops removed

A handful of brambles

A handful of raspberries

Extra berries for garnish

2 to 3 tablespoons of caster sugar

1/2 a vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out

4 dollops of extra-thick double cream

METHOD

Firstly line 4 dariole moulds or tea cups with oiled cling film. I would suggest using 2 to 3 layers.  Line the moulds with the bread to create an outer layer, leaving a piece of bread for the top of each pudding. Set to one side.

Now, give the berries a good wash and place them in a pot with the sugar and vanilla. Place on a gentle heat and bring to a simmer. Turn up the heat a little and boil for a few minutes until all the berries have softened. 

Remove the pan from the heat and tip the berries into a sieve, returning the liquid to the boil to reduce by half. Place the berries in the centre of the lined moulds and seal with a piece of bread.

Once the berry juice has reduced, pour it over the puddings, ensuring the liquid stains the bread. Reserve 2 tablespoons for serving. Wrap the cling film over to seal and place a weight on top. Pop into the fridge overnight. 

To serve, turn out the puddings onto plates and garnish with a few berries and the reduced berry juice. Serve with extra-thick double cream.

NEIL'S RECIPES: MACKEREL WITH SHAVED FENNEL AND CAPERS

“Simple, clean and elegant. Another fish dish but served with a light shaved fennel salad—crisp and fresh—and the mackerel must be newly-caught to be delicately cooked in a pan. I like the skin to be golden and just a touch crisp. A few capers are welcome to cut through the richness.”

Serves 1
Prep time: 10 minutes; cooking time: 4 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 fillets of fresh mackerel, all bones removed

1/2 fennel bulb, peeled

A few salad leaves

Chopped mixed herbs, like chervil and dill

1 tablespoon mini capers

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon lemon vinegar, or any fruit vinegar will do

2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil

Juice of half a lemon

Good salt and pepper

METHOD

Make the salad by slicing the fennel on a mandolin or cutting very thinly with a knife. Add this to a bowl with the chopped parsley, vinegar, capers, 1 teaspoon of oil and season with salt and pepper. Set to one side. 

Place a non-stick pan on a moderately hot hob and heat 1 tablespoon of oil, swirling it to coat the base of the pan. Ensure the fish is dry, then carefully place the fillets skin-side-down into the hot pan. Press down lightly with a fish slice, then season with salt and pepper. Ensure the skin is in contact with the oil and doesn’t warp in the heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, season again, then carefully turn over and cook for 45 seconds. I prefer it to be cooked slightly under, rather than over. 

Remove the mackerel from the pan and place straight onto a plate. Garnish with the fennel salad and a few mixed leaves and herbs. Drizzle with the remaining oil and a good squeeze of lemon.