Braised Beetroot with Sour Cream

Braised Beetroot with Sour Cream

by | Sep 4, 2013 | Recipes |

Whenever Autumn comes around I genuinely look forward to bigging up  unsung vegetables such as beetroot. It’s a delicious vegetable that’s often misunderstood and is very divisive. A while back, when famous beetroot-packer (and sometimes footballer) Rickie Lambert scored on his England debut,  Talksport’s Hawkbee and Jacobs discussed on the radio how much they hate beetroot. We shared them this recipe, one that I’ve used for years, and they talked about it on their show. I’m not sure if they’ve tried cooking it yet! What you need 6 medium beetroot, topped, tailed and peeled 25g butter Half glass of red wine Half onion 2 cloves of garlic Dessert spoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon Demerara sugar 1 sprig thyme 4 black peppercorns Sour cream What it looks like What you do Top, tail and peel the beetroot, slice the garlic finely, chop the onions and crush the black peppercorns. Place the peeled beetroot in a large pocket of aluminium foil along with all the other ingredients. Seal tightly and place in an ovenproof dish with a generous amount of water to prevent burning the foil. Bake at 160-170 degree celsius, or gas mark 6, for about 1.5 hours. Then open the foil with caution as the steam could burn. Test with a sharp knife to see if the beetroot is cooked and soft, otherwise return to the oven until cooked. At the last moment, spoon over a good spoonful of sour cream or creme fraiche with a little of the roasting liquid. Chef’s tip To prevent red colouring on your hands, a pair of rubber gloves or thin latex gloves are...
Parmesan & Cheddar Biscuits

Parmesan & Cheddar Biscuits

by | Sep 4, 2013 | Recipes |

These simple biscuits are delicious and quick and easy to make. Great on their own or as an accompaniment to a meal. What you need 50g grated red cheddar 50g grated Parmesan 50g plain flour 50g unsalted butter Flour for rolling Pinch of cayenne pepper What it looks like  What you do Put all the ingredients in a bowl and rub together well. Mould into a ball of cling film and rest for 30 minutes in a fridge. Roll out the dough about 3-4mm thick and cut out biscuits with a 6cm cutter. Put them on to a lightly greased tray, prick each one once with a fork and bake for about 10 minutes or until light brown at 180°C. Lift onto a cooking wire to cool before...
Heathcotes Bread & Butter Pudding

Heathcotes Bread & Butter Pudding

by | Sep 10, 2012 | Recipes |

This recipe is one of my most well known dishes – my take on the classic Bread & Butter pudding. This was on my very first menu back in 1990 at The Longridge, and still remains on Heathcotes Brasserie’s menu today. The recipe is the same; I sometimes feel like The Rolling Stones playing Satisfaction or Coldplay singing Yellow – that if we didn’t have Bread & Butter pudding on the menu, we would have uproar! It’s what many of our customers over 20+ years have come for. Just like those artists who’ve not changed the words, we’ve not changed the ingredients or quantities, in spite of many saying it isn’t quite the same. I suppose when you’ve been making something for 22 years, you do perfect it! What you need 5 thin slices of white bread 75g butter 100g sultanas 3 eggs 220ml milk 220ml cream 50g sugar 1 vanilla pod split and seeds removed 25g icing sugar 50g apricot jam What it looks like What you do: Butter the bread and remove the crusts. Place one layer of bread on the base of the tray and cover with a layer of sultanas. Place the rest of the bread on top of the sultanas. Bring the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla to the boil in a pan and place the eggs in a bowl and whisk the hot liquid into them. Pour over the bread and place the dish in a bain-marie and put in a moderate oven for about ½ hour until cooked. Dust with icing sugar and glaze until golden. Cover with apricot jam. Serve with clotted cream and a compote of...