Pork medallions with mushroom

Very pleased how this one came out.

Take a few dried Porcini mushrooms, crumple until about 1Tblspn then soak in a cup of boiling water  Cut six medallions, 4cm thick, out of a pork tenderloin. In a hot skillet sear each face in butter to colour. Place in a hot oven, 200C, for about ten minutes, reserve.
Meanwhile trim, removing the coarse stalks, of 1/2lb chestnut mushroom into thick slices together with a box of mixed wild mushrooms. Keep the trimmings add to the porcini then bring the trimmings to a simmer, adding the juices from the reserved medallions. In the same skillet add more butter and fry off at a medium heat all the mushroom slices until they lose water, colour slightly and become soft. Reserve.
Finely dice a large white onion and sweat off in the skillet with more butter if necessary, raise temperature drive of the liquid until the fat runs then strain the trimmings stock over the onions. Leave to simmer until the stock has fully reduced.
Make a thick white sauce, blending 1.5 Tblspn into 2oz butter then stir adding about 1/2pint of milk, keep stirring until the sauce is thick and smooth. Combine with the reserved onions and then add 2Tblspn of double cream and the last minute, final stir to fully combine.
In an oven proof dish just large enough to take the medallions with room to spare, sprinkle the base with two sprigs of finely chopped sage and a crushed garlic. Space the medallions the scoop the mushrooms into the spare spaces and push them into all the gaps.

Finally cover the mushrooms and medallions with the white sauce.

 

Place in a hot, 200C oven from about 20 minutes or until the top begins to colour.
Enjoy

Smoked Gurnard

Been meaning to share this for some time. Nothing to it but it transforms the humble Gurnard into a  meal worth remembering.

Gurnard - a fish with attitude

 So long as you work either side of the central scale ribbon running along its back, whilst avoiding its spines, filleting is straightforward. There is a lot of bone and head for fairly small fillets, so choose a good sized one that looks plump, not wasted post spawning. Unless you want to make some fish stock, you will probably want to get the fishmonger to fillet it for you.
Get out your Camerons smoker, or similar and scatter a small handful of Alder chips around the base. This time I used Apple chips but to my mind it was not as good, so go for Alder if you can. Lightly oil the grid, wipe the open flesh sides of the fillets with oil, a twist of pepper then place flesh side down on the grid. Repeat with the top skin sides and assemble smoker. Put on a just a little higher than medium hotplate, wait until some smoke escape and time for around eight minutes. It really doesn't need very long at all. Check, touch to make sure the flesh is cooked. Take off heat and reserve then serve. It is excellent, hot or cold, needs no further embellishment. As you can see, I dressed it with lightly pickled pink shallot rings.

Crab Flan

This stood out from all the dishes I have been doing over the last couple of years that were usually variations on down-loaded themes. This one I believe is original. Confession number one, I have avoided pastry up until now, because of past dismal failures. So it was with some trepidation that I embarked on this one, my first pastry dish. Second confession, I used shop bought Puff Pastry. I know the shame and the convenience! Just make sure it is an all butter recipe. If you going to spend time and money making this, might as well make it the best you can. Third confession, I did not weigh or record anything and used my eye for judgement. So be warned my quantities are approximate, adjust yours to meet your instincts. So lets kick off.

Roll out (snigger, unroll) puff pastry made previously and cut out the base for a 8" diameter flan case, with removeable bottom. Cut even width strips, 1.5" wide to form the sides. Cut the remember pastry into half inch strips for the top lattice. Prepare your flan dish and line the base and sides, remember to wet just the base edge and press in the sides to seal. Return all pastry to frig.

Take quarter pound of white crab meat, check for chitin, toss with zest of a lime, dessertspoon of chopped tarragon (goes easy, don't want the tarragon to dominate), a drizzle of lime juice and pepper. Set aside. Finely chop a red onion and sweat off in an ounce of butter,  Don't overcook it, retain some bite to it, set aside. Make a thick béchamel sauce with 1.5 Tbspn plain flour, 2oz of butter, when flour and butter combined and cooked for a moment, loosen with quarter pint of full milk, keep adding milk slowly and stirring all the time until milk used up and the sauce has become thick, smooth and creamy. Stir in two Tbspn of brown crab meat and the reserved onion. Meanwhile liberally coat inside the flan pastry with one egg yolk, prick the base (oophs I forgot to do this) and bake in middle of hot oven 200°C for ten minutes. Back to the sauce, drizzle 12 drops of tabasco and stir into the sauce, check and add a few more drops at a time until the sauce has just the edge of a kick. Again do not want it to dominate and you cannot take it out if you over do it! Simmer very gently until you have the right consistency and then for the final flourish add in a Tbspn or two of cream. Keep warm. Finely grate about 2oz. of Gruyere and mix with three handfuls of coarse white breadcrumbs and zest of lime.

Now to assemble. sprinkle a dspn of semolina across the flan base, then spread a packet (70g) of brown shrimps. Cover with the béchamel sauce and then spread the white crab meat, finally topping with the breadcrumb and gruyere to completely cover the crab meat. Take the thin strips and form an open plait across the top, brush with egg yolk, then back into the hot oven, 200°C, for about 20 mins, but keep an eye on it.
Eat hot or cold and enjoy.

You will see that my pastry skills have a long way to go, but a step in the right direction?