Strawberry Panna cotta with a pepper and beetroot sauce

Panna Cotta


Ingredients

80ml strawberry sauce
250 ml full cream milk
300ml fresh cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
75 g castor sugar
2 tsp gelatine

Method

Combine the cream, milk, vanilla essence and sugar together in a pot and bring to the boil take off the heat.
Sprinkle the gelatine into 30 ml hot water and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Add the gelatine to the milk and cream mixture. Strain this mixture through a fine sieve into a jug. Pour the strawberry mixture into ramekins and refrigerate until set, usually over night.

Beetroot and Pepper sauce

Ingredients

10 beetroot top and tailed
½ cup of sugar
400ml water
1tbsp ground pepper corns

Method

Place beetroot on to a tray and roast in the oven at 180 degrees celcius until cooked. Place the beetroot, sugar and water into a blender and blend. Bring the beetroot mix to the boil in a pot, turn down and simmer until the beetroot juice has reduced by a third. Strain through a fine sieve add the ground pepper and allow to cool in the fridge.

When the strawberry panna cotta’s have set de-mould them by dipping the ramekins in some hot water then invert them onto the serving plates. Drizzle some beetroot and pepper sauce onto them garnish the plates and serve. Makes enough for 4 portions.

This dessert recipe might sound a bit way out but try it. It has all the makings of a good dessert with a twist.

I came up with this dessert whilst having some fun at work using a few things we had lying around. The flavours worked so well together that we put it on the menu. Turned out to be one of our biggest selling desserts until we changed the menu and took it off. We disappointed a few people by taking it off but it was time for a change.

This dessert does sound a bit strange with the ground pepper in the sauce but it does tantalize ones palette. All the makings of a good dessert with a twist.

Poached Lightly Smoked Salmon Trout, Tagiatelle, Rocket And Basil Pesto

A quick and easy salmon pasta dish recipe to enjoy on a summers evening with that someone special.


250 grams lightly smoked salmon (skinless)

180 grams tagliatelle pasta preferably fresh

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp basil pesto ( freshly homemade pesto always better in this dish )

60 grams wild rocket leaves ( washed and dried )

30 grams good quality Parmesan cheese shavings

freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Poach the salmon in a pan, make sure the fish is covered by the poaching liquid. Simmer the salmon for about 5 minutes or until it is cooked. Lift the salmon out of the water and cool slightly on a board, then flake into large pieces.

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente following the directions on the pack. Drain the pasta and return to a hot dry pan, add the oil and pesto toss together. Fold the rocket and salmon into the pasta and warm through until the rocket is slightly wilted. Divide between two warm plates, season with freshly ground salt and pepper and scatter on the Parmesan shavings. Can add another dimension to the dish by adding some chopped up sun dried tomatoes when you add the pesto and oil. If you are not into the smokey flavour just poach some fresh salmon and take off the skin before flaking it. Enjoy with a good bottle of chardonnay.