Steak Butters

Steak Butters

Flavoured butters are a simply way of adding flavour and punch to meat, easy to make and can be kept in your freezer for when you need it! The Olive Butter is particularly good with chicken, fish and roast vegetables! The method for the three flavoured butters are the same.

Café de Paris Butter:
125g butter
30ml chives, finely chopped
15ml parsley, finely chopped
5ml Dijon Mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
5ml capers
1 anchovy fillet
the zest of half a lemon, finely grated

Method:
Allow the butter to come to room temperature and soften.
Mix all the ingredients together.
Spread a piece of plastic wrap on a kitchen surface, spoon the mixture on top and roughly shape it into a log shape.
Fold the edge of the plastic wrap closest to you over the log shape and proceed to roll the butter in the plastic so that you have a plastic sausage.
Now take hold of the two ends (the overhanging/extra plastic wrap) and roll the butter away from you on the surface.
Tie the plastic ends and freeze until required.

Olive Butter:
125g butter, softened
190ml olives, chopped
15ml rosemary, chopped
salt to taste

Garlic Butter:
125g butter, softened
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1,2ml salt
1,2ml pepper



Slow-Cooked Beef Brisket

Slow-Cooked Beef Brisket

This is slow cooking at its best with a punchy umami deliciousness! Leftovers and some salad make a fabulous wrap the next day.

about 2kg of beef brisket, bone in
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
250ml red wine
500ml beef stock (cubes are perfect!)
500ml water
3 tins of diced tomato
2 bay leaves
45ml Worcestershire sauce
5ml salt

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Put a heavy-base ovenproof saucepan on to medium-high heat and cover the bottom with vegetable oil. Add the beef and brown it all over. Remove from the saucepan and set aside.
Add some more oil to the pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook on a medium heat, stirring every now and then until the onion is soft.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half.
Add the stock, water, tomato, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce and salt.
Return the beef to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer.
Cover the saucepan with a lid, place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. Turn the meat, return the saucepan to the oven and cook for a further 2 hours.
Take the brisket from the saucepan, place it in an oven tray and shred the meat by pulling it apart with two forks. Remove any bones and chunks of fat.
Return the meat to the sauce and warm through.
Serve on buttery mashed potato.

Baked Camembert with Blood Orange Sauce

Baked Camembert with Blood Orange Sauce

Baked cheese is such a versatile dish to serve; aperitifs, as a casual starter, an in-between-meals-snack and even as a cheese course after dinner. You may of course replace the Camembert with Brie or any other soft cheese with a runny centre and the blood orange with regular fresh oranges.


1 600g Camembert wheel (or 2-3 smaller ones)
1 roll store-bought puff pastry
egg wash: 1 egg and 15ml milk, whisked together

Blood Orange Sauce:
15ml honey
30ml red wine vinegar
180ml blood orange juice
15ml cold butter
2 oranges, segmented
a pinch of salt

For the baked cheese:
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Lightly dust a surface with flour and roll the pastry to a 3mm thickness.
Place the cheese wheel on the pastry and cut a circle 2cm wider than the cheese.

Now cut another pastry circle of the same size and drape it over the top of the cheese.
Lift the edges of the pastry at the bottom over the edges hanging down. Secure by pressing together with the tines of a fork.

Score the top of the pastry parcel with the back/blunt side of a sharp knife and brush the entire cheese parcel with the egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to stand for about 20 minutes.

For the sauce:
Pour the honey, vinegar and juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the mixture until syrupy.
Take off the heat, add the butter and whisk until amalgamated and you have a beautifully shiny sauce.
Add the orange segments to the sauce and spoon over the baked cheese.