Herb Crusted Scallops with Roasted Tinkerbell Chilli

Image courtesy of Yelp.com

I love scallops. They're sweet meaty little seafood morsels that have a delicate and luxurious flavour. That coupled with the fact their flavour is wonderfully versatile and can go with a whole range of other flavours and textures makes the palate more excited.

This recipe combines aromatic elements from the herb crust whilst using the sweetness of the chilli to elevate the aromatic tones and give a prominent but pleasant "punch". This is ideal as a starter or can be modified to a main course by adding other elements - some people abhor the idea but i like it with guacamole as a puree, I guess its all about preference.

Makes 10 -so by all means divide by 2 for a dinner party sized bath or adjust accordingly.

50g of fresh breadcrumbs
5 bell peppers diced
5 lemons zested
10 garlic’s finely diced
Punch of flat leaf parsley shredded
300g of nibbed almonds
Olive oil
5 scallops per portion

The doing bit:

Mix in a bowl the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, chopped garlic, parsley and nibbed almonds

Moisten with the olive oil

Cover the mixture on top of the scallop

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes and brown under the grill

Roast tinkerbell chilli

Cut the chilli in half

Fill the chilli half with a cherry tomatoes and shredded basil, drizzle with olive oil and rock salt

Roast on silicone paper for 40 minutes in a medium oven

Service:

Place five scallops around a ball of salad

3 chillies

2 lemon wedges
dress with olive oil and lemon juice

Slow roast chilli pork

This is an unbelievably simple recipe. You can use any cut of pork, but i would mainly recommend either leg or shoulder. Loin works well too, but be sure to get  loin joint that has plenty of marbling on the eye of the emat, and a reasonable amount of surrounding fat for flavour. Using fillet works well as an individual portion and absorbs flavour beautiful but I would recommend wrapping in bacon first for a salty edge that brings out the aromatics well on the palate. Be sure to adjust cooking times.

25G OF FENNEL SEEDS
25G OF DRIED CHILLI FLAKES
25G OF DRIED ORIGANO
25G OF ROSEMARY LEAVES
4KILO BONED AND ROLLED PORK SHOULDER SKINNLESS

Season the meat and seal in hot oil

Mix all of the dried herbs and spices

Roll the roasting pork in this mix

Turn down oven to 120c and slow roast for 3 hours

Whole sea bream / sauteed new potatoes & shallots / chilli butter / sea asparagus

image courtesy of robin1clark.files.wordpress.com

*Part of the sizzling staffordshire menu series*

I'm very very fond of sea bream. Back in the day we used to use guilt head bream, but any sea bream will do for this recipe where necessary. You can even use whole seabass as a substitute, although the fish will be a good deal sweeter. It all depends on your preference.

We used to use this dish as a healthier alternative to fish and chips, with a spicy edge. The sautee'd new potatoes are very enjoyable and a good "chip" substitute.The shallots give a nice sweetness, and the fact were going to slightly caramelise them first will work well with the sweetness of the spuds here also. The sea asparagus gives a nice touch too, its rather light, and goes pehnomenally well with almost all fish dishes. Last but not least the chilli butter gives us some nice texture and a spicy edge. Im confident you'll enjoy this one.

You will need (per serving)

1 whole sea bream / guilt head bream - gutted, descaled, fins removed and slashed 3/4 times accross the body.
1 portion (roughly 4 potatoes) of cooked new potatoes, skin on and halved vertically
2 shallots, peeled and halved
1 portion (roughly 80-100g) sea asparagus
1 portion chilli butter
tsp olive oil
tsp butter, salted
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
salt and pepper

The doing bit:

For the fish, once slashed brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place under grill for about 8 mins per side, turn over the fish once one side is cooked and repeat. IN the last 2 minutes add the chilli butter.

For the accompmaniments:

In a saute pan, add a small amount of olive oil then add the shallots and saute until coloured. Add the potatoes and cook until potatoes are golden brown, keeping them moving roughly every minute. Add the bron sugar and allow to melt to coat the dish. Season with salt and pepper

For the sea asparagus:

In a pan add the salted butter until melted then add the sea asparagus. cook until tender and season with salt and pepper where required.

Assemble items on plate and devour.

Enjoy!

Chilli Con Carne (with attitude)

Sure we all know how to make chilli, for most of us its a bit of a no brainer. That said different people have different preferences as to what they want out of a chilli. For me, its a dish that is hearty, has a certain level of sweetness and heat, but not overly enough to negate its enjoyment. At a party last night I was asked about making chilli, and the best way to get it as hot as possible.  The key thinking here is indeed which chillies you are going to use, as some are hotter than others as we know. This recipe uses a couple of neat tricks to elevate the heat of a chilli without going overboard with it with the use of ginger. Here's the science bit: The perfumery note of ginger is alot higher than chilli, and will t herefore make the palate think its more acidic (hence more spicy). It also gives a nice clean edge to the dish. The use of chocolate also adds a smooth texture in its finish. You wont be dissapointed.

This recipe is dedicated to Marc & Brad, who requested this recipe. May it serve you well. Feel free to add any mushrooms or other ingredients you wish to add to a chilli - i know everyone has their own favourites. This recipe is just for the basic chilli (with a few tweaks).

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 red onions finely chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
500g beef / lamb / mutton mince. The choice is up to you, but youll get the most out of this if you use mutton or lamb
4 chopped red chillies (jalapeno will be fine). Keep seeds in for more heat
2 green chillies
1/2 a thumb of grated fresh ginger, or a tablspoon of ginger paste
2 tbsp tomato puree.
can or carton of chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Can red kidney beans (you can save time by using the canned ones as theyre already soaked and cooked)
tsp rock salt
4 tsp grated dark chocolate.

The doing bit

In a large pan saute the onions and mince together until coloured. Add the chillies and garlic and continue cooking until chillies begin to soften. add the ginger and kidney beans, then cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the salt and stir in, along with the balsamic vinegar. When the liqour has reduced by about half and beings to almost froth, add the tomato puree and mix well. Cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes then add the tomatoes and bring the mix to a boil, then simmer stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by about a third.

Taste, and season accordingly. You may wish to add more ginger for more heat if required. If you are happy with it and are ready to serve, fold in the chocolate and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Devour.