Posh Pasta

Lush is the only way to describe today's dish - creamy, garlicky pasta and beautiful fresh asparagus, topped with pan fried salmon tail and goegeous salty salmon roe. This dish is extremely rich, so serve quite small portions - and if you are serving it with other courses it would be wise to choose light, fresh tasting options to avoid the meal being too heavy. The great thing about this posh pasta is that it is so, so easy to put together. Just be sure to choose super fresh salmon and make sure your asparagus is at it's very best. (Don't try and make this when the asparagus is less than perfect - the dish relies on the quality of the ingredients to make it shine)

If salmon isn't your thing, then you could substitute scallops or prawns in this recipe. Even a combination of both would work well. This dish needs to be made just prior to serving - definitely not a make ahead or freezable option. Have everyone at the table when you start this - give them a decent glass of wine and they won't mind waiting the 20 mins or so it takes to create this delicious dish. The amounts below will serve four.

Creamy garlic and horseradish  pasta

with asparagus, pan fried salmon tail and salmon roe

You will need: 4 small pieces of salmon tail (or salmon fillet), 2 tablespoons salmon roe, 2 bunches asparagus, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 1 large white onion, about 375ml pure cream, 1 tablespoon horseradish cream, splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, dry or fresh fettuchini/spaghetti for four (depending on how big you want the serves to be)

Method: Cut the woody ends from the asparagus and slice each spear diagonally into 3 pieces. Finely chop the onion. Set both of these aside.

Bring a large pot of well salted water to the boil (you will cook the asparagus and the pasta in this, so make sure it isn't too small) Add the asparagus and allow to cook for about a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and run the asparagus under cold water to stop it cooking any further - it should still be quite firm to the touch.

In a seperate pan, add a splash of olive oil and cook the onion for a few minutes until it is soft and transparent. Now add the pasta to the pot of boiling sallted water and give it a good stir so that the pasta does not stick together.

While the pasta is cooking, return your attention to the sauce. Add the garlic to the onion and cook gently for a minute. Be careful not to brown the garlic or it will give an unpleasant bitter flavour. Now add the cream and stir well. Bring the cream to a simmer and add the horseradish cream. Taste it and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Allow the cream to simmer until it thickens and reduces in volume to about half.

Season the salmon with a touch of pepper. Heat a frypan or grill pan and cook for a minute of two each side, depending on the thickness. Be careful not to overcook the fish or it will become dry. Set the salmon aside to rest in a warm place while you assemble the rest of the dish.

Add the asparagus to the cream sauce. Drain the pasta and toss through the sauce so that it is evenly distributed. Divide the pasta into portions, top with the cooked salmon and finish with a spoonful of salmon roe. Gorgeous.

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Degustation Delights

On Friday night I entertained dinner guests and decided to put together a degustation menu using new season's ingredients. I haven't done a degustation menu for a while, but I always love creating a menu in this style. I enjoy being able to have a little of this and a little of that, and the joy of creating something that will flow from course to course. The challenge is always to balance variety and texture - to have enough contrast to make things interesting but to not make those contrasts jarring to the palate.

The menu began with a creamy chilled soup of cauliflower and leek, flavoured with a hint of roasted garlic and finished with cucumber and delicious salty salmon roe. The soup can also be served hot, but I really enjoy starting a degustation menu with something cool and fresh tasting. Although the soup is velvety and creamy, serving it cold gives it a lighter dimension. The natural sweetness of the vegetables is a nice contrast to the salty explosions of salmon roe and the fresh cucumber.

Course number two was a mushroon ragout tart - the ragout was made with four different types of mushroom - Porcini, Shitake, Enoki and Oyster varieties. I used a simple shortcrust base and teamed this with a horseradish cream - a combination of horseradish, organic natural youghurt and creme fraiche. The earthy, savoury nature of the mushrooms really shines through when teamed with the tang of the horseradish cream.

Course number three was duck and fennel ravioli served simply with sauteed asparagus and parmesan. The filling was made with duck breast meat, parmesan, caramelised onions and fennel, garlic and a touch of nutmeg. I bought the duck breasts on the bone and after I removed the meat that I needed, used them to make a batch of rich duck stock which I have stored in the freezer. I am already thinking about what I will use the stock for. The rich flavour of the duck meant that it did not need an overly complex sauce - I used Danish Lurpack butter, a touch of salt and some pepper and the asparagus and that was all. This allowed the flavour of the duck to take centre stage.

After the richness of the duck it was time to lighten things up - I chose a salad of watercress, sweet roasted pumpkin, buffalo mozzerella and pomegranate seeds. I made a dressing of extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic, garlic and a touch of maple syrup. I like using watercress as a salad base - the peppery bite is a nice contrast to sweeter ingredients such as the pumpkin and maple. The tartness and texture of the pomegranate seeds works well with the creamy mozzerella - and who can resist that gourgeous ruby colour?

I really love game, so I decided on venison for the fifth course. I marinated vension rump for 24 hours in olive oil, garlic, crushed juniper berries, a splash of white balsamic and a touch of dijon mustard. The meat was then cooked in a pan with a touch of butter and allowed to rest for 10 minutes before carving. I teamed the venison with a puree of potato and parsnip, caramelised balsamic beetroot and a stuffed zucchini flower, which I filled with fresh herbs, ricotta and a touch of lemon rind. For the sauce, I did a stock reduction with redcurrant jelly and a touch of bitter chocolate. The chocolate works beautifully with the venison - but it is only used in very small amounts, just enough to add some richness and complexity to the sauce.

And finally, dessert - I took fresh figs, split them in the centre and baked them for 10 minutes drizzled with honey. Once they were out of the oven, I filled them with tangy fresh raspberries. I accompanied them with honey, pistachio and glace pear icecream that I made ealier in the week. I made the icecream in a loaf tin and served slices instead of scoops. Figs and raspberries are my two favourite fruits, so this was a great way to indulge in both!

One of the challenges of doing a degustation menu is the logistics of the menu - choosing dishes that will not require you to be stuck in the kitchen for the whole evening when you should be drinking wine and being fabulous with your guests. For the above menu, I made the icecream a few days before. I did the filling for the duck the week before and froze the filling - that way all I had to do was defrost it and complete the final tortellini making at the last minute. I also made the caramelised beetroot and stuffed the zucchini (which can be a bit fiddly) the day before. I pre chopped all of the salad ingredients a couple of hours before the guests arrived and also made the sauce for the venison and the potato/parsnip puree. On the night, all I had to actually cook was the zucchini flowers and the venison, heat the figs and do the tortellini.

If you have never tried a degustation menu, don't be daunted. Just make sure you plan well and that you don't choose overly complex dishes that require lots of attention for every course - balance it with some simple dishes such as salads, or soups or terrines that can be made ahead. I find that the work of creating a degustation menu is totally worth the rewards of seeing delighted guests feeling pampered and indulged. I had a ball creating this menu for my guests on Friday night - it was a fun night full of lots of laughter and lots of wine.

And finally, a good degustation menu is nothing without good friends to share it all with, so choose your guests well. Thanks to Chris, Michela, Susan, Mary-Lou, Damon and Andrew for being such fabulous company and riotously entertaining dinner guests on Friday night - a fantastic evening :)

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