Mother's Day Menu
Pea and Mint Soup
Salmon En Croute
Rhubarb and ginger Cheesecake
Pea and mint Soup
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
50g butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 litre of hot vegetable stock
1 kg frozen peas
2 tbsps fresh mint
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
Place the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted stir in the onions, potatoes and garlic – season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Every couple of minutes stir and check to make sure the vegetables aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Leave to cook for five minutes.
Pour in the hot stock, leave the lid off and allow to cook for about 15 minutes or until the potato is completely cooked. Then pour in the frozen peas and cook for three minutes, followed by the fresh mint and cook for another minute.
Next blend the soup in a food processor and taste for seasoning.
Salmon En Croute
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
For the salmon en croûte:
40g watercress, chopped
200g cream cheese
2 tbsp chopped dill
1 lemon, zest and juice
Flour, for dusting
2 packs (320g each) ready-rolled puff pastry
400g salmon fillet joint, cut into 4 pieces
1 egg, beaten, for glazing
To serve:
16 asparagus spears, trimmed
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Mix the watercress, the cream cheese, the dill, the lemon zest and juice and some seasoning in a bowl.
Dust a work surface with flour and unroll one of the pastry sheets. Cut in half across the longer side. Spread ¼ of the cream cheese mixture on one side of one of the pastry rectangles – leave ⅔ of the pastry clear so you can fold it over to form a parcel, plus a 1cm border to seal. Top the cream cheese with a salmon fillet. Wet the border with a little water and fold over the pastry to form a parcel. Trim the edges, then seal by either crimping together or using a fork. Transfer to the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pastry. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and use a teaspoon to create a scale effect in the pastry. Brush with the egg and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Steam the asparagus until tender.
Serve each salmon en croûte parcel with asparagus and a drizzle of hollandaise and a wedge of lemon.
Rhubarb and ginger Cheesecake
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
digestives 200g
gingernut biscuits 100g
butter 100g
full-fat cream cheese 600g
golden caster sugar 200g
eggs 4
egg yolk 1 extra
vanilla extract
soured cream 400g
350g rhubarb, chopped
75g caster sugar
3 inches stem ginger
METHOD:
Line the base of a 20cm spring-form cake tin with cooking parchment or strong greaseproof paper. Melt the butter in a small pan. Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs and stir them into the melted butter. Tip them into the cake tin and smooth them flat. Refrigerate for half an hour or so until firm.
Put the cream and sugar in the bowl of a food mixer and whisk until thick. Keep an eye on the mixture all the time, stopping once it starts to thicken. Remove the whisk then stir gently to mix. Add the cream cheese and the vanilla. Tip the mixture into the crumb-lined cake tin, cover with film and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Pop the rhubarb into a saucepan with the sugar, ginger and 100ml water and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Spoon the rhubarb on top of the cheesecake.