Serena's Menu
Serena Wilson's dishes included wild mushroom risotto and figs roasted in rum:
Wild mushroom risotto
Ingredients
30g butter
Tbsp butter
2 glasses white wine
Water
Arborio rice – 50g per person
Handful of fresh/dried porcini mushrooms per person (mushrooms will have to be soaked if dry)
Melt butter and oil in a pan. Add the rice and fry until it's hot and stats to squeak. Pour in the wine slowly bit by bit, keep stirring until the rice is cooked but still slightly al dente. Take off the heat.
Fry a handful of mushrooms per person in butter with a tiny bit of garlic. Stir into the risotto. Add a big slug of black pepper and some grated parmesan – stir together. Pack risotto into individual timbales, turn out on plates and serve with rocket.
Pan fried pork tenderloin with cream, spinach, roast pepper and goat's cheese sauce
Ingredients
Half a red pepper per person
One onion
Cream/creme fresh
Soft goat's cheese
Black pepper
Pancetta
1 large bag of large leaf spinach
Pork tenderloin – 4/5 inch pieces per person
Olive oil
Rinse red peppers, core and seed and slice into fine rings. Slice the onion into fine rings. Lay peppers and onions onto a highly greased baking tray in the oven at 200 deg c. You will have to keep a close watch on these so that they don't burn, keep turning them – you are watching for them to be golden on the outside – slightly crisped on the edges is ok and is what gives them the flavour.
Put a slug of cream into a pan, crumble in the goats cheese, add black pepper and stir in the peppers and onions – leave the flavours to infuse.
Put a tiny bit of oil in a pan, cut the pancetta into tiny cubes and fry off in the pan. Wash the big spinach and toss in the pan VERY quickly so it is only just wilted. Put onto heated plates to one side. Cut the tenderloins into segments, 4/5 inches per person. Heat up the pan with a tiny bit of oil until very hot.
Put the meat into the pan and cook quickly, turning to get evenly golden. Don’t worry about cooking the meat slightly rare – you are aiming for the pork to be slightly pink in the middle. Take the meat out of the pan and rest for a few minutes – this is essential. Once rested put 2 diagonal slices through the meat, almost all the way through but not quite. Arrange the spinach on plates and place the pork on top. Drizzle the sauce in a semi circle around the outside of the plate.
Season with black pepper.
Figs roasted in rum and orange with vanilla ice cream
You will need an ice cream maker
Ingredients
3 – 4 figs per person (black figs are best)
Orange juice
White or black rum
Pint of whipping cream
50g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
Vanilla pod
Cornflour
Vanilla powder
Cinnamon
Runny honey
Put the cream, sugar and 5 egg yolks in a pan. Slice the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds – add the seeds to the cream and throw in the pod (you can fish this out later).
Make a paste with a bit of the cream and a little bit of corn flour. Add the paste to the liquid and heat up gently. Keep stirring until it starts to thicken. Leave the mixture to cool in the pan, then put in the fridge until chilled and ready to go in the ice cream maker.
Wash and stalk the figs and mark a cross in the top of each (like a jacket potato). Place face down in a dish and add a good slug of dark rum, a slug of orange juice, some runny honey, a tiny sprinkling of vanilla powder and a very tiny sprinkling of cinnamon. Leave to soak over night ideally (or for as long as possible).
When ready to cook, turn up and add a knob of butter in the top of each fig. Cook in the oven at approx 175 deg C, until baked but still in tact. The liquid underneath should look like runny honey – if it doesn't (which it may well not) – tip it into a pan and reduce down with a tiny sprinkling of corn flour and another slug of rum. Arrange the figs in a dish (can do in champagne glasses). Put a dollop of ice cream in the centre and pour over the sauce.
Recipe for vanilla ice cream is taken from Nigella Lawson's How To Be a Domestic Goddess, published by Chatto & Windus, 2000, at £15pbk.
Ingredients
30g butter
Tbsp butter
2 glasses white wine
Water
Arborio rice – 50g per person
Handful of fresh/dried porcini mushrooms per person (mushrooms will have to be soaked if dry)
Melt butter and oil in a pan. Add the rice and fry until it's hot and stats to squeak. Pour in the wine slowly bit by bit, keep stirring until the rice is cooked but still slightly al dente. Take off the heat.
Fry a handful of mushrooms per person in butter with a tiny bit of garlic. Stir into the risotto. Add a big slug of black pepper and some grated parmesan – stir together. Pack risotto into individual timbales, turn out on plates and serve with rocket.
Pan fried pork tenderloin with cream, spinach, roast pepper and goat's cheese sauce
Ingredients
Half a red pepper per person
One onion
Cream/creme fresh
Soft goat's cheese
Black pepper
Pancetta
1 large bag of large leaf spinach
Pork tenderloin – 4/5 inch pieces per person
Olive oil
Rinse red peppers, core and seed and slice into fine rings. Slice the onion into fine rings. Lay peppers and onions onto a highly greased baking tray in the oven at 200 deg c. You will have to keep a close watch on these so that they don't burn, keep turning them – you are watching for them to be golden on the outside – slightly crisped on the edges is ok and is what gives them the flavour.
Put a slug of cream into a pan, crumble in the goats cheese, add black pepper and stir in the peppers and onions – leave the flavours to infuse.
Put a tiny bit of oil in a pan, cut the pancetta into tiny cubes and fry off in the pan. Wash the big spinach and toss in the pan VERY quickly so it is only just wilted. Put onto heated plates to one side. Cut the tenderloins into segments, 4/5 inches per person. Heat up the pan with a tiny bit of oil until very hot.
Put the meat into the pan and cook quickly, turning to get evenly golden. Don’t worry about cooking the meat slightly rare – you are aiming for the pork to be slightly pink in the middle. Take the meat out of the pan and rest for a few minutes – this is essential. Once rested put 2 diagonal slices through the meat, almost all the way through but not quite. Arrange the spinach on plates and place the pork on top. Drizzle the sauce in a semi circle around the outside of the plate.
Season with black pepper.
Figs roasted in rum and orange with vanilla ice cream
You will need an ice cream maker
Ingredients
3 – 4 figs per person (black figs are best)
Orange juice
White or black rum
Pint of whipping cream
50g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
Vanilla pod
Cornflour
Vanilla powder
Cinnamon
Runny honey
Put the cream, sugar and 5 egg yolks in a pan. Slice the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds – add the seeds to the cream and throw in the pod (you can fish this out later).
Make a paste with a bit of the cream and a little bit of corn flour. Add the paste to the liquid and heat up gently. Keep stirring until it starts to thicken. Leave the mixture to cool in the pan, then put in the fridge until chilled and ready to go in the ice cream maker.
Wash and stalk the figs and mark a cross in the top of each (like a jacket potato). Place face down in a dish and add a good slug of dark rum, a slug of orange juice, some runny honey, a tiny sprinkling of vanilla powder and a very tiny sprinkling of cinnamon. Leave to soak over night ideally (or for as long as possible).
When ready to cook, turn up and add a knob of butter in the top of each fig. Cook in the oven at approx 175 deg C, until baked but still in tact. The liquid underneath should look like runny honey – if it doesn't (which it may well not) – tip it into a pan and reduce down with a tiny sprinkling of corn flour and another slug of rum. Arrange the figs in a dish (can do in champagne glasses). Put a dollop of ice cream in the centre and pour over the sauce.
Recipe for vanilla ice cream is taken from Nigella Lawson's How To Be a Domestic Goddess, published by Chatto & Windus, 2000, at £15pbk.