The biggest and best loved food and drink event in the north of Scotland, Taste of Grampian, takes place on Saturday, June 6.
Ahead of the show, three top chefs who are attending – Great British Bake Off hero Norman Calder; multi-Michelin star award–winning chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Brian McLeish, finalist in MasterChef: The Professionals 2014 offer a taste of what’s in store…
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE NOVELLI
Dubbed “The nation’s favourite French Chef” Jean-Chrisophe shares his recipe for Chicken Provencale with Mustard.
“This recipe originates from the south west of France where the rolling hills of Provence meet the blue waters of the Mediterranean.”
Note: The cooking times will need to be adjusted according to the size of the chicken legs used for this recipe.
CHICKEN PROVENCALE WITH MUSTARD
SERVES 4
4 chicken legs (cut through the joint to separate drumsticks and thighs)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp eau de vie or Cognac
3 shallots, sliced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 whole fennel, diced
1 sprig rosemary
Crushed black pepper, to taste
Half a garlic bulb
1 courgette, diced
1 sprig fresh basil
3 plum tomatoes, diced
350ml dry white wine
2tsp cornflour mixed with 2tsp cold water
1tbsp mixed olives
2tbsp wholegrain mustard
pasta or brown basmati rice, to serve
Preheat the oven to 160C (fan), 180C (non-fan) or gas mark 4.
In a deep pan with a lid, heat a little oil and sauté the chicken legs to seal and colour them. Set aside the chicken and pour off the excess fat from the pan. Return to the heat.
To make the sauce, pour the eau de vie into the pan, heat for 30 seconds, then ignite to flambé. Add the shallots, yellow pepper, fennel, rosemary, black pepper and garlic, then sauté for 10 minutes. At the last minute, add the courgettes with the torn basil and cover with a lid.
Return the chicken to the pan, add the tomatoes, white wine and cornflour. Cover and put into the oven for 20 minutes or more (depending on the size of the chicken). Just before serving, place back on the hob and introduce the olives. Stir in the mustard, but do not let it boil. Serve with pasta or boiled brown basmati rice.
NORMAN CALDER
Norman, a retired Merchant Navy officer from Buckie, won the hearts of viewers when he took part in the Great British Bake Off.
“This European yeast-leavened cake never fails to please. It was to have been my Signature Bake for week six of Bake Off. Unfortunately the judges didn’t get to taste it as they sent me home in week five! After making call your friends in to admire it before consuming. As this is a very moist cake it will keep for a few days without the cream being added.”
ORANGE AND RASPBERRY SAVARIN CAKE
50ml lukewarm milk
8g dried active quick yeast
200g plain flour
100g unsalted butter softened
3 large eggs or 4 medium
325g sugar
500ml water
Zest and juice of one orange
75ml Cointreau orange liqueur
300ml double cream
300g raspberries
Add the yeast to the milk and leave for 15-20 minutes until frothing. Mix the flour, yeast and eggs in a bowl, cover and leave to rise (45-60 minutes). After dough has risen add the butter and 2 tbsp sugar from the 325g to the dough and mix well with your best wooden spoon.
Transfer the mixture to your greased Savarin ring and allow to rise for 40 minutes before baking at 190C for 30 minutes.
Boil the water with the remaining sugar plus the orange rind and simmer for around 10 minutes. Stir the Cointreau into the syrup once it has cooled and pour over the cake while it is still in the tin and leave to cool/absorb the syrup.
Once the cake is cool, turn it out on to a plate, whip the cream, transfer to a piping bag with a large nozzle and garnish the top and inside the ring of the cake with cream and raspberries. You can do another row of raspberries or sliced strawberries round the bottom if you have enough spare.
BRIAN McLEISH
Brian McLeish is head chef at the Moonfish Cafe in Aberdeen and he sent the city’s reputation for good food soaring when he was a finalist in MasterChef: The Professionals 2014.
As well as cooking up a storm in the festival’s Seafood kitchen he’ll take part in a celebrity chef cooking challenge going head to head with Jean-Christophe. Follow in his footsteps with this delicious pudding. “This dessert is very easy to make but very tasty,” says Brian.
LEMON POSSET WITH MERINGUE, RASPBERRY AND PISTACHIO
SERVES 8
For the lemon posset:
1 litre of double cream
275g castor sugar
4 lemons
For the meringue:
3 egg whites
75g sugar
1 vanilla pod
250g raspberry
100g rasp coulis
100g roasted pistachios
For the meringue: Whisk the egg whites with the vanilla pod seeds, slowly add the sugar until light and stiff peaks have formed. Pipe rounds about the size of a 5p piece on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. For gas ovens leave overnight with just the pilot light on. For ovens cook 80C or the lowest possible setting for 1 hour.
Zest and juice the lemons. Place the double cream and sugar in a large pot, bring to the boil. When cream boils add the zest and lemon juice and boil for a further four minutes. Sieve to ensure it’s smooth and pour into bowls. Place in the fridge to set. Wash and check the raspberries, removing any bad ones. Roast the pistachios at 180C for five minutes, remove and roughly chop up.
To assemble. Remove the possets from the fridge and dot with a few spots of raspberry coulis. Arrange a few meringues on top, top with raspberries and sprinkle over some pistachios.
Admission to Taste of Grampian is free. Tickets to see the celebrity chefs in action can be booked in advance via www.tasteofgrampian.co.uk