[Highlander]

Starters

Rustic Tomato and pesto soup
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
12 plum tomatoes, quartered
400g can plum tomatoes
150ml water
20g fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pesto coulis
1 handful parsley leaves
1 handful basil leaves
4 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
5 tbsp olive oil
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and quartered tomatoes and cook together for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are well softened, stirring regularly.
2. Tip the canned tomatoes into the pan and stir in the water and basil leaves. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then cover loosely, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little extra water if the soup becomes to dry.
3. To make the pesto coulis, put the herbs, onions and oil in a food processor or blitz with a stick blender until pureed. Put to one side.
4. Remove the soup from the heat and blitz with a stick blender until as smooth as possible. Watch out for splashes as the soup will be extremely hot. Adjust seasoning to taste and add a little more water until the soup reaches the right consistency.
5. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top with swirls of the basil coulis. Serve hot.


Seafood platter

Prawns and a selection of seafood

Main Course

Peppered loin of Venison

Ingredients
800g boneless loin of fallow deer
1 tbsp coarsely ground fresh black pepper
1 tsp flaked sea salt
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped, plus an extra sprig to garnish
2 tsp vegetable oil
For the chasseur sauce
15g butter
15g olive oil
6 medium mushrooms, peeled and finely chopped
2 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
100ml white wine
2 tbsp brandy
150ml tomato passata
1 tbsp meat glaze or heavily reduced fresh beef stock
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
1. To make the chasseur sauce, melt the butter with the oil in a medium pan. Add the mushrooms and fry over a fairly high heat until lightly browned. Stir in the shallots, reduce the heat and cook for a couple of minutes until softened.
2. Pour over the wine and brandy and bring to the boil. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the tomato sauce and meat glaze. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring regularly. Watch out for splashes as the sauce will be very hot. Season to taste then remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Trim any sinewy bits from the venison loin. Sprinkle the black pepper, salt and rosemary onto a clean chopping board. Rub the loin with the vegetable oil and roll in the rosemary and pepper mixture to lightly coat.
4. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan until hot. Add the venison, fat-side down and cook for a few minutes until nicely browned. Turn over to brown the other side and then brown the ends to completely seal the meat. Hold with tongs.
5. Put the venison into a roasting tin and cook in the centre of the oven about 12 minutes for rare meat. (As a good host, I will of course ask how my guests like their meat.) A little longer for medium-rare or medium. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for ten minutes.
6. Gently reheat the chasseur sauce, stirring constantly. Sprinkle over the chopped parsley and stir through the sauce. Carve the venison and serve with the sauce and roasted vegetables.

Foil-wrapped baked sea bass with beurre blanc recipe

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 small whole sea bass, scaled, gutted and beheaded!
10g butter, melted
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the beurre blanc sauce
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
6 tbsp dry white wine
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
100g unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7. To make the sauce, put the shallot, wine and vinegar in a small pan over a low heat. Simmer for 4-5 minutes until the shallot is soft and the liquid reduced to just 2 tbsp. Set aside.

2. To prepare the sea bass, take two large sheets of foil and brush with the olive oil. Put a bass on each sheet. Combine the melted butter and lemon juice. Brush the mixture over the fishes. Lightly season on both sides with salt and pepper.

3. Bring the foil up over each fish and crumple the edges to make baggy, but airtight, parcels. Put on a baking tray. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes.

4. When the fish is cooked, carefully open the parcels. Cut through the skin along the spine with a small sharp knife, then peel off and discard. Turn the fish over and repeat the process. Re-wrap and keep warm while the banc beurre is made.

5. Gently reheat the wine mixture until warm, not hot. Over a gentle heat, whisk in the butter, a piece at a time, so it forms an emulsion. Continue until all the butter is used. Take off the heat and season to taste. Slide the fish onto two warmed plates and spoon over the sauce to serve.

Dessert

Autumn puddings

Ingredients
450g blackberries
400g plums, stoned and sliced
2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
250g golden caster sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
12-14 medium slices white bread, crusts removed
2 tbsp crème de cassis (optional)

1. Put the blackberries, plums, pears and sugar into a pan with the orange zest and juice. Cover and cook gently for 5 minutes, until the fruit softens slightly and releases its juices. Remove from the heat.

2. Dampen the inside of 6 x 175ml mini pudding basins. Line with cling film, making sure it overhangs the edges, then smooth any creases. Cut out 6 x 5cm rounds of bread and press into the base of the basins. Line the sides with bread, cutting to fit.

3. Using a slotted spoon, divide the fruit between the bread-lined basins. Cover with the remaining bread and drizzle with some juice from the pan. (Chill the leftover juice.) Wrap the overhanging edges of cling film over the top of each pudding, and weigh each one down with a saucer and can. Chill overnight.

4. To serve, unwrap the cling film and upturn onto a plate.