Mushroom ‘’risotto’’, St Andrew’s Bay lobster, roast pepper & almond puree, calamari tempura and squid ink tuile

Nick Briggs

Nick Briggs

28th February 2019
Nick Briggs

Mushroom ‘’risotto’’, St Andrew’s Bay lobster, roast pepper & almond puree, calamari tempura and squid ink tuile

Mushroom ‘’risotto’’, St Andrew’s Bay lobster, roast pepper & almond puree, calamari tempura and squid ink tuile

Ingredients

  • For the risotto:
  • 16 large button mushrooms, or more depending on size
  • 200ml mushroom stock, made from the trimmings
  • 80g unsalted butter
  • 200ml white wine
  • 2-3 dessert spoons of crème fraiche
  • 2-3 dessertspoons of finely grated regiano parmesan
  • Diced butter to finish
  • Chopped tarragon and chives to finish
  • For the squid ink tuile
  • 45g gluten free flour
  • 188g extra virgin olive oil
  • 300g water
  • Pinch of salt
  • For the Roast pepper and almond puree: (makes more than required but difficult to make
  • lesser quantity)
  • 8 red peppers
  • 2 cloves of garlic peeled
  • 2 lemons zested
  • 1 orange zested
  • 600g smoked almonds
  • 450g tomato puree
  • 200g panko breadcrumbs
  • 25-30g smoked paprika according to taste
  • 250g olive oil
  • 50g almond oil
  • For the lobster:
  • 1 live Scottish lobster weighing 900g, killed humanely
  • 5ltrs water
  • 50g salt
  • 50g sugar
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • ½ lemon
  • For the calamari tempura
  • 2 reserved calamari tentacles
  • 110g tempura flour
  • 100ml cold sparkling water

Method

1. Slice the base off each mushroom and cut each mushroom into a square shape, reserving the trimmings. Now cut the trimmed mushrooms into strips before cutting each strip into thin batons to resemble grains of rice. Set aside
2. Fry the mushroom trimmings with a clove of garlic, thyme and rosemary until caramelised, deglaze with 150ml white wine and reduce by half before covering with water. Simmer for 45 minutes, remove from the heat, add a handful of tarragon stalks and cover. Stand for 15 minutes then strain through a fine sieve and set aside
3. To make the risotto: heat a wide saucepan and add the 80g butter. Once melted but not browned, add the sliced mushrooms, season lightly and fry gently, stirring all the time, for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half then add enough stock to cover and simmer until tender the remove from the heat.
4. To finish, warm the mushrooms, then stir in butter and crème fraiche. Remove from the heat, stir in parmesan and chopped herbs and taste for seasoning
1. Combine all the ingredients in a tall jug and blend until smooth with a hand held blender.
2. Heat a 12 cm non stick frying pan and using a ladle, add just enough liquid to cover the base thinly. Fry for two minutes or until crisp and set then lift out of the pan with a palette knife onto absorbent paper to drain then transfer to a fresh tray. Store in an airtight container once cold, until needed.
1. Blacken the peppers over an open flame, transfer to bowl and cover with cling film tightly, stand for 30 minutes then peel the skin and remove seeds from centre
2. Place the flesh of the peppers and all the remaining ingredients in the jug of a large powerful blender and process to a puree until desired texture is achieved, we tend to leave it as a coarse textured compote, just short of full puree smoothness.
3. Taste for seasoning and set aside
1. Place the lobster in boiling water containing the sugar and salt. Cook for 3 ½ minutes, remove and plunge into iced water until cold. Remove the shell and cut to allow two medallions per portion.
2. Melt the butter and squeeze the lemon juice into it. Gently warm the lobster in the butter prior to serving.
1. Cut the squid into 4-6cm pieces.
2. Gently combine 100g of tempura flour and the water reserving 10g of flour for dusting.
3. At the last moment: Dust the calamari in the reserved flour, shaking off the excess, coat in batter and deep fry briefly until crisp
To finish and serve:
Place a portion of risotto in the centre of a serving plate and smooth it until flat with the back of a spoon. Add two quenelles of the red pepper puree and arrange the lobster and tempura calamari on the risotto. Finish with herb shoots and shards of squid ink tuile and serve at once

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.