2016 Recipes

Recipes created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2016 by chef Guillaume Lebrun of Restaurant Patrick Guilbauld, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, showcasing the 2016 award winners.

Salad of Silver Darlings Irish Herring, Potato, Green Leek Purée and Toasted Buckwheat

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Scatter the buckwheat on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.

To make the green leek purée, melt the butter in a small pan and sweat the leeks. Season with salt and pepper, then blend in a liquidiser until smooth. Chill in the fridge until required.

Boil the baby potatoes until they are cooked through and tender. Drain well and return briefly to the pan to dry them out, then transfer to a bowl and gently crush them. Fold in the yogurt, some chopped chives and a squeeze of lemon juice, but be careful not to overwork the potato salad.

To serve, arrange three small quenelles of the potato salad on a cold plate and add dots of the leek purée and yogurt. Place a sliver of shallot on top of each quenelle, then add a piece of herring. Garnish with a parsley leaf and the toasted buckwheat.

Grilled Irish Hereford Sirloin, Brandy Bay Oyster Cream and White Gypsy Russian Imperial Stout

To make the sauce, pour the stout and beef stock into a pan. Bring to the boil and reduce by two-thirds. Dissolve the cornflour in a small bowl with a little water and mix together to form a thin paste, then whisk it into the sauce a little at a time until you have achieved your desired consistency. Finely dice the marrow and stir it into the sauce. Keep warm.

To make the oyster cream, place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth.

Heat a dry, heavy-based chargrill pan or skillet over a high heat. Brush both sides of the steaks with a little oil and season generously with salt and pepper. When the pan is smoking hot, put in the steaks. Cook a 2cm-thick sirloin steak for 2 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from the pan and let the steaks rest for at least 5 minutes.

To serve, put the steak on a warmed plate. Spoon over some of the stout sauce and pipe dollops of the oyster cream on the plate. Garnish with the waffle-cut crisps.

Mossfield Organic Farm Milk Pudding, Wild Irish Foragers Spring Nettle Syrup and Caramelised Walnuts

To make the milk pudding, soak the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the milk, cream and sugar to the boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the gelatine leaves and whisk into the hot milk to dissolve. Divide between four serving glasses and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the caramelised walnuts, preheat the oven to 180°C. Scatter the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5–7 minutes, taking care not to let them burn.

Place the sugar in a saucepan over a low heat and leave to slowly caramelise without stirring. When the sugar reaches a medium to dark brown caramel, add the walnuts to the pan and swirl to combine. Pour the walnuts onto a tray lined with non-sticking baking paper and leave to cool.

To serve, pour 1 tablespoon of the nettle syrup over each pudding so that it forms a thin layer on top, then decorate with caramelised walnuts.

Riot Rye Bakehouse Borodinsky Sourdough Ice Cream with Malted Chocolate Ganache and Malt Bread Tuile

To make the ice cream, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large heatproof bowl until well combined. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a medium-sized saucepan. When the milk comes to a boil, slowly pour it into the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Pour the custard back into the pan and reduce the heat to low. Whisk until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sourdough pieces and yeast. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to infuse overnight in the fridge.

The next day, pass the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Churn in an ice cream machine and freeze.

To make the ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Heat the cream, honey and Horlicks in a saucepan over a medium heat until it comes to the boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until it is completely melted. Whisk in the butter until it has melted and the ganache is smooth. Pour into a container and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, until firm.

To make the tuile biscuits, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Place the bread in a food processor and whizz into crumbs. Place the butter, sugar and milk in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to the boil. Slowly add the flour and breadcrumbs. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then place tablespoonfuls on the lined tray, spaced well apart, and spread out the dough slightly. Bake for 5 minutes. When the biscuits are cool enough to handle but still warm, drape them over a rolling pin to give them a nicely rounded shape. Allow to cool and set.

To serve, dice the ganache into small cubes. Place a quenelle of ice cream on a cold plate and set a few cubes of ganache alongside. Decorate with a tuile biscuit.