12 asparagus spears
20 g/generous 1 tablespoon butter, plus extra for greasing
150 ml/⅔ cup crème fraîche/sour cream
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
6 slices prosciutto
2 teaspoons breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Serves 2
Bend each asparagus spear until it snaps, and discard the woody ends. Steam the asparagus spears over a pan of boiling water for about 3–4 minutes, just to soften them – you don’t want them fully cooked. Set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan/skillet and then stir in the crème fraîche/sour cream. Add the chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Preheat the grill/broiler to medium. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around two asparagus spears and lay them in a greased ovenproof roasting dish. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto slices and asparagus spears, laying them side by side in the dish.
Pour the melted butter and crème fraîche/sour cream mixture evenly over the top. Mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together in a bowl and then sprinkle this over the top.
Grill/broil for 6–8 minutes until nicely browned and slightly crisp on top. Serve immediately.
1 litre/quart good-quality fish stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, 2 finely chopped and 1 peeled but left whole
200-g/7-oz. squid, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
8-g/¼-fl .oz. sachet of squid ink
350 g/1¾ cups risotto rice
50 ml/3½ tablespoons dry white wine
25 g/2 tablespoons butter
12 raw tiger prawns/shrimp, heads removed, peeled and deveined
salt, to season
chopped parsley, to garnish
Serves 4
Bring the fish stock to a simmer in a large pan.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a separate saucepan. Add the shallot and finely chopped garlic and fry gently, stirring, until the shallot has softened. Add the squid and fry until whitened and opaque. Mix in the squid ink and the rice. Pour in the wine and cook, stirring, until reduced. Add a ladleful of the stock to the rice and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Repeat the process until all the stock has been added and the rice is cooked through. Season with salt as needed. Stir in the butter and set aside to rest.
Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan/skillet. Add the whole garlic clove and fry, stirring, until fragrant. Add the prawns/shrimp with a pinch of salt and fry, stirring, until they have turned pink and opaque and cooked through. Discard the garlic clove.
Serve each portion of the risotto rice topped with the prawns/shrimp and garnished with chopped parsley.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE LAYER MOUSSES
MOUSSE
3 sheets of leaf gelatine (platinum grade available in supermarkets)
400 g/14 oz. ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced
100 g/½ cup caster/granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder or vanilla bean paste
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
300 ml/1¼ cups double/heavy cream
80 g/⅓ cup cream cheese
CHEESECAKE CRUMB LAYER
200 g/7 oz. shortcake biscuits/cookies
100 g/7 tablespoons butter
TO ASSEMBLE
300 g/10½ oz. ripe strawberries
150 ml/⅔ cup double/heavy cream
2 piping/pastry bags, fitted with large round nozzles/tips
6 pretty glasses
Serves 6
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. This will take about 5 minutes.
Place the strawberries, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and juice a in a saucepan with 100 ml/⅓ cup water and heat for about 5 minutes until the strawberries are very soft. Pass the mixture through a sieve/strainer, pressing down on the strawberries firmly with the back of a spoon so that they become a fruit purée. Discard any strawberries remaining in the sieve/strainer. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and add to the warm strawberry syrup.
Stir until dissolved, then pass through the sieve/strainer again to remove any undissolved gelatine pieces. Let cool. Whip the double/heavy cream and cream cheese together and then whisk in the strawberry syrup.
In a food processor or blender, blitz the shortcake biscuits/cookies to fine crumbs. Melt the butter and then stir into the crumbs to ensure they are all coated.
To assemble, reserve three strawberries for decoration, then hull and slice the rest. Place a large spoonful of crumbs into the bottom of each glass and then top each with several slices of the strawberries. Spoon the strawberry mousse into one piping/pastry bag and pipe a generous swirl of mousse into the glasses. Repeat with a second layer of crumbs, strawberries and mousse and then let chill in the fridge for 3 hours or ideally overnight.
To serve, whip the 150 ml/⅔ cup double/heavy cream to stiff peaks, then spoon into the second piping/pastry bag and pipe small swirls of cream around the edge of each mousse. Decorate each glass with a reserved strawberry half to finish.
200 g/7 oz. dark/bittersweet (70%) chocolate, chopped
200 ml/¾ cup double/heavy cream
5 tablespoons Frangelico
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
15 g/1 tablespoon unsalted butter
cocoa powder, for dusting
15 x 12.5-cm/6 x 5-inch plastic container
Makes 25
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a gentle simmer and then pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds.
Whip the cream and chocolate together, then add the rest of the ingredients except the cocoa powder and stir together.
Line the plastic container with clingfilm/plastic wrap and pour in the chocolate mix. Refrigerate overnight.
Turn out the truffle onto a board and use a sharp knife to cut it into squares. Dust with cocoa powder.
These truffles can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Dust with extra cocoa powder before serving. They also freeze well.
15 ml/½ fl. oz. vodka
10 ml/⅓ fl. oz. Chambord
10 ml/⅓ fl. oz. crème de fraise des bois or other strawberry liqueur
½ teaspoon rosewater
ice cubes
well-chilled Asti Spumante or other semi-sweet sparkling wine, to top up
edible rose petal or strawberry, halved, to garnish (optional)
Iced Gems or other sweets/candies, to serve (optional)
Makes 1
Pour the first four ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and stir well. Strain into a chilled Champagne flute and top up with Asti Spumante. Garnish with a rose petal or halved strawberry, if you like, and serve with Iced Gems or other sweets/candies.
