Chef Scott Williams’ modern take on traditional British food brings seasonality and culinary sagacity to the traditional gastro pub offering.
Words by Hannah Tapping | Images by Frankie Thomas
Confit Salmon
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
4 – 5 large fillets of salmon
4 large beetroots
1 tub of natural yoghurt
300g of black treacle
1 carton of orange juice
1 orange
1 lemon
1 cup of caster sugar
1 cup of table salt
Sprigs of thyme
Method
In a mixing bowl, add one coffee cup of caster sugar, one coffee cup of table salt, the zest of one lemon and the zest of one orange. Mix well. On a baking tray, sprinkle ¼ of this mix, and spread it across one tray. Place the salmon skin side down, and completely cover with the rest of this mix. Leave for 30 minutes to cure.
Then wash the salmon in cold water, and portion into desired sizes. Heat up some olive oil in a large saucepan to 55°C, with half a lemon and half an orange, plus a few sprigs of thyme. Once the oil is at 55°C, remove from heat and place your salmon portions into the oil. Leave for 30 minutes, then remove and drain onto some kitchen towel, until it falls to room temperature.
Mix the black treacle and natural yoghurt together. For the beetroot pureé, peel 3 beetroots, cut into quarters and place into a small saucepan. Add half a carton of orange juice and simmer until the beetroots are soft. Once soft, blend the beetroots and the liquor (from the saucepan) into a smooth pureé. Leave to one side.
With the rest of the carton of orange juice, place onto the stove in a small saucepan and reduce to a syrup. With the remaining beetroot, peel, slice very thinly and cut into small discs. Season with sea salt and orange syrup.
To plate: blow torch the salmon skin, until crispy. Swipe the black treacle yoghurt (however cheffy you want!) and add a couple of dots of beetroot pureé. Place the beetroot onto the plate and arrange the beetroot discs across the top of the skin. To finish, use micro rocket cress and red-veined sorrel.
Lamb Ragu
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Ragu Ingredients:
1 whole leg of lamb (bone-in)
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 bunch of rosemary
1 bottle of decent white wine
2 litres of lamb stock or a good chicken stock
2 fresh vine tomatoes
1 block of parmesan
1 small tin of brown anchovies
A whole bulb of garlic
10 plum tomatoes
2 sticks of celery
3 bay leaves
A couple of peppercorns
1 tbsp of fennel seeds
3 diced onions
Pappardelle ingredients:
400g of pasta flour
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
Drizzle of olive oil
Method:
For the pappardelle:
Place the flour onto your worktop. Create a hole in the middle of the flour and add the eggs, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Using a fork, mix the eggs together, gradually pulling a little flour into the middle at a time, until it starts to form a dough. Gently knead together until you have a smooth, springy dough. Cover the dough with cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge until later. For the pappardelle, gently roll out more of the pasta dough, until it’s super smooth and thin. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into long strips, approximately 2cm wide. Dust the dough strips in semolina flour or fine polenta and leave in portions on a dusted tray.
For the ragu:
Season the leg of lamb with sea salt and black pepper (ideally leave the leg overnight). Place the lamb onto a deep oven tray and cover it with the white wine and stock. Add the garlic, bay leaves, ½ of the mint, ½ of the rosemary, chopped celery, onions, toasted fennel seeds, peppercorns, and brown anchovies. Cover the lamb in parchment paper and tin foil, then cook in the oven for 5 hours at 180°C.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and take the leg of lamb out of the braising liquor, pick the meat off the bone, remove any fat/gristle and leave to cool. Add the plum tomatoes to the liquor and place back into the oven for a further hour. Use a stick blender to smooth the liquor. Add the lamb back into the sauce and place into a large saucepan, then bring to a gentle simmer and leave to one side. Cook the fresh pasta that you prepared earlier for 3-4 minutes. Once the pasta is cooked, remove the pasta from the water and add it to the ragu with a ladle of the pasta water.
Finish the ragu with some diced vine tomato, fresh mint, grated parmesan, some lemon zest, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Frangipane Cake
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
100g of softened butter
100g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
140g ground almonds
75g plain flour
1 ball of stem ginger, chopped up finely
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp of vanilla essence
1 punnet of raspberries
Flaked almonds
Method:
Using an electric whisk or kitchen aid, beat the butter until creamy, add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well after every addition. Stir in the ground almonds, flour, stem ginger, lemon zest and vanilla essence.
Heat up your oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and brush with melted butter. Spoon the frangipane mixture into the tray. Poke the raspberries randomly into the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the cake and then brush with a little syrup from the stem ginger and add some flaked almonds. Bake for a further 5 minutes, then leave to cool. Serve the frangipane with a good dollop of Cornish clotted cream and fresh raspberries.
