Here’s a recipe that gets you ahead of the (racing) crowd!
Steve Golding is Executive Chef for Ascot Hospitality and responsible for the top class food at Ascot Racecourse. Already very busy preparing for Royal Ascot 2013, here’s one dish that’s already on the menu…
Black Leg Chicken Velouté, Truffle Bavarois with Warm Brioche and Truffle Butter
Veal Sweetbreads
1 pound veal sweetbreads
½ tsp of salt
½ cup of flour
4 cups of canola oil
Trim the sweetbreads into ¾ inch pieces, removing any fat or blood. Soak them in ice water in the fridge over night. Drain and dry, season and dredge them in flour, pat off any excess. In a large saucepan, heat canola oil to 375 F. Fry the sweetbreads for 4 minutes and drain them on paper towels.
Chicken Velouté
1 tbsp of canola oil
2 chicken legs – cut into 2 pieces
1 cup of diced white onion
½ cup of diced celery
½ cup of diced leeks
16 cups of chicken stock
6 sprigs of thyme
3 stems of parsley
1 bay leaf
½ cup of butter, room temperature
½ cup of flour
¼ cup of sherry
2 tbsp of salt
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
½ cup crème fraîche
Heat the canola oil in large saucepan and sear the chicken legs skin side down until golden. Pour off any excess oil. Add the onion, celery and leeks. Sweat until soft and translucent. Add the chicken stock, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Simmer until reduced by half.
Mix together the soft butter and flour. Once the soup has reduced by half, whisk in the flour mixture. Bring the soup to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes to cook out. Strain the soup and season with the sherry, salt, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Keep hot until ready to serve.
Chicken
1 skinless and boneless chicken breast
½ tsp of salt
1 sprig of thyme
Season the chicken, place the thyme on the tenderloin side of the breast. Vacuum seal and cook in a bath maintained at 145 F for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove and cut into ¼ inch cubes.
Truffle Bavarois
4 sheets of gelatine
1 cup of black truffle juice
2 ½ cups of cream
1 ½ tsp of salt
Bloom the gelatine in ice water for 10 minutes. Reduce the truffle juice by half in a saucepan. Strain the gelatine and squeeze out any excess water, stir into the truffle liquid. Whip 2 cups of cream until it forms soft peaks; add the remaining cream to the truffle juice and strain.
Chill over ice stirring constantly to prevent the gelatine from setting. Whisk the truffle mixture into the whipped cream until completely smooth. Season and refrigerate until set.
Once set, whisk until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Black truffle butter
(Makes 4 cups)
4 cups of butter, softened
1/3 cup of chopped black truffle
1 tbsp of fleur de sel
Fold the butter, truffles and fleur de sel together and store in fridge for 2 – 3 days or in freezer for up to 2 weeks.
To finish
Veal sweetbreads
Chicken
2 large black truffles, broken into a rough crumble
Truffle bavarois
8 small celery leaves
Chicken velouté
Brioche, toasted
8 tbsp black truffle butter
Arrange the veal sweetbread, cubed chicken and black truffle bavarois into each bowl and garnish with a sprig of celery leaf. Blend chicken velouté and pour into bowls. Serve immediately with slices toasted brioche and truffle butter.