NEIL'S RECIPES: BEEF CHEEKS WITH TONGUE, BACON AND CHANTERELLES

“Tongue and cheek are wonderful together. The almost mousse like texture of the beef cheeks is absolutely delicious. It’s not an expensive cut either, although you’ll need to go to the butcher or market to get them. The just-fried dice of tongue is perfect with beef. Tongue was used a lot by some of the best chefs in the country until a few decades ago. It has a rich, meaty flavour and really complements the bacon and onions in the rich sauce. I'd serve with a very buttery mash.”

Serves 3 to 4

INGREDIENTS

1 large beef/ox cheek

200g piece ox tongue, brined then braised in beef stock, chilled and diced into 1cm cubes

1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of thyme

1 large glass of good red wine

1 clove garlic

1 star anise

A handful cleaned chanterelles

100g small bacon lardons

750ml good beef stock

12 small button onions or small shallots, cooked in stock for 20 minutes

1 teaspoon roughly-chopped curly parsley

2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil

A knob of butter

Good salt and pepper

Buttered greens

Mash to serve, optional

METHOD

Place the beef cheek in a plastic tub and add the wine, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, star anise and thyme. Give it a good mix, cover and marinade overnight in the fridge.

The next day, remove the cheek from the marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper. Reserve the wine and veg.

Pre-heat oven to 150°C.

Heat half the oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear until well browned all over on a high heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the beef from the pan and add the marinated veg to the pan to fry until golden brown - about another 5 minutes. A good golden colour is important here. Then add the wine and bring to the boil. Reduce for 5 minutes then add the beef stock and bring to the boil again. Simmer for 5 minutes before returning the beef cheek to the pan. Cover with a lid and braise in the oven for 3 to 4 hours.

When the beef is ready it will be quite fragile and soft so leave it in the pan out of the oven for an hour. Carefully remove the beef from the pan and roll it in cling film to keep it moist. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, pass the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Reduce for 5 to 10 minutes until it’s nice and sticky.

Remove the beef cheek from the cling film and cut into 3 or 4 pieces and place into the pan with the reduced stock and gently reheat. Leave it to warm up for 20 to 25 minutes, gently turning each piece now and again.

Next, heat the remaining oil frying pan on a high heat and add the bacon lardons and tongue. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes stirring and tossing as you go. Add some thyme and the onions and season. Then add the chanterelles and the parsley, followed by a knob of butter and toss again.  

Whilst this is frying, prepare some buttered greens of your choice.

To serve, arrange the buttered greens in the centre of the plate and top with the beef cheek. Garnish with the mushrooms, bacon, tongue and onions. Serve with a big bowl of buttery mash.

NEIL'S RECIPES: PLUM AND FRANGIPANE TART

“This very popular tart has been on the menu at Cafe for a while. Stone fruits are great for making frangipane tarts - a wonderfully moist way of eating them. Ground almonds are the secret to keeping the tart moist and flavoursome. I get my plums from Patricia at Phantassie Organics in East Lothian and they’ve been great this year. My own plum tree only produced a couple of dozen, so I had better leave it to the professionals!”

Serves 10
Prep time: 50 minutes; cooking time 1hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

10-inch sweet pastry tart case, chilled and rested

Around 12-15 good plums

½ teaspoon mixed spice

½ teaspoon caster sugar

125g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g ground almonds

50g plain flour, sifted

3 whole eggs beaten

A handful of flaked almonds

200ml double cream

1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted

1/3 vanilla pod, seeds scraped

Extra icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 200°C.

Halve and stone the plums then dust with mixed spice and sugar. Cook on a tray in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. When the plums are cold, set to one side. Leave a few aside for serving.

Reduce oven to 150/160°C. 

Make the frangipane by creaming the butter and caster sugar until it’s nice and smooth. Then add the ground almonds and beaten eggs, mixing carefully. Then add the flour and combine. Spread one third in the prepared tart case and smooth over with a wet palette knife. Next, add half the plums reserved for the tart and spread them out. Top with another third of frangipane and smooth down. Then add the rest of the plums reserved for the tart and finish with the remaining frangipane. Smooth over well with a wet palette knife and top with the flaked almonds.

Place on a metal tray and bake for 1 to 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. It will be easier to remove from the tart case when it’s just warm. It’s tricky to cut when it’s hot.

To make the crème Chantilly, whip the double cream to almost firm peak stage then add the sifted icing sugar to taste – roughly 1 tablespoon. Add the vanilla seeds and stir.

To serve, cut slices from the tart and plate with a dollop of cream and any extra plums. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

NEIL'S RECIPES: RED MULLET WITH FENNEL

“When you make this dish it will make you feel as if you are in the South of France. It’s a classic way to cook vegetables called à la grecque. I use a splash of lemon and a good white wine or cider vinegar to lend acidity to the richness of the olive oil, together with coriander seeds, garlic and a tiny pinch of saffron and bay. Served with the crispy-skinned fish, it is just delicious.”

Serves 2

Cooking time: 40 minutes; prep time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 fillets fresh red mullet, skin on, pin-boned and scaled
1 good-sized fennel bulb, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1/2 carrot, peeled and diced small
1/2 stick celery, peeled and diced small
1 shallot, peeled and diced small
6 coriander seeds, lightly crushed in a pestle and mortar
A few strands of saffron
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon good white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking the fish
Good salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon chopped parsley or chives

METHOD

Blanch the fennel until just soft (4 to 5 minutes) in a pot of boiling, salted water.

Heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a clean pan on a moderate hob. Fry the shallots, carrots, garlic and celery for 2 to 3 minutes until all the veg are starting to soften and just about to colour. Then stir in the fennel, coriander seeds and add the bay leaf, saffron, vinegar, lemon juice and the remaining extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer with a lid on for 30 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked and flavoursome. Be careful not to overcook and dry the vegetables out.

Add the oil for frying to a hot, non-stick frying pan. Ensure the fish is dry and the surface of the pan is covered with oil before gently placing the fish into the pan. Do this slowly, laying the fish skin-side-down, away from you so as not to splash. Cook with a little salt and pepper for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn the fish over, remove the pan from the heat and season again.

To serve, season the fennel dish and stir through the fresh herbs.  Arrange onto plates, spooning the sauce over the fennel before placing the fish alongside. Dress with a squeeze of lemon and serve at once. 

Cheese: my constant companion

It may be a surprise, but I don’t have a sweet tooth.

Years ago, I recall the great pastry chef, Michael Nadell, being asked by a TV interviewer what his perfect end to a good meal would be and I’ll never forget his response: a glass of port and piece of cheese.

Some remember their first kiss, or the car in which they learned to drive. For me, the memory etched into my brain is of the markets in the Dordogne in France that we visited when I was young. If I close my eyes I can still smell summer peaches and nectarines, perhaps a few ceps, and those superb tomatoes piled high on rows and rows of stalls.

But mostly, I remember the cheese. The ripest of bries, oozing from its wooden sarcophaguses. So tender it had to be spooned onto the weighing scale by the beret-wearing stall-holder. As I peered through the glass counter, I could spy a few small goat’s cheeses and a piece of Comté. I was hooked.

Today, when a cheese delivery arrives at the restaurant door, I feel the same sense of excitement I did over four decades ago. I think of how far artisan cheese-making in the UK has come in the last few years. And how hugely important it is to keep supporting our raw-milk cheese producers. Using traditional methods, passed down through generations, they give us something utterly wonderful at a polar opposite to factory-made cheese. I’m deeply saddened by the very real risk that proper, unpasteurised cheese may be lost forever.

I shudder to think that overly-processed, flavourless ‘plastic’ cheese might become the norm. No character, traceability or integrity. That would be awful.

So I like to buy unpasteurised cheese from a good cheesemonger like I.J. Mellis or George Mewes. Or direct from the maker. Selina Cairns of Errington Cheese is one of my food heroes. If you ask for my top cheeses, I’d say: 

Lanark Blue from Errington’s, not far from us here in Edinburgh. It’s fresh and delightful.

Waterloo, a Guernsey milk cheese and one of the richest I have tasted. Guernsey milk has a high fat content making for a way creamier cheese The slightly washed rind entombs the gooey, buttery interior. They also make an ale-washed cheese called Maida Vale, which is excellent. 

Wigmore, a rich and creamy ewe’s milk cheese from Berkshire. Both this and the Waterloo are matured in the cellar of the ancestral home of the Duke of Wellington at Stratfield Saye.

Finally, a punchy cheddar from either The Isle of Mull or Keens in Somerset.. I’m torn.

Keens is a stunning cheese - ripe and strong tasting - it makes my cheeks blush when I eat it. This Slow Food ‘Ark of Taste’ unpasteurised cheese is a great, full-fat experience. With every bite and sniff I’m reminded of English mustard. I love how it transports me back to the days when a good cheese was a thing to be cherished.  

Isle of Mull cheddar is lovely too, with a very different flavour. Full-bodied and rich, but I think it has  a certain sweetness. Cheese should taste slightly different every time you taste it, as it’s made by hand, by real people - in this case the Reade family – and I’m sure I read somewhere that they feed the cows on spent barley from the Tobermory distillery. A lovely story.

When the blocks of cheese arrive at Cafe, carefully wrapped in wax paper, it feels like Christmas morning. Good, proper cheese just oozes quality. The aromas fill the kitchen with that farmhouse cheese smell and I love it. I taste every cheese that comes in. Of course I do. Some say cheese is an easy choice for dessert, but keeping cheese in perfect condition is harder than you think. Tasting is a big part of knowing where each cheese is on its journey to maturity and ripeness.

Needless to say, I eat cheese a lot. It’s the perfect snack to come home to after a hard day in the kitchen; filling and flavoursome. Some people don’t get it, but they are missing out I say. Perhaps because I was weaned on fromage from an early age, I just can’t imagine a life without proper farmhouse cheese. 

NEIL'S RECIPES: SAUTÉED COURGETTE, RADISH, LEMON, THYME AND GARLIC

“A simple courgette sauce is so simple but worthy of gracing any table. My dad always sautés them with garlic, sometimes a hint of chilli, but always in copious amounts of good olive oil. The smell of courgettes frying still reminds me of summers as a child messing about outside in the sun whilst dinner was being cooked. The garlic was crushed, and finely chopped, sometimes grown at home or brought back from holidays in the Dordogne. I was so lucky as a child to visit village markets in France, seeing fresh vegetables, peaches, goat’s cheeses and mushrooms. Back then I had never seen any in Britain, but now we have markets in most towns at weekends. What great progress.”

Serves 4 as a side dish
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 large or 2 smaller courgettes, cut on the slant
A handful of mixed garden radishes, red and white, quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
A few thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curly parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
Good salt and pepper
50ml good extra-virgin olive oil
A splash of water

METHOD

Get your favourite frying pan on the hob and bring it to a medium heat. Add the oil and courgettes then season with salt and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes until the they start to colour, then add the sliced garlic, radishes, thyme, lemon zest and a splash of water to stop the garlic from burning.

Give it a good stir then add the juice of the lemon. The courgettes should be just cooked and not too mushy but the radishes should have a crunch. Finish with a tablespoon of chopped curly parsley, give a final mix, then serve in side dishes.

NEIL'S RECIPES: CREAM, OATS, RASPBERRIES AND HONEY

“We all know this pudding as Cranachan, a favourite 70’s dinner party classic. It’s very rich and extremely tasty. The more berries you add ,the better it tastes!. For a richer whisky flavour, soak the oats in a wee drop of whisky overnight.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS 

750ml double cream

4 tablespoons runny honey

A handful of pinhead oats

A splash of whisky

A handful of raspberries

Mint leaves to garnish

METHOD

Whip the cream carefully to ribbon stage and chill for a while. Be careful not to over-whip the cream or it will turn into butter.

Meanwhile, toast the oats on metal tray under a grill, then allow to cool.

Add a splash of whisky to the raspberries and leave to macerate for 10 minutes.

Remove the cream from the fridge and add the honey, retaining a little for garnish. Then fold the oats and boozy berries into the cream.

To serve, either spoon into a glass and decorate with a drizzle of honey, or place in one large serving bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour or two until your guests arrive. Garnish with a few mint leaves if you like.

STORE CUPBOARD QUICHE IN 5 EASY STEPS

“One of the lovely things about being at home more during lockdown is having the time to make and enjoy quiche. It’s a bit out of fashion these days, but in my mind, a simple quiche ticks lots of boxes. It’s easy to make, it’s filling, it’s nutritious and it can be scoffed as a snack or served with a salad and soup for lunch. With two teenage boys at home, a quiche never lasts long, but it’s always savoured.”

STEP ONE

Gather your ingredients (see below). Heat oven to 150/160℃.

STEP TWO

Fry the onions in a little olive oil and salt for 5 minutes on a moderate heat, stirring regularly.

STEP THREE

Make the filling by whisking together the cream and eggs with some seasoning.

STEP FOUR

Assemble the quiche by adding the softened red onions, peppers, spring onions, grated cheese, cream cheese and peppers to the prepared tart case. Then pour over the filling.

STEP FIVE

Bake the quiche for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to rest and serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS LIST

1 red onion, sliced

300ml double cream

4 eggs

100g grated goats’ cheese, or whatever you like. I've used Errington’s Tinto.

1 large spring onion, chopped

1 small red pepper, finely chopped

1 tablespoon cream cheese

Good salt and pepper

A blind-baked pastry crust, in a bottomless tart case

NEIL'S RECIPES: CRISPY LAMB BELLY

“Lamb belly is one of my favourite cheap cuts. This recipe is taken from a wonderful old cook, Ruth Mott, an inspiration. Crispy on the outside and moist, sweet, tender and packed full of flavour inside. I often serve these little ‘cakes’ as a garnish with a few slices of roast lamb and wilted greens, but they’re so good on their own, and brilliant with new-season radishes. The capers help to cut through the richness of the meat, whilst the homemade mayonnaise brings it all together. I saw Ruth Mott making a version of this dish using leftover slices of mutton, rolled through flour, eggwash and breadcrumbs then pan fried in a little oil and butter. It’s just good.”

INGREDIENTS

1 lamb belly, boned and skin removed, rolled and tied with string

250g duck fat

4 eggs

50g plain flour

200g breadcrumbs or panko crumbs

1 tablespoon of capers

A splash of vinegar

1 tablespoon Arran mustard

100ml rapeseed oil

100ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil

Good salt and pepper

Juice of half a lemon

25ml oil for frying

50g butter

A bunch of French Breakfast radishes

2 tablespoons capers

METHOD

Firstly, melt the duck fat in an oven-proof dish deep enough to house the rolled belly. When melted, add the belly and cover with tin foil and confit for 3 to 4 hours at 150°C.

When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Then remove the string and roll in cling film and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up - it should look like a sausage. Once it’s properly chilled, remove the cling film and slice into 1cm thick discs.

Whisk 2 of the eggs and season. Then roll the discs of lamb through the flour, then the egg wash, then the breadcrumbs. Set to one side. 

To make the mayonnaise, whisk the 2 egg yolks with a tablespoon of mustard and a splash of vinegar until it increases in volume, then slowly trickle in the rapeseed oil and the cold-pressed rapeseed oil, a little at a time, as you whisk. Season with salt and pepper and add a little lemon juice if you like.

To cook the lamb, place a frying pan on a moderate heat on the hob and add 25ml of oil. Heat gently and add the lamb discs a few at a time, with a little nob of butter each time. Fry on both sides until golden and crispy, they should take about 4 to 5 minutes each side. Don't over colour them. 

To serve, place 2 to 3 discs of lamb per person on each plate and dress with a generous serving of mayonnaise, several whole radishes and a sprinkling of capers. Finish with a pinch of good salt. Delicious.

NEIL'S RECIPES: CHOU FARCI

“Oh this is good! Classic and very French. I look on this dish as ‘’do whatever you feel “ with regards to the stuffing. Sometimes I use a mixture of offal and pork mince, but other times I use game mince and black pudding. Here, I’ve opted for Peelham Farm organic chorizo as the key flavour. Use up some store cupboard things like a spoon of mustard, a kick of a spice, or whatever herbs you may have in the fridge. Even horseradish would work if you find any scrapings in a jar in the fridge.”

Serves 2 
Prep time: 30 minutes; cooking time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

2 large outer leaves from a Savoy cabbage

150g minced pork belly, nice and fatty

1 large tablespoon Peelham Farm organic chorizo, small dice

1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Good salt and pepper

2 6-inch-square pieces of crepinette or pig’s caul, it’s the lining of the intestine and is used like a sausage skin, if you can’t get this don’t worry

1 tin good chopped tomatoes or passata

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic

500ml beef stock

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1/2 small onion (for the stock)

A sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

METHOD

Begin by blanching the cabbage leaves in salted, boiling water for 4 minutes. Then refresh in cold water. Set aside.

To make the stuffing, mix the mince and chorizo together in a bowl with the mustard, half the red onion, breadcrumbs, parsley and seasoning. Once mixed, form into 2 balls and wrap these in the crepinette ready for cooking.

Heat the oven to 200°C / Gas Mark 6

Place half the stock in an ovenproof pot with the onion half, thyme, bay leaf, carrot, garlic and celery. Then add the stuffing balls to the pot and bring to the boil on a moderate heat. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 1 hour, or until just cooked. Remove the pot from the oven and set to one side to cool slightly. 

Make a rich tomato sauce by sweating the remaining red onion in the olive oil until just soft before adding the garlic. Stir, then add the tomato purée and remaining stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes or passata. Return to a high heat, stir, season and cook until the sauce is quite thick.

Remove the stuffing balls from the stock and wrap them in the blanched cabbage leaves and place back into the stock. Some people wrap the cabbage in cling film to keep it in place, but I like a rustic approach. Cook the stuffed cabbage in the stock, covered with a lid, for 20 minutes or so.  Remove and drain. Serve on a bed of the rich tomato sauce.

NEIL'S RECIPES: CHARRED HISPI CABBAGE WITH WILD GARLIC

“These sweet brassicas are a delight to cook in a pot with some butter and seasoning, but the flavour you get from these tender cabbages is also astonishing when charred on a griddle or a bbq. It’s ok if they look overly charred, it adds such a lovely flavour. The wild garlic sauce is a brilliant way of making this dish sing. The crispy chicken skin is optional, but lovely.”

Serves 2

Prep time: 20 minutes; cooking time 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 medium-sized hispi cabbage, outer leaves removed, quartered

1 large handful wild garlic

1 tablespoon toasted hazelnuts

1 tablespoon grated hard cheese, like a strong cheddar

200ml good extra-virgin olive oil

Skin from 1 chicken

Good salt and pepper

A few wild leeks, blanched

1 egg, soft-boiled for 4 minutes, cold

METHOD

Heat the oven to 160°C / Gas Mark 3

Season the chicken skin and rub all over with a little oil. Lay flat between 2 baking trays and bake in the oven until crisp and golden, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

Season the quartered cabbage and place cut-side-down on a moderately hot griddle. Cook until charred, about 10 minutes, before flipping over to cook the other cut side. Turn the heat up and down as you cook and season as you go along.

Make a pesto by placing the cheese, hazelnuts, 75ml of oil and a third of the wild garlic in a liquidiser. Season and blitz until a paste forms. You may need a little more oil.

Rinse out the liquidiser and use it next to make a sauce. Add the remaining oil and wild garlic plus a pinch of salt and blitz until the oil turns a vibrant green. Remove and pass through a fine sieve. Clean the liquidiser and add the egg and seasoning. Blitz the egg, and as it’s blending trickle in the wild garlic oil to make a sauce with the texture of mayonnaise.

To serve, arrange 2 pieces of cabbage on each plate and top with the wild leeks. Drizzle over the pesto and wild garlic sauce. Garnish with shards of crispy chicken skin.