Added April 26, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Corrigan’s Mayfair
Finally it feels like spring has sprung!
Which is just in time as we’re dedicating the whole of May to blossom, buds, blooms and bouquets; as we welcome the Chelsea flower show.
We’ll be offering a host of events throughout the month and a unique display will adorn our entrance on Upper Grosvenor Street.
Click here to see our main page which details everything that’s going on throughout the month.
Complimentary Cookery Demonstrations, Cookery School, Market Lunch Menu & Tasting Menu.
Why not try using flowers at home in every day cooking with this recipe from Richard Corrigan;
2kg leg of lamb, on the bone
1 small bunch of lavender
5 sprigs of rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1 small jar of honey
300g salt
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Remove the lavender buds from the stalks and add to the honey.
Pull the rosemary leaves from the stalks and place in blender with the garlic cloves and salt. Blitz together (or use a pestle and mortar) .
Rub the lamb all over with the salt and place in a roasting tray.
Cover with foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes. After which remove the foil and leave to roast for a further 40 minutes (for medium).
Pour over the lavender and honey, return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Remove the lamb and leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes, with some foil on top to keep it warm.
Serve with the pan juices and spring vegetables
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Added February 18, 2013 at 10:56 am
With Mother’s day around the corner we’re sampling some alternatives to champagne; the more traditional celebratory choice.
We journey over to Italy’s Piedmont region and the Contratto estate, where a sparkling wine can be found; we recommend trying the 2007 Contratto Millesimato Metodo Classico ‘La Spinetta’- which features on the wine list at Bentley’s.
Ideal as an aperitif, or to accompany oysters and seafood, the estate has a rich history:
Giuseppe Contratto founded Contratto in 1867. This beautiful Estate was in the family’s hands for 126 years. In 2011, Giorgio Rivetti and the team of La Spinetta were able to take ownership of this understated jewel with the goal of reviving Contratto to its former glory. The winery has a long, distinguished history. Contratto is the oldest producer of sparkling wine in Italy. In fact the 1919 Contratto Extra Brut was the first vintage “Metodo Classico” sparkling wine ever made in the country.
At the turn of the 20th century, Contratto’s wines were one of the premier sources of sparkling wine in Royal houses around the world. Contratto was the personal supplier to the Vatican, as well as the Italian royal family. The historical Estate has breathtaking cellars carved into the tufa limestone hillside that 2 protects the small town of Canelli. These cathedral cellars are among the finest of their kind, excavated at a depth of 32 meters. The cellars maintain a constant annual temperature of 12°C and sufficient natural humidity. This ideal environment for bottle fermentation and maturation helps Contratto to craft wines of purity and complexity.
Mothering Sunday, Bentley’s
Mothering Sunday Corrigan’s
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Added January 29, 2013 at 12:41 pm
As part of our spice season Kate Spicer will join us in the kitchen for an impromptu cookery demonstration; 30th January.
Kate has chosen to share her Andhra Curry recipe, which features on our blog this week;
Ingredients
4-6 chicken thighs cut into chunks
2 dried red chilies
shredded curry leaves
2 tablespoons fried curry leaves
4 tbsp cashew paste (cashews mixed with water)
Marinade
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 large red dried chili, crumbled
1tsp turmeric
1tsp garam masala
combine a large tbsp of fresh ginger and large tsp of fresh garlic with some water and blend to a paste
3 tomatoes
150g thick fatty yoghurt
Lots of black pepper
Method
Combine all the marinade ingredients together and coat the chicken, leave for a few hours.
Tip the chicken into a frying pan and leave to simmer for ten minutes.
Add the cashew paste, chili, shredded curry leaves and stir.
Garnish with deep fried curry leaves.
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Added January 10, 2013 at 3:08 pm
All this month I’ll be celebrating Spice at Corrigan’s
Guests chefs will be joining us for cookery demonstrations, Fay Maschler, Dr Pixie McKenna and Kate Spicer will be showcasing their favourite spice inspired recipes…which we’ll be posting in our blog.
In the meantime here’s one of my favourites
RC
Steamed Black Sole with Crab, Coconut, Apple and Lemongrass
1 medium crab, cooked, claw meat removed and the body and shells reserved for the sauce
vegetable oil, for frying
1 Granny Smith apple
2 spring onions
1 small red chilli, deseeded
2 sprigs of mint
a small bunch of coriander, leaves picked, stalks and roots reserved for the sauce
juice of 1 lime
2 black (Dover) sole, skinned and filleted
Sauce:
2.5cm piece fresh ginger
2 sticks lemongrass
2 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
2 shallots, chopped
coriander stalks and roots
2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
Start making the sauce. Put the ginger, lemongrass, garlic, chillies, shallots and coriander stalks into a blender and blend to a paste.
Smash up the crab shells and fry them in a large saucepan with a little vegetable oil until they are nicely coloured.
Carefully open the tins of coconut milk (do not shake them, and keep them right way up). Spoon the cream from the top of the tins into a wok or large saucepan. At the same time, add the coconut water from the tins to the pan with the crab shells, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
‘While the shells are simmering, heat the coconut cream over a gentle heat and let it melt. Add the spicy paste and cook gently for a couple of minutes until the spices release their aromas, taking care that the mixture doesn’t catch and burn (if you are worried, you can add a touch of vegetable oil).
Tip the contents of the crab pan into the wok or pan with the paste, and well to combine. Simmer together for 5 minutes, then pass through a sieve. Check the seasoning and keep on one side.
Meanwhile, put the white crab meat into a bowl, checking carefully for any bits of shell.
Peel and grate the apple, finely chop the spring onions and chilli, and chop mint and coriander (reserving a few leaves of each).
Add all of this to the crab meat mix well and season with a little salt. Add lime juice to taste, keeping some back for the sauce.
Lay the sole fillets flat with the skinned side upwards. Season lightly with salt and a little black pepper.
Place a spoonful of the crab mixture on each fillet, roll up tightly and secure with a cocktail stick.
Put the rolled up fillets on a plate, place in a steamer and cook for 8—10 minutes. Remove the cocktail stick from one of the fillets and make sure it is hot in the middle, which will tell you that everything is cooked through.
When the sole is almost ready, heat up the sauce and add lime juice to taste plus the reserved mint and coriander leaves.
Arrange the stuffed sole fillets on plates and serve with the sauce.
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Added December 12, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Tradition, family and feasting are pretty much the key drivers in our house. The fewer agendas in play the better really. But we all like turkey – what’s not to like? I suppose somebody has to drive things forwards towards some kind of conclusion so I’m nominally in charge but to be honest it all kind of happens. I wish this kind of day was more common really, because the idea of giving over so many hours to preparing and cooking food, chatting and eating is pretty close to nirvana. Am I passionate about any one thing? Probably the potatoes. A good roast potato is a thing of beauty. It needs to be buttery golden on the outside with a hint of turkey fat and fluffy and elegant on the inside. There is skill that goes into a good roast spud and its never easy because for all the references to spuds there are so many varieties and even within varieties you get enormous variations depending on storage and age etc.
So we might start with some oysters. Some like champagne but I prefer Picpoul (we serve a very nice one in the bar at Bentley’s). Then a gap and a reviving glass of champagne and some goujons of sole with egg mayonnaise (a particular favourite). After that it will be Frank Hederman’s smoked salmon, lots of it with lemon and soda bread (baked that morning). I do love a bit of tradition. After that we focus on turkey and the aforementioned roast spuds, good gravy and. Well after that it depends. Red cabbage I love, Brussels sprout maybe sautéed with spices and chestnuts. we had devils on horseback one year which was fun. I love buttered cabbage. Bread sauce is a must.
I find Christmas pudding is just too much so we usually nibble away on fruits and cheeses like Cashel Blue and Ardrahan. That can take some time as there are usually various bottles to open as we work out which wines is best with which cheese (a pointless exercise as we can never decide).
After that its mince pies and ice-cream. Hardly light I know, but hey, it’s Christmas
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