Smoked eel with leek, potato and watercress velouté

Begin by skinning a smoked eel. Lay the eel on a clean work surface with its backbone facing upwards. Using a sharp knife, pierce the skin about halfway down the eel beside the backbone and guide the knife along the backbone towards the tail

Run the knife back to the centre of the eel and along the gut cavity to the head. Cut away the fillet from the head, then cut below the backbone, lifting it away from the bottom fillet

Lay the fillets skin side down. Starting from the tail, scrape the meat away from the skin using a large spoon and set to one side, reserving the skin for the velouté

To make the watercress velouté, cook a potato and a roughly chopped leek in 150 ml chicken stock, 75 ml cream and 150 ml dry white wine in a large casserole pot. Add the eel skin and cook until the potatoes are soft, then remove the eel skin and add 100 gr the watercress to the pan. Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside, keeping warm until ready to serve.

To prepare the pink truffel potatoes, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook 2 potatoes until tender. Drain and leave to cool a little, then cut the potatoes into 4mm discs

Bring a medium pan of salted water to the boil and 2 baby leeks (or spring onions) Cook until tender, then drain and refresh in iced water. Cut the leeks into 1 inch pieces and set aside until ready to serve

Cut the eel into small, even pieces 

When ready to serve, reheat the watercress velouté if required and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Using a stick blender, blitz the velouté a little to create a foamy consistency. In a separate pan, blanch the baby leeks in hot water to reheat 

To serve, divide the potato slices between serving bowls and top each with a piece of eel and warm baby leek. Pour over the foamy watercress velouté and garnish with caviar, chopped chives and a small handful of watercress

(Based on a recipe by Aaron Patterson on Great British Chefs)

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McChicken (2). But better: livers, brioche, whisky cream sauce

Begin by cleaning a couple of chicken livers and removing any small pieces of sinew or loose flesh

Coat the base of a frying pan with oil and place over a high heat. Dust the livers with flour and caramelise until golden brown on both sides  - they should be slightly pink in the middle. Season with S&P. Remove from the pan and rest in a warm place

Add 20 gr butter to the same pan with a chopped shallot and sweat until soft. Add 50 ml whisky, reduce until almost dry, then add 100 ml brown chicken stock and reduce again by half.

Finish the whisky sauce with 50 ml crême fraiche and reduce the sauce until it thickens slightly to the right consistency. Season with salt to taste and leave in a warm place.

To prepare the brioche, trim the crusts from the slices and each slice into neat rectangles (or circles). Put under a hot grill until golden brown on each side. 

Before serving, reheat the sauce and finish with chives, parsley and a small dash of lemon juice. Place the warm livers on the toasted brioche and sauce generously.

(Based on a recipe by Dominic Chapman on Great British Chefs)

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Smoked duck breast and mushroom salad

For the dressing, a dash of olive oil into a small pan and place on a medium heat. Add a brunoised shallot with the salt, pepper, a clove of garlic, a pinch of thyme and a bay leaf and cook until the shallots are translucent

Add 100 ml of dry Madeira and 80 ml balsamic vinegar and reduce to 100ml. Add 25 ml olive oil then leave to cool and place in the fridge - the longer you leave it the richer the flavour will be 

To pickle the mushrooms, combine 85 ml water, 35 ml sweet white wine, 25 ml white wine vinegar, a tsp salt, a tbsp caster sugar, a bay leaf, 3 black peppercorns and 35 ml olive oil in a pan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add a thickly sliced portobello mushroom and cook for 90 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent towel

For the baked mushrooms, mix 2 thinly sliced  portobello mushrooms with 35 ml olive oil, a tbsp balsamic vinegar, tsp thyme leaves,  tsp rosemary, salt and pepper. Place on a tray and roast in the oven set to 180°C 12-14 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature and cut in half.

Divide the mushrooms between plates and add 100 gr baby spinach leaves  and thinly sliced smoked duck breast. Drizzle with more of the dressing and serve with some croutons.

Finish with thinly sliced toasted bread.

(Here the original recipe by Tom Aikens on Great British Chefs)

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Scallop, brown butter, pink grapefruit and tarragon

      Place 80 gr butter in a small pan over a medium heat. Cook until the solids       

      start to caramelise and turn a nutty brown. Pass through a fine sieve and 

      reserve in a warm place

Segment a grapefruit by cutting away the skin and pith down to the flesh, then slice the segments out of their skins (do this over a bowl to collect any juice). Place 3 large segments or 4 small ones into the warm butter

Place a non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Season your scallops with salt, presentation-side up. Once the pan is smoking hot, add a splash of the brown butter and place the scallops presentation-side down in the pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes, then flip over, add another spoon of the brown butter and baste the scallops for a further minute

Remove the scallops from the pan and leave to rest on kitchen paper for a minute

Stir the butter dressing – the grapefruit segments should have separated into individual pearls. Add chopped tarragon, taste and season with salt and some of the collected grapefruit juice (if needed)

Serve as shown and spoon over the warm dressing. Serve immediately

(Recipe by Pollyanna Coupland on Great British Chefs)

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McChicken. Well, sort of....

Pre heat the oven at 200° C.

For the sautéed chicken livers, roll a couple livers in flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and shake off the excess.

Put 2 frozen rösti in the oven and bake for 15 mins.

After 10 mins melt 25 gr butter in a frying pan and when it begins to foam, add the chicken livers and fry for about 60 seconds on each side. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Place a cooked beetroot into a mini food processor, add a tbsp of cream and blend to a smooth consistency. Add 1/4 tsp of curry Madras and a pinch of salt.

In a frying pan fry some slices of Serano ham until crisp. Remove from the heat and place on kitchen paper to drain off excess fat

Heat the olive oil in the same frying pan, add a finely cut clove of garlic and fry for one minute, add 125 gr baby spinach leaves and stir until wilted. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the potato rösti in the middle of a serving plate, place the wilted spinach on top and then the crispy ham. Spoon the puréed beetroot round the edge of the plate,  then place the chicken liver(s) on top

(To make your own rösti: here's the original recipe by Galton Blackiston on Great British Chefs)

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Scampi salad, orange sauce.

Peel 5 scampi's pp. Bring 250 ml fish stock to the boil, with the juice of 3 oranges, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 100 ml dessert wine and the shells of the scampi. Reduce till 1/3 is left. Add 100 ml cream and reduce to a thick sauce. Taste and add salt&pepper.

Remove the rind and pith of an orange then take out the segments by carefully cutting along the membranes (pelé a vif). 

Cut 2 carrots, 1 cellery stick,  5 cm of a cucumber and 50 gr celeriac in a julienne. 

Wash 50 gr beansprouts.

Blanche the carrot and celeriac for 2 mins, they should stay crispy.

Then stir fry all veggies, stir fry the beansprouts separately and fry the scampi's.
Serve as shown.

(Recipe Didier Bolle)   

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Sea bass, marinated orange

Fry 1/2 tsp grated ginger and 1/2 tsp hacked lemon grass in 1 tbsp olive oil till they start to smell. Add 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, the juice of 1/2 orange, 30 ml coconut milk, 1/4 tsp curcuma, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, a knifepoint of sambal oelek and simmer.

Remove the rind and pith of an orange then take out the segments by carefully cutting along the membranes (pelé a vif). 

In the meantime  bring the juice of a lime to the boil with  1 star anise, 2 cardamom pods, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1,5 tbsp sugar. Let it cool and use to marinate the orange segments.

Hack 1 tbsp cashew nuts and roast in a dry pan.

Cut 150 gr sea bass into cubes and poach in the orange juice and cocosnut milk sauce.

Serve a shown with the nuts and some coriander on top.

(njam.tv/recepten)

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