Since my trip to Isle of Barra I’ve been cooking with cockles regularly in my kitchens. They’re a fantastic ingredient and have so much potential but unfortunately they’re still very underused.
This dish will turn an ordinary barbecue into something really special. If you’re looking for that ‘wow’ dish to serve your guests then this is the dish for you.
Beef cheeks have numerous uses and the recipe possibilities are endless. You can marinate them in red wine, cook them with tomatoes and mushrooms, enjoy them braised or boiled, turn them into rillettes or even a terrine. A very famous Parisian recipe is the Boeuf Mironton - leftover beef cheeks pot au feu cooked a la Mironton.
Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in Italy initially founded Slow Food during the 1980s with the aim of defending regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life. In over two decades of history, the movement has evolved to embrace a comprehensive approach to food that recognises the strong connections between plate, planet, people, politics and culture.
Each year at the end of May my mum would drive to Bourgeuil, a little town famous for its wines but also for its white and purple asparagus. My brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, grandmothers, neighbours and close friends would all go with my mum to get the first asparagus of the year. It had to be the first crop as that was the best, my family would never settle for anything less. My mum would bring home at least 12 to 20 kilos of asparagus and my dad would peel them and sterilise them into Le Parfait jars so we could eat them all year round.
We have now been using them for the last two and a half years at both L'escargot restaurants. They are: Scottish, extremely nutritious, organic, sustainable and flavoursome. They are also free from any pesticides, weed killer and any other toxin and even better, they can be free (if you pick them yourself). Of course they come at a price at the restaurants.
I buy a lot of poultry from Gartmorn Farm in Perthshire. Roger and Sue, who run it, have always been brilliant at supplying different things to us. I often ask them to keep me all those little bits from different animals that no one else wants and I have also managed to persuade them to collect duck blood for me, which is why I've created this recipe for you today.
As many of you know, we've been serving horse meat at L'escargot bleu since 2010 and we've never looked back. It's cooked in many different ways and it's very popular with our customers.
Instead, I've been cooking with goat and so far my favourite dish has been goat ragout served with goat kebabs. It's a simple recipe, which is bursting full of flavour and is the perfect comfort food for these cold winter nights.
The world of desserts has expanded a considerable amount so now your choice is endless and if you can't decide on one why not offer two or three desserts instead? So how about this year, steer clear of the traditional Christmas pudding and surprise your guests with a showstopper dessert that is sure to impress around the dinner table.
