This has to be one of my favourite dishes as it uses the best of ingredients – local pork belly and French langoustines – and the combinations of flavour between the pork belly, the sweetest langoustine then the sharpness of the apple and vanilla purée work fantastically well together.
Ingredients
Langoustines
Vegetable oil
12 fresh langoustines, peeledand cleaned
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
50g butter
Apple and vanilla purée
1kg apples
200g caster sugar
50g butter
1 vanilla pod
Juice of 1 lemon
Pork bacon
4 slices pork belly
Vegetable oil
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp veal jus
1 dash sherry vinegar
Sautéed spinach
200g spinach
1 knob of butter
1 pinch of salt
1 squeeze of lemon juice
Langoustine jus
1kg langoustine/lobster carcasses
1 carrot
1 leek
1 clove garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 star anise
100ml brandy
2 tbsp tomato purée
950ml fish stock
950ml veal jus
Veal jus
5kg fresh veal bones
1 onion
1 leek
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
2 dsps tomato purée
75cl red wine
Herb oil
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch basil
1 bunch chervil
300ml vegetable oil
Salt
To serve
4 slices Parma ham
4 slices crispy pancetta
Langoustine jus
Baby cress
2 whole Brazil nuts
Herb oil
Method
Apple and vanilla purée
Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the core. Roughly cut them up into 1cm pieces and place in a solid-based saucepan with the sugar and butter and sauté until soft, then add the vanilla pod and lemon juice.Remove the vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and place them back in with the apples. Transfer to a food processor and blend until silky smooth.
Pork bacon
Sauté the pork belly in a medium-hot thick-bottomed pan with a little vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides; add the maple syrup and veal jus followed by the sherry vinegar – mix well together, making sure the pork belly is well covered in the juice, then set to one side.
Sautéed spinach
Wilt the spinach in a pan with the butter, salt and lemon juice then also set aside.
Langoustines
In the same pan add a few drops of vegetable oil. Place the langoustines into the pan and sauté for around 1 minute on each side until light golden brown; season, add the lemon juice and butter, and remove from the heat.
To serve
Using a spoon make a drag of the apple and vanilla purée on each serving plate and place a slice of the pork bacon in the centre of that. Place on top of the pork bacon a little of the sautéed spinach followed by the langoustines, three on each. Lay across the langoustine a slice of Parma ham and top that with some baby cress.Using a truffle slice shave the Brazil nuts all over, drizzle a little herb oil and a few drops of the langoustine jus around the plate and serve straightaway.
Langoustine jus
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the langoustines or lobsters into a tray and place into the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the tray onto the heat. Peel and chop the vegetables and garlic and add to the tray with the langoustines/ lobsters, thyme and star anise and fry them until the vegetables take on a bit of colour. Add the brandy followed by the purée and mix together well. Pour all of this into a stock pan and add the fish stock and the veal jus. Bring slowly up to the boil and skim with a ladle to remove any impurities that are on top. Turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 2 hours. Pour off the liquid and pass this through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Place the pan onto the heat and gently reduce the stock until it resembles the consistency of gravy. Pour into a sealed container and either freeze or store in the fridge. It will keep for 3 to 4 days.
Veal jus
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the bones into a high-sided roasting tray and place into the oven until golden brown, around 20 minutes. Remove the bones from the tray and place into a large stock pan. Peel and chop the vegetables and add them along with the bay leaf to the roasting tray used for the bones. Place the pan containing the vegetables onto the heat and stir around until they start to turn brown then add the tomato purée and the wine. Stir this together well and then add to the bones. Top the saucepan up until the water just covers the bones and gently bring the stock up to the boil, skimming with a ladle all the time to remove any impurities that float to the top. Gently simmer the stock for 8 hours, skimming all the time. Pass the stock through a fine sieve or muslin if you have it and pour the liquid back into a clean saucepan. Reduce slowly until the liquid is a gravy consistency. Reserve in the fridge (it will keep for 4 to 5 days) or freezer until needed.
Herb oil
Blanch the herbs in a saucepan of boiling water for 10-15 seconds then remove and immediately immerse in ice-cold water. Remove and wring dry in a cloth. Place the herbs into a liquidiser with the vegetable oil and salt and blend for 5 minutes. Remove from the blender and pour into a cloth and allow the oil to drip through. Once all the oil has dripped through place into a container in the fridge until required. This will keep for a couple of days.
To serve
Using a spoon make a drag of the apple and vanilla purée on each serving plate and place a slice of the pork bacon in the centre of that. Place on top of the pork bacon a little of the sautéed spinach followed by the langoustines, three on each. Lay across the langoustine a slice of Parma ham and top that with some baby cress.Using a truffle slice shave the Brazil nuts all over, drizzle a little herb oil and a few drops of the langoustine jus around the plate and serve straightaway.
Following the success of the inauguralEat JerseyFood Festival last year,we are delighted to announce that the eventwill once again be running for 2016.
From Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 November, Executive Head Chef Mark Jordan will be joined for a second year at The Atlantic Hotel,by a prestigious line-up of 11 renowned chefs from the Channel Islands and Britain in a celebration of the gourmet produce and fine-dining in Jersey.