Red Anywhere Catering » Recipes

Poached & Roasted Local Asparagus, Soft Duck Egg and Cured Parma Ham with Wild Cress Salad & Hollandaise Sauce

Dan Clarke — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:08:50 +0000

Ingredients (for one serving – multiply by appropriate number of servings required)

1 Free Range Duck Egg or Hen’s Egg
2 -3 Slices Cured Parma Ham
3 Medium Spears of Asparagus
1 small handful wild cress salad
50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Good pinch of Salt and Pepper
3 Egg Yolks (for the Hollandaise sauce)
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 packet unsalted Butter (should be enough for 4 servings easily)
N.B. You’ll need a total of 4 eggs for each serving – 3 yolks for the Hollandaise sauce and 1 soft boiled

Method

Snap the Asparagus spears at the root end using your thumb and finger. They will snap at the “tenderness point”.
Place the Asparagus into boiling salted water for approx 3 minutes or until tender (important not to overcook and use plenty of salt).
Plunge the Asparagus into ICE cold water and leave.
Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the eggs for soft boiling.
Simmer for 5 minutes depending on egg size (water must simmer and bubble otherwise egg will not cook evenly).
Take the pan off the heat and leave the eggs in the water for 20 minutes.
Remove eggs from pan aside from the ones you will keep soft boiled for each serving and whisk egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl over hot water for 2 minutes until egg thickens (make sure bowl does not touch the water as this will scramble the egg yolk and be no good.
Add White Wine vinegar and a little warm water (1 tblsp) to the whisked egg in the bowl. This emulsifies the egg and vinegar and enables you to add the butter more easily.
When the mix has thickened, keep it warm (a gentle simmer will be sufficient).
Melt butter in microwave or in a pan. The butter must be warm, if cold it will spilt.
Add the butter carefully to the warmed egg mixture whilst whisking at all times.
Once all the butter has been added, take off heat, taste and season, adjust thickness if you wish with a little warm water.
Leave somewhere warm.

Presenting the dish

Dry off asparagus and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Peel egg under cold water, dry off and cut lengthways (be careful as should be runny) and season egg with salt and pepper.
Arrange asparagus on plate, add cut egg, arrange salad cress with a little drizzle of Olive Oil, add Hollandaise over the asparagus or in a dish (as shown).

Poached & Roasted Local Asparagus, Soft Duck Egg and Cured Parma Ham with Wild Cress Salad & Hollandaise Sauce is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Football and Boerwors… What could be better?

Dan Clarke — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:04:40 +0000

Hi everyone, Will O’Hara here – Dan’s Sous Chef. Here is my latest blog… Enjoy!
The World cup 2010 is fast approaching and with less than two weeks to go, you may be planning a few gatherings or even a barbecue to enjoy the most celebrated sporting event in the world!

As the host of the world cup is South Africa, here is a little about the current day South African cuisine.
Many dishes eaten today are closely based on past times, such as Pap, an accompaniment made from maize and eaten much like rice, which was and is a native black African staple.
Bobotie, a spicy malay dish similar to shepherds pie is another popular dish along with Potjiekos which became an important dish during the Afrikaners great trek.
A popular south African pastime is the Braai, equivalent to our barbecue, which also dates back from the trekking days. All manner of fresh foods are cooked over coals and most surburben houses have a specific Braai area.
Here is a traditional South African dish, normally cooked on a Braai.
Boerwors, Pap en Sous
Boerewors is a specifically spiced whole meat sausage.
True wors has very little fillers and much more meat. This comes in thick and thin portions.
Cook your wors over a slowish fire until brown all the way through.
Pap
Pap is a Mielie based porridge. Add 3 cups of mielie pap to a cup of cold water until smooth, add another 3 cups and some salt. Place pot on stove and heat until the pap is hot. Add more water if necessary. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 1 hour stirring and adding more water (if necessary) every 10 minutes. Serve with sauce.
Sauce
Grate an apple
Finely chop an onion
Crush two cloves of garlic
Finely chop one tomato
Fry in olive oil
Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons soya sauce.
Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes
Flavour with salt and pepper
Cook until the onion is cooked and you have a thick sauce.
To serve: Place pap on plate, add a chunk of boerewors and top with sauce.
Enjoy…

Football and Boerwors… What could be better? is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Spice up your wedding… Paella Stands the way forward!

Will O'Hara — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:12:42 +0000

Spice up your wedding this summer, with Red Anywhere’s very much talked about Paella Stands!

As The Wedding season is in full flow now, more and more Bride and Grooms are wondering what to do for evening food, or even for their wedding breakfast, well that’s where the creativity and flair comes into play here at Red Anywhere, we offer Paella stands to really jazz up your special day whether it’s a wedding or a private party!

Red Anywhere can offer a large choice of delicious dishes, including Seafood Paella, Chicken or Beef Stir-fry, and even Slow cooked Ratatouille with crumbled Goats Cheese and fresh Basil, cooked to perfection by our team of Chefs in front of you and your guests, creating a great atmosphere and interaction with the Chefs, giving your event that extra WOW factor!!

Take a look at a couple of the pictures below.

Will O’Hara Sous Chef – Red Anywhere

Spice up your wedding… Paella Stands the way forward! is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Friday Feeling Cocktail – Nojito

Dan Clarke — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:36:10 +0000

I am just about to leave our HQ in Littlehampton to go and cook dinner for some clients in Chandlers Ford. When preparing their cocktail ingredients for tonight I thought ah… why not tell everyone else about this lovely non alcoholic cocktail… sorry for you hardcore drinkers… Alcohol in next weeks cocktail of the week.

Ok here we go…

The cocktail is called a Nojito. Its basically a Mojito (famous cocktail made with rum) without the Rum. Its very refreshing, full of Lime and Mint and has a Fizz to it which cleans the pallet leaving you wanting more… and perhaps a little Rum if you have some.

The recipes goes like this…

Juice of 1 Lime

12 x Mint Leaves

2oz Apple Juice (preferably pressed)

a little sugar

topped up with Lemonade or Soda

you should serve this in a High Ball or Long Glass with cubed ice and build the drink in the glass and stir.

hopefully you will love it!

let me know waht you think and how you get on..?

Friday Feeling Cocktail – Nojito is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Perfect Pancakes

Dan Clarke — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:57:04 +0000

We wanted to show you all how to cook the perfect pancake and also give you the recipe to do it!

Watch the video and get tossing!

Pancake Recipe

120g Plain Flour

Pinch Salt

2 eggs

1/2pt Milk

Nutmeg to Taste

Enjoy and thanks to Will for cooking! and thanks to Dan for filming, all in a days work of a Chef!

Let us know if you think you can cook the perfect pancake…. the best suggestion wins……….. a pancake!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Perfect Pancakes is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

The Perfect Hog Roast

Dan Clarke — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:38:12 +0000

I often get asked what makes a good Hog Roast!

Well in my opinion the ingredients, the drink and obviously the weather! We cater all over the South of England but already this year we have roasted more than 20 pigs, 5 lambs and served huge amounts of Sausages, Burgers, Steaks and Chickens.

We recently catered at our exclusive venue Eastland’s Estate where the bride and groom wanted a Hog Roast. We needed to cook 2 pigs for this event as there were 130 guests attending and a pig can feed around 60 guests comfortably.

The Hog

The pig comes prepared from our local butcher (Swandean Meats) and then we get the task of inserting a pole through the middle of it and putting all the clamps and braces on the pig to hold it in place when it cooks on the spit, this is a very important part of the preparation as if the pig is not on the pole properly it can split or come off when cooking and cause all kinds of problems!

We then rub the pig with water and salt to keep it moist and stop the pig from drying out and burning, we also score the meat in certain places, the belly, legs and shoulders to help crackle the skin.

The pig is then put onto the machine, these vary most of the modern ones have motors on them that turn the pig as it cooks. We hire our machines in from Classic Event Hire based in Rustington, Phil and Wayne are great guys and the they have invested in brand new machines this year…. they even have wheels on them so you can pull the machine around with ease!

the average cooking time is 6 hours depending on size, some larger pigs can take longer, I believe its always best to cook a little longer if unsure then be under cooked as RAW PORK is defiantly not good! we test by inserting a knife into the back legs and pushing it right in and then touching the tip of the knife to make sure its hot, if so then its cooked.

You are then ready to carve the pig, ideally if you can leave it for about an hour then the meat will rest and stay very moist as the juices are setting as the meat cools slightly….!!

We serve our hogs with Home Made Apple Sauce and Stuffing in a Bap with lots of exciting salads, chutneys and pickles…. perfect for that party or corporate entertaining

If you are looking for a Hog Roast then please get in touch, you will not be disappointed!

The Perfect Hog Roast is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Anyone for Pimm’s?

Dan Clarke — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:07:06 +0000

You either love it or hate it, I have to say I love it as did many of our guests that sampled it yesterday. We were asked to cater for a corporate company that wanted to take some of their staff out for the afternoon and play games, Drink Pimm’s and eat…. sounds like a good afternoons work!

The Venue was a cut field in Poynings, Near Hove in West Sussex. The surroundings were wonderful and the view was truly amazing which looked right across Devils Dyke and most of Sussex.

We were working with Pretty Clever Events or event partners who managed the event and set up a party marquee for the guests and arranged some entertainment and games for all of the staff to participate in, which they did! We then got down to the serious stuff……… Pimm’s

Red’s Perfect Pimm’s

50ml Pimm’s

4 x large strawberries cut in half

8 x leaves of mint – smashed

8 x slices of cucumber

2 x slices of orange

1/4 red apple – sliced

Lemonade and Cubed Ice

How to build….

1. Put all the fruit into a glass and add the Pimm’s, leave for as long as possible for the fruit and Pimm’s to marinade. The longer the better!!

2. When ready add cubed Ice and then top up with Lemonade.

3. Drink and Enjoy!

Tip…. Make sure you have plenty of fruit in the glass, this is what Pimm’s is all about, Always add ice first otherwise you add to much lemonade and the Pimm’s is too weak!

Our Clients enjoyed the Pimm’s and a few asked for the recipe hence the Blog!

If you have any questions or comments please do let me know

Dan

Anyone for Pimm’s? is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

Mojito Recipe – Classic Cuban Cocktail

Dan Clarke — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:14:18 +0000

I was lucky enough to work with a Cuban chef some time ago who talked about the ultimate Mojito recipe and that no other recipe would taste as good as his…. so what did we do?

We made his secret guarded Mojito recipe!

Ok here we go….

1 x Lime Cut into wedges

10 – 12 Fresh Mint Leaves

1 oz White Gomme (equal parts of sugar and water dissolved)

50ml Havana 7yr Old Rum (thats the Secret!)

Crushed Ice

Soda to top up

The final secret ingredient is a dash of Angoustoras bitters….! apparently thats how they make it in Cuba and I can assure you it taste awesome..!

Method.

Take a Hi Ball glass and place squeezed lime wedges and juice in bottom of glass, add gomme and fresh mint. Do not tear the mint just smash it between your hands to shock it this will then release the oils and not bruise it.

Muddle (press with a muddler or rolling pin) the mix slightly but do not crush, you want the drink to stay fresh!

Add crushed ice to 3/4 of the glass and then pour on 50ml Havana Rum.

Take a Cocktail spoon and give the drink a real good mix up and make sure all the lime and mint is stirred.

Add a little more ice and then top up with Soda, finish off with a dash of Angoustoras!

There you have it….. enjoy and drink moderately!!

Mojito Recipe – Classic Cuban Cocktail is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering

The “Ultimate” Crème Brulee Recipe

Adam — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:11:13 +0000

Crème Brulee is one of the hardest desserts to get right, basically it’s an egg custard that is cooked on a low heat to just set the mix, lots of flavours can be added and over the years I have played around with all different kinds of flavours. My favourite is White Chocolate & Vanilla.

I have used this recipe for over 15 years and it has yet to fail me!

The texture should be smooth and creamy but also light, so many times I have eaten crème brulee and its been runny or so hard you cannot get your spoon in it, also glazing the top is really important. I use a little castor sugar, making sure that it’s evenly spread over the brulee and then glaze until golden brown, but not too dark or it will be bitter.

Enjoy!

White Chocolate & Vanilla Crème Brulee
Makes 8
Gas Mark 3

5 Large Egg Yolks
4 oz Castor Sugar
1 pt Double Cream
2 oz White Chocolate
1 Vanilla Pod, Scrape out seeds

Method…

Place egg yolks and sugar in bowl and stir for 1 minute

Heat cream and vanilla in microwave until almost boiling

Pour hot cream and vanilla onto egg mix and stir all the time (do not use whisk as this will create air bubbles)

Add white chocolate and the heat of mix will melt chocolate and make mix velvety

Fill ramekins about ¾ the way up and place in tray and fill hot water around the moulds (Bain Marie) the water should just come up over half way on the ramekins.

Place in pre heated oven for 30 minutes

You are looking for a little wobble in the middle of the brulee (about the size of a 2p) when you have this turn oven off and leave in for 10 minutes.

Take out of oven and leave on side for 30 minutes in water

Take out and refrigerate for at least 6 hours

When ready sprinkle with castor sugar and glaze top with gas gun or grill

Dan’s Dish Tip: Serve Brulee with Raspberry Sorbet and maybe some crushed raspberries and shredded Mint.

The “Ultimate” Crème Brulee Recipe is a post from: Red Anywhere Catering