Crows Nest ‘Culinary Team’s’ Recipies

Lemon Tart

This is a true chef’s dessert. Pastry chefs will always choose this from a restaurant menu just to see how good the competition is. Getting the pastry nice and thin, cooking the filling so that it still has a sexy wobble and an audible crack of the sugar glaze on top.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 egg yolk
200g caster sugar
Lemon juice from 2 ½ lemons
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
125ml double cream
20cm pre baked pastry base – available
at all good supermarkets
Method

1. Beat the Eggs, Egg Yolk and Sugar together.
2. Incorporate the Lemon Juice and Zest
3. Bring the Cream to the boil in a sauce pan.
4. Slowly incorporate the boiled cream to the Egg mix, gently mixing all the ingredients together.
5. Pour the mix into a pre-bake pastry case
6. Bake in pre-heated oven at 125ºC
7. The lemon tart is ready

Chef’s Tip

The secret of a really goodlemon tart isthat the fillingshould be firmand clear and the pastry light and crisp.It should never be cut immediately afterit is cooked as it needs time to cool andset for at least an hour, or the filling willbe too runny. If you can get your handson a chef’s blow torch all the better.

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Smoked Salmon and Prawn Roulade

Ingredients

Roulade
8 slices Smoked Salmon
200g Cooked Prawns
50g Cream Cheese
1/2 cucumber
2 Shallots
Herbs (Chives/Fennel)
Cucumber Pickle
1 Cucumber
1 medium size White Onion
100g Sugar
200ml Cider Vinegar
Salt
Dill

Method

For the Roulade
1. Peel and deseed the cucumber. Peel the shallot and finely dice. Chop the herbs.
2. Mix the prawns, herbs, cucumber and shallot in a bowl with the cream cheese. Give a nice pinch of salt, crack of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon, to enhance the flavours.
3. Lay out a sheet of cling film on a chopping board. Lay two generous slices of smoked salmon on the cling film (so that it’s roughly square shaped).
4. Put prawn mix in the centre of salmon so that it is sausage shaped. Roll the salmon around the prawn mix using the cling film to help. The whole mix should resemble a thick sausage. Tie the cling film at both ends and chill the roulade until ready to serve.

For the Pickle
1. Thinly slice the cucumber and the onion and mix together.
2. Add the dill and season with salt and pepper generously.
3. Add sugar and mix again, then finally add the cider vinegar.
4. There should be enough vinegar to dissolve all the sugar. Cover the cucumber and allow the flavours to develop for at least 24 hours in a cool place. More vinegar or sugar may be added depending on taste.

Chef’s Tip

This is a nice and simplepickle recipe. Anumber of ingredientsmayalso be added; wholegrain mustard,cloves, turmeric or any number ofherbs. Once you’re happy with thebasic recipe you can flavour the pickleanyway you want. If you have a glut ofcucumbers why not get some snap-topjars and fill your larder cupboard.

Crows Nest, Rushbrooke Links, Rushbrooke, Cobh, Co. Cork Tel. 021 481 6597 Email. jmurphy@crowsnest.ie