Alan Murchison

Twitter is a marvellous way for chefs, artisanal foodmakers, critics, and food bloggers to chat. Conversations are often random, and can run off in any direction, like quicksilver!

One of my favourites tweeters is the lovely Sarah from Brockhall Farm. Sarah has a herd of pure Saanen goats, and gorgeously white creatures they are… Using their free-range milk, Sarah makes a number of goats cheeses – the most prized of which is her Dutch Mistress. This is a full-flavoured, rindwashed Gouda style cheese – dense, rewarding and buttery with a lightly piquant finish from the rind – it’s normally aged for 8-16 weeks.

Amonst Sarah’s clients is Alan Murchison, owner of the 10in8 Group… If you read this blog you’ll know I’m a great admirer of Alan’s food, and particularly his book, which I reviewed here…

Such is the randomness of twitter that one night Sarah was discussing yorkshire puddings, and we were commenting on the fact that her puds must be so magnificent because she uses her goat’s milk. Sarah joked that her enormous pud wanted to be a Dutch Mistress Soufflé, and Elliott, the Head Chef at L’Ortolan sent us a quick picture of their Dutch Mistress soufflé.

Now, I couldn’t let the soufflé project continue without including a goats cheese entry, so many thanks to Alan for allowing me to post it here. Thanks also to Elliott for not only being kind enough to write it up for me, but for actually taking pictures for us as he was preparing the dish! And let’s face it, none of this is going to be possible without Sarah and her goats!

As this is a restaurant recipe, it does make 12!

Ingredients:
50g butter

50g flour
250ml milk
200g Dutch Mistress
50g gruyer or cheddar
1tbsp Dijon mustard
5 egg whites

Preparation:
Line 12 ramakins with soft butter, refridgerate and line again so you have a double layer of butter. Lightly dust with grated parmesan cheese and set aside. Set the oven to 180 degrees.

In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour, cook out for a few minutes. Slowly add the milk and cook out for a further 10mins.

While the mix is still hot, mix in the cheese and beat until smooth, keeping the mix warm so it melts, then mix in the mustard. Cool the base to room temperature.

Quarter fill a roasting tray (big enough to fit your ramekins) with boiling water.

Whisk the egg whites until they form a stiff peak, or you are confident you can turn the bowl upside down over your head without getting messy.

Take a quarter of the whisked whites and beat into the souffle base to loosen the mix, then gently fold half the remaining whites in so the mix becomes lighter, followed by the rest.

Spoon into the lined moulds 3/4 of the way to the top, place in the roasting tray and in the oven for 15 minutes.

If made properly… they should almost double in size. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the moulds.

De-mould the souffles when they have cooled. When you are ready to serve, reheat them by placing them back through the oven (sat on greaseproof paper so they don’t stick to the tray ) for 6 minutes or until hot all the way through.

Serve with poached figs, caramalised walnuts and dressed salad leaves.

You can either try the souffle at L’Ortolan, or you can visit Sarah on her stand at the Ludlow Food Market. Either way I hope you’ll try this recipe and let us know how you get on.

Here we have a mixture of the earthy depth of Perigord truffles and artichokes, the heady scent of white truffle oil, the softness depth of risotto and an incredible umami hit with the Parmesan. Continuing our truffle theme, and courtesy of the very lovely Alan Murchison:

Jerusalem artichoke & Perigord truffle risotto, white truffle and artichoke velouté

Ristotto Rice
50g shallot brunoise (very finely diced)
25g garlic purée
100g butter
150g arborio risotto rice
100ml dry white wine
450ml vegetable nage
75g Jerusalem artichoke purée
50g crème fraîche
50g Parmesan cheese

Garnish
12 cooked poivrade baby artichokes
50 slices of fresh Perigord truffle (yikes!)
100g pea shoots

Preparation
To make the risotto, sweat the shallots and garlic purée in the butter. Cook for 4-5 minutes without colouring. Stir in the risotto rice and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add half the vegetable nage and simmer over a gentle heat for 12 minutes, adding more nage as required. Remove from the heat when the rice still has a little bite. Pour onto a tray and spread out to allow the rice to cool evenly. Cover with cling film and set aside.

To finish the dish, gently heat the cooked risotto, adding the artichoke purée. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the rice is tender, then add the crème fraîche and Parmesan and season to taste.

For the artichoke velouté, heat the purée and add the steamed milk and truffle oil. Season and add the lemon juice.

Spoon the risotto rice into large metal rings. Carefully remove the rings, add the artichokes and sauce, then top with copious amounts of sliced truffle.

Other Components:
Jerusalem artichoke purée
1kg Jerusalem artichokes
600ml vegetable nage
400ml whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
peel the artichokes and chop into even size slices about 1cm thick. Place in a pan and cover with the vegetable nage and cream. Bring to the boil and simmer until very soft.

Lift the artichokes from the liquor and put in a Thermomix (or blender*). Blitz until smooth, adjusting the consistency with the leftover cooking liquor. Season to taste.

Vegetable Nage
2 large onions
3 sticks celery
1 bulb fennel
1 large leek
2 whole heads of garlic
100ml olive oil
750ml dry white wine
3 star anise
12 black peppercorns
6 white peppercorns
1 sprig rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
12 pink peppercorns
bunch of flat leaf parsley
bunch of tarragon

Method:
Finely chop all the vegetables and seat down in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes without colouring. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the herbs and spices and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse and cool. Strain and set aside.

Cooked Poivrade Baby Artichokes
3 lemons
2 litres of water
5g ascorbic acid
6 large baby poivrade artichokes with long stalks
1 large banana shallot, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
10 ml olive oil
100ml white wine
50 ml white wine vinegar
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns

Method:
Squeeze the lemons into a large bowl and add the water and the ascorbic acid.

Start preparing the artichokes by snapping off the outside leaves as close to their bases as possible. Keep removing outside leaves until you reach the lightest in colour and the most delicate inner leaves. Prepare all six artichokes to this stage. It is important to work quickly to prevent discolouration.

Peel the rough green skin from the artichoke head and stalk. Once the creamy white flesh has been exposed and there is no green left, submerge it in the acidulated. Repeat until all the artichokes are prepared. Cut the remaining leaves away to just expose the choke.

Lightly colour the shallot and garlic in a little olive oil. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and vinegar, and add the herbs and peppercorns. Place the artichokes in the pan and just cover with the acidulated water. Season to taste. Bring to the boil and simmer for three minutes, then allow to cool in the liquor.

* If using a blender, please note that hot liquids should not be blended with the lid tightly on, as a vacuum will be created, and the contents of the blender will end up all over your kitchen!

Please do buy Alan’s brilliant book – you can read my review of it here, and see more photo’s of his amazing dishes

L’Ortolan’s Hot Dutch Mistress Soufflés

Mr Murchison’s Truffle Odyssey…