Panna cotta with raspberry coulis

My very favourite dessert and so simple to prepare!  Be sure to use enough vanilla, there should definitely be more than just a hint of it!  Tastes luxurious and there’s minimal effort required.  Always a crowd pleaser, so perfect for a dinner party!

Makes 2 large panna cotta

Ingredients:

For the raspberry coulis:

250g of fresh or frozen raspberries
50g icing sugar

For the panna cotta:

75ml milk
300ml double cream
1 1/2 vanilla pods
1 1/2 sheets gelatine
40g icing sugar

Method:

Raspberry Coulis:

• Add the raspberries and icing sugar to a blender and blend until smooth (if the mixture is a little thick, add a tbsp. of cold water).

• Pass the mixture through a fine sieve over a jug and allow to cool.  Serve cold or slightly heated with the panna cotta.

Panna cotta:

• Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water.  Keep in the water until required.
• Pour the milk and two-thirds of the cream into a saucepan. Cut the vanilla pods in half, scrape out the black seeds and put them, along with the pods into the cream. Simmer gently for 5-6 minutes. The mixture will reduce slightly.

• Remove from the cream mixture from the heat and discard the vanilla pods.  Add the softened gelatine to the mixture.
• Fold the icing sugar into the remaining cream and add to the cream mixture.  Now pour the mixture through a fine sieve over a jug.  Pour the mixture into ramekins.  Allow to cool and refrigerate, ideally overnight.

• Serve either straight from the ramekin with the coulis on the side or serve the classic way by dipping the ramekin in hot water for a few seconds and then turn out onto a plate and pour the coulis around it.

Chicken Pie

Ahhh, the humble chicken pie!  I have an undying love for this dish and the ingredients it contains!

I had a good look at a number of different chefs versions of this classic and most looked mouth-watering, but only very few combined all the ingredients that I would deem MUST go into a chicken pie – double cream, white wine, rich stock, bacon, leek and mushrooms!  So I’ve come up with my own version and combined them all!  Warning, your kitchen will never smell as good when cooking this dish!  ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 400g of chicken
• 100g of leek, trimmed and sliced
• 2 rashers of smoked bacon
• 120g of mushrooms
• 25g of butter
• 250ml of chicken stock
• 125ml of white wine
• 300ml of double cream
• 1 tbsp of garlic infused olive oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• salt to season
• black pepper to season
• sheet of puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

Method:

• Pre-heat an oven to 200c/Gas mark 6.
• Add 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil to a frying pan and set to a high heat.  Cover the diced chicken in flour, season with salt and black pepper.  Dust of the excess flour and add to the hot pan.  Brown the chicken all over but be careful not to over cook.  Set aside.

• In a large saucepan, heat some olive oil and bring to a medium heat.  Add the leeks and bacon and cook for one minute.  Add the mushrooms and the butter and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Add the stock, wine, double cream, thyme & bay leaves and bring to the boil.

• Once reduced by around a third, reduce the heat and add the chicken and keep cooking.  Once the sauce has thickened slightly, remove the bay leaves and thyme (be careful not to reduce too much or the sauce will become too thick as it still has a further 20mins cooking in the oven).

• Add the contents to a pie dish.  Cut a piece of puff pastry so it covers the pie dish and trim the edges for a neat finish.

• Cook for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown in colour.
• Serve on it’s own or with green beans and new potatoes.