Recipes of the Month from Choice Restaurant

We have selected three simple courses for you to cook from this months menu. Try Crab Cakes with Green Chilli Jam, Spring Lamb Shank with Root Vegetable and Soft Herb Broth and Apple & Shallot Relish to go with a Cheese Board of your choice.

Crab Cakes with Green Chilli Jam -
Crab Cakes
400g cooked Crab Claw Meat
2 Eggs
50g Breadcrumbs
25g chopped Chives
Pinch of Celery Salt
Pinch White Pepper
Ingredients (serves 4)

Mix the Crab Meat, Eggs, Breadcrumbs, chopped Chives and seasoning together. Once incorporated, shape into 12 equally sized balls and flatten down into small discs. Set aside in the
fridge for 30 minutes.

For the Chilli Jam
200g Green Chillies
75g Caster Sugar
100ml White Wine Vinegar
Dash of Olive Oil

To make the Chilli Jam, blitz the Chillis and Sugar together in a food processor (or very finely chop the Chillis and mix with the Sugar). Place in a pan, add the Vinegar and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat after the vinegar has reduced by half and set aside to cool. To cook the Crab Cakes, heat the Olive Oil in a frying pan and fry for 2 – 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with crisp salad leaves of your choice and the chilled Chilli Jam.

Spring Lamb Shank with Root Vegetable and Soft Herb Broth
4 Lamb Shank
1 bottle of Red Wine
3 large Carrots
2 Onions
1 head of Celery
Small bunch of chopped Chives
Ingredients (serves 4)

Pan-fry the Shanks to seal them Olive Oil until they have slightly browned all over, then place in a deep roasting tray on top of one Carrot, a roughly chopped Onion and ½ the Celery. Pour the red wine all over, add the Garlic bulb and cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and then foil, sealing the edges tightly. Put in a pre-heated oven at 170°C for 3 ½ hours.

The Broth -
Small bunch chopped Chervil
1 small tin of White Beans
100g fresh Peas
1 litre of Vegetable Stock
Dash of Olive Oil
1 Garlic Bulb

To make the broth, finely dice the remaining vegetables and sauté with the White Beans. Add the Vegetable Stock and simmer until the Carrots have softened. Add the fresh Peas and half the Chervil
and Chives. Season to taste and set aside. If not serving straight away, place in the fridge to cool.

To serve, spoon the Broth into a large bowl and place the Shank straight from the oven on top. Garnish with the remaining Herbs.

Cheese Chutney – Apple and Shallot
6 Cox’s Apples
3 Shallots
100g Caster Sugar
100ml White Wine Vinegar
5 Celery sticks

To make the Chutney, peel and dice the Apples into ½ cm cubes. Slice the Shallots into thin strips and finely chop the Celery. Sauté them in a saucepan for 3 – 4 minutes until they start to soften. Add
the Sugar and Vinegar and reduce by half. Cool before using.
The best Cheeseboards are a combination of three Cheeses e.g. a blue cheese, a hard cheese and a soft and creamy cheese.

Recommended cheeses: Blackstick Blue, Wensleydale, Welsh Goat’s Cheese, Somerset Brie

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Posted: Friday 7th May 2010
ID: 2934 - 482