World Wellness Weekend | Charred Tandoori Whole Roast Cauliflower

Argubly the best thing about summer is the al fresco get togethers and barbecuing to your heart's content. One of our Executive Chef's Aidan top tips for a great BBQ is boosting the flavour of your chosen meat with marinades and dry rubs, which you are best doing before cooking to get the most from the flavour. Check out our favourite recipes below for marinating!

House Rub Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 100g soft dark brown sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• 2tsp garlic powder
• 100g table salt
• 3tsp smoked paprika
• 6tsp paprika
• 1tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cayenne

METHOD

1. Toast the fennel, cumin, coriander & back peppercorns in a dry pan over a medium heat for a few minutes, shaking the pan, until the spices release an aroma

2. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool

3. Use a pedestal and mortar to grind the spices to a coarse powder, combine with the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly

Hot Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg red peppers
• 250g red chillies
• 5g Maldon sea salt
• 25ml cider vinegar
• 25ml maple syrup
• 25g garlic cloves

METHOD

1. Grill the peppers and chillies on the BBQ backening the skin all round. Place into a container with a lid and leave to cool. Peel the peppers and chillies, Discard the skins and as many seeds as possible, then put the flesh into a saucepan

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes

3. Put the mixture into a blender and blitz until well mixed but still a little chunky. Decant into a 500ml sterilized jar or bottle and refrigerate. The sauce will keep in the fridge for 1 week.

BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 25 ml vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, peeled and grated
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
• 25g Spice Mix (see below)
• 125ml apple juice
• 125ml cider vinegar
• 135 ml maple syrup
• 125mlFrench's mustard
• 125ml treacle
• 125ml apricot jam
• 500ml Ketchup
• 25g smoked Maldon sea salt

SPICE MIX INGREDIENTS

• 5g fennel seeds
• 5g cumin seeds
• 5g coriander seeds
• 5g celery seeds
• 5g mustard seeds
• 5g black peppercorns

METHOD

To make the spice mix, toast all the spices in a dry pan over a medium heat for a few minutes, shaking the pan until golden. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool. Blitz the toasted spices in a blender to a rough powder.

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and spice mix and cook gently for 10 minutes, or until the onions are cooked through.

2. Add the apple juice and cider vinegar and simmer until reduced by a third

3. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Blitz the sauce with an immersion blender, then pass it through a fine sieve. Pour into a 1 litre sterilized bottle. Once cool, store in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.

MORE BBQ TIPS

Preheat your BBQ

Whether you are using a gas or charcoal BBQ, ensure you leave enough time for it to get to cooking temperature before you actually need it.

Precook your meats

Works great if you have a large number of people to feed. Cook in a low oven, without colour and finish on the BBQ. Works great for tender pork or beef ribs

Prevent sticking to get those grill marks

Ensure the grill is hot enough before putting any food on it. As an extra trick rub the grill with a ½ raw potato. The starch will act as a temporary non-stick barrier.

Know your heat zones

BBQs will naturally have hotter and colder areas, and knowing where these are and what to cook on them will help your BBQ skills. Direct heat for searing, indirect heat for finishing cooking. The Shelf in the lid can be used to keep your food warm whilst you cook more.

Let your meat rest

Get a casserole dish with a lid, when you have finished cooking, put your meat in there and let it relax, this will help ensure it is tender. If you carve or start eating it before, it will be really tough in comparison to when it’s properly rested.

Don't run out of fuel

Seems like an obvious one, but make sure you have enough charcoal or gas in the tank before you start.

Clean up

Get into the habit of cleaning down the grill after you’ve finished will make it quicker to set up next time. Don’t worry about intense scrubbing, instead scrunch up some foil and rub it along the bars of the grill to get them clean and help keep them rust-free, too. Did you know? Half of a raw onion it will get any unwanted burnt bits off with ease!

Try out our favourite summer sour cocktail at home, made using the new Watermelon & Basil Grey Goose Essences vodka. This recipe is provided by our talented mixologists and is sure to be a great choice for summer.

Ingredients

• 35ml Grey Goose Watermelon & Basil Essences Vodka
• 15ml Midori Melon liqueur
• 25ml Fresh Lime Juice
• 20ml Simple Syrup
• Whites of 1 Egg

Method

• Chill a coupe glass with ice and set to the side
• Add all ingredients to the large half of the cocktail shaker, we advise starting with the fruit juices in case you make a mistake and waste the precious alcohol.
• Place the smaller half on top keeping one side flush with larger half and the other creating a semi-circular opening, ‘dry shake’ (without ice) vigorously for about 10seconds.
• Hold the tin in one hand, and clap it with your other hand as the tins start to separate at the semi-circular opening you left, Add ice to shaker, place the smaller half back on top at the same angle and shake again.
• Once you have removed the smaller of the two tins, place your strainer on top, I hold the tin in my palm between my thumb and last three fingers leaving my first free to hold the strainer in place on top of the tin. Ditch the ice from your chilled glass and pour - for best results, use your other hand to hold a double strainer and pour your cocktail through both strainers to remove any little shards of ice.
• Garnish with a slice of fresh watermelon

Enjoy!

A taste of summer. Check out our latest recipe from Executive Chef Aidan. This dessert is a symphony of flavors and textures, a culinary masterpiece that tantalises both the taste buds and the eyes, have a go yourself!

Elderflower Cordial

2 ½kg white sugar, either granulated or caster

2 unwaxed lemons

20 fresh elderflower heads, stalks trimmed

85g citric acid (from chemists)

Method

1. Put the sugar and 1.5 litres water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds.

2. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs.

3. Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup – let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

To Make the Posset

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

300ml double cream

100g caster sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Place the cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer slowly until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and the elderflower cordial.

2. Pour the cream mixture into 4 decorative glasses half way. Set in the fridge until firm.

For the gooseberry compote

500g gooseberries, topped and tailed

75g caster sugar

Method

1. Put the gooseberries in a pan with the sugar and 50ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the gooseberries are soft.

2. Leave to cool completely, and then chill.

Carmelised White Chocolate

250g white chocolate 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C/gas mark ½.

2. Break up the white chocolate into small, evenly sized pieces.

3. Spread out the white chocolate onto a shallow baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and stir and spread around the chocolate with a spatula.

5. Repeat this process every 10 minutes for 30-60 minutes, until the white chocolate is deep-golden brown in colour. During this time, the chocolate may turn lumpy and have a ‘chalky’ appearance - this is normal, so keep going.

6. Once the chocolate has caramelised and has reached the correct consistency, place between 2 large sheets of greaseproof paper and roll until 1mm thick. Break into shards and store in the freezer until needed.

Italian Meringue

100g of caster sugar

25ml of water

50g of egg white

Method

1. Put the sugar and water into a small saucepan over a medium heat with a thermometer resting in the liquid.

2. Start to slowly whisk the egg whites either in a stand mixer or with a hand-held electric whisk until just starting to foam.

3. Heat the sugar until it reaches 121°C then slowly pour into the egg whites whilst still whisking.

4. Turn the whisk up to full speed and whisk until cooled to room temperature – the meringue is now ready to use.

5. Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozzle and store in the freezer.

To Plate

Spoon some of the gooseberry compote on top of the posset, pipe some Italian meringue on top of this, arrange some caramelised white chocolate shards between the italian meringue.

If you made your own elderflower cordial, you could add some leftover flowers here as a finishing touch.

Here’s everything you need to know to recreate our Valentine's 'Be Mine' cocktail at home!

What you will need

• 1 Coupe Glass
• 1 Boston Shaker
• 1 Hawthorne Strainer
• 1 Double Strainer
• 1 Bar Measure

Ingredients

• 25ml Grey Goose Strawberry & Lemongrass Essence
• 25ml Cherry Brandy
• 35ml Pineapple Juice
• 35ml Cranberry Juice
• 20ml Fresh Lime Juice
• 15ml Blackberry Syrup

Method

• Add ice to your coupe glass and set aside to chill.
• Start to add your ingredients to the smaller half of the Boston shaker.
• Top tip: Always start with your fruit juice, syrups and work your way up.
• Fill the your shaker with ice, and place the other half of the shaker on top. Try to keep one side of the shaker tin flat, and the other with a gap.
• Shake firmly for 5 - 10 seconds, with the smaller tin closest to you.
• Hold the shaker in one hand with the larger of the two parts at the bottom. Where the two tins start to open up into the curve, clap with your other hand and it should pop open.
• Remove the ice from your coupe, place the Hawthorne strainer on top of your shaker and hold the double strainer over your coupe glass.
• Gently pour the liquid from the shaker through the two strainers and you should have a nice foamy texture on top from the pineapple juice.
• Garnish if you wish! We choose an edible flower for ours, it is Valentine's after all!