Ingredients
For the vanilla mascarpone
150g mascarpone cheese
100g cream cheese
125g icing sugar
1lime, zest only
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
125g plain yogurt
250g double cream
3 leaves gelatine soaked

For the strawberry jelly
100g caster sugar
100ml water
100g strawberry liqueur
300g strawberries, sliced
300g strawberries, diced
6 leaves gelatine, soaked

For the basil syrup
100g caster sugar
100ml water
5 basil leaves, whole
5 basil leaves, cut into strips
Mint sprigs, to garnish

Strawberry and Mascarpone terrine with Basil syrup

from Martin Amos, Head Chef at The Fox, Little Wratting.

“I chose this dish because what more typifies the start of summer as the sweet tasting English strawberry. This dish uses our traditional English fruit with an international twist, giving a striking result. Terrines are often shied away from, but as they require preparing the day before, it makes them an ideal party dish, which could not fail to impress your guests.”

Mix the mascarpone, cream cheese, icing sugar, lime zest and vanilla seeds together into a smooth paste. Add the yogurt and 200ml of cream and mix thoroughly. Warm the remaining cream through slightly in a saucepan and dissolve the gelatine leaves in it, then incorporate into the mascarpone mixture.

For the strawberry jelly, bring the sugar and water to the boil, add the strawberry liqueur and the sliced strawberries and simmer gently for approx 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the soaked gelatine leaves, then blend the mixture in a food processor. Leave to cool slightly before folding in the diced strawberries and chilling over ice or in the fridge until nearly set.

For the basil syrup, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan, add the whole basil leaves, blend in a food processor and pass through a fine sieve. Stir in the finely shredded basil and reserve.

To assemble, line a terrine mould with cling film, ladle the msacarpone mix 2cms deep into the mould and leave to set in the fridge for 5-8 min. Then ladle in 2cm of the strawberry mix and again leave to set in the fridge for 5-8 mins. Repeat this process so as to finish on a layer of mascarpone cream, then leave to set in the fridge for 8 hours.

To serve, remove the terrine from the mould and take off the cling film. Slice the terrine into even slices, place in the centre of a square plate, drizzle basil syrup around. Serve with fresh strawberries and garnish with a sprig of mint. Delicious!

Summer chicken & fennel casserole

“This casserole is an economic dish but full of seasonal flavour” says Martin Amos: Head chef at The Fox. Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large chicken, cut into eight pieces
2x tbsp of olive oil
12-16 shallots, pealed and halved
1 large fennel bulb, cut into wedges
500g  red or white skinned new potatoes halved
200g carrots washed and cut into long wedges
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch of thyme
1 tbsp of tomato puree
250ml chicken stock
250ml light ale or larger
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method
1 Preheat oven to 190/gas 5. heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish over the stove. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté until golden on all sides.

2 Transfer the chicken to a plate, then add the shallots to the casserole dish and cook for 2 minutes, until softened. Stir in the fennel, potatoes, carrots, bay leaf, thyme and tomato puree.

3 Season the mixture with salt and pepper and return the chicken to the dish, pour in the stock
and ale or larger. Cover and transfer to the oven and cook for 45mins.

4 When the casserole is cooked divide between 4 warmed plates and serve straight away