West London International Cooking Club: Our first dinner

April 5th saw the inaugural meeting of the group, when four of us got together in Chiswick to kick things off, with representation from Germany, Australia, Finland and England.

Aperitif: Hardy's Stamp Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay
www.hardys.com.au

Starter (Andrea):

Open Lasagna with Morels

RECIPE

100 g fresh morels, or 25 g dried morels soaked in 100 ml tepid water for 20 min
30 g parmesan, finely grated
1 bunch of dill, some chopped, some whole for decoration
250 g fresh brown mushrooms (200 g if using fresh morels)
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
40 g butter
200 ml veal or chicken stock
100 ml whipping cream
1 tsp grated lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slivers
6 lasagna sheets, halved
2 tbsp olive oil

Wash dried morels, squeeze dry and filter the soaking liquid, reserve. Just wash fresh morels.
Cut large morels in half. Clean brown mushrooms and and cut into quarters. Finely dice the shallots and garlic.
Heat the butter in a pan and fry the brown mushrooms on high heat until browned. Add the morels, shallots and garlic, and
saute until soft. Add reserved soaking liquid, stock, cream and lemon zest, saute to reduce to a creamy sauce. Add salt and fresh pepper, optional some lemon juice. Add some of the chopped dill just before serving. Cook lasagna sheets in boiling salt water according to package, drain and mix with oil. To serve, place a half lasagna sheet on each plate, top with alternating layers of mushroom filling and parmesan, using three half sheets per person and two layers of mushroom filling, ending with parmesan on top of the last lasagna sheet. Garnish with dill sprigs and lemon slivers. Serve immediately.

Engeholler Bernstein Reisling Spatlese 2003
from Weingut Lanius-Knab, Mittelrhein, Germany
www.lanius-knab.de

Main Course (Peter):

Pan-roasted fillet of John Dory with Orkney crab, crushed new potates, basil crisps, spring vegetables and a basil vinaigrette

Montana Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from Marlborough, New Zealand

Petaluma Viognier 2005 from Adelaide Hills, Australia

www.montana.co.nz/wine/reserves/08_marlborough_sauvignon_blanc.html
www.petaluma.com.au

RECIPE

Vinaigrette:

25 ml extra virgin olive oil
25 ml groundnut oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
salt
black pepper

Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl.

Basil Vinaigrette:

Large bunch of basil (about 60g)
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
salt
2-3 tsp lemon juice

Strip the basil leaves and plunge into boiling water for 40 seconds. Drain. Refresh in cold water, then gentle squeeze out all excess water. Blitz in a blender with the olive oil and salt. Pass through a fine sieve. Add the lemon juice.

Spring vegetables:

8 baby carrots
8 asparagus tips

Steam the vegetables for 3 minutes, then toss in melted butter.

Crushed potatoes:

300g new potatoes
150g Orkney white crabmeat
Chervil, chopped
Chives, chopped
Salt
Black Pepper

Boil the new potatoes in salted water for 10-12 minutes until cooked, then remove the skins and crush gently with a fork. Mix in the vinaigrette and crabmeat. Reheat in a bowl. Combine with the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Tomato petals:

4 large tomatoes

Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for 40 seconds. Peel, quarter, trim and deseed to create tomato 'petals'

Basil crisps:

8 basil leaves
Vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a pan to 190C. Plunge the basil leaves into the oil, taking care as the hot oil will spit. Deep fry the leaves for 1 minute, then remove and drain.

John Dory:

4 fillets of John Dory, skinned (about 150g each)
2 tbsp olive oil
Unsalted butter
Salt
Black pepper

Cut the fillets in half. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the fillets for 2 minutes. Turn over and add a little butter to the pan, basting the fish for 1 minute or until cooked.

Arrange a square layer of the crushed potato and crab mixture on each plate. Place a layer of tomato petals on top. Place the fish on top of this.

Serve with the basil crisps, basil vinaigrette, buttered spring vegetables, and basil vinaigrette.

Dessert (Anna):

Italian Flourless chocolate cake served with fresh raspberries, cream and borage flowers