Cake House

Begin by skinning a smoked eel. Lay the eel on a clean work surface with its backbone facing upwards. Using a sharp knife, pierce the skin about halfway down the eel beside the backbone and guide the knife along the backbone towards the tail Run the knife back to the centre of the eel and along the gut cavity to the head. Cut away the fillet from the head, then cut below the backbone, lifting it away from the bottom fillet Lay the fillets skin side down. Starting from the tail, scrape the meat away from the skin using a large spoon and set to one side, reserving the skin for the velouté To make the watercress velouté, cook a potato and a  roughly  chopped leek in 150 ml chicken stock, 75 ml cream  and 150 ml dry white wine in   a large casserole pot. Add the eel skin and c ook until the potatoes are soft, then remove the eel skin and add 100 gr the watercress to the pan. Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside, keeping warm...

In a blender, purée together 1 avocado , the juice of 1/2 l ime , 1 tbsp crème fraîche and 2 tsp wasabi paste . Season with salt and store in the fridge in a piping bag until required Preheat a deep-fryer to 180°C To make the shallot rings, slice a banana shallot into rings, soak in milk, then dredge in seasoned flour before deep frying until crispy and golden. Set aside. To make the dressing, dice another shallot and a red chilli into very fine pieces. Add the juice and zest of a lime, the olive oil, chopped coriander and a good pinch of flaky sea salt Slice pp 2 scallops into 2 even pieces and finely dice some strawberries. Add both to the bowl with the dressing, mix well and leave for 2 minutes Slice a cucumber lengthways into thin strips and place on each of 4 plates. Arrange 4 slices of scallop on the cucumber base and spoon over the strawberry and lime dressing, adding a pinch more salt to finish Pipe dot...

Begin by cleaning a couple of   livers and removing any small pieces of sinew or loose flesh Coat the base of a frying pan with oil and place over a high heat. Dust the livers with flour and caramelise until golden brown on both sides season  - they should be slightly pink in the middle. Remove from the pan and rest in a warm place Add 20 gr butter to the same pan with a chopped shallot and sweat until soft. Add 50 ml whisky, reduce until almost dry, then add 100 ml brown chicken stock and reduce again by half. Finish the whisky sauce with 50 ml crême fraiche and reduce the sauce until it thickens slightly to the right consistency. Season with salt to taste and leave in a warm place. To prepare the brioche , trim the crusts from the slices and each slice into neat  rectangles  (or circles). Put under a hot grill until golden brown on each side.  Before serving, reheat the sauce and finish with  chives...

K erala fish fry is my dad's favorite and ours too. Today for my dad's birthday, I thought of celebrating by posting his favorite dish. As kids we used to get fish very rarely and whenever my dad bought, it was always a special meal. This is my mom's version of the marination and my dad used to make it, which makes it more special and yumm. Every house will be having their own versions of the marinade. This is a simple and an easy one. Within minutes we can have a delicious side dish. Fish slices marinated with the spices and shallow fried till done is an amazing appetizer which is every fish lovers dream. This is a staple dish in Kerala non vegetarian house hold. Not only in houses, but also in hotels and restaurants, while walking through the streets of Kerala, the aroma of the frying fish will be lingering. Ingredients: Fish Slices- 7- 8 nos Red Chili Powder- 2 tbsp Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tbsp Pepper powder- 1 tbsp Ginger- garlic Paste- 1 tbsp Lem...

To begin, whisk together a tbsp olive oil , 1/4 tsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 tbsp wasabi paste, 2 tbsp of lime juice in a bowl and set aside Peel and wash a small celery stick  and a small carrot and cut them into a fine dice. Bring a small pan of salted water to the boil and cook for 2–3 minutes so they just have a slight bite to them. Drain and set aside to cool Cut 400 gr sea bream fillets into 5mm thick slices then cut the slices into a 5mm dice. Place the chopped fish in a cold bowl, add 1/2 tbsp wakamé and season with salt and pepper Add a chopped shallot , 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley, the cooked vegetables and 2 tbsp crème fraiche . Add the wasabi and olive oil mixture, mix everything together and taste to check the seasoning. Cut 12 spears of asparagus diagonally and blanche  in salted boiling water for 1–2 minutes until tender, then plunge into iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside ...

For the dressing, a dash of olive oil into a small pan and place on a medium heat. Add the shallots with the salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and bay and cook until the shallots are translucent 1 pinch of  fresh thyme 1  garlic clove 1 bay leaf 1 pinch of  sea salt 1 pinch of  black pepper 1  banana shallot , brunoised Add the Madeira and balsamic vinegar and reduce to 100ml. Add the remaining olive oil then leave to cool and place in the fridge - the longer you leave it the richer the flavour will be  100ml of dry Madeira 100ml of balsamic vinegar 25ml of olive oil To pickle the mushrooms, combine all the ingredients, except the mushrooms, in a pan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the prepared mushrooms and cook for 90 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent towel 3  black peppercorns 125g of  portobello mushroom , sliced 85ml of water 35ml of sweet wine 35ml of white w...