FOODIES FESTIVAL LA ESPAÑOLA CHEF’S THEATRE SYON PARK 27-29 MAY, 2023 COD SKORDALIA

For the dill oil

150g dill

200g of extra virgin olive oil

To brine the cod

Side of very fresh cod approximately 1kg (20 portions) filleted and skinned.

2lt of cold water

200g of table salt

For the confit garlic paste

150g peeled garlic cloves

400g olive oil

5g salt

For the shallot rings

1 shallot sliced thinly and only rings with 1cm diameter kept

100ml milk

50g corn flour

Salt for seasoning

200g of veg oil

For the skordalia

1kg soft boiled potatoes

200g confit garlic olive oil

100g confit garlic paste

300g cold water

50g fresh lemon juice

9g table salt

To serve

Thinly sliced cod on parchment paper

Zest of a lemon

Juice of a lemon

20g of extra virgin olive oil

Maldon salt for seasoning

5g caviar l For the dill oil, begin the day before. Blend in a high-speed blender until temperature rises because of friction and splits the fat and dill solids. Pass through a muslin cloth overnight and add the oil in a squeeze bottle. l To make the brine, mix the cold water and salt until salt is all dissolved. Add in the cod fillet and keep in for 15 minutes. Then take off and pat dry well. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour. Slice it very thin. l For the confit garlic paste, in a medium pan mix all ingredients together and on high speed bring to bubbling point. Reduce heat to low and keep cooking for an hour. l Take the pan off the heat and cool down. Then strain 300g of garlic oil and set aside for later and blend the garlic with 100g of the rest olive oil until you got a smooth paste. Pass through a sieve and keep in an airtight container until needed. l Slice the shallots and keep only the desired rings. Keep in milk overnight to make them less aggressive in flavour. Next day strain the milk well and season them with salt. l Dust them with corn flour and shake them well in a tamis sieve to get rid of excess flour. Deep fry at 150ºC so they take more time to colour and crisp up properly. Place on a paper to get rid of excess oil and re-season. l When the potatoes are boiled, hot and soft put them in the thermomix and start blending at speed 4 and gradually start adding the olive oil, garlic paste, salt and last cold water. l Then turn the thermomix on speed 8 until it’s a smooth puree and last add the salt. Pass through a fine sieve and keep in squeeze bottles in the fridge for max of 2 days. l Start by marinating the cod slices with olive oil to follow by lemon zest, then lemon juice and tap with a pastry brush to spread evenly. Then follow by maldon salt. l Then in a bowl add the Skordalia in the bottom and cover it with a few slices of the marinated cod just so it’s completely covered. Then add a ball of caviar on top and on top of the caviar add 3 shallot rings. l Finish with parsley cress around the caviar and dill oil around the edge of the sliced cod and serve immediately.

ASIMAKIS CHANIOTIS is the Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Pied à Terre. See Asimakis in the La Española Chefs Theatre on Saturday 27th at 4pm

Ring Of Fire Cake

For the sponge

250g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)

250g salted butter (chopped into pieces)

1-2 tsp chilli powder

6 medium eggs

220g golden caster sugar

8 tbsp ground almonds

For the ganache

200g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)

200g double cream

1 tsp butter (room temperature)

2-3 tsp chilli paste (optional)

For the syrup

150ml water

150g sugar

2-3 red birds eye chillies, deseeded and sliced thinly l Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the base of two 22cm sandwich cake tins with a circle of baking paper. l Heat the sugar and water for the syrup, dropping in the chillies when the liquid is clear. Bring to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool. l For the cake batter, melt the chocolate and butter together over a pan of simmering water. l Once melted, stir together until smooth and add the chilli powder. In different bowls separate the eggs into yolks and whites, placing the egg whites into a clean, grease-free bowl. To the yolks, add golden caster sugar and whisk for 5-10 minutes, until the batter is thick and pale. Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they form soft rounded peaks. l Pour the chocolate mixture onto the beaten yolk and sugar and gently mix until smooth. Fold in the ground almonds. l Gently spoon the egg whites into the batter a third at a time until no white remains in the mix. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is set but with a slight softness to the centre. Remove the cakes and turn the oven down to 50ºC. l Leave the cakes to cool in the tin. They will sink as they cool. This is normal – it’s developing its lovely gooey middle. Lift

CHRISTINE & PHIL JENSEN are the owners of BLACK BOX CAKE. See them in the Cake & Bake Theatre on Sat 27th and Sun 28th May the candied chilli strips out of the sugar syrup and place separately on parchment on a baking tray. Pop these in the oven for 30 mins to dehydrate and drizzle a tablespoon or so of chilli syrup on each sponge. No, it won’t ruin it! Go right ahead! l While the cake is cooling, make the ganache. Heat the cream to a boil then pour it directly onto the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally until it is all combined. Stir in the butter and chilli paste (if using). l Once cool, run a knife around the inside of the cake tin to loosen, remove the baking paper and place on a serving plate. Cover the first sponge with half the warm ganache. Lay the second sponge on top and cover the top with the remaining ganache. l Decorate in a ring with the candied chillies and serve with a dollop of clotted cream. with berry chutney.

Join MasterChef Champions and stars in the La Española Chefs Theatre, including current Professionals title holder Nikita Pathakji and her fellow 2022 competitor Charlie Jeffreys. Foodies favourite Dhruv Baker joins us again as host, while Alex Webb, fresh from his Park Lane restaurant, will be showing off his winning skills.