BETTER WITH BUTTER

Butter, comforting, delicious and versatile. James Martin shares some of his favourite recipes celebrating butter

ROAST CRAB WITH LIME AND CHILLI BUTTER I like to serve it just melted in a dish so it warms the crab

STUFFED COTSWOLD WHITE CHICKEN WITH BRAISED HISPI Stuffing the butter underneath the skin keeps the chicken nice and moist

BEEF IN A BRIOCHE CRUST It’s one of my dinner party favourites

CINNAMON BREAD WITH CARAMEL BUTTER DIP The key is the quality of the butter and flour

ROAST CRAB WITH LIME AND CHILLI BUTTER

This can be served as either potted crab spread on warm toast or, as I like to serve it, just melted in a dish so it warms the crab and fully melts the butter. That way all the flavours of the kaffir lime leaves come out.

2SERVES

INGREDIENTS 100g butter, softened zest and juice of 2 limes 2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 1 lemongrass stick, finely chopped 4 spring onions, sliced 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra leaves to serve 1 red chilli, finely diced 300g white crab meat sea salt and freshly ground black pepper TO SERVE toasted sourdough

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.

Beat together the butter, lime zest and juice, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, spring onions, coriander and chilli. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the crab into two ovenproof dishes and top with the butter. Place them on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes until hot and bubbling.

Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve straight away, with toasted sourdough on the side.

STUFFED COTSWOLD WHITE CHICKEN WITH BRAISED HISPI

In this recipe, stuffing the butter underneath the skin keeps the chicken nice and moist and roasting it on top of the cabbage also means you lose no flavour, as you serve it with the cabbage roasted in the pan juices.

4-5 SERVES

INGREDIENTS 100g cream cheese 35g flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped 35g basil leaves, roughly chopped 35g sage leaves, roughly chopped 1 large Cotswold White chicken (approx. 1.6kg) 1 large hispi cabbage, halved 40g butter, softened 300g runner beans, trimmed 125g chunky lardons splash of sherry vinegar sea salt and freshly ground black pepper FOR THE BREAD SAUCE 200ml full-fat milk 1 onion, studded with 5 cloves 1 bay leaf 1 garlic clove, crushed 200ml double cream 40g butter 110g fresh white breadcrumbs

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Beat the cream cheese and season with salt and pepper. Mix with the herbs and pop it into a piping bag. Ease your hand under the chicken skin and pipe in the cream cheese mixture, spreading it out evenly over the breast and legs. Truss the chicken and place it onto the halved hispi cabbage in a roasting tray. Transfer to the oven to roast for 1 hour or until the juices run clear. Rest until you’re ready to carve. While the chicken is cooking, pour the milk into a pan and infuse it with the clove-studded onion over a low heat for 20 minutes.

When the chicken has cooked and is resting, place its roasting tray over a low heat, add the butter to the roasting juices and reduce to make a sauce.

To make the bread sauce, remove the onion from the milk, discard the cloves, slice the onion and set aside to cook with the lardons. Add the remaining bread sauce ingredients to the milk and season well. Set the pan over a low heat and cook the sauce until it bubbles. Once cooked, pass it through a sieve and set aside, keeping it warm. Cook the runner beans in a pan of salted boiling water for 3–4 minutes. In a pan over a medium heat, fry the lardons until crispy and wellcoloured, then add the sliced onion. Add the cooked beans to the pan, season and pour in a splash of sherry vinegar. Carve the chicken, carefully keeping the ‘stuffing’ under the skin intact. Serve up the breast and thigh meat, dressed with the roasting juices. Serve with the runner beans and a good wedge of hispi each, and the bread sauce alongside.

This is a true classic, old-school dish, and many people would compare it to a Wellington, which is made in a similar way, but the brioche gives it even more richness. It’s one of my dinner party favourites, as you have the time to make it and it rewards you when you serve it.

6SERVES

INGREDIENTS 15ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing (optional) 600g centre-cut, aged fillet of beef 400g chestnut mushrooms 50g butter 100g spinach 100g chicken liver pâté sea salt and freshly ground black pepper FOR THE BRIOCHE DOUGH 2 eggs 200ml full-fat milk 500g T45 flour, plus extra for dusting 25g caster sugar 10g table salt 25g yeast 50g butter, softened FOR THE PANCAKES 100g plain flour 2 eggs 300ml full-fat milk vegetable oil, for frying FOR THE EGG WASH 1 egg, beaten FOR THE SAUCE 500ml veal jus 100ml madeira 15g butter 25ml red wine

METHOD

Start by making the brioche dough: put the eggs and milk into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and whisk. Mix in the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, and add the butter when the dough starts to come together. Knead the dough until it reaches an elastic consistency and use the window-pane test to determine if it’s ready. Rest the dough, covered with a clean tea towel, at room temperature for 1 hour. Then roll it into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours or ideally overnight.

When you are ready to cook the Wellington, preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Blitz the mushrooms in a food processor and pat them dry. In a frying pan over a high heat, add half the butter, beef juices and the mushrooms and season. Sauté the spinach in the remaining 25g butter and then transfer to a tray lined with a cloth.

To make the pancakes, whisk the flour, eggs and milk together. Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan placed over a medium heat. Add a ladleful of batter and cook the pancake for a minute on each side. Put the cooked pancakes between layers of greaseproof paper; you need four pancakes in total.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the brioche dough to a 40 x 20cm rectangle, 3mm thick. Pop all the pancakes on top of the dough and spread the pâté evenly over the pancakes. Add the mushrooms and spinach in a layer on top of the pâté, place the beef in the centre and season. Brush the edges with the egg wash and fold them over the beef. Brush the top and sides of the dough with the egg wash and, using a table knife swirl, decorate the pastry if you wish, making sure you don’t cut through the dough. Transfer to a greased or lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the Wellington is cooking, make the sauce. Pour the jus, madeira and red wine into a pan over a medium heat. When it has reduced by half, swirl in the butter. To serve, slice the beef and spoon over the sauce.

CINNAMON BREAD WITH CARAMEL BUTTER DIP

8SERVES

FOR THE DOUGH 500g strong bread flour 75g caster sugar 5g salt 2 x 7g sachets fast-action dried yeast 300ml full-fat milk 1 egg 2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus extra for greasing 4 bananas, cut into quarters FOR THE CARAMEL BUTTER DIP 200g butter, softened 400g dulce de leche 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

METHOD

To make the dough, place all the ingredients, except the bananas, into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Knead for 5 minutes, then leave to prove somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6 and grease a 30 x 20cm baking tin.

Divide the dough into 18 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place next to each other in the tin and once again leave to prove for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Pop the bananas in between the dough balls and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dip by beating together the butter, dulce de leche and cinnamon. Tip the bread onto a board, dot with half the caramel butter, serving the rest alongside for dipping. Serve warm.

Recipes taken from Butter: Comforting, delicious, versatile, over 130 recipes celebrating butter by James Martin, with photography by John Carey. Published by Quadrille.