Will Holland is the head chef at 10in8’s La Becasse restaurant, Ludlow, Shropshire. One of the hottest young chefs around, Will has already got a Michelin star, an Acord Award and was tipped as one of the 10 chefs to watch in 2010 by the Good Food Guide.
Having spent 2 years in catering college, Will landed his first job in the Michelin-starred kitchen of Homewood Park in Bath, working under Gary Jones. He then moved on Gravetye Manor, working under Mark Raffan. He then met Alan Murchison, who positioned him as sous chef at L’Ortolan in Shinfield, Berkshire. Within 6 months, Will was promoted to a Head Chef position and when Alan opened his second venture, La Becasse in Ludlow, Will was appointed as head chef. Within 3 months, the restaurant was appointed with 3 AA rosettes.
Goat’s cheese mousse, beetroot and raspberry puree, pain d’epice, balsamic jelly, raspberry and hazelnut dressingYou will need
Serves 4
For the pain d’epice
- 120g rye flour
- 120g plain flour
- 20g baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 7 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground star anise
- 250g honey
- 140m1 milk
- 3 medium eggs
- 50g caster sugar
For the goat’s cheese mousse
- 250g Ragstone goat’s cheese
- 1 teaspoon white truffle oil
- 50ml double cream
For the beetroot and raspberry puree
- 700g beetroot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 litre water
- 150m1 red wine vinegar
- 75g sugar
- 20g salt
- 500g raspberries, pureed
For the baby beetroot carpaccio
- 4 baby, beetroots, peeled and tops left on
- 500m1 beetroot cooking liquor (see above)
- 35g sugar
For the raspberry and hazelnut dressing
- 10g Dijon mustard
- 50ml raspberry vinegar
- 50ml hazelnut oil
For the balsamic vinegar jelly
- 125g balsamic vinegar
- 1 heaped teaspoon Veg-Gel
For the garnish
- 4 teaspoons hazelnuts, toasted and crushed
- 20 raspberries
- 28 pea shoots
Method
It is important to use a well flavoured goat’s cheese when you make the mousse in this dish. I like to use Ragstone – it’s made by Neal’s yard Creamery in Herefordshire. Beetroot and raspberry may sound an odd pairing for the puree but they are surprisingly similar in caste and work well together. And the dish has a kick of acidity from the balsamic vinegar jelly which also helps to bring all the flavours together on the plate. I like to use Veg-Gel instead of gelatine for the jelly – you can buy it in large supermarkets and health food shops, or on-line.
Pain d’epice
Preheat the oven to 165C / gas mark 3. Line an 18cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Sift the flours, baking powder and spices into a large bowl. Warm the honey and milk in a large saucepan over a medium heat until the honey is fully dissolved. Remove from heat. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar. Until they are pale and fluffy. Add the honey and milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth and then fold in the egg and sugar mixture. Do not over mix. Pour into the prepared cake tin, place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. When cooked, remove the tin from the oven and allow the cake to cool in it. Once it is cool, take the cake out of the tin and leave overnight, uncovered, to dry out: this will aid slicing. Using a serrated bread knife, slice the cake or pain d’epice – as thinly as possible. Then, using a small round pastry cutter, cut out 40 discs of the pain d’epice. Gather up all the pain d’epice trimmings and blitz them in a food processor to produce fine crumbs. Place the discs and crumbs on a baking tray and dry in the oven on the lowest setting overnight or until crisp. Store in a cool, dry place.
Goat’s cheese mousse
Blend the goat’s cheese and oil in a food processor until smooth. Add the cream and blend until fully incorporated, but be careful not to over whip the mixture. Divide the mixture into 15g balls, place on a plate, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge.
For the beetroot and raspberry puree
Put the beetroot, water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan over a high heat, bring to the boil, and cook rapidly for 15-20 minutes until the beetroot is soft. Remove from the heat and drain the cooked beetroot over a bowl to catch the cooking liquor. Place the puree and raspberries in a clean saucepan over a medium heat. Bring them to a gentle simmer and reduce their volume by half. put the raspberry puree reduction in to a liquidizer with 300g of the cooked beetroot. Blend together until smooth.
Baby beetroot carpaccio
Using a mandolin or sharp knife, slice the baby beetroot lengthways very thinly. Next, place them in a saucepan with the beetroot liquor and sugar and cook over a high heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the liquor.
Raspberry and hazelnut dressing
Whisk the mustard and vinegar together in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil, whisking continuously until you get an emulsified dressing.
Balsamic vinegar jelly
Put the vinegar and Veg-Gel in a small saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil rapidly, whisking continuously then pour the liquid into a small shallow tray and Put in the fridge to set. Once it is set, cut the jelly into 5mm cubes.
Serving
Place 3 lines of beetroot and raspberry puree on each plate, then sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Roll the goat’s cheese balls in the pain d’epice crumbs and sandwich each ball between 2 Pain d’epice discs. Place 5 sandwiches on each plate, along with 5 raspberries, 7 pea shoots, 7 balsamic vinegar jelly cubes and 5 baby beetroot carpaccio slices. Finally, finish the dish with a drizzle of the raspberry and hazelnut dressing.
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