Secrets we can’t keep

For one lunch and dinner sitting only the Chateau will pop up in a secret venue and serve up a stunning gastronomic feast overseen by new executive chef Ramael Scully, moonlighting from his job as head of London’s renowned Ottolenghi restaurant group.

In York, Scully’s colleague Calvin Von Niebel will be at the helm.

“I’m going to be using everything I’ve learnt about flavour and texture from cooking my way around Thailand, India and Malaysia to influence the Modern British menu. We’re in the kitchen now testing new dishes which is really exciting, can’t wait to get to York and serve them up.”

Sea Bream with Tom Yum Oyster Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Sea Bream fillets (use wild caught black bream or organic gilthead)

4 handfuls of mixed shiitake and oyster mushrooms – washed

2 handfuls of sugar snap peas – washed

60g piece of galangal – peeled and smashed

1 stick of lemongrass – smashed

3 cloves of garlic – peeled and smashed

8 Thai shallots – peeled and sliced in half (you can use banana shallots)

1 bird’s eye chilli – smashed

2 heaped tbsp Nam Prik Pao (Thai chilli paste) and adjust to taste

12 tbsp coconut milk

12 tbsp water

4 tsp Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce)

11/2 tbsp palm sugar

3 Kafir lime leaves

2 limes – halved and juiced (keep one half un-juiced for the end)

1 handful of fresh coriander

1 handful of fresh pea shoots

Vegetable oil

Clarified butter

Method

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in your wok until it’s good and hot (just bubbling, not smoking) and fry off the smashed galangal, lemongrass, garlic, shallots and chilies. Keep sniffing carefully at the steam that comes off until you are happy that you’ve released all the aromatics in these ingredients – it won’t take long.

Add the chilli paste, coconut milk and water and turn the heat down to medium/low. Fry this mixture for another 30 seconds. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and lime leaves and cook out until the lime leaves soften and all the flavours have condensed to your taste (keep tasting with a teaspoon until you’re happy with the intensity). Strain the sauce through a sieve into a jug but retrieve the shallots to put back in the sauce.

In a separate pan, fry off the mushrooms and sugar snap peas until softened but still retaining some bite, and take off the heat immediately.

Rub sea salt on the skin of each fish fillet. In a separate pan heat a few tablespoons of clarified butter on a high/medium heat until bubbling and add the fish, skin side down, pressing gently on the fillet with your fingers until all the skin is sealed by the heat to prevent the fish curling up.

Fry the fish for a few minutes until you see an opaque ring forming from the edge of the white flesh towards the centre.

When only a bit of uncooked fish remains, turn the fish over and cook for a few seconds to finish off.

Add the strained sauce and shallots, most of the lime juice and coriander to the mushrooms and sugar snap peas and pour equally into four low bowls. Arrange the fish in each bowl, garnish with the pea shoots, add a squeeze of lime juice and serve.

Salmon and Artichoke Blinis

Cured Salmon

Ingredients

1 side of salmon, pin boned

3 lemons zested

2 oranges zested

2 limes zested

1 bunch dill

4 star anise pods

4 juniper berries

8 pink peppercorns

4 dried bay leaves

375g sugar

280g sea salt

150ml vodka

Method

Zest all the citrus and finely chop the dill. Crush the star anise, juniper, peppercorns and bay leaves in a pestle and mortar. Mix the salt and sugar with the citrus and crushed spices, pour the vodka into your salt mix.

Season the salmon all over with the paste, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Rinse the paste off under cold water and with a sharp knife slice the salmon into 2-3mm thick pieces.

Jerusalem artichoke and  potato blini

Ingredients

200g Jerusalem artichokes

200g potatoes (boiled and dried)

80g self raising flour

40ml milk

3 large eggs separated

2 tbs crème fraiche

10ml olive oil

Method

Peel and cook the artichokes and potatoes in salted water until soft, drain and let steam in the colander to dry. Pass though a fine sieve or ricer.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Whip the whites to a firm peak, adding a few drops of lemon juice at the start of whisking to help it hold. Mix the yolks with the crème fraiche, milk and flour to make a batter then fold it through the artichoke mixture. Take the egg whites and slowly fold through the artichoke mixture once again (to give you a lighter mix).

Cook in a non-stick pan with a splash of olive oil, pouring out to a small 5cm circumference disk. Cook till golden brown on the base then turn. These blinis can be cooked before hand and reheated in the over at 180 degrees for three to four mins.

Citrus salad

Ingredients

1 orange – segmented

1 lemon – segmented

2 radish’s – finely julienned

½ head frisee (only the pale bits)

2 stalks of chives, cut into 3 pieces

4 caper berries halved

5ml olive oil

5ml verjus

Combine all the ingredients

Horseradish mascarpone

Ingredients

100g mascarpone

10g fresh grated horseradish

10ml white wine vinegar

5 g caster sugar

Method

Finely grate the horseradish, add to the sugar and vinegar and let it sit for half an hour to macerate. Mix with the mascarpone, season with a touch of Maldon sea salt

To build take a Blini, spoon a small amount of mascarpone on top, wrap a piece of salmon around your finger and place atop the mascarpone. Place all the salad items in a bowl and dress lightly with olive oil and ver juice and mount on top of the salmon.