It can be difficult to cater to guests when trends change so rapidly. TOAD knows some great dishes that will scream 1970s chic at your next dinner party – try this three course meal to truly impress your guests.
Duck A L’Orange
What better way is there to let your guests know you’re on-trend than to serve this season’s fanciest main course – Duck a L’Orange. This fruity sensation is a timeless masterpiece that will have your guests begging for more.
Monte-Carlo Beach Club’s chef, Gavin Gleeson gave us his recipe. He says, ‘To create a wow-factor, the whole duck should really be presented on a serving platter, in the middle of the table with the host carving it, it makes the dinner theatrical while the guests discover the flavours at the same time as the host is carving the duck in front of them. This dish is a great example of finding the perfect way to cook something with the perfect combination of flavours. For me, this is a special occasion meal and if done correctly, it will be a meal that will never be forgotten. That’s my favourite thing about cooking – it brings great memories to life.’
Ingredients
One large duck, with gizzards, prepped for roasting
6 blood oranges
100g smoked maldon salt
2 bay leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Half an onion, peeled and thinly sliced
200g sugar
400ml water
1ltr chicken stock, reduced by half
100g onion, peeled and diced
100g carrot, peeled and chopped
100g celery, chopped
100g leeks, chopped
2 bay leaves
5 peppercorns
Method
•Use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off half the oranges in wide strips. Cut the strips into very thin julienne. Place the peel in the water, add the sugar and place on the heat on a very low simmer to candy the zests (top up with water if necessary) the end result should be a soft syrup sticky zest.
• Segment the rest of the orange and reserve. Squeeze the orange pulp to get all the juice.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Lightly score the duck skin all over with the tip of a sharp knife to help release the fat. Don’t score the skin too deeply. Place on a rack set inside a sturdy, medium roasting tin. Place one of the peeled oranges cut in half inside the duck, pushing towards the neck end to help support the breast. Season the duck with the salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper and roast for 45 minutes.
• Remove the duck and remove any excess fat from the tray.
• Turn the temperature down to 150°C and put the duck back in the oven for 40 minutes.
• Remove the duck from the oven and transfer to a board, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest while preparing the sauce.
• Drain all but one tablespoon of the duck fat from the roasting tin. Return the tin to the hob and add the onion, carrot, leek, bay leaf and celery.
• Fry over a medium heat for five minutes, stirring regularly until beginning to soften and colour.
• Add the orange juice and stock and simmer together for about two minutes – stirring to lift any of the meat sediment from the bottom of the tin. Carefully strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a small non-stick saucepan.
• Bring the jus to a simmer and reduce to required consistency.
• Just before serving add the drained segments to the sauce and sprinkle the zest over the duck.
Cheese fondue
A great opening act, give diners a chance to feel involved in the dinner-making process with this interactive dish. We learnt from Le Bistrot’s chef Patrick Van Velzen how to make this classy dish, to serve five. ‘This dish is all about sharing and being all together. Also, during fondue meals you can have a lot of fun – in my family the person who loses his bread in the cheese has to sing a song at the table. Fondue is a dish for a group of people, which makes it a perfect course for a dinner party. You should never eat a fondue alone. It has to be served in the middle of the table and everybody has to eat from the same pot.’
Ingredients
250g of cheese per person – 1/3 Emmental; 1/3 goat cheese; 1/3 Brie
400ml of vegetable stock per 1kg of cheese
1 garlic clove
A hint of nutmeg
Hint of pepper
For dipping:
A variety of breads such as brioche and baguette
Carrot sticks
Cauliflower
Celery
Method:
• Cut the bread into cubes and let them air dry.
• Cut the vegetables into sticks or florets.
• Cut the cheese in small cubes.
• Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove.
• Add the grape to the fondue pot, heat until boiling then reduce the heat and gradually add the cheese, mix regularly with a wooden spoon.
• When the cheese has completely melted add a hint of pepper and nutmeg.
• Turn on the portable stove, put the fondue pot on top of it, keep stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Blancmange
To round off a beautiful meal, a statement dessert is required. Why not serve up a delicacy like blancmange to really wow your diners? Executive pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Laurent Allereau gave us his dynamo recipe. He says ‘The blanc-manger, which must be served cold, can be presented plain with no accompaniments, but it is particularly attractive and extra delicious when it is served with the raspberry coulis. It can also be served with additional fresh berries or a spoonful of fruit salad. Pineapple goes well with the sweet, shimmery dessert, but because fresh pineapple reacts with gelatin, put it on the side of the serving plate if you want to use it, not in the pudding.’
Ingredients:
1½ cups cold heavy cream
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup ground almonds
¼ cup caster sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1¼ packets unflavoured gelatin
1 vanilla pod
Zest of 1 lime
3 tbsps cold water
125g raspberries
Method:
• Have an 8×2 inch round cake pan at hand. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water and set out a smaller bowl that fits into this ice-water bath.
• Working with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. Refrigerate it while you prepare the rest of the dessert.
• Put the milk, almonds, light brown sugar and caster sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring occasionally to make certain the sugar dissolves, this will make the almond milk.
• Meanwhile, put the gelatin and cold water in a small saucepan. When the gelatin is soft and spongy, after about two minutes, cook it over low heat to dissolve it. Stir the gelatin into the almond milk and remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the lime zest.
• Pour the hot milk into the smaller reserved bowl and set the bowl in the ice-water bath. Stir in the vanilla and continue to stir until the mixture is cool but still liquid – you don’t want the milk to turn to jelly in the bowl.
• When you’ve cooled down the milk mixture, use a large rubber spatula to very gently fold in the cold whipped cream, followed by the berries. Spoon the blancmange into the pan and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. If it’s more convenient, you can keep the blancmange in the fridge overnight, just make sure it is not near anything with a strong odour.
• To unmould the blancmange, dip the cake pan up to its rim in hot water for five seconds. Wipe the pan dry and invert onto a serving plate. Serve with a raspberry coulis, if desired.
All recipes are based on a dinner party for four people.
