3 Foie gras (room temperature)
120g/4oz Fresh truffles
2 Shots brandy
Salt and pepper

Prune Chutney
450g/16oz Stoned, dries prunes
3 Shallots
1 Splash raspberry vinegar
90g/3oz dark brown sugar
125ml/4 fl oz Water
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
Preheat the oven to 100ºC / 210ºF.

Slice the foie gras with a hot knife and place the slices on a baking tray.
Put the foie gras in the oven for 10 minutes and then take the tray out.
Keep the oil from the baking tray. Line the terrine mould with cling film and add a layer of foie gras, then a layer of sliced truffle, oil, salt and pepper. This will make three layers.

Wrap the mould with cling film and lightly press for 24 hours. Turn out the terrine and reline the mould with cling film.
Place the foie gras oil in the mould. Place the terrine back into the mould and allow it to set in a refrigerator.

Prune Chutney
Place all the ingredients into a thick-bottom saucepan and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hours. Allow it to cool and then put into kilner jars.
When ready to plate, lay a 1cm thick slice of the terrine at the bottom of the plate and make a quenelle of the prune chutney to sit at the
top of the plate. Serve with toasted brioche.

Lamb Loin
Blanche the leek in boiling salt water, refresh under cold running water and dry.

Wrap the lamb loin in the green part of the leek and then wrap in caul net fat. Cling wrap and then wrap in foil for storing purposes (NB this must be done 1 or 2 days in advance to hold its cylindrical shape – like a cracker)

When ready to cook, poach in the chicken stock for 6 minutes and then rest. Top with buttered parchment paper and roast off in oven to desired temperature. Slice in 3 pieces.

Couscous
Fry the onions and peppers in a saucepan. Crush the garlic cloves and add to the mixture. Blend in a blender. Soak the couscous in the hot stock and then mix in all the remaining ingredients.

Ratatouille
Chop up all the vegetables and cook them together in a saucepan. Take off the heat and put aside.

Saffron Aiolli
Blend all the ingredients together and put aside.

Sundried Tomato Tapenade
Blend all the ingredients together and put aside.
Layer the ratatouille and the red pepper couscous in a ring mould and arrange the 3 slices of lamb on top. Pipe a ring of the aioli around the moulded vegetables and place a quenelle of the tapenade at the top of the plate. Drizzle with lamb juice and garnish the tapenade with Italian parsley.

220g/7oz Dark chocolate (valrhona)
60g/2oz Unsalted butter
½ Vanilla pod
4 Eggs, separated
60g/2oz Icing sugar

Method
Finely chop the chocolate and melt over a hot water bath (bain marie). Add the butter and the vanilla seeds. Stir in the egg yolks, one by one, until smooth.

Whip together the egg whites and icing sugar until stiff. Fold the stiff egg whites into the chocolate. Butter the soufflé moulds and line with folded baking paper. Brush the paper inside the moulds with melted butter and coat with sugar. Pour the chocolate mixture into the moulds and freeze the soufflés for 18 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC / 425ºF and bake the soufflés for 15 minutes.

Leave them to rest for a few minutes before turning them out of their moulds.

Arrange on beautiful plates and serve with fruit salad, berry compote, vanilla sauce or ice cream.

Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2003 Chardonnay

Rated one of the top 20 Chardonnays in the world and 5 Stars in the John Platter Guide, this is a tight, minerally, classically styled wine with typical Hamilton Russell Vineyards length and complexity. Grapefruit and pear aromas are beautifully balanced with subtle dry, nutty wood spice, while the rich, flavourful palate is balanced with lively natural acid and a pebbly minerality .

To beat the cold winter weather, nothing beats a fabulous bowl of homemade heart-warming soup.

Stock, the broth in which meat, fish, bones, or vegetables are simmered for a relatively long period, is an essential base to the preparation of any flavoured soup, gravy, or sauces. They are easy to make and can be frozen for later use.

Below you will find recipes for the perfect vegetable, chicken, beef or veal and lamb stock. Enjoy!

Vegetable Stock
Makes 500ml / 16 fl oz
50g / 2oz butter
2 courgettes, roughly chopped
2 leeks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1.5 litres / 2 ½ pints water
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all the ingredients except the herbs and water in a large pan and cook for 15 minutes over a gentle heat. Add the water, covering the vegetables, and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove, add the herbs and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then strain. Return the stock to the pan and boil until reduced by about half. Season lightly. Allow to cool, then refrigerate or freeze.

Chicken Stock
Makes about 1 litre / 1 ¾ pints
2kg / 4 lb raw chicken bones or carcasses
3 litres / 5 pints cold water
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 sprig rosemary
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all the bones in a large pan and add the water. Bring to the boil, skimming off any impurities on the surface. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil once more, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for at least 4 hours. Skim the stock regularly.

Allow to cool slightly, then remove the bones. Strain through a fine sieve or preferably muslin. Discard the vegetables and bones. Reduce the stock by rapid boiling if it lacks flavour. Otherwise cool and then refrigerate or freeze.

Beef or Veal Stock
Makes about 2 litres / 3 ½ pints
2kg / 4lb beef or veal bones
125ml / 4 fl oz olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, unpeeled and roughly chopped
2 shallots, unpeeled and roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ bottle red wine
8 litres / 1 pints cold water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme

Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 400º / Gas mark 6.
Place the bones in a large roasting tin. Brush with 200ml / 7fl oz of the olive oil and season well. Roast in the oven for 2 hours until very
well browned.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a very large pan and sauté the onion, shallots, carrots, celery and garlic until well browned. Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the water, mix well, and add the bones. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for at least 4 hours, skimming off any fat or impurities that rise to the surface. Add more water if necessary, as the bones must be kept covered.

Remove the bones, strain the stock through a colander and then muslin or a fine sieve. Transfer to a clean pan and boil until reduced by at least half. Allow to cool and reheat or freeze as required.

Lamb Stock
Makes 500ml / 16fl oz
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg / 2lb lamb bones
10 shallots, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated, fresh horseradish
1 tbsp tomato puree
½ teaspoon chopped tarragon
2 sprigs rosemary
1.5 litres / 2 ½ pints chicken stock, or water

Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 400º / Gas mark 6.
Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large roasting tin. Add the bones and roast in the oven until well browned, about 40 minutes. Turn the bones occasionally, to ensure even colour.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots. Season with a little salt and pepper. When the shallots have browned evenly, add the garlic, horseradish and tomato puree. Cook for a further 5 minutes and then add the herbs, stock or water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours. Skim the stock regularly to remove any impurities that rise to the surface.

When the stock is ready, remove the bones and pass through a fine sieve or muslin 3 times. Transfer to a clean pan and boil until reduced to about half. Allow to cool, then refrigerate or freeze.

Simmering is a cooking technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just barely below the boiling point of water (at average sea level air pressure), 100 °C (212 °F). To keep a pot simmering, one brings it to a boil and then adjusts the heat downward until just before the formation of steam bubbles stops completely. Water normally begins to simmer at about 94 °C or 200 °F.

In Japanese cuisine, simmering is considered one of the four essential cooking techniques (along with grilling, steaming, and deep frying).

Simmering is also the name of a district of Vienna.

Finely woven cotton material. Muslin can be used instead of a jelly bag to strain fruit that has been cooked in water before it is boiled with sugar and made into jelly. A bouquet garni (small bunch of herbs) is often tied in muslin.

Ingredients
50ml Burbon
1 inch vanilla pod
Half a pinch ground Cinnamon
1 spoon brown sugar
2 drops angostura bitters
1 orange zest the size of a R5 coin.

Method
Place Vanilla pod and Orange zest in Mixing glass and muddle slightly
Add 25ml Bourbon and the other ingredients with 1 ice cube, stir untill sugar melted adding the other 25ml Bourbon and another ice cube half way through.
Strain into a rocks glass with new ice and garnish with the orange zest used in
the mixing glass.

You can also custom design individual hampers tailor made to your own personal or specific company branding requirements. For further information contact Conrad Gallagher. A full hamper comprising of the above ingredients will start at R1250. (excl VAT)

[t] +27 21 434 6100
[f] +27 21 434 6106

P.O. Box 157
Green Point, 8051
Cape Town, South Africa

conrad@conradgallagher.com
www.conradgallagher.com