Recipe of the month: The Duke of Wellington Inn

September 8, 2016

Tempura king prawns with fennel, scampi and mussel popcorn

Celebrate the delights of the sea with this fishy dish, developed by the head chef of The Duke of Wellington Inn in Newton, Northumberland

Ingredients

4 king prawns (peeled and deveined)

8 scampi (peeled and deveined)

20 mussels (cooked and shells discarded)

2 fennel bulbs (peel to remove discoloured outer layers)

50ml Pernod

1 orange

10g thyme

3 cloves of garlic

100ml vegetable stock

100ml+3tbsp rapeseed oil

2 apples

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp grain mustard

½ tsp salt

150ml lemon juice

150ml water

150ml sugar

4.5g agar agar

50g mayonnaise

50g cornflour

75g plain flour

5g baking powder

Soda water

Panko breadcrumbs

Milk

1 egg

150g self-raising flour

75g polenta

50g rice flour

Method

* Thinly slice both the fennel bulbs (use a mandolin if you have one).

* Put one of the sliced fennel bulbs in a container with iced water and leave in fridge until the slices go transparent.

* Place the other fennel bulb in a metal container with the zest and juice of the orange. Add the vegetable stock, thyme, two cloves of garlic, Pernod and the 100ml of rapeseed oil and cook in the oven at 180 degrees for approximately 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

* Peel and core the apples and slice into 0.5cm discs. Put the discs in a small mixing bowl with the honey, grain mustard, salt and remaining rapeseed oil and set aside for at least two hours.

* In a small saucepan, bring the lemon juice, water and sugar to the boil, add the agar agar then set aside to cool. Once cooled and set, blend in a liquidiser until smooth.

* Place the cooked mussel meat in a container with enough milk to cover. Mix the self-raising flour, polenta and rice flour together and dip the moistened mussels into the mixture to coat them.

* Pané the scampi tails by dipping them alternately in flour, beaten egg and Panko breadcrumbs.

* Crush the garlic and add to the mayonnaise and then season with salt and pepper.

* Mix the cornflour, plain flour and baking powder then add enough soda water to make a batter that should just coat your finger.

* Dip the king prawns into the batter and deep fry with the mussels and scampi.

* Assemble the dish by piping the garlic mayo onto a plate, then add the roasted fennel and pipe the lemon gel on to the plate before adding the apple slices.

* Place the king prawns on the fennel and the scampi and mussel popcorn around it. Finish with the transparent fennel.

Newton, Northumberland, NE42 7UL
www.thedukeofwellingtoninn.co.uk
01661 844446