Cooking Together is a fun way to spend an evening creating a three course dinner to enjoy with your loved one(s). We’ve created an Italian themed meal with ingredients you can source locally from the fishmonger – we chose Hake shoulder, selected for it’s white flaky texture and sweet flavour – you can use any white fish such as cod or haddock.
Starter: Arancini with Tomato Sauce
Main: Hake with Salsa Verde Parmesan Crip
Desert: Lemon Posset
Arancini with Tomato Sauce
Delightful risotto balls baked and served with tomato salsa, can be filled with mozzarella.
Ingredients – Makes 6
- . 250 Grams of Risotto rice cooked and chilled use Arborio rice. Cook to packet instructions
- . 2 Eggs whisked into ½ pint of milk
- . 200 grams of seasoned plain flour
- . 200 Grams of panko breadcrumbs
- . 3 Medium mozzarella balls cut in half (if using)
- . Vegetable oil for frying
- . Salt pepper to season
- . Small container of cold water
Method
- 1. Wet fingers make 6 medium balls of risotto
- 2. If using mozzarella, flatten the risotto, place the mozzarella into the centre and fold the rice around sealing it up.
- 3. Now dip each ball in the flour, covering and shaking off excess
- 4. Dip into the egg and milk shake off excess
- 5. Place onto a lined baking tray with the oven at 180*. Bake for around 10 mins or until the arancini starts to turn golden
- 6. To serve, drizzle the tomato sauce over or alongside the arancini.
Simple Tomato Sauce
Ingredients – Serves 4
- . 1 tin of chopped tomato
- . 4 mint leaves
- . Salt pepper to taste
- . Pinch of sugar
- . Splash of olive oil
Method
- 1. Put all ingredients in a saucepan
- 2. Bring to boil simmer 10 minutes
- 3. Blitz to a purée taste season
- 4. Serve with pasta or arancini as a dip
Hake Shoulder, Served on Crushed Olive New Potatoes, with Salsa Verde and Parmesan Crisp
Serve simply with green beans or your favourite seasonal vegetables.
Salsa Verde
Ingredients – Serves 4
- 1 Teaspoon Capers
- 2 Anchovy Fillets
- 4 Basil Leaves, ripped
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- ½ Teaspoon of Sherry Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- Pinch of Salt & Pepper
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Method
Put all ingredients in a food processer and give it a quick blitz – you can make this as smooth or chunky as you like. If you don’t have a food processor, then rough chop and use a pestle & mortar. Pop in the fridge until needed.
Crushed Potato Cake with Olives
Ingredients – Serves 4
- 8 New Potatoes, Skin On – if these are small use extra
- 200g Pitted Black Olives
- Splash of Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
Method
Boil potatoes for 15 minutes. While they are boiling, rough chop the olives.
Check potatoes are sufficiently softened, drain and then crush with a masher or fork.Â
Add the olives and a good splash of olive oil, season to taste.Â
Keep warm until serving
Parmesan Crisp – Ingredients – Make as many as you like!
- Parmesan Cheese
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Method
Fine grate the cheese and then you can either spread evenly over a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and cut out your crisps with a circular cutter or make piles of cheese on the greaseproof which will form their own shapes. Once the cheese sets, you can shatter to make shards or whatever shape suits.
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Place under grill or in a pre-heated oven (180C) for 3 to 5 minutes – as they start to melt and bubble, keep and eye on the cheese and remove before they become too dark.Â
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Use a palette knife to remove from the greaseproof.
Use immediately or you can store for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Pan Fried Hake Shoulder
Ingredients – Serves 4
- 4 Hake Shoulder Steaks, your fishmonger will remove the bone, leave skin on.
- Olive or Pomace Oil
- Sea Salt to Season
Method
While you heat a heavy based frying pan to high heat, lightly oil the hake portions and season with sea salt flakes.
Place the fish skin side down in the pan for 2 minutes without moving it. Then lower the heat and carefully turn the fish and cook for about 5 minutes – once the fish is opaque, it’s cooked – Hake has a beautiful white colour.
To Serve
- Spoon the potato into the centre of the plate – you can use a ring to add a bit of finesse.
- Place the hake on top of the potato.
- Arrange the green beans or other vegetables around the plate.
- Drizzle the Salsa Verde over the top of the fish and vegetables.
- Now place the crushed potato in the centre of the plate, place the hake on top
- Finish with the parmesan crisps on top
- Enjoy
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Italian lemon Posset
This is an Italian classic, and is great for a dinner party – as it can be made in the morning.
You could crush up biscuits of your choice and put in the bottom of the glass. A classic Italian version would be an amaretti and serve a glass of amaretto on the side!
Ingredients: Serves 2
- ·     300ml of double cream
- ·     60g caster sugar
- ·     1 juicy lemon
Method
- 1. Squeeze the lemon
- 2. Bring the cream and sugar to the boil (careful it should just boil but not boil over). Once you see it boil – stay there and boil for exactly 3 minutes.
- 3. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the lemon juice
- 4. Strain this into a jug and leave to cool for 20minutes.
- 5. If you wish to put a crumbled biscuit in the bottom of the receptacle – this is the time to do it. If not gently pour the cream into the glasses.
- 6. Refrigerate for 6 hours minimum.
Serve with passion fruit and tuilles!
Cooking Together evenings at the cookery school are a hybrid between a cookery class and going out for dinner. Guests cook in their pairs guided by chef to make a three course dinner, once created everybody sits down to a socialble meal. Award winning Food Sorcery cookery school holds cookery classes, team building and kids cooking classes and is based in Didsbury, Manchester.
Take a look at our classes online, booking is easy and you’ll be sent a confirmation email. Cookery gift vouchers are available and never expire.
