We are delighted to share the recipe this week of the incredibly talented Adam Byatt – his restaurant, Trinity in Clapham, was a very deserving winner of a one Michelin star rating in this weeks Michelin Guide Awards.
In this recipe, the humble cottage pie is elevated to a dish worthy of a Michelin inspector. The bone is also not just for decoration – but as the pie cooks it allows the rich and beefy bone marrow to melt into the filling.
Cottage pie filling
- 1.5kg ox cheek, dry aged
- 3 carrots, peeled
- 1/2 leek, trimmed
- 1/2 bunch of thyme
- 3 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 star anise
- 5g of peppercorns
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 250ml of porter
- 1.5l chicken stock
- 2 centre-cut beef marrow bones, 10cm long and cleaned of any sinew
- vegetable oil
- salt
- black pepper
Mashed potato
- 2 Désirée potatoes
- 40g of butter
- 100ml of milk
- sea salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
To serve
- 1/2 bunch of rosemary
Method
To begin, cut the ox cheeks into four large pieces and remove any sinew
Chop 1 of the carrots and the trimmed leek into a rough dice. Pick the leaves from half of the thyme, leaving the remaining sprigs whole. Set aside
Add a drizzle of vegetable oil to a saucepan over a medium heat and add the onions. Fry gently without any seasoning as you want the onions to caramelise completely – this will take up to 20 minutes. Once ready, set aside until ready to assemble the pie
Thinly slice the 2 remaining carrots. Add a dash of vegetable oil to a large pan and place over a high heat. Add the carrots, season with salt (to prevent the carrots from colouring too quickly) and add the star anise to the pan
Cook for 2 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the carrots just start to soften
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
Scatter a layer of rock salt onto the base of a baking dish or tray and place the potatoes on top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes
While the potatoes are cooking, add the butter and milk to a pan and bring just to the boil. Once the potatoes are cooked, slice in half, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash until smooth. Alternatively, pass through a mouli or potato ricer
Beat the hot butter and milk mix into the potato, then season to taste. Scoop the mash into a piping bag and set aside at room temperature until ready to use
Add a splash of vegetable oil to a large, flame-proof casserole dish and place over a medium heat until very hot. Lightly season the ox cheeks with salt and pepper, place in the pan and colour lightly all over. Remove from the dish and set aside on a wire rack placed over a tray
Return the dish to a medium heat and add the roughly chopped carrot and leek from step 2. Stir in the peppercorns, garlic and thyme sprigs and cook for 5 minutes, until golden
Pour the porter into the dish and allow to reduce by three quarters. Return the ox cheek pieces to the pan with any juices that have gathered in the resting tray, cover with the stock and bring to a simmer
As it simmers, skim away any impurities that gather on the surface of the liquid with a spoon. Place a cartouche (parchment paper circle) on the surface of the liquid and place in the oven for 3 hours, until the meat is meltingly tender
Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow the meat to cool in the dish. Remove the meat from the dish, set aside, then pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve. Add the liquid to a clean pan and reduce by half, skimming off any impurities as it simmers
Using your fingers, shred the meat into long strips and combine the meat with the reduced cooking liquid and the reserved thyme leaves. Divide the ox cheek between 2 oven-proof serving dishes. Add a layer of caramelised onions, followed by the carrots (minus the star anise). As you build the layers, leave some room in the centre. Once built, push the bone marrow vertically into the centre of each dish
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7
Pipe the mash around the bone marrow, covering the filling. Push some rosemary sprigs into the bone marrow
Place in the oven for 12 minutes until the mash is golden. Remove from the oven, and for extra flare, set fire to the rosemary to serve
The Chef – Adam Byatt
In his own words:
“First and foremost a chef, I am also a restaurateur and food writer. I have also appeared on screen a number of times, as a regular on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and numerous other cooking and lifestyle shows. I also pride myself on being a mentor to young chefs starting in the business, both at my own restaurants and also through my work with the Academy of Culinary Arts. Being born into a family of great cooks and food lovers, a career as a chef was almost inevitable and I began my career in the frenetic kitchen of the legendary Claridges Hotel at the age of 16.”
The Restaurant – Trinity, 4, The Polygon, Clapham, London, SW4 0JG |0207 622 1199 | www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk
The Club Member Offer: Members and their guests exclusively receives a complimentary seasonal bellini when having lunch Tuesday to Friday. Click here for more details
‘Upstairs’ at Trinity is a more casual dining space which is now offering a bi-weekly Sunday Lunch Club. Hosted every two weeks by a different Chef from the senior team, they will cook their own take on Sunday Lunch along with Bottomless Bloody Marys and handpicked wine! Also offered to members exclusively is a complimentary glass of Champagne – which can also be redeemed on a future visit to Trinity if you prefer. Food and Drink £40pp. Call Trinity on 0207 622 1199 for booking details quoting Luxury Restaurant Club.
Read Adam Byatt’s son Jack’s review of Bistro Union here
Breast of Goose Recipe by Adam Byatt featured in this blog last year here
This recipe courtesy of Great British Chefs where it first appeared here
Not a member? Why not treat yourself or a loved one with the gift of dining in luxury for a year? Join today for just £95.00. Go towww.luxuryrestaurantguide.com.
