From the Kitchen: The Autumn Table

Although many may argue that it is not nearly as important as its December counterpart, with reindeers and tinsel, a burgeoning group is proving otherwise. Easter tables are increasing in popularity, with families enjoying autumn gatherings around impressive tablescapes. Well, we had to give our Executive Chefs Louis Lesch and Godfrey Kinyanjui, and Chef Raul Bansee a chance to show us how The Fig Tree would do it. Here is a three-course meal, with tips from the chefs, that will wow your guests.

STARTER: FIERY PRAWN & PEPPER SKEWERS

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red chilli
• 10g parsley
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 whole Queen prawns (shells may be on or off, according to your preference)
• 20g red peppadews
• 4g Hondashi

Method

1. Whisk the garlic, chilli, parsley, paprika, Hondashi and olive oil together.
2. Butterfly your prawns and marinate them in the mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Thread the prawns onto skewers, alternating them with peppadews. Use two prawns on each skewer.
4. Grill the skewers, or cook them in a griddled pan, over a high heat for three to four minutes, until the prawns are firm.
5. Serve immediately with your choice of sides.

We served with battered zucchini fries and a luxurious garlic mayo aioli.

MAIN: ROAST RACK OF LAMB WITH GARLIC & HERB CRUST

Ingredients

• 300g rack of lamb
• 1 – 2 tsp of Kosher salt
• ½ – 1 tsp black pepper
• 5 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

For this recipe, we “Frenched” the lamb, which means removing all the excess meat, fat and cartilage from the bones of the rack. This makes for a stunning presentation.

Method

1. Place the lamb rack on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour.
2. While the lamb is resting, place the garlic, olive oil, rosemary and thyme into a food processor. Pulse together, to make a rub.
3. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
4. Rub the garlic and herb mixture over your lamb rack.
5. Place the lamb rack in the oven for 10 minutes. Flip, and then cook for another 10 minutes until the lamb’s internal temperature has reached 60 degrees Celsius.
6. Remove the lamb from your oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

We served this with herbed mash potatoes, baby vegetables and a minted red wine sauce. 

DESSERT: EASTER CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

 Ingredients

For the Base:

• 2 x 154g packages of filled chocolate biscuits
• 100g melted butter

For the Filling: 

• 200g dark chocolate (and an extra 100g for garnish)
• 50g white chocolate for garnish
• 250g softened butter
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 50g plain flour
• 100g cocoa powder
• 50g milk chocolate
• 100g cream cheese
• 1 pack mini chocolate eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Chop four of the chocolate biscuits into small pieces and set aside.
3. Remove the filling from the rest of your biscuits. Do not worry if your biscuits snap while you do this: they will be blitzed up, anyway! Reserve your filling and then whizz the biscuits to a fine crumb in a food processor.
4. Pour the melted butter over the biscuits crumbs and pulse briefly, just to mix. Tip this into a 20cm x 30cm dish and press the mixture down with the back of a spoon to form an even layer. Bake this for 10 minutes to firm up.
5. Put the dark chocolate into a bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water until melted. Or you may melt in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Once melted, leave to cool to room temperature.
6. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add four of the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each edition. Then, sift in the flour, cocoa and a pinch of salt.
7. Now, stir in the melted chocolate and the chopped milk chocolate. Scrape the mixture into the dish (on your biscuit base) and smooth the surface. This is your brownie layer.
8. Take the reserved biscuit filling and mix with the remaining egg until smooth, then stir in the cream cheese until it is free of lumps. Do not over mix.
9. Place teaspoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie layer, then scatter over your chopped biscuit pieces you kept aside.
10. Bake this for 30 minutes. Add the mini eggs (cut side up) and pop it back into the oven for five more minutes, until just set. It should have a slight wobble, and a skewer inserted in the centre should come out with sticky crumbs.
11. Cool completely in the baking dish before cutting into squares to serve.

We served this with melted chocolate and mini marshmallows for dipping!