Roasted Garlic

It's worth doing quite a lot at a time, as roasted garlic keeps well and may be used to flavour things like crostini and grilled mushrooms. Cover with oil and store in the fridge. The oil may later be used in salad dressing.

6 whole heads garlic

500 ml milk

olive oil

Set the oven at 180°C. Slice off the tops of the garlic heads, quarter-way down; leave skins on.

Place in a small saucepan with the milk, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. (Retain the milk; it's delicious in béchamel sauce!)

Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle over a little olive oil, close, place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes until soft.

Clarified Butter

The best fat for frying seafood, as it doesn't burn over high heat.

500 g butter

Place the butter in a deep saucepan and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. The butter will bubble as the water evaporates, and a layer of scum will rise to the surface.

Remove from the heat, scoop off and discard the scum and pour off the clear clarified butter, leaving the layer of salt and the bottom. Cool and store in the fridge.

Makes about 350 g

Mirepoix

Chop by hand or in a food processor.

1 carrot, very finely diced

1 rib celery, very finely sliced

1 small onion, very finely chopped

50 g rindless bacon or ham,very finely chopped

5 ml chopped fresh thyme

5 ml chopped fresh parsley

Mix together all ingredients.

Harvey's Green Herb Oil

A wonderfully versatile sauce or dressing for fish, meat or vegetables.

100 g chopped fresh herbs (mix basil, oregano, chives and mint, or use individual herbs)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

250 ml olive oil

15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ml coarse salt milled black pepper

Whizz all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor until well blended. Store in the fridge.

Makes about 300 ml

Fillet of Kabeljou with Stewed Onion and Chive Butter

4 x 200 g portions filleted kabeljou geelbek (Cape salmon)

500 g onions

250 g butter

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

200 ml white wine

200 ml water

salt and milled black pepper

125 ml cream

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

Set the oven at 250'C. Grease a large baking dish. Finely slice 400 g of the onions; finely chop the rest.

Heat half the butter in a frying pan and cook the sliced onion for about 20 minutes until deep golden and richly caramelized. Stir often - constantly at the end - to prevent burning. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Place the chopped onion in the baking dish, add the thyme, bay leaves, white wine and water, and season with salt and pepper. Place fish on top, cover with foil and bake for about 8 minutes until choked. Lift fish from the baking dish, place on warm plates and keep warm.

Strain all the juices into a small saucepanand boil uncovered for about 5 minutes until reduced by half. Add the cream and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes more until the sauce thickens to a coating consistency. Whisk in the remaining butter bit by bit. Add the chives.

To Serve: Spoon onion on top of the fish, pour a little sauce around and serve the rest separately. Serve with new potatoes. Serves 4

Panfried Linefish and Roasted Vegetables with Caper and Butter Sauce

4 x 200 g portions filleted linefish

500 g new potatoes

1 brinjal (about 300 g), cut in half and sliced about 5 mm thick

olive oil, salt, milled black pepper, butter
2 courgettes, sliced about 5 mm thick

2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half and sliced

15 ml finely chopped garlic

50 g drained capers

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

Cook the potatoes in their jackets in salted boiling water. Cool and peel.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the brinjals, courgettes, and tomatoe until limp and golden. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat 50 g butter in a non-stick frying pan and gently fry the potatoes until golden. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

Add a little more butter to the pan an fry the fish until browned on both sides and cooked through. Place on warm serving plates with the vegetables.

Add another 80 g butter to the pan. When it foams, add the capers and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the fish and serve immediately. Serves 4

Gazpacho with Langoustines and Courgette Quenelles

12 small langoustines, shelled and deveined 2 sprigs fresh tarragon

Gazpacho

80 g crustless bread

8 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped '12 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 English cucumber, seeded and chopped 'l2 clove garlic

70 g finely chopped onion

1 egg

10 ml olive oil

red wine vinegar

Courgette Quenelles

300 g courgettes

1 leaf gelatine soaked in a little water 50 ml cream

salt and milled black pepper

Gazpacho: Place the bread in a bowl. Extract juice from the tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, garlic and onion with a juice extractor, pour over the bread and set aside for 10 minutes to soak. Purée until smooth.

Whip together the egg and olive oil and add to the soup. Season with a dash of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Push through a sieve into a bowl and refrigerate.

Courgette Quenelles: Peel the courgettes with a potato peeler to a thickness of 0,5 cm. Cook in boiling salted water for 8 minutes, then drain and plunge into cold water to retain the colour.

Drain thoroughly and pass through a sieve into a saucepan. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring constantly, until the purée is dry.

Remove the gelatine from the water and dry on a towel. Mix thoroughly into the quenelle mixture and chill. Whip the cream stiffly and fold in. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the langoustines into a steamer with the tarragon and steam over simmering water for 30-60 seconds; don't overcook.

To Serve: Pour chilled gazpacho into cold soup bowls. Using two teaspoons, scoop the courgette mixture into quenelles and arrange three mounds in the shape of

a star in each bowl. Place the langoustine_sbetween the quenelles.

Serves 4

Asparagus in Puff Pastry with Warm Oysters

400 g puff pastry

8 oysters

150 ml cream

100 g butter

8 spears green asparagus

2-3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced

Pastry: Set the oven at 200°C. Lightly oil a baking tray.

Unroll the pastry and cut into four squares. Place on the baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until well puffed and golden. Whilst still warm, slit each square through the middle so that you have an upper and a lower half.

Carefully open the oysters over a bowl to retain all the juices. Discard bits of shell and grit.

Place oysters and juice into a small

saucepan. Cover, bring to the boil, and remove from the heat. Add the cream and boil uncovered for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat and stir in the butter. Set aside.

Cook the asparagus in a pan of salted boiling water until tender but still crisp. Drain. Cut the base of the spears into

small pieces, leaving sufficient length to lay on the pastry.

To Serve: Reheat oysters. Place pastry bases on warm plates. Spoon on the warm oysters, and arrange asparagus spears on top.

Pour over the sauce and top with pastry

lids. Garnish plates with diced tomato. Serves 4

Harvey's Beurre Blanc

If beurre blanc needs to be made ahead, keep warm in the double boiler over hot water. Never reheat, as it may curdle.

If this happens, pour into a jug. Place two more egg yolks into the double boiler and whisk over simmering water until pale and thickened. Slowly pour in the curdled beurre blanc, whisking constantly. Left-over beurre blanc may be frozen and reconstituted as above.

1 shallot or pickling onion, very finely chopped

100 ml white wine

50 ml tarragon vinegar

100 ml cream

2 egg yolks

500 g unsalted butter, cut into blocks white pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the shallot or onion in a double boiler with the wine and tarragon vinegar. Place on the stovetop and boil uncovered until only 15 ml liquid remains.

Add the cream and simmer uncovered until it thickens.

Place the pot in its base half filled with boiling water and place on the heat.

Whisk in the egg yolks one by one until the sauce thickens.

Add the butter a few blocks at a time, whisking constantly. The butter should soften and thicken the sauce without melting. Season with white pepper and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Makes 700 ml; Serves 7-10

Season's Dill Beurre Blanc

Beurre Blanc (previous recipe) 60 ml chopped fresh dill

Prepare the beurre blanc. Stir in the chopped dill.

Makes 700 ml; Serves 7-10

Legends' Mushroom Cream Sauce

50 g butter 45 ml flour 5 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

125 ml chicken or Fish Stock (page 209) 125 ml cream

salt and milled black pepper

200 g button mushrooms, sliced

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and blend in the flour, lemon juice, stock and cream, and season with salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is smooth and thickened.

Add the mushrooms, cover and simmer for a minute or two until mushrooms are tender.

Serves 6

Harvey's Tomato Vinaigrette

3 ripe plum tomatoes 5 ml balsamic vinegar 5 ml brown sugar salt and milled black pepper 1 clove garlic, crushed

150 ml olive oil

Blend together all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Makes about 200 ml

Smoked Salmon Creams with Fresh Crab

brown and white meat from 1 crab

1 ml cayenne pepper ml grated nutmeg 15 ml chopped fresh chives

eggs, lightly beaten 50 ml cream

30 g smoked salmon

'watercress and lemon slices for garnish

Set the oven at 190°C. Place the crab meat, ayenne pepper, nutmeg and chives ina food processor and purée smoothly. Add the eggs.

Whip the cream to soft peaks, add the crab purée and fold together gently until well mixed.

Line eight well greased ramekins (about 7,5 cm in diameter and 4 cm deep) with smoked salmon, fill to three-quarters with crab mixture and place in a bain- marie half filled with boiling water. Bake for about 30 minutes until firm.

To Serve: Turn out the ramekins on warm plates and garnish with lots of watercress and sliced lemon.

Serves 2 as a main course;

4 as a starter

Trout Fillets Layered with Spinach and Feta

4 trout fillets, skinned

6 sheets phyllo pastry

melted butter

500 ml baby spinach leaves, well washed and trimmed

200 g feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon Butter Cream Sauce 100 g butter

60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 60 ml cream, whipped

salt and milled black pepper

30 ml chopped fresh dill

Set the oven at 180° C. Grease a baking tray. Butter a sheet of phyllo pastry and place a trout fillet on it. Spread spinach on the trout, and crumbled feta on top. Place another trout fillet on top and wrap in a neat parcel with 2 more buttered phyllo sheets. Make another parcel in the same way.

Place the parcels on the baking tray and brush with melted butter. Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the fish is cooked.

Lemon Butter Cream Sauce: Whisk the butter and lemon juice together in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in the whipped cream and allow to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dill just before serving.

To Serve: Place trout parcels on warm plates and pour lemon butter sauce over. Serves 2

Sole Huguenot and Hollandaise Sauce

6 soles, filleted; reserve skin and bones vegetable oil

12 button mushrooms

500 ml dry white wine

500 ml water

30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 ml dried thyme

3 bay leaves

4 sprigs fresh parsley

1 onion, sliced

6 large lettuce leaves

2 ml salt

2 egg yolks

400 g soft butter, cut into 1 cm squares

Place the top of the double boiler in the fridge to chill. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Measure 30 ml each of the wine and water into a medium saucepan and add the lemon juice, thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 parsley sprig and 1 slice of onion. Simmer uncovered until reduced by half. Strain and chill.

Lay lettuce leaves in a metal or enamel oven dish. Top with the remaining onion, bay leaves and parsley, and add fish skin and bones.

Starting at the tail ends, roll up the sole fillets and secure with toothpicks. Place on the bones or lettuce leaves (if the fish touches the dish it may stick). Pour in the remaining wine and water, season with salt, cover with foil and bring to the boil on the stovetop. When the foil puffs up with steam, remove from the heat and uncover.

Remove sole rolls, place on warm plates and carefully remove the toothpicks. Keep warm.

Place the baking dish on the stovetop and boil uncovered until reduced by 80%. Strain.

Hollandaise Sauce: Place the chilled, flavoured wine reduction in the top of the double boiler with the egg yolks. Whisk in a piece of butter with a hand whisk.

Place in the base over simmering water and whisk in the butter bit by bit until the sauce thickens.

Remove from the heat and pour some of the sauce into a gravy boat.

Add 45-60 ml reduced fish stock to the remaining sauce and pour over the sole rolls. Garnish with a mushroom and place the plates under a hot grill for 1 minute.

Serve with the remaining hollandaise sauce, mashed potato and lightly cooked vegetables.

Serves 6