Autumnal Recipes

Why not flex your culinary muscles and try out these autumnal recipes from some of PoB Hotels’ Head Chefs?

As temperatures drop and leaves turn golden, we’re craving something warm, simple and nutritious. Executive Chef Damian’s ‘Monday night roast chicken soup’ is the perfect way to start the week right, savour those Sunday flavours (and reduce your food waste) whilst embracing the colder, autumnal weather. Healthy, wholesome and oh so hearty, it’s guaranteed to make starry autumn nights all the more cosy.

Serves 4

For the chicken stock

• 1 leftover chicken carcass from Sunday lunch
• 2 carrots chopped
• 2 onions diced skin left on
• 2 sticks celery
• 3 cloves garlic

1. Break the chicken carcass into smaller pieces, mix with the vegetables and lightly dress with rapeseed oil. Roast at 200c for 30 minutes
2. Once the chicken and vegetables are golden brown, put all the ingredients into a pan and cover with 1lt water. Deglaze the roasting tray and add this liquid to the pot
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour, skimming any fat and impurities from the surface. After 1 hour strain and set aside
4. Whilst the stock is simmering, prepare the vegetables.

For the vegetables

Dice the vegetables into 1cm cubes, this ensures the soup cooks very quickly so it has a bright fresh flavour and retains all of its nutrients.

• 200g swede
• 200g carrot
• 100g parsnip
• 150g onion
• 100g potatoes
• 50g red lentils washed
• 200g cooked roast chicken from Sunday lunch diced or shredded

1. In a large pan, sweat the onion for around 3 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients and pour over the stock you were previously simmering. Season with salt, freshly ground white pepper, and a pinch of dried oregano
2. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 8 minutes
3. Take 1/4 of the soup and carefully blend with a hand blender. This gives the soup a lovely silky texture
4. Pour back into the rest of the soup and check the seasoning
5. Add the chicken, warm through and serve.

Ingredients

• 400g of all butter puff pastry
• Five apples
• 100g of unsalted butter ambient
• 100g of caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Peel the apples and then cut each one evenly into wedges of eight (use a knife to remove the seeds)
3. Spread the butter into a non-stick 200mm ovenproof frying pan so it covers the flat surface of the pan. Then cover with the sugar evenly
4. Place the apples into the pan with the peeled side down as that is the presentation side, overlapping in a fan-style pattern
5. Dust a kitchen bench with flour and roll the puff pastry out into a circle 5mm thick, this will be bigger than the pan but you need the overlap
6. Place the rolled pastry onto the pan centred as best as you can, using a spoon, gently pressing the excess pastry into the sides of the pan – this will help to keep the apples steady whilst cooking
7. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up
8. When the pastry has firmed up, place the pan over a medium-high heat to caramelise the sugar and butter, gently shaking the pan every minute or so to allow the sugar and butter to caramelise evenly and not burn
9. Once the sugar is golden brown (you can peek under the pastry to check), put the tart in the oven for 24 minutes, or until the pastry is dark golden brown in colour
10. Remove from the oven and lift the pastry slightly to see if the apples have browned, be very careful as the caramel is very hot! Cook for another 5 minutes if they need more colour
11. Once out of the oven, allow the tart to cool for five minutes, then place a plate that is larger than the pan on top and flip the Tatin out
12. To serve add a generous portion of clotted cream on top