Life

James Street South Cookery School: We're bang on season for beetroot and blackberries

Niall's quail’s egg and beetroot salad
Niall's quail’s egg and beetroot salad Niall's quail’s egg and beetroot salad

ALL through the James Street South Group, we take great pride in our use of the finest local ingredients and produce from farmers and artisanal producers from right across Northern Ireland. Whether fish in The Bar & Grill, steaks in Hadskis or the vegetables used at James Street South, we are lucky to have this all choice on our doorstep.

As the summer draws to a close, autumn and the harvest season mean that our menus are going to be bursting with the most fantastic flavours and we love creating new dishes around them.

This week’s recipes use two of my favourite seasonal ingredients, beetroot and blackberries. Both recipes are easy to do and prepare and are packed full of flavour. The quails' eggs we use are from Ballinteer Farm in Coleraine, which won ‘Best Start-Up Business of the Year’ at the inaugural GrowMakeEatDrink Awards earlier this summer.

QUAIL’S EGG AND BEETROOT SALAD

4 beetroots, cleaned

2 shallots, finely sliced, keep round

6 quail’s eggs

2 baby gem lettuce

2 handfuls of fresh rocket

vinegar mix

200ml red wine vinegar

2 tblsp caster sugar

1 bunch fresh tarragon

dressing

3 tblsp red wine vinegar

1 tblsp honey

1 tblsp Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, peeled

salt

pepper

75ml extra virgin olive oil

75ml rapeseed oil

Start by cooking the beetroot; place it in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for around 40 minutes or until a sharp knife glides in easily. Once cooked through, drain, keeping 200ml of the cooking juice. Rub away the exterior skin and peel off; it is always advisable to use gloves for this unless you enjoy having purple hands. Once this is done, slice through on the round.

With the leftover beetroot cooking juice, add the red wine vinegar and sugar and place on the heat for two minutes until all the sugar has dissolved. Pour this into a large sterilised jar, adding the beetroot, the sliced shallots and a few sprigs of fresh tarragon. Close tightly and place in the fridge – overnight at a minimum but the beetroots will keep for weeks and only get better.

For the dressing, place the vinegar, honey, mustard and the garlic into a food blender and mix, adding the olive oil in a steady stream and then the rapeseed oil and season with salt and pepper – but please ensure you taste it and season accordingly. If your dressing splits, add in a dash of water and blend again.

For the eggs, place in a pan of boiling water and cook on a simmer for six minutes. Drain from the water and place in cold water to refresh. When cool enough to touch, peel and cut each egg in half.

To serve, wash and dry the lettuce and place in a bowl; arrange the beetroot on top, place on the eggs and add in the rocket and a sprig or two of tarragon. Drizzle over the dressing and serve. If you have plenty of beetroot, place back in the fridge for another day.

BLACKBERRY FOOL

(Serves 6)

500g blackberries

30g sugar

250ml double cream

250ml natural yoghurt

Rinse the blackberries (keep a handful back to dress the plate) and place in a pan. Add in the sugar and a splash of water and keep on a low heat to stew for about 15 minutes. Once stewed, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Place your serving glasses in the fridge to chill. Whip the cream and, once whipped, fold in the yoghurt until it is mixed thoroughly. Fold in a little of the stewed blackberries. With the remaining stewed blackberries, place in the serving dishes, dividing equally; spoon over the cream mixture and top off with a spoonful of the stewed blackberries and one or two whole blackberries.

Serve immediately or place back in fridge until ready to serve.