Waterside inn – The Bombay Boys

Alain Roux – I love your cooking – try his sublime scallop mousse

Everyone knows that my favourite restaurant in the world is “The Waterside Inn” at Bray and that I have a bit of a pash for Alain Roux, who is not only a genius cook but one of the nicest people you will ever meet. His father of course is incomparable, but Alain has a much lighter touch and some of his new dishes are truly brilliant, But at the end of the day during my unforgettable cooking course at the Waterside, it was Alain who taught me how to fillet a Dover Sole and to make Italian meringue, so my heart stays with him.

Having seen father and son on “Saturday Morning Kitchen, which was pure entertainment in itself, I have been meaning to try the scallop mousse that Alain cooked on the show for ages. Having done this it was so easy and so delicious I really do urge you to try it. I changed the recipe very slightly (apologies Alain) but here’s my version, I also think this would be wonderful done with lobster or crab.

You will need 4 -6 small ramekins (those funny little ovenproof dishes) Ingredients: Enough butter to generously grease the dishes, 150g/5ozs scallops (white only no corals), 2 large eggs, 200m/7fl ozs double cream, pinch salt and some cayenne pepper. Alain used fresh herbs but I missed these out and used some of the asparagus ends lightly sauteed instead:To garnish: 25g/1oz butter, 150g fine asparagus, lemon juice and 4 large scallops (white only) (Alain made more of a sauce, I kept mine a little simpler)

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Grease the ramekin dishes generously with the butter
Lightly saute the ends of the asparagus

Place them at the bottom of the greased ramekins

Blend the scallops and eggs in a food processor for one minute or until smooth. Add the cream, salt and cayenne pepper and blend for a further minute.

Divide the mousse mixture evenly between the ramekins and cover each ramekin with aluminium foil.

Place the ramekins in a roasting tray and add enough boiling water to come half way up the sides.
Place into the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes. A skewer should come out cleanly
Heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the scallops on high for a couple of minutes until they are slightly browned on the outside but still tender inside – don’t overcook!
Remove from the pan and toss the cooked asparagus in the butter until it is warmed through, drizzle lemon juice over the top
Remove the foil from the ramekins, loosen the timbales with a small knife and turn each one out onto a warm plate.
Place slices of scallop on the side, along with the asparagus spears and any remaining butter.

Due warning though Waterside, our lovely friends Helen and Joe are taking me to Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester this week – you have come out top against other Michelin starred venues I’ve visited – will you still be triumphant after Thursday? Watch this space

Ellie’s fabulous birthday lunch at the Waterside Inn, Bray

Being 30 in itself is fairly fabulous, especially for someone as talented and special as Ellie, but what could make it even more fabulous? Lunch at the Waterside inn, of course my favourite restaurant in the world. Ellie’s birthday week (yes, I did say week) consisted of Cliveden, lunch with friends, the special appartment at Louis Vuitton, Sophia Coppola and lobster and chips at Randall & Aubin and that was just the highlights, the lowlights weren’t at all bad either but on the day of days, a surprise trip to see Alain Roux was definitely in order.Luckily, it was a beautiful day and we took the Hummingbird up the river to the restaurant where we had pre-warned them to expect us by river. We started our lovely lunch with a bottle of their house champagne which is always a delight, along with some of their signature canapes. The pastry with the anchovies and stuffed olive is one of my favourites and very easy to make (I’ll show you soon). Choosing from their light summer menu is probably one of my favourite forms of torture, because basically, I want everything I chose “Flaked duck set in a subtle jelly with a quail egg and oscietra “Royal Belgian caviar”, crisp black radish and tender leaves”. The incredible part about this, is that when you cut in to the delightful jelly, the quail’s egg is still soft and delicious. Alain is a genius. Katy chose a simple starter (under the salads) of poached eggs in hollandaise with asparagus and to be honest with you, we were all rather jealous as it was absolutely lovely. Generous soul that she is, we did all get substantial tasters thank goodness. The others were tempted by the delights of the “Pan fried scallops and octopus slices with coriander, served on a bed of celery puree, coconut emulsion and tamarind sauce”. The octopus in this dish was honestly like nothing you’ve ever tasted before along with the biggest, juiciest, sweetest scallops you can imagine. I am practically salivating, just thinking of them now.

On to the main courses: I had the “Pan fried medallion of farmed veal with carrots and a crispy calf’s head fritter, white wine veal jus”, which I have to confess I have had before, which may not have been very adventurous of me, but then I’m a sucker for a calf’s head fritter! Jim shared the succulent duck, one of the waterside’s specialities, wich is served pink and carved at the table, with a confit of the leg and thigh served on the side.

Katy and Ellie went for “Pan fried fillet of Angus beef, served with a foie gras and wild mushroom kromesky fritter, verjuice sauce with sultanas” which again, did not disappoint, the beef was like butter and I could cheerfully have mugged them for their foie gras.

To complete out lunch, Chef Alain had arranged a special birthday cake for Ellie, which was a combination of a light sponge, fruit mousse and white chocolate.

Happiness, is a birthday lunch at the Waterside Inn.