Neven Maguire: the fruits of summer are upon us

I am very proud of the reputation we have in MacNean for our breakfasts. We have always thought of it as the last meal our overnight guests have, and it is important that it is something to remember.

Well, last week on our ‘food tour’, with some of our chefs and front-of-house people, I had one of the best breakfasts I have ever eaten in Hide, in the centre of London.

Everything is baked on the premises. There were wonderful fruits and an Eggs Benedict to die for. It was a good reminder of how important breakfast is and we were all well set up for the day.

People who know me well know that I cannot visit London without going to look at some of the wonderful tableware shops. G&G Goodfellows and Continental Chef Supplies are two of my favourites. I went, but I was very disciplined and just looked.

I also want to say a big thank you to all of the people who supported our recent plate sale from the restaurant. We raised over €6,000, which is for the local St Vincent de Paul. Thank you – we were thrilled.

This is a great time of year for fruits. We have been buying a lot of raspberries, strawberries and blackberries from Pat Clarke for the restaurant. It is also a good time to put some in the freezer. Just remember to hull the strawberries before freezing.

I love the way cinnamon goes with berries in this crumble recipe and I often add hazelnuts to the mix, as well. You can make the crumble ahead of time, and the berry mix is also lovely on pancakes or a pavlova.

These Catalan crème pots are a great favourite in the cookery school. They are very easy to make so everyone has success. This recipe is much easier than crème brûlée, which is the French equivalent.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Ingredients: serves 4

100g caster sugar

250ml red wine

½ vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out

2 whole star anise (optional)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

450g mixed summer berries (such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)

For the crumble:

175g plain flour

100g butter

100g light muscovado sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50g whole blanched almonds, finely chopped

50g shelled walnuts, finely chopped

For the citrus mascarpone cream:

250g tub mascarpone cheese

Finely grated rind of 1 orange, 1 lemon and 1 lime

½ vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out

1-2 tbsp sifted icing sugar

For the caramel sauce:

250g caster sugar

225ml cream

75g butter

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. To prepare the berries, place the sugar in a heavy-based pan with the red wine, vanilla seeds, star anise, if using, and lemon juice.

2 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes until slightly thickened and syrup-like. Stir in the berries, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

3 To make the crumble, place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add and combine the sugar, cinnamon, almonds and walnuts.

4 Spoon the berry mixture into four individual ovenproof dishes or large ramekins. Sprinkle over the crumble mixture and arrange on a baking sheet, then bake for about 20 minutes until the crumble topping is golden brown and bubbling around the edges.

5 To make the mascarpone cream, place the mascarpone in a bowl and beat in the orange, lemon and lime rind. Add enough of the icing sugar to just sweeten, making sure it is not too sweet. Cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge until needed. This will keep for up to three days in the fridge.

6 To make caramel sauce, place the sugar in a heavy based pan with 120ml of water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden brown, without stirring, if it's too dark or it will become bitter.

7 Stir in the cream and butter and mix well to combine. Continue to cook until it reaches a nice sauce consistency, stirring occasionally. Use immediately or leave to cool and store in fridge. This sauce will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.

8 To serve, arrange the summer fruit crumbles on plates and spoon some of the citrus mascarpone cream on the side, then drizzle with the caramel sauce. The remainder of the caramel sauce can be served separately in a jug on the table.

Ingredients: serves 6 to 8

6 egg yolks

150g caster sugar

25g cornflour

1.2 litres milk

1 cinnamon stick

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

3 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1 Place the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl with the sugar and, using a hand-held whisk, beat for five minutes, until thickened. Tip in the cornflour and mix well to combine.

2 Place the milk in a pan with the cinnamon stick, lemon and orange rind. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for five minutes.

3 Strain the milk, discarding the cinnamon stick, lemon and orange rind and then gradually whisk into the egg and sugar mixture. Place in a clean pan and slowly return to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat.

4 Leave to cool, then pour into four individual dishes or ramekins and chill for at least four hours, or overnight is best, to allow the custard pots to firm up.

5 When ready to serve, sprinkle the tops evenly with the demerara sugar and caramelise with a blow torch or under a preheated hot grill. Arrange on plates to serve.

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