Neil McGown, chef patron of East Haugh House Hotel in Pitlochry, tells Caroline Lindsay why he loves Scotland’s natural larder and other kitchen secrets.
Q Favourite desert island food?
A Rack of Perthshire lamb – Scotland has some of the best lamb in the world.
Q Favourite TV chef?
A Tom Kitchin, I love his philosophy of ‘nature to plate’ which is what we’ve always stood by at East Haugh House.
Q Favourite ingredient?
A Madeira wine – it acts as a superb addition to a quality meat sauce.
Q Most hated ingredient?
A Gravy granules – you only need some good bones to make a great stock.
Q Perfect dinner guest?
A My late best friend Nick Dalton. He died six years ago of prostate cancer. We did a lot of shooting and fishing together and had some of the best times over dinner afterwards.
Q Favourite kitchen gadget?
A My hot and cold smoker. You can smoke anything from butter to trout. My six-year-old grandson comes fishing with me often and he loves eating his smoked trout afterwards.
Q Favourite music to cook to?
A Bruno Mars Uptown Funk. I’m a fast chopper!
Q Perfect menu?
A Smoked languostines, fillet of mountain hare with braised red cabbage and mederia wine jus, crepes with strawberries and flamed Grand Marnier.
Q Favourite country for food?
A Without a doubt Scotland. We have a huge larder of shellfish, game and the best beef in the world.
Q Favourite chef alive or dead?
A Gordon Ramsay – he is brilliant in the kitchen.
Q Favourite culinary season?
A Autumn – I love cooking game and autumn is the season for it. I enjoy hunting in my spare time so this is also a great time of year to be out on the hill and I often have my catch on the menu.
Q Salt or pepper?
A Salt, Maldon Sea Salt is what I always use as it really enhances the flavour of the ingredients
Q Favourite herb?
A Basil – it is so fragrant and is a great addition to a tomato sauce and salads, or finely chopped over buttered potatoes.
Q Favourite spice?
A Cumin – it adds a lovely kick to soups.
Q Favourite way to cook the humble potato?
A Dauphinoise.
Q Favourite go-to recipe if you’re in a hurry?
A Smoked salmon, with duck egg scrambled egg and smashed avocado.
Q Favourite health food?
A Avocado.
Q Ideal picnic dish?
A Egg and cress sandwiches.
Q Ideal BBQ food?
A Sticky ribs.
Q Are you critical of food when dining out?
A My daughter and wife answered that – they say “massively”!
Q Do you tip in restaurants?
A Always.
Q Worst cooking sin?
A Overcooking meat, fish and vegtables.
Q Top tip for failsafe cooking?
A Communication – be it reading a recipe or commanding a kitchen team, communication is key when cooking.
Roast loin fillet of venison
Ingredients
Serves 4
For the braised cabbage: 1 small red cabbage
100g butter
150g light brown sugar
75ml sherry or red wine vinegar
For the parsnip puree: 2 large parsnips
150ml milk
75ml double cream
25g butter
For the venison: 600g venison fillet
Sea salt and black pepper
11/2 tbsp olive oil
Few knobs of butter
For the parsnip crisps: 2 parsnips
200ml sunflower oil
Sea salt and black pepper
For the red wine sauce: 2tbsp olive oil
Handful of mushrooms (chopped)
3 banana shallots finely chopped
100g meat trimmings (beef or venison)
1/2 tsp of black peppercorns
Few sprigs of thyme
Bay leaf
Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
750ml red wine
100ml port
400ml veal or chicken stock
Sea salt and black pepper
directions
For the red cabbage: Half, core and finely shred the cabbage. Melt butter with sugar and vinegar in a pan.
When the sugar has dissolved pop in the red cabbage and toss to coat
Cover with a crumpled piece of greaseproof paper and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours until cabbage is tender.
Remove the paper and stir the cabbage now and then
If there is still a fair amount of liquid then drain the cabbage and set aside. Boil this liquid to make a syrupy sauce. Pour over cabbage and toss to coat.
For the parsnip puree: Peel parsnips, cut out tough core and roughly chop. Put into small pan with milk and cook for 20-25mins until very soft.
Put the cooked parsnips into the blenderwith half of the liquor and zap to a fine a fine puree, return to pan and stir in the bream and butter. Seaon with salt and pepper. Transfer to squeezy bottle and keep in a pan of hot water.
Fr the venison: Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Season the venison with salt and pepper. Heat in overproof frying pan or small roasting tray and add olive oil.
Once the pan is hot, add venison and brown/seal the meat for 4-5mins turning to colour evenly and adding the butter after minute or so.
Spoon over the venison to baste as it melts and foams.
Put pan into oven and roast for approx 6-8 mins until the meat is medium-rare. It should feel slightly springy when pressed.
Remove and set aside to rest for 5-8 mins.
For the parsnip crisps: Spiralise or finely chop/peel the parsnips. Add to a hot pan with 200ml of hot vegetable oil and cook until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen roll. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the red wine and port sauce: In a large saute pan, brown the meat trimmings with a little shallots and some thyme. Add the mushrooms. Add enough stock to cover the trimmings approx half way.
Boil down until it completely evaporates and caramelizes on the bottom of the pan
Add the port, red wine, and sherry vinegar and reduce until syrupy, being careful not to burn it. Add the bay leaf. Add the remaining stock and reduce by half. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Strain. Add cornflour to thicken is required.
To serve: Put a neat pile of red cabbage in the centre of each warm plate. Slice the venison thickly and arrange, overlapping the red cabbage. Drizzle the red wine sauce around the plates.
Squeeze little dots of parsnip puree around the plates. Arrange the parsnip chips on top of the venison.
