Top up your tub
The new cookery book by Yorkshire celebrity chef James Martin is all about one ingredient – butter. Pictures by John Carey.
Warm lentil salad with whipped goat’s cheese butter
You can use any type of lentils you wish for this simple salad. The key is adding a touch of sherry vinegar, which cuts through the richness of the goat’s cheese butter. It is a great dish either hot or cold.
SERVES 4
For the lentil salad:
• 50g butter
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 shallot, peeled and diced
• ½ carrot, diced
• ½ celery stick, diced
• 50g bacon lardons
• ½ leek, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 150g green lentils
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 300ml chicken stock
• 50ml red wine
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• a small bunch of coriander, chopped
For the whipped goat’s cheese butter:
• 100g goat’s butter, softened
• 200g soft goat’s cheese
• black pepper, to taste
To serve:
• a few sprigs of coriander
METHOD
Melt the butter in a large pan and add the garlic, shallot, carrot, celery, bacon, leek and spices. Cook for one minute before adding all the remaining ingredients for the lentil salad. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Whisk together the goat’s butter and cheese. Season with pepper.
To serve, spoon the lentils into bowls and dot with the goat’s cheese butter. Sprinkle with coriander.
Chicken wings with gochujang, lime and herb butter
There are several ways to cook these chicken wings: either roast them in the oven or on a barbecue, or I like to deep-fry them. You then roll them in the melted butter and just finish them off either on the barbecue or in the oven. The paste is a revelation.
SERVES 4-6
Ingredients:
• 1kg chicken wings
For the gochujang, lime and herb butter:
• 150g butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons gochujang paste
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• a few sprigs of mint, chopped
• a few sprigs of coriander, chopped
To serve:
• 4-6 warm flatbreads (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Heat a pan of vegetable oil or a deep-fat fryer to 160C.
Deep-fry the wings for 6-8 minutes until crisp and cooked through, then drain on kitchen paper.
Pop the chicken wings onto a large roasting tray. Mix together all the ingredients for the butter and dot it over the chicken. Roast for 10 minutes until everything is hot and bubbling.
Serve with flatbreads to mop up the butter, if you like.
Roast crab with lime and chilli butter
This can be served as either potted crab spread on warm toast or, as I like to serve it, just melted in a dish so it warms the crab and fully melts the butter. That way all the flavours of the kaffir lime leaves come out.
SERVES 2
Ingredients:
• 100g butter, softened
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• 1 lemongrass stick, finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra
leaves to serve
• 1 red chilli, finely diced
• 300g white crab meat
• sea salt and freshly ground black
• pepper
To serve:
• toasted sourdough
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Beat together the butter, lime zest and juice, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, spring onions, coriander and chilli. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the crab into two ovenproof dishes and top with the butter. Place them on a baking tray and roast for 10 minutes until hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve straight away, with toasted sourdough on the side.
■ Butter by James Martin features over 130 recipes celebrating butter and is published by Quadrille.