i Lead Recipes

Rocky Mountain oysters, also known as prairie oysters, are a North American culinary name for edible offal, specifically buffalo or bull testicles. They are usually peeled, coated in flour, pepper and salt, sometimes pounded flat, then deep-fried. This delicacy is most often served as an appetizer. It is a well-known novelty dish in parts of the American West and the Canadian Prairies where cattle ranching is prevalent and castration of young animals is common (“prairie oysters” is the preferred name in Canada, where they may be served in a demi-glace, not deep-fried). In Oklahoma and North Texas, they are sometimes called calf fries but only if taken from very young bulls.

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Caviar is eggs taken from female sturgeon fish. Ninety percent of the world’s caviar comes from countries like Iran which are in the Caspain sea. The packaging of caviar is very labour intensive due to the delicateness of the product. Harvesting the eggs is a sterile process in which the fish are well-washed, gutted and the roe extracted manually. The eggs are weighed and strained before it is preserved by salting. This is a very technical process as the type of salt that is used should be in accordance with the customers preference and different countries’ customs regulations. The containers are sealed by pulling a rubber band over it. During storage an oily liquid seeps out the container which is an indicator of the freshness of the product. 

Caviar is an exclusive and specialised food and renowned chef’s schools like Prue Leith Chef’s Academy train their Graduates in the art of preparing and presenting it as true masterpieces.

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Duxelles is the word used to describe finely chopped mushrooms and onion (or shallots) that are sautéed in butter until soft. The mixture, which should be quite dry, is used to flavour poached fish or shellfish, or to dress a fillet of beef or leg of baby lamb before they are wrapped in pastry, or to garnich a papillote.

Cooking en papillote is to enclose an ingredient, usually already half cooked or sealed, in an envelope of strong paper or aluminium foil. The foil or paper is cut into an oval the size of an A4 piece of paper, greased with butter or oil on the inside, and then folded to enclose the ingredient to be cooked. Herbs may also be added. This is an excellent way to cook trout, sole, salmon, turbot or veal.

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This is a delicious Tuna Dip for a Cocktail Party. Serve with crackers or crisps. Blend together in a liquidizer the following:

• 1 Tin Tuna
• 3 Capers – finely chopped
• 1 small onion – finely chopped
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pour into serving bowl and decorate the top with chopped parsley and paprika.

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