|
|
 |
| |
Vanilla poached salmon |
Many happy returns to Hall
With eats, treats and treatments galore,
Clare Latimer’s birthdays all came at once, on a return visit to a favourite health spa
I WAS given the most wonderful present for my birthday recently of three days at
Ragdale Hall health spa up near Leicester.
Well, the last time I went there was 25 years ago and I still had fond memories of the place.
I was totally stunned by the improvements. It is privately owned and by golly it shows. The place is spotless and the detail on staff training is superb. There are 460 staff to 170 guests and even though it was full, I only ever saw three other people in the main 25-metre pool.
There are many other smaller pools, such as a hot one, where you can swim through a barrier and go outside to reach waterfall back massagers and much more.
There are special hot rooms for different treatments and ice-cold cave showers. And there are cafés, shops and even a half-done jigsaw you can dip into when passing.
The final treat is the Retreat Room (no talking), full of antique day beds and chaises-longues with flowery fluffy duvets to hide under and have a quick snooze and you don’t even feel guilty.
Vanilla poached salmon
Whilst staying at the health farm, I definitely had the same treatment as the salmon fillets in this recipe, although perhaps not the alcohol bit!
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 fennel bulb
3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 sprig fresh thyme
½ vanilla pod
3 star anise
5 fl oz mild olive oil
5 fl oz dry white wine
4 x 75g fresh salmon fillets
500g vine ripened plum tomatoes, peeled,
de-seeded and thinly sliced
1 tbsp basil,
roughly chopped
1 tbsp parsley,
roughly chopped
3 punnets sweet potato shoots (or baby salad leaves)
Juice of 1 lemon.
Method
Put the fennel, shallots, garlic, thyme, vanilla pod, star anise, olive oil and white wine into a saucepan.
Place over a medium heat, bring to the boil, then simmer for a further three minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Strain the fennel mixture, taking care to retain all the liquid as well as the fennel mixture. Put the liquid into a shallow pan with a lid and add the salmon fillets. Bring to the boil, cover with the lid and cook gently for two minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the salmon to cook and cool in the steamy atmosphere for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the star anise, thyme sprig and vanilla pod from the fennel mixture, then add the remaining ingredients, tossing them together gently.
To assemble the dish, share the fennel salad between four plates and place a salmon fillet on top of each one.
Wheat-free chocolate brownies
This recipe will be great for one client who comes in our shop who can’t eat wheat and there are many more of you out there.
I like brownies slightly undercooked, so up to you.
Ingredients
125g dark chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
125g butter
2 tbsp water
165g caster sugar
125g chickpea flour
1 tsp baking powder (wheat free)
75g walnuts, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
15g chocolate chips.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm square cake tin.
Break the chocolate into a saucepan and add the butter and water. Heat gently, stirring until melted, then cool.
Stir in the sugar.
Sift the flour and baking powder and then fold into the chocolate mixture with most of the walnuts.
Add the eggs and stir everything together gently.
Tip into the prepared tin, level the surface and sprinkle the remaining walnuts and chocolate chips over the top.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
