Words by Hannah Tapping
Rock-based Sharp’s Brewery’s very first cook book Just Add Beer was the brainchild of Sharp’s Beer Sommelier Ed Hughes and Communications Manager Rachel Williams who have been on a mission to encourage the pairing of food and beer for many years. The book celebrates beer both as an ingredient as well as a pairing for a variety of recipes, created by top chefs who either live and work in Cornwall or have strong links to the Duchy.
Ed Hughes, who has appeared regularly on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, introduces readers to beer and food pairing as well as providing useful knowledge and insight into what makes beer and food so great together. In addition, Ed covers beer styles, glassware options, brewing techniques and tasting notes.
Just Add Beer will be available to buy at the Sharp’s festival bar at this year’s Padstow Christmas Festival for which Sharp’s is the headline sponsor. This world-renowned Christmas event will take place from Thursday 7th December to Sunday 10th December, where chef-royalty Paul Ainsworth and Jude Kereama will be demo-ing on the line up as well as Ed Hughes.
DBCD (Doom Bar Christmas Daiquiri)
Makes 1 cocktail
INGREDIENTS
50ml Twin Fin Spiced Rum
25ml lime juice
15ml sugar syrup
35ml Doom Bar
A drop of orange bitters
Slice of lime
METHOD
Put all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake hard for 10-12 seconds. Strain, and pour into goblet or Martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lime.
“A beery twist on a classic drink, with a further Christmas twist: the sweetness of the malt from the Doom Bar balances out the acidity from the lime, and heightens the molasses and spiced sweetness in the rum.” – Ed Hughes
Beef Feather Blade with Herb Olive Relish and Miso Sauce
Serves 6 Pair with Atlantic Pale Ale or Doom Bar Amber Ale
INGREDIENTS
For the beef:
1 whole beef feather blade (approx. 2-2.5kg), trimmed and filleted
1 tsp chopped thyme
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp oregano, chopped
100ml olive oil
For the herb olive relish:
100g flat parsley, chopped
50g basil, chopped
50g mint, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp capers, chopped
6 salted anchovies, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
100g mixed olives, chopped
2 lemons, juice
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
For the miso sauce:
225g white miso
200g sugar
115ml sake
115ml mirin
METHOD
Ask your butcher to take a whole feather blade, trim off any sinew and fillet through the middle to remove all gristle. Cut into 4 large portions (approx. 250g each). Marinate the steaks (overnight or for at least 2 hours) in the olive oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Refrigerate until needed.
Make the herb olive relish by mixing all the ingredients together, and refrigerate until needed. Make the miso sauce by putting all the ingredients in a pan and warming until the sugar has dissolved. Sear off your feather blade steaks in a hot pan or on the BBQ and cook to your liking. If you have a meat probe, cook to 54°C – feather blade is best rare to medium rare.
Rest the steak for 8 minutes, then slice thinly and lay on a plate. Dress with the herb olive relish and a drizzle of miso sauce. Garnish with any bitter leaves such as watercress, rocket or mizuna and your favourite dressing.
“Doom Bar goes brilliantly with a piece of grilled steak. In this recipe the herb olive relish picks up on the herby hops, while the miso mimics the malty flavours. It’s a great dish for a BBQ party.” – Jude Kereama
“Why don’t you try both and see what you prefer? Will it be the citrus bitterness from Atlantic that cleanses the palate or the malty sweetness from Doom Bar that balances out Jude’s wonderful choice of flavours, you decide your favourite.” – Ed Hughes
Bread and Butter Pudding
Serves 2-4
Pair with Doom Bar Christmas Daiquiri
INGREDIENTS
12 slices of white bread
250g butter
30g sultanas, soaked in a high ABV Belgian Dubbel or Barley Wine for at least a week
450ml double cream
150ml milk
2 vanilla pods
140g egg yolk
175g caster sugar
METHOD
Place the butter in a pan and bring to the boil, whisking all the time until it turns nut brown. Then pass through a fine sieve, whisk until cool and leave to set at room temperature. For the custard, whisk the eggs and the sugar together until pale and light.
Bring the cream, milk and vanilla to the boil, then pour over the egg and sugar mixture, whisking all the time. Bring a pan with water to the simmer, then place the custard mixture in the bowl over the water and cook out until thick – stirring all the time. Once the custard is thick and about 75-80°C, pass through a fine sieve and leave to cool to room temperature.
Now butter your bread with the caramelised butter, cut off all the crusts from the bread and cut each slice into four triangles. Lightly butter a small Pyrex dish and sprinkle some soaked sultanas on the base of the dish. Dip the buttered bread triangles into the custard and lay into the dish, forming a single layer of bread with no gaps, then sprinkle some more sultanas on top of the bread. Ladle a small amount of custard over this layer, then repeat this bread layer twice more. On the third and final bread layer don’t put any sultanas on top, just cover with the remaining custard.
Place cling film on top and leave at room temperature for at least 12 hours (making this the day before is fine). This helps the custard to really soak into the layers. Place the dish inside a deep oven tray and fill the tray with warm water to the height of the bread and butter. Place into a preheated oven at 110°C and cook for 1 hour, until the custard is nice and thick. You can leave the cling film on top when baking as this will stop the top from drying in the oven.
To finish and give the bread-and-butter pudding an amazing texture, sprinkle caster sugar on top and blow torch to caramelise like a crème brûlée. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a real treat.
