Recipes created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2024 by head chef Matt Fuller of Suesey Street, Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, showcasing the 2024 award winners.

Carlingford Oyster Tempura | Red Onion Pickle | Oyster Emulsion | Wakame Salad

To prepare the tempura batter:

1. In a large bowl, whisk all of the tempura batter ingredients together gently. 

To prepare the red onion pickle:

1. Bring the vinegar, sugar, water, salt and spices to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat.
2. Add the tarragon and red onion.
3. Pour into a sterilised jar. Cover with a lid and allow to cool before refrigerating.

To prepare the oyster emulsion:

• Shuck the oysters, taking care to reserve the juices.
• Put the oysters into a food processor with the vinegar and Ultratex.
• Blend on medium speed, drizzling the oil very slowly into the food processor.
• Season with the lemon zest, juice and salt.

Finishing the oysters:

• Preheat fryer to 180⁰C.
• Shuck the oysters, making sure to polish the oyster shell.
• Put some of the wakame salad into the shell.
• Whisk the tempura batter and dip the oyster into the batter. Gently lay the oyster in the fryer and fry for about 45 seconds.
• Place the fried oyster in the shell with the wakame salad. Spoon on a little emulsion and sprinkle on a few pickled onions.

Rare Ruminare Slow Braised Ossobuco | Pomme Soufflé | Black Pepper Crème

To prepare the brown chicken stock:

1. Preheat the oven to 220⁰C. Spread the chicken wings on a large baking tray and roast for approximately 45 minutes, until dark brown.
2. Clean and slice the vegetables into 4cm pieces.
3. Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over a medium-high heat. Cook the vegetables until golden.
4. Add the spices, wine and chicken stock.
5. Simmer at a low heat for 24 hours. Strain through a fine chinois.
6. Refrigerate overnight. Take the fat off the top.
7. Bag and freeze

To prepare the veal stock:

1. Preheat the oven to 175⁰C.
2. Spread the veal bones on a large baking tray and roast for 1 hour, or until they reach a deep golden brown.
3. Clean and slice the vegetables into 4cm pieces.
4. Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over a medium-high heat. Cook the vegetables until golden.
5. Add the veal bones, fennel, star anise, wine and enough water to cover.
6. Simmer at a low heat for 24 hours. Strain through a fine chinois.
7. Refrigerate overnight. Take the fat off the top.
8. Bag and freeze

To prepare the braised ossobuco:

1. Preheat the oven to 140⁰C.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the ossobuco until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and reserve.
3. Sweat the vegetables in the same pan, allowing them to colour. 
4. Add the wine and Madeira. Allow to bubble and cook until the pan is almost dry. Add the ossobuco, vegetables, chicken stock and veal stock to the pan with the herbs and spices.
5. Bring to a simmer on the stove top and then finish in the oven, covered with parchment paper and a lid
6. Cook for approximately 2 hours until tender. The meat should be falling off the bone.
7. Separate the meat, bone, stock and sinew, reserving all three
8. Reduce the stock by half. 
9. Pass the sinew through a mincer and fry in a heavy bottomed pot with the shallots.
10. Add the meat and reduced stock and cook until the mixture resembles a sticky stew.

To prepare the pomme soufflé:

1. Preheat fryer to 180⁰C.
2. Thinly slice the potato. It should be fine, transparent and even.
3. Dust half of the potato slices with the potato starch.
4. Brush the other half of the potato slices with egg white.
5. Put each of these haves together, cut to the desired size and fry. They should puff up into hollow little pillows

To prepare the black pepper crème:

1. Preheat the oven to 100⁰C.
2. Toast the whole black peppercorns in a dry pan until the aroma develops and there is a hint of smoke.
3. Blend the peppercorns in a spice grinder.
4. Boil the peppercorns, salt and cream in a pot and pour over the egg yolks. Add the gelatine, whisking constantly.
5. Cook in the oven in a bain-marie (as per a crème brûlée) for approximately 90 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and blend with a touch of extra cream until you reach the desired texture.
7. Allow to set in the fridge.

Finishing the ossobuco:

1. Fry the pomme soufflé.
2. Warm the ossobuco
3. When the pomme is fried, stuff it with the ossobuco braise and some potato mousseline.
4. Put a small dot of mousseline onto a plate, cover with the soufflé and pipe some of the black pepper crème on top.
5. Decorate with some fennel cress.

Regan Organic Chicken Mousseline | Morel & Shallot Stew | Irish Baby Leeks | Soubise

To prepare the chicken brine:

1. Put all of the brine ingredients, except the ice, in a large pot.
2. Bring to the boil, then take off the heat. Add the ice and allow to cool.
3. Reserve in the fridge for 24 hours. After that it must be discarded.

To prepare the chicken mousseline:

1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C.
2. Fry chicken skins in the butter over a low heat to render their fat. Drain the butter and reserve.
3. Put the skins on a baking tray and roast for 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy. Chop and season with a little Maldon sea salt.
4. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of salted water until tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork, about 20-25 minutes. Drain and peel. Return to the hot pan.
5. In a small saucepan, bring the milk, cream and reserved butter to the boil.
6. Mash the potatoes and whip with the hot dairy mixture.

To prepare the poached leeks:

1. Thoroughly clean the leeks and put into a vac pack bag with butter, salt, and thyme.
2. Put the bag into a simmering pot of water for approximately 1 minute or until the leeks are tender.
3. Put the bag into iced water to cool.

To prepare the morel and shallot stew:

1. Cut the stalks and tips from the morels.
2. Sweat the morel stalks and shallots in the oil over a medium heat until fully cooked.
3. Add the chicken stock and cream, reduce until the sauce darkens. 
4. Blend in a food processor and pass through a fine chinois.
5. Slice the rest of the mushrooms into 5 mm slices.
6. Lightly fry the mushroom slices in a little more oil.
7. Pour the sauce onto the mushroom slices and simmer for 2 minutes.

Finishing the chicken:

1. Remove the skin from the crown and reserve. Remove the breasts from the carcass.
2. Put the breasts into the brine and refrigerate for 12 – 18 hours.
3. Roll the breasts in the reserved skin and roll in cling film to create a sausage-type shape.
4. Vac pack the chickens without removing the cling film and poach at 59⁰c for 55 min. Chill in ice water.
5. Heat the mousseline, morel stew, leeks and onion soubise.
6. Cook the chicken in a hot pan, making sure to turn it regularly and get a good golden colour all over. Add cold diced butter to get a good foam in the pan. Add the garlic and thyme towards the end of cooking time.
7. Slice the chicken into 4 pieces.
8. Cut the leeks into 2cm pieces and warm in a little butter emulsion.
9. Sauce the plate with morel stew and put some of the soubise around the plate
10. Plate the leeks on the soup and place the chicken on the plate. 

Valencia Island Vermouth Poached Pear | Roll It All Butter Pastry Feuilletine | Oat Crumble | Muscovado Ice Cream | Coffee Custard | Burnt Apple Purée

To prepare the poached pears:

1. Put all of the poached pear ingredients into a vac pack bag.
2. Heat the water bath to 80⁰c and poach for 20 – 30 minutes.

To prepare the feuilletine:

1. Preheat the oven to 170⁰C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Place the water and caster sugar into a small saucepan and warm over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Roll the pastry out to 4mm.
4. Brush with the syrup and dust with icing sugar.
5. Cut into pieces and place on the baking trays.
6. Cover with parchment paper and another baking tray to weigh it so that it doesn’t puff up unevenly or excessively.
7. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove the top tray and cook for a further 10 minutes.
8. Allow to cool on a wire tray.

To prepare the oat crumble:

1. Split and scrape out the vanilla pod to get the seeds.
2. Put the vanilla seeds, butter and the sugars in a mixer on low speed until just combined.
3. Add the oats and almonds and mix until incorporated.

To prepare the muscovado ice cream:

1. Pour the cream, milk , glucose and vanilla into a deep saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Mix the egg yolks and the sugars together in a large bowl.
3. Pour the boiling cream mixture onto the yolks, whisking constantly.
4. Pour back into the saucepan and return to the heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 82⁰C.
5. Cool and churn in an ice cream machine as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

To prepare the coffee custard:

1. Mix the agar agar with the demerara sugar.
2. Put the agar agar / demerara sugar mixture and all of the ingredients, except the egg yolks, into a deep saucepan and bring to a simmer.
3. Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Pour over the simmering liquid while still hot and whisk until incorporated
4. Cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5. Blend in a high speed blender and reserve in bottles.

To prepare the burnt apple purée:

1. Preheat the oven to 170⁰C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Slice apples thinly and lay on an oven tray. Sprinkle with the sugar and salt.
3. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Stir the apples and bake for another 20 minutes.
4. Blend in a high speed blender and pass through a sieve.

To assemble: arrange pieces of poached pear, feuilletine and crumble on a plate, dotted with coffee custard and burnt apple purée, with a scoop of muscovado ice cream alongside. Serve with Valencia Island Vermouth.