Lisa’s latest Gourmet Menu encapsulates traditional flavours of the season and incorporates them in new ways, whilst focussing on sourcing locally and using the entirety of an ingredient. Each dish is a homage to the spirit of the season, paired perfectly with a complimenting wine flight.
The opening course is Pressed Quail, “Quail is a lighter meat which makes it appropriate for Spring, it’s really elegant,” says Lisa, “We use the whole of the bird; the breasts and the livers for the ballotine in the centre. It’s taken from the traditional pate because it’s a ballotine of the breast, filled with a liver parfait and wrapped in celeriac and apple. At this time of year, celeriacs have a creamy texture that compliments the dish with the acidity of the apple.”
For her second course, Roscoff Onion, Lisa brings the onion to the forefront of the plate. “Onions are probably one of my favourite ingredients because they’re always a peasant thrown into dishes and aren’t given their status. A Roscoff onion is quite soft and slightly sweet, which works quite elegantly in what we have created.” The onion is salted and sugared for thirty minutes on each side and then cooked in Iberico Ham fat. This is then topped with an onion tuille and has a sauce of curds and whey. “The philosophy of the restaurant is that we use as much as we can from an ingredient. We use the curds, freeze them and make pearls and the whey is made into a decadent sauce” she says, “Then we finish it with wild garlic, which is vast in season now, all on riverbanks and you can generally smell it before you can see it. The kitchen brigade often go out and pick it themselves.”
The middle dish is a Native Lobster, “We cook it straight over coals so it has a light smokey flavour and this one is a bit abstract, as we pair it with Sea Buckthorn, which is a wild berry which lives on the seabanks, which is made into a puree.” Lisa says. Sea Buckthorn is a prickly plant that produces bright orange berries and is also an ingredient in Obsession Gin, made by Lytham Gin and stocked here at Northcote. “Something quite traditional again, which sticks to my roots of putting my twist on classic things, is a thermidor sauce. It’s a sauce made out of fish stock, parmesan, some mustard, sweet onions and vermouth. This dish also has a foie which is duck liver, that is marinated and made into little discs with mooli radish, so it’s a very fresh dish with something different.”
The penultimate course is a Lake District Lamb which is in season and a staple for Spring. As the name suggests, our lamb is sourced from the Lake District. Lisa says, “We roast it on the bone and I think that is the best way to do it because you keep its flavour as much as you can, rendering the fat, crisping it up and then cook it slowly at 100 degrees so it’s perfectly pink through and through, but very soft at the same time.” She adds, “Again, quite a classic, I like the fact that you can bring that nostalgic feel to dishes, so we’re doing mint with it. We make mint jelly, which is made from an infusion of apple juice and mint with vinegar. We serve it with Spilman’s asparagus that is cooked in heavily salted and sugared water so that it’s cooked quite tender.” With raw turnip, raw asparagus and a turnip puree on the plate, as well as a slow-cooked lamb belly to complete. “We use all of the lamb, we roast it on the bone, use the biproducts to make the sauce, as well as the stuffed belly on the side. We also make our lamb bacon that goes through the sauce and we cure our lamb which goes into the mousse, made from the trimmings.”
Dessert is Lisa’s take on a classic with her “Millionaire”. “We are still on the cusp of not getting those peachy flavours through yet, but gooseberries are in season. So we’ve created a shortbread millionaire, which has a biscuit base, a chocolate mousse, gooseberry jelly, caramel and almond ice cream. We also have a tube that has a gooseberry sauce inside and is coated in cocoa butter.” Diners are encouraged to eat downwards with their spoon to get a taste of each layer, which when combined, really does create magic.
It’s the perfect way to experience all that Northcote’s Michelin-star team has to offer this season.
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Online availability:
If there is no availability on your chosen date, please email us at reception@northcote.com with your contact details and date. We will be happy to add you to the waiting list.
Online booking is available for up to seven people in our restaurant and 8-16 people on our Chef’s Table.
For larger groups, please contact us on 01254 240555 or reception@northcote.com.
