Food

A Great British Menu winning dish with Irish potatoes, cheese and onions

Kitchen Cabinet: Here’s how to make Michelin chef Alex Greene’s banquet starter

A cheese custard, Ballymakenny potato, spring onion dish, as served by Alex Greene.

Alex Greene
Fri Jul 10 2020 - 07:00

This year Alex Greene scored a double win on the TV show Great British Menu, with his starter and his dessert.

His starter, called The potato, the onion, the cheese and the wardrobe, was based on Irish ingredients, including Ballymakenny potatoes.

Greene grew up in a farming environment and has a passion for local ingredients and a soft spot for potatoes. "I love simple foods, particularly when I'm off work. And what better than potatoes. This is a very simple but extremely tasty starter, showcasing the best of Irish produce, that will make everybody happy."

Alex Greene is head chef at Deanes Eipic, in Belfast

CHEESE CUSTARD, BALLYMAKENNY POTATO, SPRING ONION

Serves four

Ingredients
2 Violetta purple potatoes
2 Red Emilie potatoes
40g Maldon sea salt

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For the cheese custard
100g strong Irish cheddar
60g Cashel Blue cheese
200g Parmesan
500ml cream
500ml milk
Fresh thyme
Garlic
Spring onion
Chives

You will need a probe to check the temperature of the custard

Method
1 Wash the potatoes and place on a tray of sea salt and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius, until cooked. Once they have cooled completely, refrigerate for two hours, then remove skin, dice the flesh into roughly 2cm cubes and set aside.

2 For the cheese custard, place all the cheeses, grated, in a pot with the whole milk, full fat cream and a few cloves of garlic. Bring up to 85 degrees Celsius and then allow to cool for at least two hours at room temperature. It is important you do not boil the custard or it will curdle. You will need a probe to ensure temperature has been reached.

3 Remove the liquid from the top with a ladle and throw away solid that has settled at the bottom of the pot. Pass the remaining custard through a fine sieve. Season and set to the side.

4 Finely chop up some chives and cut the spring onions into nice 1cm thick rounds.

5 To serve, warm the custard up in a saucepan till almost boiling then divide into four shallow bowls. Have the died potato at room temperature and evenly divide it into the hot custard. Sprinkle the chives and spring onion on top.

Kitchen Cabinet is a series of recipes from chefs who are members of Euro-Toques Ireland, who have come together during the coronavirus outbreak to share some of the easy, tasty things that they like to cook and eat at home #ChefsAtHome

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