Darina Allen: Delicious dishes from the youngest Michelin starred chef in Britain
The Summer 12-week certificate course students had a special treat last week, when Merlin Lebron Johnston from Portland Restaurant in London came as guest chef to The Ballymaloe Cookery School. This gentle young man is the youngest Michelin starred chef in Britain.
His story is intriguing. Merlin had a rocky relationship with school, eventually he was fortunate to be sent to Ashbourne, a progressive school in Devon, where the students in conjunction with the teachers made the decision that going to lessons was not compulsory on the assumption that if they did turn up to class, they would be interested and give it their all.
This worked brilliantly for 95% of the students, but Merlin was not interested in any class so he hung around for a bit.
The secretary, Joanna, doubled up as a cook and produced delicious school dinners every day. The students could either have packed lunches or school dinners but the latter was expensive so Merlin would plead with Joanna to give him some food.
âShe made rice pudding and crumbles, crĂšme brulĂ©e, great salads, pasta. I would beg her for some. We made a deal: If you want to cook you need to wash up. Seeing how I wasnât that busy, I started helping her cook and after a bit she got busier and eventually I started to cook for my school at the age of 15 ...â
When exam time came the teachers said: âWell you seem to love cooking, we think you should be a chef.â Merlin left and got a job.
Once I found cooking I became pretty obsessed and became totally focused on working in the best restaurants.
For the next five years Merlin worked in top restaurants in Britain, Switzerland, France and Belgium, both classic and experimental, including In De Wulf in Belgium where there was a big focus on foraging and fermentation. Aged 23, he became sous chef there.
Meanwhile in London, Will Lander and Will Morganstern were looking out for a head chef for a new restaurant they planned to open in Great Portland Street. He landed the job aged 24 and was awarded a Michelin Star within nine months of opening, the youngest chef in England to be awarded that accolade.
Below are some of the delicious dishes he showed us how to cook.
Merlin Labron-Johnsonâs Crudo of Wild Sea Bass, Smoked Cream and Heritage Radishes
If you are unable to get wild sea bass you could substitute it with brill, turbot, halibut, large plaice or sea bream.
300g thick sea bass fillet, skinned and pin boned
100g salt
100g sugar
1 bunch heritage radishes
200g best quality crĂšme fraiche
1 large shallot, finely diced
1 lemon
Salt
Raspberry powder
Mix the salt with the sugar and sprinkle a layer on a tray. Place the sea bass fillet on top and sprinkle with the rest of the cure. Leave for 30 minutes then wash thoroughly in cold water. Dry in a towel.
Cold smoke the cream using a commercial smoker or big green egg. Mix with the chopped shallot, juice and zest of the lemon and a little sea salt.
Thinly slice the radishes on a mandolin. Slice the fish as thinly as possible using a very sharp knife. Lay the slices on a cold plate in a circle. Cover the fish with the smoked cream. Cover the layer of cream completely with the sliced radishes, then dust with raspberry powder.
Merlin Labron-Johnsonâs Ricotta Gnudi with Courgettes, Walnut and Nasturtium
350g (12oz) smooth, thick Ricotta cheese (Galbani can work) left to hang in muslin cloth overnight
30g parmesan, finely grated using a microplane
1 egg yolk
Grated nutmeg
1kg semolina
4 x green courgettes
1 large yellow courgettes, sliced into thin rounds using a mandolin
100g spinach leaves
1 onion
Olive oil
Nasturtium leaves and flowers
30g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Put the ricotta in a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk, grated cheese and season with a little grated nutmeg. Mix well using a wooden spoon.
Put some one-third of the semolina in a large plastic container ensuring there is an even layer on the bottom.
Using your hands, roll the Ricotta mix into ping pong-sized balls and place directly onto the layer of semolina ensuring there is a distance of at least 1cm between each one.
Cover the gnudi with the remainder of the semolina ensuring that they are completely buried with semolina in between and on top of each ball. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 16-24 hours.
Peel the green courgettes and reserve the peel. Cut the flesh into cubes, about 1cm, and sweat slowly in olive oil until soft taking care not to add any colour. Leave to cool.
Boil the courgettes skins in salted water for one minute and refresh in iced water. Boil the spinach in the same water for 30 seconds and refresh in iced water.
Drain the spinach and courgette skins and place in a blender with the courgette flesh.
Blend on full speed with four ice cubes until very smooth and very green. It should have the consistency of a thin purée/thick soup. Loosen with a little water if necessary and season with salt.
Put the gnudi in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and dress with a little olive oil. Warm the yellow courgettes slices in a small pan with a little water, olive oil and lemon juice until they start to go translucent (just cooked) and season with salt.
Warm the courgette purée and place in the bottom of a warm bowl. Place the gnudi on top of the purée and top with some chopped walnuts. Cover the gnudi in the slices of yellow courgette and decorate with lots of nasturtium leaves and nasturtium flowers.
Merlin Labron-Johnsonâs Smoked Codâs Roe with Grelot Onions or Leek Greens and Chervil
We used spring onion greens instead of grelot tops.
1.5pcs good quality smoked codâs roe (1kg approx.)
3 slices white bread, crusts removed and soaked in milk
2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves
Lemon juice of 2 lemons
Lemon zest of 1 lemon
100ml (3.5fl oz) olive oil
250ml (9fl oz) sunflower oil
(14oz) grelot tops or leek greens
(1 pint 2fl oz) sunflower oil
600g (1.25lb) white wine vinegar
400g (14oz) water
200g (7oz) sugar
400g (14oz) yellow mustard seeds
First make the mustard seeds pickle. Pour boiling pickle over mustard seeds and leave for 12 hours.
Remove the roe from the sacks and discard the sacks. Using a food processor, blend the roe with the garlic, bread and the lemon zest. Slowly incorporate the oil bit by bit to make a smooth thick mayonnaise-like emulsion. If it becomes too thick let down with a little of the milk used to soak the bread. Season with salt and lemon juice.
Pass through a drum sieve if not completely smooth and put in piping bags. It should be thick and velvety.
Separate the onion bulbs from the green tops. Reserve the green tops and set aside.
Place the onion bottoms in parchment or tinfoil envelopes with a pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil and close âen papilloteâ bake at 180C for 12-15
minutes until cooked but not soft.
If the onions are different sizes divide them into three âgradesâ and cook them all separately in batches (ie, longer for the larger ones) so that they are all perfect.
Roughly chop the green tops and blend with the oil in a food processor on full speed for four minutes then strain through cheesecloth and leave to hang in the fridge.
Freeze the strained oil. Once frozen scrape the frozen oil (gel) into a new container leaving behind the frozen leek/water residue. This will give you a perfectly clear green oil.
Pipe large blobs (equivalent of three tablespoons) into a bowl, use a spoon to create a well in the centre of the codâs roe.
Put two tablespoons of onion oil in the well.
Dress the onion petals in the white wine vinegar and place around the edge of the codâs roe. Place a generous amount of chervil over the onion petals and serve.
Hot tips
Few people welcome the prospect of another toxic waste incinerator in their area or on the island of Ireland but we canât have it every way, so each and every one of us needs to step up to the plate and reduce, reuse and recycle. Once we start to think that way it becomes like a game or a personal challenge to think of more and more ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Use bowls and plates to cover items in the fridge; think of how one can reuse cartons; when you are shopping, politely unpack all the plastic, leave it behind in the shop, and urge your supermarket to lobby and put pressure on the Government to change the packaging laws.
Itâs worth reflecting on the fact that when I was a child in the 1950s there was virtually no plastic, unbelievable as it may sound. Kudos to Fields in Skibbereen for providing large containers close to the tills for discarded packaging, a very good beginning.
There are lots of Irish new potatoes around now, boil them in sea water for extra deliciousness and minerals. Look out for British Queens, Home Guard and Sharpeâs Express. How about serving them with dillisk butter?
Mackerel are in season right now, they are quite simply a superfood packed with omega 3 and omega 6. Amazingly inexpensive for such a nutrient-dense food. Mackerel are oily fish and need to be really fresh so eat them as soon as possible; preferably within hours of being caught.
