She lives life at 100 miles an hour, and has projects on the go in the US and Canada as well as the UK, but when she is at home in her London studio, there is nothing Clodagh McKenna likes more than to have friends over for supper.
Her entertaining style is elegant and effortless, with the priorities being that her guests are relaxed, comfortable and well-fed. Here is a typical menu of autumn/winter favourites she would cook and share with friends.
Marie-Claire Digby
FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH CHEESY CROUTONS
Serves 4
Ingredients
100g butter
8 white onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1tsp brown sugar
1tsp dried oregano, fresh thyme or rosemary
900ml good-quality beef broth
For the cheese croutons
4 slices of sourdough bread
80g Gruyère cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, turn down the heat to low and stir in the onions. Cover and leave to cook for 10 minutes, until soft.
Next stir in the brown sugar and garlic and let the onions brown uncovered and slightly caramelise, stirring every few minutes until they become a deep golden colour. Stir in a teaspoon of the dried oregano, fresh thyme or rosemary. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour in the beef broth and allow to cook for a further 30 minutes.
To make the cheesy croutons, sprinkle the Gruyère cheese on top of the slices of sourdough bread and pop under a grill to melt.
Serve the onion soup in heated bowls and place the cheesy croutons on top.
SPICED LAMB CUTLETS WITH CAPONATA
Serves 4
Ingredients
2tbsps olive oil
4 whole cloves garlic, sliced
1tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
8 lamb cutlets
For the caponata
4tbsp olive oil
2 aubergines, diced
2 shallots, diced
3 large plum tomatoes
2 sticks of celery, diced
10g capers
20 black pitted olives
50g raisins
1tbsp tomato purée
2tsp dried oregano
1tbsp white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the caponata, pour three tablespoons of oil into a large heavy-based saucepan or casserole dish, place over a medium heat and add the aubergines. Cook for a 15 minutes until they are soft. Add in the remaining tablespoon of oil, followed by the shallots and cook for a further five minutes.
Then stir in the tomatoes and cook slowly, so they break down and turn to a soft mush. Next, stir in the capers, raisins, olives, celery, dried oregano, vinegar and tomato purée. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cover with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Stir gently so it doesn’t break up too much.
While the caponata is cooking, make the marinade for the lamb cutlets. In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, fennel seeds, garlic and lemon juice, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then place the lamb cutlets in the bowl and rub the mixture into the meat. Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.
Place a griddle or frying pan over a medium/high heat. Cook the lamb cutlets on each side for four minutes.
Once the lamb cutlets and caponata are both cooked, serve on warmed plates.
CHOCOLATE AND BLACK CHERRY MOUSSE
Serves 6
Ingredients
250g dark chocolate
100ml single cream
6 egg whites
60g caster sugar
1tbsp cocoa powder
150g black cherries in syrup or glacé cherries, chopped
To serve:
6 black cherries in syrup, whole
1tbsp cocoa powder
Method
Melt the chocolate by breaking it into a bowl suspended over a
saucepan of simmering water. Stir often to make sure that no lumps
form, then in take it off the heat.
In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and once you have reached
soft peaks, fold in the caster sugar, and continue to whisk again
until you have stiff peaks.
Fold the egg whites and sugar into the melted chocolate and
cream in stages so as not to over mix as it will make the mousse
too thick and dense. When you’re combining the ingredients, you
want to make a figure 8 in the bowl using your spatula, keeping the
mixture light and fluffy.
Lastly, fold in one tablespoon of cocoa powder followed by 150g of
the chopped black cherries. Then divide the chocolate mousse mixture into
individual glasses and place in a fridge for at least one hour or until
they are set.
Before you serve, sieve one tablespoon of cocoa
powder over the top of the mousses and place a cherry on top of
each mousse.
