Restaurant Sat Bains presents Beef Cheeks, Seaweed, Oyster, Sprouts and Radish
Last year,for my birthday, Ross took me to Nottingham to stay and dine at the Restaurant Sat Bains. We were given one of the beautifully furnished and very comfortable rooms. The meal was memorable and we even managed to get a glimpse of the small but perfectly managed kitchen.
It was a brilliant experience from the moment we arrived.We found the chefs in the hedgerows harvesting the seasons delights for inclusion in the meals all the way through to the next mornings carefully prepared breakfast. We left the Restaurant Sat Bains very satisfied, well rested and well fed.
The memory stayed with us and it remains one of our favourites and is thoroughly recommended as a perfect restaurant.
A few weeks ago our paths crossed again this time on facebook. I summoned all my courage to contact Sat Bains. To my delight Sat invited us to meet him in his kitchen. We were excited like two little kids.
The morning we spent in Sat’s kitchen was truly inspirational. Sat is a fun and bubbly guy and it seems as if they have a lot of fun doing the job they love. We both were secretly jealous of the chefs working in that kitchen as its not often that people laugh whilst working.
Sat was telling us about his philosophy and that he is using 80 – 90% British Produce in his kitchen with subtle Japanese influences. His cooking is a celebration of the land, the best that Nottingham has to offer. From the beer he uses to cook his ox cheeks with to the micro cress that comes from a local allotment owned by John Lane, the neighbourhoodlocal posty .
Hearing Sat speak with so much passion about local and seasonal produce was a true inspiration, but this experience did not end just there. Sat went on to tell us about his recent visit to Kyoto, it was the 100-year celebration of Umami, the fifth taste. Umami means deliciousness.
Sat has now incorporated his findings in his current menu.
Each dish complements each other with the overlaying of flavours from one dish to another and this plays a major role in the culinary experience that Restaurant Sat Bains has to offer.
We were blown away with his thought processes and the ingredients he uses, like different seaweeds to season his food. It all makes sense and I realised that we were with one clever chef and I could have happily stayed all day just listening to what he has to say.
Beef Cheeks
- 6 beef cheeks
- ½ vanilla pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2bottles of roaring Meg
- 2 bottles of St Peters Golden Ale
Make a marinade split the vanilla pod in half and add the cinnamon stick and both herbs.
Rub this into the cheeks and pour the beers over the cheeks and leave to marinade for 3 day’s.
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Remove the cheeks from the marinade.
Reduce the marinade by half to enrich the flavour.
In a heavy casserole dish seal the marinated cheeks until golden.
Add the reduced marinade and 1 Litre of brown chicken stock. Cover the dish with a lid and place the dish in the oven for about 2 ½ hours.
Test if the cheeks are cooked by inserting a small knife, if the cheek glides of it means it’s cooked, if not return the dish to the oven and cook further.
Oyster Emulsion
- 2 Thornham Oysters
- 2 free range egg yolks
- ½ L ground nut oil
- Lemon juice
Blend the oysters until smooth; add the egg yolks and a bit of the oyster juice blend to form an emulsion.
Slowly incorporate the oil to thicken the emulsion.
Season the emulsion to taste and add a drop of lemon juice to taste.
Salad
- 2 radishes
- 1 banana shallot, peeled
- 100g been sprouts
- Mixture of cress
- 1tbs groundnut oil
- 1 tsp of ground mixed seaweed (kombu, Sea lettuce and wakame)
Use a mandolin to finely slice the radishes and banana shallot.
Use the ground mixed seaweed like a seasoning to taste.
Add the bean sprouts and ground nut oil, mix lightly.
Add the cress when you’re ready to serve.
Heat the beef cheeks in the sauce; whisk a couple of spoons of Roaring Meg into the sauce to refresh the flavour of the beer.
Swipe a tablespoon of the oyster emulsion on the plate; place the beef cheek in the centre. Spoon a small amount of the hot sauce over the cheek. Place a generous amount of the salad in a neat pile on top of the cheek. Serve the beef cheeks with an atomiser filled with yuzu water. Let your guest spray the yuzu water over the cheek before they enjoy it.
Serves 6
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Wow – I don’t eat meat, but the plated photo is fantastic; Certainly a smart looking dish.
Cheers!
I have made this, switching the oyster mayonaise for a ginger mayo, and I must say it is one of the tastiest things that ever hit my palate! BRAVO!
What a great looking dish. Thanks for sharing the recipe too!