North East Focus: recipes with beer

In a region that enjoys its beer as much as the North East does, it's a safe bet that you'd find a good tradition of food to accompany it.

The region has some of the best fish and chips in the UK, thanks to fishing ports such as Whitby and Grimsby. Among the many other delicacies of the region are Wensleydale cheese and stottie cakes - actually a savoury bread made with salt and milk.

Richard Fox, known as the 'beer chef' and a stalwart member of The Publican's beer and food matching panel, has a regular slot on the BBC's regional news programme, Look North, called Fox on the Run. This features local delicacies and tradional recipes, all suitably matched with great beers.

Harrogate-based Richard says: "We are making a welcome return to local, artisan produce. Good regional beer is a fabulous accompaniment to a whole range of tasty regional dishes."

With a little arm-twisting, we persuaded Richard to part with a couple of recipes featured on the programme. For more information, visit www.foxfoodandbeer.co.uk

Crab risotto

Serves: two

Ingredients​

200g short grain Italian rice

1 litre fish stock

70g shallot, finely chopped

10g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

20g red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped

75ml dry white wine

150g fresh Scarborough crab meat (mixed brown and white)

80g unsalted butter

Method​

1 Heat the fish stock to a gentle simmer, and maintain the heat while you cook the risotto.

2 Gently fry the shallot, ginger and chilli in half the butter until soft, but without colour.

3 Add the rice and cook for a couple of minutes.

4 Add the white wine and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. Start adding the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring all the time, and only adding the next ladle when the preceeding one has been fully absorbed.

5 Repeat until the rice is 'al dente' (with a slight bite, but fully cooked). Add the crab meat, stir in.

6 Add the remainder of the butter and beat into the risotto until fully amalgamated. Serve immediately.

Serve with​ Scoresby Stout from Cropton Brewery, Pickering

Mini Yorkshire puds with venison

Mini Yorkshire puddings with venison, brioche bread sauce, caramelised onion gravy. Serves: two

Ingredients​

Yorkshire Pudding​

50ml Yorkshire beer

234ml whole milk

4oz plain flour

3 eggs

pinch of salt

vegetable oil

Venison​

50ml Kelham Island Pale Rider, or similar

100ml chicken/game stock

1 onion, finely sliced and pan-fried until golden brown

500g venison loin

a bunch of watercress

olive oil

Brioche bread sauce​

1 onion

4 cloves

1 bay leaf

Fresh thyme

half pint of milk

50g brioche breadcrumbs (just blitz some fresh brioche loaf in a food processor)

salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method​

Yorkshire pudding batter ​

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC

2 Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well. Break in the eggs and add half the milk.

3 Whisk the mixture until it forms a smooth paste. Whisk in the remainder of the milk, and then the beer. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any lingering lumps.

4 Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

5 Put your Yorkshire pudding tray in the oven for five to 10 minutes, then remove and pour a thin film of vegetable oil into the bottom of each recess.

6 Put back in the oven for a couple of minutes to get really hot (almost smoking). Remove from the oven again and pour the batter mixture up to the rim in each recess, and carefully put back into the oven.

7 Leave for about 15 minutes - or until the Yorkshires have risen and are brown and crispy around the top.

Venison​

1 Season the loin with salt and pepper, heat a frying pan over the hob, then add a couple of dessertspoons of olive oil. Make sure the oil is nearly smoking hot before adding the venison. Fry until golden brown on all sides, remove from the pan and place on a tray in the oven for about five minutes - to achieve medium-rare.

2 Remove from the oven and rest for at least five minutes before carving into thin slices.

3 Meanwhile, put the pan you fried the venison in back on the hob over a gentle heat and add the caramelised onions. Add the beer and allow to be absorbed by the onions. Then add

the stock and allow to bubble for a minute or two before removing from the heat.

Brioche bread sauce​

1 Stud the onion with the cloves and place in a pan with the milk and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 30 to 45 minutes.

2 Strain the milk into a clean pan, bring back to a simmer and add the breadcrumbs.

3 Simmer on a very low heat for about 15 minutes, allowing the breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. Stir regularly and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with Kelham Island Smoked Porter (Kelham Island Brewery, Sheffield)