Seasonal Recipe of the Week – Roast cote de boeuf with truffle macaroni and hermitage jus, by Chris and Jeff Galvin

Ingredients
(Serves two)
2 x 6cm pieces of Scotch beef bone marrow
1 bulb garlic
Olive oil
550g côte de boeuf
1tbs duck fat
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 bunch of watercress, to garnish

For the sauce
180g Scotch beef trimmings
15g duck fat
15g unsalted butter
375ml red Côtes du Rhône wine
70g shallots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
40g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
30g smoked streaky bacon, diced
50ml port
200ml brown chicken stock
3 black peppercorns

For the truffle macaroni
100g macaroni
1tbs olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
35g unsalted butter
35g plain flour
250ml milk
70g Philadelphia cream cheese
80g Cheddar cheese, grated
125ml whipping cream
3 free-range egg yolks
15g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
25g Gruyère cheese, finely grated
1tsp chopped truffle
6 slices of truffle

Method
Cover the bone marrow with salted cold water and leave for 24 hours to remove the blood. The next day, wash and scrape the outside of the bone clean, and set aside.

For the sauce, put the Scotch beef trimmings, half the duck fat and half the butter in a pan and cook until caramelised. Add 40ml of the red wine and cook for a minute or so, stirring and scraping the base of the pan to deglaze it.

In a separate pan, sweat the shallots in the remaining duck fat and butter until soft, then add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook until lightly caramelised. Drain the shallot mixture in a colander, reserving the fat and shallot mixture separately. Put the fat back in the pan, add the mushrooms and bacon and cook until caramelised.

Combine all the caramelised ingredients and add 120ml of the remaining red wine and all the port. Bring to the boil then boil until the mixture is reduced to a thick syrup. Add the remaining red wine, return to the boil and boil until reduced by two-thirds. Add the chicken stock and peppercorns, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer very gently for two hours.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve, ensuring all the liquid is squeezed out of the Scotch beef and mirepoix. Return the liquid to the pan and bring slowly back to the boil, skimming well, then boil until reduced to a coating consistency. Season to taste.

Trim the top of the garlic bulb, leaving the cloves exposed, brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Wrap in foil and roast in an oven preheated to 200°C for about 35 minutes or until golden and tender.

For the truffle macaroni
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water with a tablespoon of oil, until al dente. Strain the pasta, drizzle a little olive oil over it, transfer to a flat tray and leave to cool.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, then return to a very low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for three minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly, then gradually whisk in the milk. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat again and stir in the Philadelphia and Cheddar cheeses, then adjust the seasoning.

Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 10 minutes.

Whip the cream in a bowl to form soft peaks then fold in the egg yolks, Parmesan and Gruyère cheeses, the truffle oil and chopped truffle. Add a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Spoon this glaze over the macaroni cheese and place under a hot grill until golden brown. When serving, garnish with the remaining sliced truffle and a drizzle of the sauce.

For the Scotch beef
About 30 minutes before cooking the beef, take it out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature.

Melt the duck fat in a very hot ovenproof frying pan, add the Scotch beef and cook for two minutes on each side, until well caramelised. Transfer the pan to an oven preheated to 220°C and cook for eight minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the bone marrow in an ovenproof pan with a little olive oil and cook in an oven preheated to 200°C for 8 minutes, then remove and keep warm.

Carve the beef into 10 slices, divide between two serving plates and season with a little sea salt. Garnish the plates with the roast bone marrow, watercress and roast garlic. Serve the macaroni and the sauce separately.
Chris and Jeff Galvin

Recommended wine
This exciting dish needs a wine with an equal dash of flavour and body. A plump, juicy Argentine Malbec or luscious Napa Cabernet could do the trick but I've gone for Jérôme Bressy's Grenache-based Rasteau rouge. Biodynamic viticulture adds mineral tension and freshness. Vines up to 95 years old and ageing in old barrels complete the picture. This is a complex wine with black cherry fruit; chocolate, tobacco and garrigue herbs, super silky tannins and class in spades.
Richard Rotti, group wine buyer, Caprice Holdings