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SMOKIN’ SAVINGS: TV CHEF JUDY JOO RECREATES SAVOY MENU ON THE BARBEQUE WITH SAVINGS OF OVER 700%

• Aldi has teamed up with celebrity chef to offer shoppers a gourmet grilling experience for under £10
• The barbeque-based three course menu is 700% cheaper than at the famous restaurant
• Brits can impress guests with recipes including Cheese Souffle, Beef Wellington and Rum Baba

Supermarket Aldi has teamed up with TV chef and restaurateur Judy Joo to recreate three iconic recipes from top London eatery, The Savoy Grill, all of which can be cooked on the barbeque.  What’s more, Aldi’s version of the menu has price savings of more than 700%!

Taking inspiration from The Savoy Grill’s traditionally sophisticated menu, Judy Joo, who features on ITV’s Cooking With The Stars which airs this week, has created barbeque friendly versions of the venue’s famous Cheese Souffle, Beef Wellington with Red Wine Jus, and Rum babas with Lime Chantilly. The grill-iant three courses have been designed to showcase how a barbeque can produce gourmet standard food, and inspire the UK to take alfresco gatherings to the next level.

Brits can step up to the plate this summer and impress friends and family by following Joo’s great value recipes to replicate five star excellence at the grill. What’s more, the mouth-watering set menu costs just £9.09 per head – that’s a staggering £65 cheaper than those at The Savoy. 

Celebrity Chef and Restaurateur, Judy Joo says: “It’s easy to reach for the sausages or burgers when firing up the grill, but smoker barbeques are capable of so much more. Closing the lid adds a beautiful smoky aroma to food, and helps to create oven-like cooking conditions, which means restaurant quality dishes, such as those from The Savoy, can easily be replicated. I hope my set menu inspires others to go gourmet at the grill this summer!”

One of the UK’s most renowned fine dining restaurants, The Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay has achieved worldwide recognition having served the likes of Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, as well as national icons Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth. Oozing with elegance and decadence, the iconic London eaterie specialises in French and British cuisine, and serves its meat dishes straight from a wood-fired charcoal grill.

To wow guests and raise the bar(beque), budding foodies and novice home cooks alike can take British barbeques from boring to brilliant with these easy to follow recipes:

SAVOURY CHEESE SOUFFLE WITH A HAZELNUT MUSTARD CHIVE SAUCE

Serves 4

Hazelnut mustard chive sauce:

• 50g (50ml) milk
• 50g (50ml) double cream
• 30g (4 Tbsp)  parmesan cheese, grated
• 7g (1 ½ tsp) whole grain mustard
• ½ tsp plain flour
• 3g (1 Tbsp) chives, finely chopped
• 12g (1 ½ Tbsp)  hazelnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Salt to taste

Tip in the milk, double cream, parmesan cheese, and wholegrain mustard, and whisk together over an indirect medium heat on the grill.  Once simmering, whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and set in a warm place.  Just before serving, add chives, hazelnuts, lemon juice, and season to taste with salt.

Souffle:

• 22.5g (1 ½ Tbsp) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the ramekins
• 3 to 4 Tbsp powdered / finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for dusting the ramekins
• 14g (1 ½ Tbsp) plain flour
• 140ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 2.5g (1/2 tsp) dijon mustard
• 1 pinches smoked paprika
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 ½ large egg whites, chilled
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar 
• 45g mixed cheese (15g grated Gruyère, 15g grated comte, 15g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano), plus more for sprinkling
• 3g (1Tbsp) chives, finely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 rashers of prosciutto, thinly sliced into 3cm long pieces

Heat up your smoker grill to 200°C.

Grease the interior of 4 ramekins (8cm diameter) with softened butter. Spoon into ramekins about 1 tsp each of  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, rotating around so cheese sticks to every part of the buttered surface. Wipe rim of soufflé dish clean, and transfer prepared ramekins to the refrigerator until ready to use.

In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk, combine egg whites with cream of tartar and beat on high speed until firm, glossy peaks form. Add 1/3 of whipped egg whites at a time to the béchamel base and stir well using a spatula, until whites are thoroughly combined and soufflé base has a looser consistency. Mix in all of the grated cheese and chives.

Spoon the soufflé batter into the prepared ramekins equally, filling them up. Sprinkle with additional grated parmesan. 

Transfer soufflé to preheated smoker/grill and bake until well risen and nicely browned on top, about 12 minutes at 200°C for slightly runny center. Bake for  15 minute at 200°C for a more set center, and 17 minutes at 190°C for fully cooked center for your souffle.

Once baked, serve immediately with cheese sauce. 

BEEF WELLINGTON

Serves 4

Mushroom duxelles

• 15ml (1 Tbsp) vegetable oil
• 160g (1-1/2 cups) portobello mushrooms, finely chopped (about 4 large mushrooms; stems and gills removed)
• 30g (2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 35g (1/4 cup) shallots, finely chopped 
• 6g (1 Tbsp) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat your grill up. 

Brush mushrooms lightly with oil.  Place on the grill and cook until marked and softened, about 3 minutes each side.  Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled place into food processor and blend until finely chopped. Place into a bowl.

Next, melt the butter and add the shallots and saute, stirring often, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms, stirring well, and move pan over to medium heat. Cook until mushrooms have cooked down to a thick, almost black mixture, for about 7 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool completely.

Ruby port gravy 

• 3 cups beef stock,
• ½ cup ruby port (Aldi’s Fletcher’s fine ruby port)
• 1 tsp corn flour or flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice

Bring the beef stock to the boil, add port and continue to gently boil until the total liquid is again about 1 cup, 3 minutes. In a small cup, mix about 2 tbsp of liquid and corn flour (or flour) together. Then whisk into the pan. Let simmer for a few minutes in medium low heat. Set aside in a warm place until ready to serve. 

For assembly

• 4 pieces of Aldi Ashfield farm 28 day matured fillet steaks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• Reserved mushroom duxelles
• 85g chicken liver pate
• 12  slices of parma ham
• 2 ½  packet of Greenvale puff pastry
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Assemble and bake the Wellington

Heat up your grill smoker. 

Place the fillets on the hot grill, and sear evenly all over, about 30-45 seconds for all sides. Transfer fillets to a tray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the pâté and the duxelles together fully until they form a paste.  Season to taste.

Lay double layered cling film on a clean surface and cut into square shape. Lay 3 slices of parma ham, then spread pâté mixture evenly across the parma ham surface. Place the fillets in centre. 

Gather the four corners of the cling film and carefully wrap around the fillet, pressing and moulding it into ball shape as you twist/tighten the cling film.  Place the ball-shaped wrapped fillets on tray with seam side down. Place in the fridge and repeat this process for the other 3 fillets.

Unroll puff pastry, cut to measure; give or take 12cm diameter circle and 16 cm diameter circle.

Take out beef fillets from fridge and place in centre of pastry, seam side down. Egg wash the wrapped beef fillet and lay the larger puff pastry circle on top of the wrapped beef filet.

Place fillets on the tray with help of lifting the paper with two hands. Repeat the process for other 3 fillets. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, and up to 3 hours to firm up.  

At least 30 minutes before cooking, heat up your grill smoker, with pizza stone in, to 245°C.

When ready to cook, brush wellington fillets with remaining beaten egg and place onto hot pizza stone. Immediately reduce temperature to 220°C. Bake for about 20 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre of the Wellington fillets registers 56°C for medium rare. 

Transfer to a carving board and let the Wellingtons rest for 10 minutes.

Serve immediately with port gravy.

RUM BABAS WITH LIME CHANTILLY

Serves 6

 Rum syrup

• 480ml water
• 150ml honey
• 1 lime, skin removed with a peeler and juiced
• 90ml dark rum

Tip water, honey, and lime peel in a medium saucepan. Place over high indirect heat on your grill. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain lime juice through a sieve to remove any pips and seeds, and add to the honey lime mixture.  Tip in rum. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature and set aside.

Lime chantilly cream

• 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 1 lime, zested
• 240ml double cream 

In large bowl, rub lime zest into the sugar with fingertips to release aroma and oil.

Add the cream and whisk to soft peaks. Cover and place in the fridge until needed.

Baba dough:

• 175g strong flour
• 3.5g (1/2 packet) dry yeast
• 60ml whole milk, warmed slightly
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5g salt
• 1 lemon, zested
• 85g unsalted butter, cubed and softened, plus more for greasing moulds

Heat ceramic grill/smoker to 200C.

In a large bowl, whisk together 60g of the flour, yeast, and milk and whisk until smooth. Cover with cling film and place in a warm place to allow to rise, until the dough starts to fall back in on itself, about 30-45 min.

Once the batter is ready, place into a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Add the eggs, salt, and the remaining flour, and lemon zest.  When dough starts to come together and become smooth, add butter. Then beat for 2 more minutes until batter is smooth. Grease mould with additional softened butter and place on tray.

Once the dough is ready, scoop into a piping bag and pipe the mixture into a rum baba mould (50g – 60g for each portion).  Cover the tray loosely with cling film and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 20-30 min.

Once risen, remove the cling film and place into the grill smoker.  Cook for 20 min or until golden on top.  Remove tray from the smoker and gently remove babas from their moulds, then place the babas back on the tray.  Place the tray back into the smoker and bake the babas for another 7-8 minutes until golden on the sides.  Remove from the smoker and allow to cool on a rack.

 To assemble:

• 120 – 150 ml rum for flambe

Soak babas in syrup for 2 hours before serving. Then, place a baba into a skillet, over the grill (indirect medium low heat), and spoon over additional rum over the baba.  Allow the grill flame (or use a match) to light the rum on fire and flambe the babas, spooning over more rum as you like.

Place baba onto a plate, and cut in half lengthways.  Spoon over a little more syrup. Top with chantilly cream, and more fresh lime zest.  Serve immediately. 

All ingredients mentioned in this release are on sale at Aldi now, both in store and online.

Aldi’s Raising The Barbeque hub offers recipes, hints and tips, as well as drinks inspiration for the ultimate British barbeque. Shoppers looking to up their grill skills should head to www.aldi.co.uk/summer-bbq to find out more.