Create a Mother's Day feast with Alan Jones, head chef at Cowley Manor

Alan Jones, head chef at Cowley Manor, showcases two recipes from the country retreat's locally-sourced menu:

Diver-caught scallops with creamed leek, saffron potato and cucumber

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 extra large diver-caught scallops (removed from shell, cleaned and keep the shell)

1  leek, finely shredded

100ml double cream

4 charlotte potatoes

1g saffron

½ cucumber

1 carrot

100ml fish veloute

For the veloute:

1 shallot

75ml noilly prat

75ml white wine

100ml fish stock

100ml cream

Salt, pepper, butter

Method

Finely slice shallot over a mandolin.

Sweat the shallots in butter without any colouration. Add the noilly prat and white wine, reduce to a glaze.

Add fish stock and then reduce to a glaze.

Add cream, bring to boil, add seasonings.

Pass through fine sieve

For the scallop:

Wash and sterilise the scallop shells.

Cook the leek in the cream

Turn the potatoes into barrel shapes then cook in salted water with the saffron until soft. Also turn the carrots and cucumber and cook in salted water.

To finish:

Add the creamed leek to the bottom scallop shell, topped with two scallops cut into half (diamonds)  and one of each of the turned vegetables, season with rock salt and finish with a heaped tablespoon of the veloute. Add the scallop shell lid and seal with a band of puff pastry then egg wash. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 10 minutes.

Huntsham Farm middle white slow braised pork belly

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 middle white pork belly, boned, trimmed and salted for 24 hours

Rough cut vegetables – carrot, leek, onion, celery, garlic

6 star anise

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 sprig thyme

2l veal, beef or pork stock

For the belly

Method

Seal the pork belly in a pan, take out and put to one side. Caramelise pork bones and trimmings in the same pan, add vegetables and roast again.

Add star anise, coriander seeds and thyme.

Put the pork belly back in the pan and cover with the stock and tin foil, place in the oven at gas mark 3 for 4 hours.

When cooked, strain off the stock, keep the bones, veg and trimmings, then cool the belly between two trays skin side down.

For the sauce

Roast the bones, veg and the trimmings with a tablespoon of five spice. Add two spoons of honey and cook until caramelised.

Add 500ml of cider and reduce to a glaze.

Add the cooking stock, bring to the boil and remove any foaming on the top of the stock.

Simmer for 15 minutes, skimming regularly, then pass, finish the jus with a dash of double cream and a knob of butter.

To finish

Portion the belly and cook in a non-stick frying pan (skin side down) for 10 minutes in a hot oven. Add a generous slash of carrot puree to the plate first, then add some sautéed spinach, pipe the mash potato and some chantenay carrots. Place the crisp belly in the centre of the garnish so you can see all the vibrant colours around. Add two caramelised apple rings and finish with the cider jus.