As a child, Ryan Fowler was inspired to become a chef when watching and sampling his granny’s cooking.
Ryan has worked his way from a first job in the kitchens at Dunfermline Football Club, via Nottingham, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to become the head chef at Amicus Apple. We found out more about Ryan’s approach to cooking and asked him to share one of his favourite recipes…
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF FOOD? I’d say my style is pretty rustic. It’s all about spending time to make sure food tastes good, but not over-complicating things.
I try to create dishes that our customers will enjoy and I’m always open to suggestions or new ideas, so there’s always something new on the go.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT THREE FOODS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU? Definitely some brie. I love cheese and I’d also take some peppers and, assuming the island had some potatoes growing there, I’d make chips, so I’d want to take some peppercorn sauce to go with them.
RYAN’S CHICKEN WITH ROAST POTATO GNOCCHI (SERVES FOUR)
INGREDIENTS: 4 chicken breasts 500g baking potatoes 50g grated cheddar 2 eggs, 1 additional yolk 150g “00” flour 300g wild mushrooms 20ml white wine 250ml cream 1 clove garlic 50g butter Olive oil (for cooking) 3 sage leaves 50g parmesan (shavings
METHOD: Boil the whole potatoes with their skins still on in salted water. When soft, transfer to a hot oven to dry out for around 20 minutes. Cut the potatoes and check they are dry in the middle.
To make the gnocchi, scoop out the potato and discard the skin, mix with the cheddar and a little salt in a large bowl. Mix well, then gradually add the eggs one by one, mixing to a puree-like consistency. Add the flour gradually, until the mixture has a doughy texture. Roll into a sausage shape on a floured work top, cut into 32-40 pieces, then set aside.
Season the chicken well. Place the fillets skin side down in a hot pan with a little oil to get the skin nice and crispy, turn and seal. Put into the oven for 20 minutes at 1800C.
Add the gnocchi to a frying pan with a little oil and butter, on a med/low heat. Once the gnocchi are golden, add the mushrooms and garlic. Sauté for couple of minutes, add wine and reduce by half. Add the cream and sage, cook until there is a nice creamy consistency.
Remove chicken, rest for two minutes, then put eight pieces of gnocchi and plenty of sauce in each bowl. Slice the chicken in half, place on top of the gnocchi and finish with parmesan.
