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AN OXFORD TOUCH



The new kitchen at the Barton Hill Hotel in Lewiston has an Oxford trained chef in place and he’s busy creating menus designed with food lovers in mind.

Richard Lepree, who has three culinary degrees from Oxford University in England, worked at a five star resort in Arizona for six years before coming to Lewiston to open the kitchen for the new upscale Barton Hill.

Lepree has built the small kitchen staff at the new hotel which recently began serving dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. and is offering a special light faire “tappas” menu for diners headed to Artpark for Tuesday in the Park.

Lepree’s recipe selection for “Chef’s Choice” is called “Dry Aged Beef with Lobster Ravioli and Wilted Dandelion.”

While the item is not on the menu at the hotel just yet, the restaurant does serve beef which is dry aged on site and Lepree praised the “rich buttery flavor,” which comes as a result of the process.

"It’s a delicacy,” he said of the beef, noting that the process removes the water from the meat, concentrating the flavor.

The recipe includes hand-made lobster raviolis and wilted dandelion greens with honey.

The dandelion greens are in season, he said. Their bitter taste is softened by the honey and the texture and flavor of the greens contrasts nicely with the flavors of the lobster and goat cheese and the buttery meat, he said.

All of Barton Hill’s menu offerings are created around freshness, Lepree said, and he is looking forward to the local harvest season when trucks will pull up to the back of the hotel and he can take his choice of the finest produce for the menu.

“During seasonal times we’re going to be using a lot of local produce,” he said. “Our goal with the menus is to be able to offer you very uncomplicated food that is simple and served at its best.”

“We just do it very well,” he said.

The menu currently features many made-in-house offerings from pastas to breads. Some of the menu items include: pan seared foie gras with mini sugar loaf and cayenne syrup; rib eye pan-seared with crushed potatoes, Vichy carrots and garlic button mushrooms; seared yellow fin tuna with stir-fried bock choy and orange soy dressing; pan seared pork tenderloin, sweet potato mash and rosemary demi; goats cheese red pepper ravioli with fine herb puree and shaved almonds; and corn fed chicken breast roasted with sage and onion, gratin potatoes and mustard gravy.

For those who want to sample Lepree’s concepts from the comfort of their own kitchen, his recipe for the tenderloin with lobster ravioli and wilted dandelion is below.





Dry aged beef tenderloins with lobster ravioli and dandelion greens.



4 3-ounce medallions of dry aged prime beef fillets

pinch of kosher salt

pinch of coarse pepper

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

1 cup of dandelions greens

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon of finely chopped shallots

drizzle of red wine reduction (see recipe below)



Season the meat with a pinch of kosher salt and coarse pepper.

Brush on all sides with vegetable oil and sear in hot, cast iron pan. Once the meat is seared on all sides to rare/medium rare, plate and set aside for five minutes to allow flavors to develop.

While the steak is resting, quickly fry the shallots in a tablespoon of oil until they are opaque and then add dandelion greens until just heated through. Drizzle with honey to finish and arrange on plates with two tenderloin fillets and two lobster raviolis. Drizzle the fillets with a red wine reduction sauce and serve.



Lobster Ravioli

8 sheets of pasta squares (store bought or homemade)

1/2 cup fresh lobster meat

1/2 cup goat cheese

1 egg white

1 teaspoon water

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

Mix lobster, cheese and shallots. Also mix egg white with water and whisk.



Put two tablespoons of mixture in the center of a pasta sheet. Moisten edges with egg wash and place another pasta sheet on top. Seal well around lobster meat to get all the air out and press edges tightly together.

Boil raviolis in salted water for several minutes to heat through. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve with steaks.



Red Wine Reduction

1 cup of beef demi-glace (already reduced by half beef stock)

1 cup of cabernet sauvignon

1 tablespoon butter



Simmer until the mixture is reduced again by half. Drizzle upon steaks before serving. Add butter just before serving.



Contact reporter Michele DeLucaat 282-2311, ext. 2263.