Tis the season…
And with this little lot on the menu, it’s going to be super satisfying
Starters
Bloody Mary Chilli Salmon Salsa Shots
Makes 12 shots
4 ripe tomatoes, washed
1 stick celery, trimmed
½ a small red onion, peeled
few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
few drops of Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp vodka
celery salt
190g/7oz flaky smoked salmon cutlet with chilli (we used Inverarae)
celery leaves and fresh chilli to garnish
Method
Halve and remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Finely chop the tomato flesh along with the celery and onion and mix together.
Season with Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces, vodka and celery salt. Finely flake the salmon and carefully mix into the salad.
Spoon into 12 shot glasses (or small dishes) and garnish with celery leaves and red chilli to serve.
Soufflé with Extra Mature Cheddar
Serves 4
50g/2oz butter
150ml/¼ pint milk
100g/4oz extra mature cheddar
60g/2½oz mixed breadcrumbs
50g/2oz plain flour
2 egg yolks
5 egg whites
40g/1½oz ground walnuts
dash of lemon juice
Method
Butter four ramekins with soft butter and freeze. Coat the inside of each ramekin with breadcrumbs and walnuts mixed together. Melt butter in saucepan and add flour, stirring until the mixture becomes a light coloured roux. Still stirring, gradually add the milk and then the grated cheese. Pour into a bowl and beat in the egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs whites to soft peaks and add a little lemon juice. Fold the egg whites into the mixture. Gently pour the soufflé mixture into each ramekin. Smooth and place in baking tray filled with boiling water. Place in a preheated oven at 180C/Gas 4 and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately with salad.
The Main Event
For the anti-turkey brigade…
Roasted Sirloin with Boursin Fig & Nut Crust 9
Serves 6
2.5kg/5lb boned sirloin joint
10 shallots, peeled and halved
3 sticks celery, cut into 3
6 small carrots
4 sprigs rosemary
1 bay leaf
125g/4½oz walnut breadcrumbs
6 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp cream of horseradish
150g/5oz Boursin fig and nut
5 tbsp Cognac
300ml/½ pint red wine
600ml/1 pint beef stock
1 tbsp redcurrant sauce
salt and pepper
olive oil for drizzling
Method
Remove beef from fridge three hours before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 220C/ Gas 7. Score fat in a criss-cross pattern, season well. Place the shallots, celery, carrots, rosemary and bay leaf in the base of a snug-fitting roasting tin. Top with beef and roast for 20 mins. Remove beef from oven and reduce temp to 180C/Gas 4 (leave door open to help temp reduce). Baste meat, return to the oven and roast for 30 mins. Mix breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of the thyme. Then mix two thirds of crumb mix with horseradish and Boursin fig and nut in a separate bowl. Remove meat from oven and baste. Spread Boursin mix over the fat, pressing down well, top top with remaining breadcrumb mix, pressing down well. Drizzle over a little olive oil. Roast for 30 mins for rare/medium or longer for well done. Remove and transfer meat and veg to a warm serving plate, cover well and allow to rest for 30 – 40 mins. Pour off most of excess fat from the roasting tin, put on hob and deglaze with cognac, scraping up juices. Pour in wine and bring to boil rapidly until reduced. Strain into a saucepan, add stock and remaining thyme. Bring to boil and rapidly until reduced by half. Remove beef from resting and pour any juices and redcurrant sauce into the gravy and stir until smooth. Slice beef and serve with gravy, shallots, celery, roast potatoes and steamed green vegetables.
Roast turkey with shallot stuffing
Serves 10
5kg/11lb free-range turkey
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
sea salt and black pepper
For the stuffing:
75g/3oz butter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
8 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
250g/9oz dried figs, in small cubes
2 small eating apples, peeled, cored, cubed
250g/9oz fresh breadcrumbs
3 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
750g/1½lb sausage meat
3tbsp parsley, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
sea salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 230C/Gas 8. Place clean bird in a large roasting pan, brush with rapeseed oil, season, cover with foil, cook for 30 mins, lower temp to 180C/Gas 4, cook for 30 mins per kilo, basting every hour. Rest for 30 mins before serving. For stuffing, melt butter and rapeseed oil. Add shallot and soften, add garlic, season and remove from heat, leave to cool. Mix figs, apples, breadcrumbs, sage, sausage meat and parsley with shallots, season, mix in egg and mould into golf balls. Bake on a greased baking sheet for 20 mins, or stuff onions and cook the rest of the stuffing in an ovenproof dish. For stuffed onions – boil whole in salted boiling water for 8-10 mins til just soft, drain and cool in cold water. Stuff, brush with rapeseed oil, bake 30-35 mins alongside the turkey.
Chestnut, mushroom & shallot pie
Serves 4
200g/8oz cooked chestnuts
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
200ml/7fl oz red wine
300ml/10fl oz vegetable stock
25g/1oz butter
1tbsp olive oil
12 shallots, peeled & left whole
250g/9oz chestnut mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp Beurre Manie (1 tbsp flour mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp softened butter)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
225g/8oz puff pastry
Method
Preheat oven to 200C/Gas 6.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the olive oil to stop it burning and fry the onions until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, bay leaves and rosemary and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Add the chestnuts, red wine and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the beurre manie, stirring constantly until it dissolves, and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the mustard and flat leaf parsley and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the mixture into a pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and place on top of filling, crimping the edges to seal the pie. Cut a cross in the top of the pastry to let the steam out during cooking. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Serve immediately.
and for dessert…
Beetroot, Raisin & Stem Ginger Pudding
Serves 6
3tbsp golden syrup
100g/4oz vegetable suet
80g/3oz dark brown sugar
100g/4oz raisins
50g/2oz wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g/2oz self raising flour
1tsp ground mixed spice
125g/5oz plain cooked (vacuum packed) beetroot, drained
3 eggs
100g/4oz stem ginger, finely chopped
Method
Pour syrup into a 1½ pint greased pudding basin and set aside. Mix suet, sugar, raisins, breadcrumbs, flour and mixed spice. Puree beetroot in a food processor, add eggs and blend. Pour into mixing bowl with ginger and stir thoroughly. Pour into pudding basin, pat down well, cover with a layer of baking paper and tie securely with string, then cover with a double layer of foil.
Lower into a large pan of hot water reaching half way up the basin. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 3 hours, topping up water if necessary. Serve with custard, crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream.
