One of the things I love about Christmas is that it’s the very last hurrah of autumn — and the autumn larder is just incredible. It’s a time that lends itself to abundance, when the produce is simply divine. As the berries disappear and we say goodbye to the last quince and the last medlar, the great citrus harvest arrives. And with that — having made lots of red apple jelly, crab apple jelly and quince jelly — we get to use them as the sugarbased syrups for cooking redcurrants in a Cumberland sauce to grace all the birds as turkey comes into its own, or to make generous steamed sponge puddings with marmalade, only to be served with buckets of hot custard. One of the big, huge things that arrives in the winter are the bitter leaves I absolutely love and crave, and sing perfectly with a rich cut like pork, which you’ll find as you turn these pages, accompanied by sage and onions and garlic. As you’ll see in my accompanying sketches, just the colours alone are autumn personified, which is the joy we all need just before winter kicks in and Jack Frost boots everything out, finally — and all you’re left with are the wet, dark silhouettes of trees and old weeds. So go forth and enjoy my riff on the late autumn Christmas harvest with a glass and a loved one, or two.
MUSHROOM JALOUSIE
The jalousie has many incisions made in the pastry to let the steam out, so the pastry can crisp. A large version of this old-fashioned pie is very good, but when made smaller, cooked crisp, cooled then sliced, it makes excellent bites with drinks.
Feeds 6
· 25g dried porcini
· 3 or 4 shallots
· 3 cloves of garlic
· 50g unsalted butter (or 2 soup spoons of olive oil instead)
· 1kg large flat mushrooms, peeled and halved then blitzed fine in a food processor
· 75ml white wine
· 1 small finger-sized bundle of thyme and summer savory
· 1 handful chopped parsley
· 125g freshly grated Parmesan
· 500g puff pastry
· 1 organic egg, beaten with a tsp of cream to make a glaze
Soak the porcini in water for 30 minutes. Peel and finely chop the shallots and the garlic, then cook in the butter (or oil) in a pan. Drain the soaked porcini, chop, add to the shallots and cook gently for 10 minutes, then add the flat mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are bubbling away. Add the wine, thyme and summer savory, season with salt and black pepper and cook for a further 5–10 minutes until no trace of liquid remains. Remove from the heat, take out the thyme and add the parsley and Parmesan. Spread the mushrooms on a flat tray and let cool. (This can be made the day before, very much to its benefit, I find.)
Preheat the oven to 200C. Roll half the pastry out quite thin and cut into two long strips, 5cm wide, 30cm long. Lay these on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Roll out another two lengths with the other half, 1cm wider. Fold these in half lengthways and make incisions every 2mm along the length of the pastry except for 1cm at each end. Form the mushroom mixture into the shape of a rod and lay along the middle of the pastry (the strips on the baking parchment) from one end to the other, leaving a 1cm border each side. Lightly brush the edges with egg wash. Take the lengths of cut pastry and lay them over the mushroom filling, pressing lightly round the edges until aligned, trimming the edges to neaten if necessary. Egg wash the surface and fully press down the edges with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (These can be made the day before.) Place the tray in the heated oven and lower the heat to 180C. Bake for 30 minutes until well-coloured and crisp. Remove from the oven and cool before slicing and serving. These are best eaten just warm. A flourish of freshly grated Parmesan atop is a happy consideration.
BEETROOT AND CITRUS SALAD
Beetroots and citrus make such a jolly pair. Tossed with a very good olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar, together they brighten every Christmas table
· 3 bunches of small to medium beets
· ½ cup olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra
· 1kg oranges
· 1 tsp red wine vinegar
· 1 tbsp lemon juice
· Salt and pepper
Cut the greens off the beets, leaving about 2cm of the stems attached. Set the greens aside, clean the beets and toss them with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Add the beets to a roasting tray with a splash of water, cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven at 200C for about 40 minutes or until tender. Remove the foil, cool and peel, before cutting into wedges.
Meanwhile, peel the oranges and remove the pith. Carefully slice into segments, discarding the seeds and reserving the juice. Combine the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice and a generous pinch of salt in a bowl and allow to sit for a few minutes, then whisk in the ½ cup of olive oil. Adjust seasoning, to taste.
Toss the beets in half the vinaigrette, before arranging half the beets on a platter. Place half the oranges atop the beets, then layer the remaining beets and oranges, and spoon the rest of the vinaigrette over the salad.
ROAST LEG OF PORK WITH BITTER LEAVES
Most of this lovely dish can be cooked earlier in the day at a gentle pace. The colours of the radicchio family are beguiling
Feeds 6 to 8
· Whole piece of pork leg, off the bone, roughly 2kg
· 6 shallots, peeled and halved lengthways
· 2 pink Roscoff onions, peeled and each cut into 6 pieces through the root
· 8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
· Small sprig each of thyme and summer savory, leaves picked, stalks reserved
· 1 head of Treviso
· 1 head of tardivo (or 2 large heads of radicchio)
· 2 soup spoons olive oil
· 1 soup spoon red wine vinegar
· 18 sage leaves
· 50ml light vegetable or sunflower oil
To roast the meat, heat the oven to 220C (leg of pork should be cooked for 18 minutes per 500g). Liberally salt and pepper the joint. Spread the shallots, onions, garlic and herb stalks over the bottom of a roasting tin and put the leg on top. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 180C and cook for 1 hour.
Take out of the oven and carefully remove the onions and garlic with a spoon on to a dish, cover and put to one side. Remove and discard the herb stalks. Dust the joint with half of the finely chopped herb leaves and plenty of black pepper, then cover and let rest for at least half an hour. Turn the oven up to 200C.
Preheat a cast-iron pan over a moderate heat. Trim away any blemished outer leaves from the Treviso and tardivo, or the radicchio. Cut the heads in half through the root. Lay the halves cut side down on the pan and leave to cook. Foods do not like being meddled with while getting along with the business of cooking. The leaves closest to the heat will curl and colour like paper. ’Tis rather lovely. After 5–10 minutes, moderating the heat so it is not too high, turn the halves and continue cooking until each half yields to the insertion of a small, sharp knife. Remove the halves to a dish, laying side by side so they cool and do not steam. Mix together the olive oil, vinegar and the picked thyme and summer savory leaves, season with salt and pepper and spoon over the leaves.
Pick the sage leaves from the stalks. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over a brisk heat (Mum always used the ends of her bottles of olive oil for such tasks — her collection filled a tray in the kitchen like an array of perfume bottles on a dressing table). Have, too, a slotted spoon in hand. Add a few leaves to the hot oil at a time. With care, flip the leaves and when they colour a dark green, which is swiftly done, lift them out and put them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Continue thus until all are done. Lightly season with sea salt. Lift from the paper on to a clean plate and set aside. Now all is ready for assembly.
Coarsely chop the cooled radicchio halves into two or three pieces. Dress these with the onions and the peeled garlic cloves and season with salt and pepper. Add any juices remaining in the onion dish to the pork juices. Lift the pork on to a tray and carve. Fill the middle of your large serving plate with slices of the pork and arrange the radicchio and onion and garlic mix around the edges. Heat the juices in the roasting tin for a minute, until bubbling, then spoon over the leaves and the pork. Scatter the sage leaves over the top and serve.
CHARD, POTATO & CELERIAC GRATIN
This gratin is wonderful when cooked shallow, just one layer of each vegetable spread over a large baking dish (roughly 30x25cm) in lieu of the more familiar deep gratin
Feeds 6
· 500g waxy potatoes
· 500g celeriac
· 500g cooked chard (roughly 1kg raw chard)
· 250ml double cream (you could substitute 250ml vegetable stock for the cream in this recipe)
· ½ a nutmeg, grated
· 30g unsalted butter
Heat the oven to 180C. Peel the potatoes and the celeriac, rinse, then slice thinly (2–3mm thick) and put into separate bowls. Wash both bowls of sliced vegetables until the water is clear. Drain the vegetables and roughly dry. Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with the sliced celeriac, lightly overlapping the slices. Strew the cooked chard over the celeriac. Cover the chard with the sliced potato, again overlapping the slices slightly. Season the cream with salt, black pepper and nutmeg and pour this over the layers of sliced vegetables.
Dot with butter. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, until browned and bubbling at the edges. Let the gratin sit for 10 minutes or so before eating.
SPICED MARMALADE PUDDING
Closely related to granny’s original recipe, this pudding is made bold with whole ginger and spice, plus a generous spooning of marmalade in the bottom. PS, steamed puddings keep very well, indeed improve mightily if kept for a day or two.
Feeds 6
· Unsalted butter for greasing
· 3 large soup spoons marmalade
· 150g preserved stem ginger and adhering syrup
· 125g self-raising flour · ½ tsp cream of tartar · ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
· 2 tsp ground ginger
· 1 tsp ground allspice · ½ tsp ground mace
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon · ½ tsp baking powder
· 125g shredded suet
· 125g fresh white breadcrumbs
· Pinch of salt
· 125g golden syrup
· 250g black treacle
· 1 organic egg
· 150ml milk
Lightly butter a 1.1-litre pudding basin. Place a disc of greaseproof paper on the whole bottom of the basin. Spoon the marmalade on to the disc of paper. Put the preserved stem ginger and syrup into a blender and whizz until smooth. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, spices and baking powder and place in a large bowl. Add the suet and the rest of the dry ingredients, along with the blended ginger, golden syrup, treacle, egg and milk. Mix all this together very well.
Tip the batter into the pudding basin. Cover with a large piece each of baking parchment and foil, tied very tightly with string. Smooth the foil over the paper and then fold and tuck neatly around the basin. Place the sealed pudding on a plate in a pan of simmering water, cover the pan and simmer for 2½ hours, checking every so often if the water needs topping up.
Once cooked, remove the string, foil and paper. Lightly loosen the pudding from the edges with a knife. Place a large, handsome plate atop. With the greatest care, flip the whole kaboodle. Lift away the bowl, carefully lift away the disc of paper and take to table. Serve with jugs of custard and a bowl of best cream.
