Paté, pies and tasty treatment for turkey
Paté, pies and tasty treatment for turkey
Christmas is our only real feast day and so I concentrate on the idea of it being a winter solstice feast and ignore the commercial tawdriness. To be able to enjoy all the festivities, whether it is watching the school nativity plays or helping with the turkey plucking, I always plan and prepare ahead as much as I can.
The centre of the whole feast for us is eating our turkey but Christmas time is a good excuse (if really needed) to enjoy indulgences such as homemade paté. Thanks to friendly chef Ian Dowding for the recipe we enjoy. It produces a delicious smooth paté and one of the secrets in keeping it moist and flavoursome is to stew the ingredients together rather than fry. Try it and taste the difference.
Another Christmas treat is of course mince pies, individual or large. Instead of the usual pastry topping I use meringue which is a favourite with the children and any sweet-tooth person. We have to thank Eliza Acton, the great British cook for this idea. Her book Modern Cookery for Private Families, first published in 1845, has fortunately just been reprinted by Southover Press and what a fascinating and illuminating read it is.
My inspiration for those dreaded Christmas leftovers comes from the Hank Williams song in praise of Cajun cuisine – Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, Filé Gumbo. I once saw Jambalaya loosely defined as clean up the kitchen although more accurately it comes from the French jambon meaning ham, the African ya meaning rice, and the Arcadian where everything is à là. This dish is usually made with leftovers of any combination of beef, pork, fowl, smoked sausage, ham or seafood, so virtually whatever you have for your Christmas dinner can be used up in Jambalaya. Maybe next year well make Gumbo! Merry Christmas.
Chicken liver paté
250g (8oz) chicken livers
75g (3oz) butter
A sprig of basil, marjoram and parsley, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 rashers smoked streaky bacon
1 tablespoon port or sherry
1 tablespoon brandy
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
3 tablespoons double cream
You will also need a loaf tin or ramekin dishes.
Cut the bacon into strips. Melt the butter in a shallow pan. Remove any membrane or fat from the livers, cut into pieces and add to the butter with the garlic, herbs, bacon, port/sherry and spices and season. Cook everything gently – the idea is it should stew in the butter and not fry. There should be plenty of liquid left in the pan after it has been cooked, this helps it to set and keep moist. Remove from the heat, cool slightly then liquidise with the cream and brandy. Check seasoning. If you want a really smooth pate, sieve the mixture. Pour the mixture in a dish of your choice and level off.
Serve with some good bread or savoury biscuits.
Turkey jambalaya
This recipe is only a guide and can be varied according to ingredients available and tolerance to spices. Cooking the rice in a good chicken stock improves the flavour.
Serves 6.
About 500g (1lb) cooked turkey, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 large red peppers
1 large green pepper
2 onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
375g (12oz) oak smoked Toulouse sausage or chorizo sausage, skinned and cut into 1cm (1/2in slices)
Brown Basmati rice measured to the 300ml (1/2pt) level in a measuring jug
500ml (1pt) chicken stock
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
1 heaped teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Slice the peppers in half and remove the seeds and pith, then slice each half into six strips. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and cook the peppers, onions, garlic and slices of smoked sausage gently for about 5-10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Then add all the remaining ingredients, give it a good stir and bring up to the boil. Its important to keep the rice down in the liquid. Cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for about 50 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
Serve with salad.
Meringue toppedmince pies
Makes 22-24 individual mince pies.
500g (1lb) shortcrust pastry
500g (1lb) good mincemeat
Zest and juice of 1 orange
25g (1oz) butter
4 eggs, separated
4 tablespoon caster sugar
Preheat the oven 190C (375F, Gas 5). Cream together the butter, egg yolks, orange zest and juice. Combine with mincemeat. Roll out pastry thinly and line the tart tins. Three-quarters fill with the mincemeat mixture and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the insides are just set. Turn the oven down to 140C (275F, Gas 1). Whisk the egg whites until they stand in peaks. Beat in the sugar. Top the tarts with meringue (I use a piping bag, it is easier and looks good) and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the meringue is of a fine brown colour and is crisp.