Kathy's Menu for January 2001

Starter : Turkey and Bacon Terrine

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Main Course : Game Ragout

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Pudding : Blackberry Sorbet

Turkey and Bacon Terrine
Serves 8

Ingredients

1lb 2oz (500g) minced turkey
9oz (250g)pancetta or bacon pieces
4oz (100g) walnut pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1lb (450g) streaky bacon
9oz (250g) chicken livers
quarter of a teaspoon ground mace
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
20 black peppercorns
15 juniper berries
4floz (120ml) dry white wine
1floz (25ml) brandy
You will also need a 2lb (900g) loaf tin
To serve : cranberry confit and toast

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the walnut pieces until they are golden brown. Remove to a plate and allow to cool.
2. Chop the streaky bacon roughly and put it in a food processor or liquidiser with the chicken livers. Liquidise until coarsely chopped, so it looks similar to the turkey mince. Put the bacon and liver mixture in a bowl and add the turkey mince, pancetta, mace, garlic and walnuts.Crush the peppercorns and juniper berries with the back of a knife and add these to the bowl as well. Pour over the wine and brandy and mix well. Cover the bowl and leave to marinade for about 2 hours.
3. Pre heat the oven to 150C (300F, gas mark 2) and boil the kettle. Pack the terrine mixture into a loaf tin and place the loaf tin in a bking tin. Pour enough water in to the baking tin so that it comes half way up the loaf tin. Bake the terrine uncovered for 2 and a half hours.
4. Allow the terrine to cool and once it is completely cold cover it with a double layer of foil. Put weights on the top (tins of tomatoes work well) and refridgerate until ready to serve.
5. To serve, loosen the edges of the terrine and turn out on to a carving board. Scrape off the fat and jelly surrounding the terrine and blot with kitchen roll. Cut in to slices and serve with toast and cranberry confit.

Game Ragout
Serves 8

Ingredients

4 quails
4 pheasant fillets
4 duck breasts
4 oz (110g) butter
2 tabelspoons olive oil
11oz (300g) shallots
7oz (200g) cooked and peeled whole chestnuts
9oz (250g) chestnut mushrooms
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
8 pieces stem ginger, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the stock :
2.25 pints (1.35 litres) fresh chicken stock
10floz (275 ml) Stones ginger wine
2 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
10 star anise
20 juniper berries
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Skin and trim the pheasant fillets and cut in half widthways. Do the same with the duck breasts. Reserve all the trimmings. Prepare the quails by removing the legs and setting them aside (use these for another recipe). Using a pair of scissors cut around the breast, excluding the wings, and then using your fingers, gently ease away the breast from the carcass and set aside. Remove and discard the skin. Do this with all the quails and then cut the quail breasts in half.
2. Peel the shallots but leave the roots on.
3. Put the reserved quail carcasses and the trimmings from the pheasant and duck in a large pan with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat so the stock is simmering and add the rest of the stock ingredients. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour and then strain in to a bowl.
4. Heat 1.5oz (40g) of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan and saute the pheasant fillets over a medium heat for 1 -2 minutes until they are browned . Remove to a csserole dish. Saute the duck fillets for 2 minutes in the same way and the quail fillets for 1 minute. Add the duck fillets to the casserole dish but keep the quail fillets to one side.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 170C (325F, gas mark 3). Heat a further 0.5oz (10g) of butter and the last tablespoon of oil in the frying pan and saute the shallots over a medium heat for about 4 minutes until golden. Add the chestnuts and quickly saute for 1 minute and transfer both the shallots and chestnut to the casserole.
6. Put the remaining butter in the frying pan and add the mushrooms and saute over a high heat for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the flour, add the stock gradually and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Add the ginger, seasons and pour over the game and vegetables. Cover the casserole with a lid or foil and cook for 1 hour on the middle shelf of the oven. Add the quail fillets making sure that they are completely covered with the sauce, recover and cook for a further 15 minutes.
7. Serve with mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and honeyed roast parsnips.

Blackberry Sorbet
Serves 8

Ingredients

2lb (900g) fresh or frozen blackberries
thinly pared rind and juice of 2 oranges
thinly pared rind and juice of 1 lemon
13oz (375g) caster sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of Port

Method

1. Put two metal freezing containers in to the freezer.
2. Measure the combined orange and lemon juices and make up to 12floz (350ml) with water.
3. Put the juice and water mixture into a large saucepan with the sugar and heat stirring gently with a wooden spoon to help dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, add the citrus rinds and increase the heat. Boil the syrup rapidly for 2 minutes , without stirring, and then remove from the heat and strain through a sieve set over a bowl. Press, and then discard, the rinds in the sieve. Stand the bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and leave the syrup to cool.
4. While the syrup cools puree the blackberries in a food processor fitted with a fine disc. Alternatively liquidise and then pass through a nylon sieve. Transfer the puree to a bowl.
5. Add the cooled syrup to the puree. Add a pinch of salt and the port. Stir well, then pour the mixture in to the two metal freezing containers. Cover and freeze.
6. After about 3 hours stir the mixture with a fork, then cover and freeze again for a further 3 hours, or until firm.
7. About 5 - 10 minutes before serving, remove the sorbet from the freezer and let it stand at room temperature. Just before serving, stir the mixture vigorously with a fork, then scoop in to individual serving dishes and serve immediately.

Cookery Book Recommendation of the Month

Appetite by Nigel Slater
In his radical new book, Nigel Slater argues that we should not be slavishly following recipes, but following our instincts. Appetite shows us how to break the rules, experiment with recipes and satisfy our appetite. This guide takes 100 simple classics and casts aside the insecurities of normal recipes. Ingredients are listed, followed by a suggestion of how much you might need. It includes a helpful section on where to get hold of everything worth eating.

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