Smoked fish, pomegranates, fresh pickles and sweet treats – the festive season wouldn’t be complete without these flavours
As much as I relish almost every detail of the Christmas feast, there are a handful of ingredients I hold especially dear: the rich, sweet preserve that is mincemeat; the glowing ruby seeds of the pomegranate and the sourness of the cranberry, which never fail to brighten anything in which they appear; and the soft, smoky notes of cured fish such as salmon and trout. Also on that list of favourites are the blue-veined cheeses – the stilton and Stichelton, roquefort and gorgonzola without which the later autumn and winter wouldn’t feel complete.
Cranberries bring a welcome tartness to the inherent sweetness of festive food. Their sour quality, tempered by a little sugar, orange and port, makes an uplifting and much loved sauce for turkey. Throw a handful into the stuffing, simmer them into a jelly for a coarse pork terrine or include them in a mincemeat and apple crumble. The cranberry sauce traditionally used with roast turkey is also good with sausages, and I like the berries added to a sausagemeat patty – for which, incidentally, I use butcher’s herb-freckled breakfast sausages removed from their skins rather than buying sausagemeat. No other berry brings quite the same tartness to the season.
Continue reading… Smoked fish, pomegranates, fresh pickles and sweet treats – the festive season wouldn’t be complete without these flavoursAs much as I relish almost every detail of the Christmas feast, there are a handful of ingredients I hold especially dear: the rich, sweet preserve that is mincemeat; the glowing ruby seeds of the pomegranate and the sourness of the cranberry, which never fail to brighten anything in which they appear; and the soft, smoky notes of cured fish such as salmon and trout. Also on that list of favourites are the blue-veined cheeses – the stilton and Stichelton, roquefort and gorgonzola without which the later autumn and winter wouldn’t feel complete.Cranberries bring a welcome tartness to the inherent sweetness of festive food. Their sour quality, tempered by a little sugar, orange and port, makes an uplifting and much loved sauce for turkey. Throw a handful into the stuffing, simmer them into a jelly for a coarse pork terrine or include them in a mincemeat and apple crumble. The cranberry sauce traditionally used with roast turkey is also good with sausages, and I like the berries added to a sausagemeat patty – for which, incidentally, I use butcher’s herb-freckled breakfast sausages removed from their skins rather than buying sausagemeat. No other berry brings quite the same tartness to the season. Continue reading… Christmas food and drink, Food, Cheese, Fish, Sausages, Fruit