Feeling festive

It’s cold and frosty and I am feeling festive. La terrine de castanhas / chestnut paté makes a perfect seasonal starter. I boiled peeled chestnuts in salted water, then drained and liquidised them. Meanwhile, I softened chopped onions in a little oil, added chopped mushrooms with a little salt and continued to cook gently. I sprinkled with pepper, crushed juniper berries and nutmeg, and liquidised this mixture too. I combined the two purées plus some melted butter, and packed the resulting paté into a terrine. I smoothed the top and chilled.

Served on toast with a little red currant jelly

Traditional Christmas

After all the uncertainties of the last few years it has been nice to celebrate Christmas in the traditional way – inside with friends! I chose to cook le canard à la broche aux châtaignes / spit roasted duck with chestnuts. I seasoned the inside of the duck, adding an onion, garlic and bouquet garni. In days gone the duck would have been placed on a spit and roasted in front of a fire. But I popped it into the oven for an hour and a quarter, sprinkling the skin with salt after half-an-hour. It was as simple as that. I served the duck surrounded by roast chestnuts and Brussel sprouts together with the pan juices deglazed with red wine and stock. We savoured the food and a return to normality.

The right cut?

The choice of meat cuts in France can be baffling, especially with beef, as it is butchered differently. So I wasn’t surprised when my butcher said he didn’t have a boned and rolled shoulder of veal. I wanted to make le rôti de veau Cévenol / veal with chestnuts and mushrooms. A bit of research online led me to the French supermarket French Click, where rôti de veau is described as veal topside, and so I decided that this would have to do. My butcher duly obliged and I trussed up the meat with bacon and string to look like the picture on the website. I browned the meat in a casserole in goose fat on all sides. I added flour, stock, a bouquet garni and seasoning to make a thin sauce. This went into the oven, covered, for forty-five minutes, and then I added the chestnuts and mushrooms. After a further fifteen minutes, I reduced the heat and cooked gently for another hour. I wasn’t wild about this dish but our guests, Ann and Andrew, were complimentary. I felt it was a little dry and tough. So perhaps I didn’t have the right cut?

An irresistible combination

Friends Chris and Jude have been staying for a couple of days. For supper, I wanted a simple dish which I could quickly prepare and leave, so we had plenty of time for aperos and chat. Le porc en cocotte aux châtaignes / braised pork with chestnuts fitted the bill. Knowing from previous experience the difficulties of preparing chestnuts, I had bought a jar of ready peeled ones. But then I couldn’t resist buying the real thing in the market – they were so glossy and inviting, plus the vendor had the cutest dog! My method for dealing with the chestnuts involved simmering, roasting and steaming, and was reasonably successful. I browned the pork joint (boned and tied) in goose fat in a casserole, then added chopped onions and garlic. I continued till they coloured too and added white wine. I reduced the heat, seasoned, and cooked gently for five minutes, before covering with a lid and placing in the oven for an hour and a half, adding the chestnuts half way through. The dish was really super – moist and tasty. We all had second helpings and Chris offered to be a guinea pig for more recipes from Goose Fat & Garlic.

Irresistible chestnuts, irresistible dog

Alternative Christmas

One cannot fail to make a lovely stew with oxtail
Jeanne Strang in Goose Fat & Garlic

We had an alternative Christmas meal last night with friends Ann and Andrew. I was going to do something a bit fancy, but my butcher said the cut of meat wasn’t available. However, he did have oxtail and so I went with this cheaper option. To make le ragoût de queue de boeuf / ragout of oxtail with chestnuts, I browned the pieces in goose fat and added chopped onions and carrots. I sprinkled with flour, cooking for a few minutes, allowing the mixture to take on some colour. Then I poured in white wine, stirring to make a gravy and added a bouquet garni and seasoning. I simmered gently for three hours. Meanwhile, I fried pieces of Cumberland sausage (my alternative to Toulouse) and pork lardons, and added these to the casserole with some cooked chestnuts. This humble dish, served with bread-sauce-infused potato gratin and Brussel sprouts was a hit with our guests.

The meat fell off the bones & was tender & tasty

Winter salad

Strange though it may seem, this salad – les châtaignes en salad / chestnut salad – really works. I cheated a bit as I used ready prepared chestnuts and so it was very easy to assemble. I made a well-seasoned vinaigrette and added warmed chestnuts and a chopped shallot. I piled this mixture onto some salad leaves and sliced hard-boiled eggs. The soft chestnuts contrasted with the crisp lettuce and the sharp dressing.

Three good things

We have seen how useful dried cèpes can be in stews and civets. They go particularly well with game birds, both flavours evoking the floor of the chestnut woods where they come from. Chestnuts themselves make up the perfect trinity in the next recipe…
Jeanne Strang in Goose Fat & Garlic

We invited Frankie and Nick around for a supper of three good things: les faisans aux cèpes et aux châtaignes / pheasant with ceps and chestnuts. I heated goose fat in a casserole and browned a brace of pheasants all over. Meanwhile, I cooked lardons and onion in a separate pan. I heated some armagnac in a ladle, poured it over the birds, and set it alight (dramatic flames that lasted quite a while!). Then, I tucked the pork and onions under the birds and added white wine, chicken stock, a bouquet garni and seasoning. I covered the casserole with foil and a lid and left it to simmer for one hour. Half way through cooking I added ceps and chestnuts. I transferred the birds to a heated serving dish, and tipped the sauce through a sieve into a smaller pan, so I could reduce it a bit. Served with roast potatoes and sprouting broccoli. “Divine” said Frankie!

Sophisticated soup

The glossy brown chestnuts for sale in the French markets has got me thinking about how to cook with them. Today, I made le potage d’Aquitaine / cream of chestnut soup – an unusual and surprisingly good recipe. I softened chopped onion, celery and garlic in goose fat, then added peeled chestnuts, water and seasoning. I brought the soup to the boil, covered the pan, and simmered till cooked. I transfered everything to a liquidiser and blended to a smooth purée with some soured cream. It was as simple as that!

A rich stew

Last night we ate le civet de sanglier / a rich stew of wild boar (I used venison) with our friends Debbie and Duncan. I had cut the haunches into small steaks and marinated them overnight in red wine and sunflower oil. Then I dried the meat, added flour, and sealed the pieces in goose fat. These were placed in a casserole dish along with the marinade, chopped vegetables (carrots and onions) and a bouquet garni, brought to the boil and transferred to a low oven for a couple of hours. At the end, I added fried diced salted pork belly, mushrooms and chestnuts. Duncan declared it delicious!

A feast

As in our cookery, it is traditional in South-West France to celebrate the end of the year with turkey. I cooked le dindonneau farci aux châtaignes / turkey stuffed with chestnuts, only I used a large chicken instead! For the stuffing, I mixed crushed chestnuts with diced salted pork belly, shallots, parsley, herbs and seasoning, and bound the mixture with beaten eggs and Armagnac. I cooked the bird in a moderately hot oven for a couple of hours, basting with a little duck fat to start with and then stock.