Recipes
Pottage, Braised Chicken, Venison Stew, Rastons, Nut Hedgehogs, Elderflower Cheesecake, Fig Pudding
Pottage
5lbs assorted vegetables (celery, carrots, turnip, swede, leeks, etc)
4 onions
8 cloves garlic
sunflower oil for cooking
3tsp dried herbs
vegetarian stock cubes to be made up to four pints
a mug full of barley
Chop the onions, vegetables and garlic. Heat oil in a pan. Cook onions for about two minutes before adding garlic and herbs then other vegetables. Cook until soft. Add barley and cook for another couple of minutes before adding stock.
Braised Chicken
3 chickens
3 handfuls parsley
9-12 sprigs each of fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, hyssop/mint
¾ tsp ground saffron
6 cups wine (red or white)
¾ cup currants
1½ tsp sugar
1½ tsp ginger
Crush the herbs and use about half of them to stuff the chickens. Truss the chickens and rub them with saffron (or tumeric) and put in a deep dish with half of the wine and the remainder of the herbs. Cover and cook in oven.
When chickens are almost done mix currants, sugar and most of the rest of the wine in a pan and simmer for five minutes. Mix ginger into last bit of wine and then add to pan. Remove from heat.
Take chickens out of oven and remove grease from the liquid surrounding them. Pour saucepan contents over chickens and serve.
Venison Stew
9lbs venison
6 cups red wine
1½ cups red wine vinegar
1½ cups olive oil (optional for marinade)
6-9 onions
1½ tsp dried thyme
3 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp salt
3 tsp black pepper
¾ tsp ground mace
9 tsp olive oil (for cooking)
6-9 slices wholemeal bread
2¼ cups currants
¾ cup chopped parsley
Marinade venison in wine, vinegar, olive oil, onions and seasonings (except parsley).
Strain some of the marinade and pour over bread in a blender. Remove venison from marinade and brown it in oil. Blend bread and marinade and add to venison along with all remaining ingredients except currants and parsley. Bring to boil then simmer for one hour. Add currants and parsley and simmer for 30 minutes more.
Rastons
1 brown bread roll per person, cut in half and centre scooped out
2 medium mushrooms per person
1/6 onion per person (approx)
½ clove garlic per person
butter
pinch of nutmeg
Chop onions, garlic and mushrooms finely. Cut rolls in half and scoop out centre of each piece. Make breadcrumbs from centres.
Fry onions and garlic until they start to soften, then add mushrooms and nutmeg. Cook until soft. Mix in bread crumbs. Stuff rolls with mixture. Brown under a grill.
Nut hedgehogs
½ onion
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp ginger
4oz assorted nuts (ground or chopped finely)
½ tin tomatoes
flaked almonds (I have these)
couple of slices of bread made into crumbs
Chop onion, garlic and carrot finely. Fry in oil, adding ginger while cooking. When the vegetables are soft add the tin of tomatoes and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and stir in ground nuts then breadcrumbs to make a solid-ish mixture. Shape into balls. Use flaked almonds to decorate.
Elderflower cheesecake
pastry
36oz cream cheese
1 ½ cups sugar (720ml)
12 egg whites
dried elder flowers
2 tablespoons rosewater
Line pie dishes with pastry. Blend all remaining ingredients together and pour mixture into pastry shells. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350F (200C).
Fig Pudding
12oz ground almonds
1½ cup (750ml) white wine
3 cups dried figs cut into quarters with stems removed
3 cups raisins
6 tbsp honey
1½ tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
Mix ground almonds into a paste in a saucepan with some of the wine. Over medium heat add rest of wine. Turn heat down while you chop the figs. Stir fruits and seasonings into the mixture. Bring to boil, stirring continuously until mixture is thick.
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