The festive period doesn’t have to be all about turkey sandwiches and boiled sprouts. If you fancy bringing a taste of Cotswold fine dining into your home this year, here are some suggestions from a few of our finest chefs.
Deep-filled mince pies by Jolly Nice’s head pastry chef Oliver Snell
Our deep-filled mince pies are a local favourite, made from scratch; we sell over 7,000 every year!
This recipe will make about 20 deep-filled Jolly Nice frangipan-topped mince pies.
Ingredients:
Mincemeat
200g grated English Bramley apples
22g flaked almonds
3g mixed spice
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
100g vegetarian suet
150g raisins
100g sultanas
100g currants
100g mixed peel
150g dark soft brown sugar
Half orange zest and juice
Half lemon zest and juice
25ml brandy
Method:
Mix everything except the brandy together and leave to stand for 24 hours.
Place the mixture into an oven proof dish and bake at 110°C for about 30 minutes until cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Allow to cool completely, stirring occasionally to re-disperse the melted suet.
Once cool, mix in the brandy.
Store in an airtight container in a dark place to mature before use (minimum of 2 weeks).
St Clements sweet pastry
300g plain organic Shipton Mill flour
150g English butter
75g caster sugar
½ lemon zest
½ orange zest
75g cold water
Method
Rub the butter into the flour, sugar and zests until a fine breadcrumb texture is achieved.
Add the cold water and mix together to form the pastry. Place in the fridge and chill until required.
Frangipan
190g English butter
190g caster sugar
3 Sherston free-range eggs
190g ground almonds
30g Gluten-free all-purpose flour
Method
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Gradually add the eggs, scraping down the mixer bowl after every addition.
Add the ground almonds and flour and mix until combined.
Other ingredients
Flaked almonds
Method
Roll out the St Clements pastry to a thickness of 3mm. Cut using a 9/10cm crinkle cutter (depending on your tin size) and place into deep muffin tins, ensuring they are to the bottom of the tins. Using a wooden former helps. Rerolling the pastry to make 20 cases.
Half fill the pastry case with your mincemeat, ensuring there are no air gaps (approximately 35g).
Finally pipe some of the freshly made frangipan on top, ensuring there are no gaps where the mincemeat may boil out, and coming up to the fluted edge. Then sprinkle with a few flaked almonds.
Bake at 170°C (fan) for 20 minutes, turning halfway to ensure an even bake.
Cool slightly before removing from the tins, a small pallet knife can help with this.
Perfect as they are, but they are extra special served warm with brandy butter ice cream!
Jolly Nice, Frampton Mansell, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, jollynicefarmshop.com
Christmas cake by Jolly Nice’s head pastry chef Oliver Snell
Makes 1 x 8-inch Christmas cake
Ingredients
Cake batter:
165g English butter
165g Dark soft brown sugar
1 tbsp treacle
3 Large Sherston free-range eggs
75g blanched almonds
50g ground almonds
210g Shipton Mill organic plain flour
2.5g mixed spice
2g ground nutmeg
1g baking powder
90g raisins
300g currants
210g sultanas
90g glacé cherries
65g mixed peel
150g cream sherry
1 orange zest and juice
Method
Wash the dried fruits to pre-plump then drain well.
Add the sherry, orange juice and zest to the dried fruits and leave to soak for 24 hours.
Line an 8-inch heavy cake tin with baking parchment, and protect the tin by wrapping the outside with newspaper, tying with string.
Preheat oven to 130°C (fan).
Cream the butter, sugar, and treacle until fluffy.
Gradually add the eggs, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until fully combined.
Add the soaked fruits and all the liquid to the cake batter and mix until evenly distributed.
Place the cake batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the top and making a small hollow in the centre (this helps the cake to bake with a flat top).
Bake the cake for 3.5-4.5 hours. Check the cake at 3 hours and cover the top with foil if required to prevent it getting too brown. Check by placing a skewer into the cake (skewer should come out of the cake cleanly).
Allow to cool in the tin before removing.
Keep the cake well wrapped in an airtight container, feeding the cake regularly with good quality Brandy. (If you have an unused 50mm syringe this is ideal to ‘inject’ the cake with the brandy.)
A week before Christmas, remove your cake from its container, feed it one last time then it is time to decorate.
To decorate:
Apricot jam
Selection of nuts and dried fruits (here at Jolly Nice we use pecans, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, prunes, apricots, preserved oranges and glacé cherries).
Place a few tablespoons of apricot jam into a saucepan with a little water, heat over a low temperature to dissolve the jam and then bring to the boil.
Brush the jam over the top of the cake to glaze it.
Decorate with dried fruits and nuts.
Finish by placing on a suitable cake board, and adorning with festive ribbon.
Jolly Nice, Frampton Mansell, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, jollynicefarmshop.com
Crab & scallop ravioli, curry beurre blanc by Thomas Law, executive chef of JM Socials and Prithvhi
Thomas Law, executive chef of JM Socials and Prithvhi says, ‘This ravioli dish encapsulates exactly what Prithvi is about... classic European techniques harmoniously blended with the spices and the luxurious flavours expected from the restaurant.’
Serves 4
Pasta
150g ’00’ Flour
50g Yolk
25g Whole Egg
10g Saffron Water
1/4 tsp Turmeric
3g Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil
2g Salt
Begin by steeping 10 strands of saffron in warm water until the water is bright red
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a jug
On a table, place the flour & salt mixture and make a well in the middle.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well and incorporate with a fork until a lumpy dough is created.
On a floured surface knead the dough for 10 minutes until elastic and smooth. Cut into 2 pieces, Wrap tightly and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, roll to approx 1cm thick with a rolling pin then roll through a pasta machine to the thinnest setting. You should be able to see your hand through it when you hold it up.
Cut 8 discs 8cm wide, store these on a clingfilmed tray airtight until needed.
Scallop & crab mousse
100g scallops
15g egg yolk
15g Keralan style curry paste
35g double cream
50g cooked & picked white crab meat
5g salt
Pinch cayenne
Place your food processor including blade into the freezer for 1 hour prior to making the mousse.
In a cold food processor Blend the Scallops, yolk and curry paste together until smooth.
Slowly emulsify in the cream until a smooth mousse is created.
Remove from the processor and fold in the crab meat. Season then roll a small amount in cling film and poach for 1 minute to check seasoning.
Once happy with the flavour, place in an airtight container and leave in the fridge for 1 hour to set slightly.
To make the ravioli, take your discs of pasta and pipe 50g of mixture into the centre.
Wet the circumference of the disc with a pastry brush then carefully place the second piece of pasta over the top.
Using the blunt side of a ring cutter push down around the mousse to ensure there are no air bubbles.
Using another cutter, cut a 1cm wider circle around the mousse ensuring the pasta is air tight.
Cook in boiling salted water for 4 minutes.
Beurre blanc
100g white wine
100g fish stock
1 garlic clove
1 green chilli
1 shallot
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp mild curry powder
250g unsalted butter, diced and fridge cold
25g double cream
Lemon juice / salt
Place the white wine, stock, garlic, chilli, shallot, chilli powder & curry powder into a pan and reduce quickly but carefully by ¾.
Turn the heat down but not off then carefully emulsify in the cold butter one block at a time, allowing the completely disappear before adding the next.
Once all the butter is added, add the remaining ingredients and check the seasoning.
Once happy, strain through a fine sieve and reserve in a WARM place until needed.
If the sauce gets too hot or too cold it will split.
Chive oil
100g chives, roughly chopped
150g rapeseed oil
In a blender, blend together until warm (50 deg) to activate the chlorophyll. Hang in a damp j cloth overnight until the bright green oil has all dripped through.
Kashmiri chilli oil
50g Kashmiri chilli
150g rapeseed oil
Blend together until warm, then pass through a j cloth as above!
To serve
Cook your ravioli in a deep pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes.
Remove from the water and drizzle with extra virgin rapeseed oil and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. Place on a j cloth to absorb any excess water.
Place ravioli in a bowl and ladle over a generous amount of the beurre blanc, swirl the oils around the sauce and serve with a huge quenelle of caviar.
Prithvi, Cheltenham, prithvirestaurant.com
Spiced venison loin, duck liver keema, masala fig, blue cheese by Thomas Law, executive chef of JM Socials and Prithvhi
Thomas Law, executive chef of JM Socials and Prithvhi says, ‘The strength of the perfectly in-season venison stands up to the richness of the fig and duck liver keema. Along with the spiciness of the sauce, this dish is a customer favourite at the moment.’
Spiced venison loin
400g trimmed venison eye loin
1/2 tablespoon garlic & ginger paste
Tsp chilli powder
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp table salt
2 tsp Greek yoghurt
In a bowl, rub the ingredients into the loin.
Roll the loin in clingfilm tightly and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
Once ready to cook, unwrap the meat then sear in a hot pan with oil in, remove and Place on a cooling rack.
Cook in the oven at 180 deg on rack for 7-10 minutes until core temp is 50-54 deg (for medium rare).
Allow to rest well before carving and serving.
Duck liver Keema
300g venison mince
100g chicken liver
50g foie gras
100g beef fat
100g chicken breast
5 cardamon pods
2 bay leaves
Tbsp curry powder
Tbsp chilli powder
Tbsp garlic ginger paste
Mix all ingredients together and leave to marinade overnight
Place your mincer in the freezer for 1 hour before using. This will stop the blades getting clogged with the fat.
On the finest setting on your mincer, pass through all the ingredients twice.
(This will make a big batch, but can be frozen, any smaller is too hard to work with!)
Roll into 50g balls and wrap tightly in cling film. Cook in 85 deg water for 15 minutes.
Reheat in venison curry sauce (below).
Blue cheese crumble
150g blue cheese
75g butter
200g plain flour
Mix all ingredients together with a paddle attachment in mixer.
Bake at 160 until golden brown chopping at 5 minute intervals
Masala fig
5 figs
100g orange juice
100g port
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 star anise
3 cardamon pod
Pinch chilli flakes
20g demerara sugar
1 bay leaf
Reduce liquid and spices by 1/2
Pour over the halved figs.
Place in low oven 80 degrees for 7 hours, turning every so often until the liquid is sticky and reduced.
Baby leeks
100g white wine vinegar
100g sugar
100g water
2 star anise
5 curry leaves
10 baby leeks
Wash and peel the baby leeks.
Place all ingredients in a pan and simmer gently until leeks are cooked through.
Store in the pickle liquid until required.
Venison Curry Sauce
2 litre game demi glace
500g roasted venison bones
100ml rapeseed oil
4 Cardamon
2 tbsp garlic ginger paste
1/2 tsp black peppercorn
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1.5 kg onion, sliced
4 bay leaves
1 tsp each: paprika, cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder.
Heat the oil then add the curry leaves, bay and cinnamon stick so the crackle and spit.
Add the onions and cook down for 10 minutes until beginning to soften.
Add the remaining spices and cook until they become fragrant.
Add the Stock and bones and slowly reduce all by 1/3.
Remove the cinnamon stick then blend and pass.
Check seasoning.
Prithvi, Cheltenham, prithvirestaurant.com
Twice-baked mature Cheddar cheese soufflé with Parmesan sauce by Gary Lissemore, The Seagrave Arms
Head chef at The Seagrave Arms, Gary Lissemore
Recipe:
Makes 16
Soufflé:
80g butter
80g flour
1tbsp English mustard
585ml milk
320g Cheddar cheese
200g egg yolk
400/450g egg white (this will be what’s left from the egg after taking the yolk away)
Sauce:
100g Parmesan
500ml double cream
Bake 130 degrees C for 20 mins
Method:
Melt butter and add the flour. Cook this until smooth, then gradually add milk. Use the same process as when making a bechamel sauce.
Gradually stir the sauce until it becomes thicker. Make sure not to burn the bottom!
Once thickened, add cheese and stir constantly until the cheese has melted.
Add English mustard.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When sauce has cooled, add egg yolk and mix well.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks.
Gently fold into mix until egg white has been incorporated. Don’t beat too much as this will reduce the mixture and push the air out of the mix.
Butter and add a light dusting of small breadcrumbs to the moulds to prevent the soufflé from sticking.
Pour mix into moulds.
In a bain-marie, cook in the oven at 130 degrees C for 20 mins.
While they are cooking, you can make the Parmesan sauce. Heat the cream, add Parmesan until melted.
Once soufflés have cooled down, turn them upside down and remove the moulds and place soufflés into small bowl/ramekin.
Turn the over up to 180 degrees C, pour sauce over the soufflé and cook for 9 mins.
Serve with a side salad and choice of chutney, and enjoy!
The Seagrave Arms, Weston Subedge, Chipping Campden, theseagravearms.co.uk
