This is really simple to make and warming on a cold winters day, it has a thin but incredibly flavoursome sauce, and goes well with celeriac mash or an egg pasta.

Serves

Four People

Ingredients

  • 2 wild rabbits, jointed
  • 500g bacon, lardons
  • Dash of Dorset cider brandy
  • 0.5 ltr white wine
  • 1.5 ltr game stock
  • 2 lrg onions, sliced
  • 3 lrg carrots, cut into chunks
  • 3 sticks of celery, sliced
  • A handful of Seasoned flour
  • A pinch of coriander, mace and white peppercorns

Method

Part boil the potatoes until just tender but not completely.

Pre-fire the oven to around ‘very hot’.

First brown the bacon lardons in a frying pan over the hot plate, when golden transfer to a casserole dish retaining the fat in the frying pan for the rabbit. Toss the rabbit joints in the seasoned flour shake off the excess and then brown in the same pan.

Add the sliced onions, veg and boquet garni to the casserole pot and sweat over the hot plate, when the rabbit is nicely browned all over add it to the casserole pot with the spices. While the frying pan is still hot add a slug of cider vinegar and deglaze the nice gooey residues stuck to the bottom then add to the pot. Finally add the stock and white wine adding just enough to cover the meat.

Now gently bring the casserole up to a nice slow simmer its really important that you don’t let it boil otherwise you will shock the lean meat making it dry and tough. Put the lid on and put into the top oven for about an hour till the meats really juicy and tender.

Brisket’s open-grained texture, generous fattiness and deep flavour make it perfect for slow roasting, as well as boiling. Ask your butcher for the thick end of the brisket, boned and rolled, and make sure he doesn’t trim off the fat.

Serves

Serves six to eight people

Ingredients

  • 2kg piece boned, rolled beef brisket (fresh, not salted)
  • 4-5 garlic cloves, bruised
  • Good handful of thyme sprigs
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1-1.25kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
  • About 400g baby onions or shallots, outer skins removed

Optional Extras

  • Baby broad beans and/or garden peas, podded and blanched for 2 minutes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Put the brisket in a large roasting dish. Tuck the garlic and thyme inside and under it. Pour over two to three tablespoons of olive oil and massage into the meat, then season well.

Put the meat in the oven for 20-30 minutes, then remove it. Turn down the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark 1/2 , cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for four hours.

After this time, the beef should be very tender. Baste it with its juices, add the potatoes and onions, and toss them in the fat, then turn up the heat to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook, uncovered, for a further hour.

Serve the beef in thick slices, with the potatoes, onions and a little of the rich cooking juices.

Ingredients

  • 60g plain flour
  • 15g cocoa powder
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 75g caster sugar

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to ESSE dial reading low end of HOT / 190°C/Gas mark 5.
  2. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
  3. Place the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using either a hand-held electric whisk or a free-standing electric mixer, whisk until the mixture has almost quadrupled in volume, is very light and fluffy, and holds its shape. Sift half of the flour and cocoa, using a large metal spoon, carefully fold them in before adding the remaining flour and cocoa in the same way. Scrape down the sides of the bowl well with a spatula.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and spread it out lightly and evenly, making sure it fills the corners of the tin.
  5. Bake in the oven for 12–14 minutes until the sponge feels firm to the touch in the centre.
  6. As soon as the sponge comes out of the oven, lift onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

Ingredients

  • Cocktail glasses
  • 2 red grapefruits (or more depending on how many re-fills you want!)
  • Ice
  • Campari

Method

  1. Cut the grapefruits in half and squeeze the juice from them.  Set the skins aside. Strain the juice into a jar and refrigerate.
  2. Put 2 ice cubes in each glass, cover with Campari and top up with the grapefruit juice.

To use the grapefruit peel make crystallised grapefruit peel, (or use orange peel instead).  This is a quick method!

  1. Cut the peel into strips and cover with water and boil for 10 minutes and then drain,  throwing away the water (this removes any bitterness in the peel).
  2. Then place 450g granulated sugar into a saucepan with 1 pint of water, add the peel and bring gently to the boil.  Simmer until soft (about an hour in the bottom oven of the ESSE at 160C/ESSE dial guide middle of MODERATE).
  3. Drain the syrup from the peel and lay them out on a cake rack.  Put next to the ESSE to dry out overnight.
  4. Toss with a little caster sugar and keep in a dry container ready for serving or using in your cooking!

Happy ESSE festive baking!

Recipe by Philippa Vine, Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen

Shop-bought mince pies rarely taste better than home-made and these with their apple and dried cranberry filling are more than impressive. Serve warm or cold with cream or custard if liked.

Makes

12 pies

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 50g cold butter, diced
  • 50g lard or solid vegetable oil, diced
  • 175g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 4 tbsp cold water

Filling:

  • 200g mince meat
  • 1 Pink Lady apple, cored and finelychopped
  • 25g dried cranberries
  • icing sugar, to dust

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  2. Put the butter and lard (or solid vegetable oil) into a food processor along with the flour, icing sugar, egg yolk and water and pulse until the mixture binds together. Alternatively, use your fingertips to rub the butter and lard lightly through the flour and icing sugar, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg yolk and sufficient water to bind together. Turn the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, knead to a ball then roll out and stamp out 12 circles with a 7cm cutter. Line a bun tin with these and chill for 30 minutes. Reserve the pastry trimmings.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the mincemeat with the apple and cranberries and spoon into the pastry cases. Stamp out 12 stars from the pastry trimmings and place one on the top of each pastry case.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and cooked. Serve warm or cold dusted with icing sugar.

Get Ahead!

Baked mince pies will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Ideally warm in the oven for 5-8 minutes before serving.