Pre
Christmas Celebrations
My elder daughter is spending Christmas this year
with her partner’s family in Peru so we had a family celebration in London
prior to their departure.
I travelled to London on Saturday morning and met
her with my son in Borough Market – close to London Bridge Underground Station.
If you are trying to get to the market, do watch for the signs in the station.
I went to the wrong exit and wasted precious time when I could have been with
my family – only 10 minutes or so – thank heavens for mobile phones!
We didn’t want the usual turkey with all the
trimmings. We were looking for something a bit different, exotic and tasty.
Well Borough Market is definitely the place. It will be open every day this
week and up to 3.00pm on Christmas Eve. While the stallholders were clearly
‘doing a roaring trade’, it was obvious they were really having to work for
their money. The produce is different, exotic, exciting, fresh and possibly a
bit more expensive than Tesco or Sainsburys – though for similar produce, not
too much more. The atmosphere was exhuberant, colourful, aromatic, noisy and
very Christmassy.
We were going to a performance of Fascinating Aida
at a small theatre in Charing Cross that evening. I find them hysterically
funny though, it is probably a good idea if you look on their website to
experience their genre of ‘funny’ before booking. They are not to everyone’s
taste. We had planned to have a Chinese meal on our way to the theatre.
However, we bought a brilliant range of cheeses, salamis, bread and salad
vegetables at the Borough Market that we decided to eat at home – absolutely
yummy.
Our decision on main course for Sunday lunch was
pheasant. They are really not so expensive.We bought one each – there would be
six of us for lunch so we bought six birds. They do look quite chunky but,
really there is not much meat on each bird and what there is can be quite
fiddly so, if you plan to serve pheasant, do allow one per person.
As they are small birds and don’t have a lot of fat
on them it is necessary to ensure they don’t dry out during cooking. We opted
to roast ours – 45 mins maximum. The stuffing, invented by my daughter was
cooked outside the birds in stuffing balls which were added to the roasting pan
15 minutes before the end of cooking.
A mixture of duck fat, apricots, garlic, red onion,
herbs( thyme and sage), breadcrumbs and seasoning was whizzed in a food
processor, then formed into stuffing balls – and tasted divine.
Our gravy was also homemade – no Bisto for us!
Finely chop a small onion and cook gently in a little good quality olive oil.
Allow it to brown slightly to give some colour to the gravy. Add a Tblsp of
brandy, a Tblsp of balsamic vinegar, a Tblsp of Worcestershire sauce (or
similar – Soya sauce could work!), a tsp of chopped herbs, I used sage and
rosemary so use with discretion. Add ½ litre stock and bring all to the boil,
simmer gently to allow the flavours to blend and season to taste. Mix a dsp. of
plain flour with a little water until smooth and add to the gravy. Stir it in
quickly to prevent lumps forming and cook for 3 – 4 minutes. This needs to be
sweetened a little – I added a couple of dsp of cranberry jelly but any similar
conserve would work (I wouldn’t use strawberry, raspberry or blackcurrant, but
a shred-less marmalade or apricot jam would work well). Lastly add the juice
from the meat roasting tin to give it body and that proper meat flavour. I like
my gravy to have the ‘bits’ in so, I serve it as it is but, if you prefer, put
the gravy through a sieve to remove all solids. Enjoy!
Happy Christmas and a great New Year to everyone
Feliz Navidad y prospero Año
Neuvo
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année
Feliz Natal e próspero Ano Novo
Frohe Weinachten und ein erfolgreiches Neues Jahr
Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain rathúla
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd ffyniannus
