NOVEMBER NEWSI know it strikes fear into the hearts of those of you of a last minute persuasion but here at Berwyn HQ we’re gearing up for Christmas. The past week or so has seen us dreaming up new ways with the best of the season’s produce and we have tested and tasted our way to some special Christmas canapés. Our Christmas 2010 canapé list will tempt the palate of the most professional partygoer. See the full list on our Food pages, under Canapés.
CHRISTMAS CANAPESWARMBaked Vacherin with chicory and walnut (to share)
Parmesan polenta with crunch and spiced red cabbage puree
Saffron French toast with smoked salmon and crème fraîche
Rarebit with beer braised pheasant and prune
Venison fillet in pancetta with a Cumberland dipping sauce
COLDCeleriac raviolo with stilton and Sauternes-soaked raisins
Scottish salmon tartare with dill, sour cream and avruga caviar
Crab rémoulade with crisp fennel and blood orange
Crayfish tail with Champagne and saffron foam
Foie gras and guinea fowl terrine with Berwyn’s wild plum chutney
SWEETGingerbread thin with goat’s cheese, clementine zest and pear
Chestnut clafoutis with Muscat-poached quince
Vanilla kumquat and date trifle with Pedro Ximénez and almond cream
Pomegranate sorbet with rose scented snow and frosted petals
TASTE LOCAL
As you’ll see from our recipes this month we couldn’t resist one last forage and took inspiration from London’s bumper late harvest. This Autumn has seen England overflowing with blackberries, apples, pears, plums, chestnuts, hazelnuts, sloes and rosehips. London’s parks and streets are particularly abundant in chestnuts and rosehips this year.
We think chestnuts are underemployed in this country; Europeans use them in both sweet and savoury dishes, whole, chopped or milled. You can get your chestnuts courtesy of London’s parks: if you find a tree with large enough nuts they are worth the sore back and pricked fingers from collecting the fallen fruits. Royal Parks generously state that foraging is fine so long as you do not interfere with any plant or do anything to damage the wildlife, and as chestnuts fall as they ripen, you’ll only need to reach down to pick them up. We’ve eased any chestnut-doubters in easily with an accessible and delicious chestnut biscuit recipe.
The rosehips are best after the first frost and an old fashioned syrup is the best way to make the most of them.
It can be stirred into yoghurts, drizzled on warm sponge and used in place of cassis for a rosehip royale. Rosehips have a fragrant delicate flavour with warm notes, a rich red colour and, as a nod to virtue, contain twenty times more vitamin C than oranges. No excuses then.
GOING UNDERGROUND/ OLD VIC TUNNELS
Bookings are rolling in for private and corporate festive celebrations at all kinds of venues. One of the newest and most versatile is an exciting acquisition for the Old Vic theatre – a labyrinth of unexpected tunnels, corridors and huge vaults. Following on from the trends for site-specific and non-seated theatricals, they have unearthed a fascinating, atmospheric space made up of the tunnels underneath Waterloo station – a more unique and dramatic venue we have yet to see.
We have a long and successful relationship with the Old Vic as we regularly cater for private entertaining in-house, so we were thrilled when they invited us to be an approved caterer for the subterranean venue. The venue hosts innovative productions, performances and arts events but is also available for event hire and has been granted a late license throughout December. We can think of nowhere better for a Dickensian-styled event with oystermongers, pie men and entertaining Artful Dodgers.
FOOD PILGRIMAGE
Now that Jack Frost has started hanging around, I can’t help but daydream of the warm days of late Summer, most memorably of my trip to Lisbon in search of the best Custard Tart. Pasteis de Nata as they are know in Portugal are a countrywide phenomenon. While the title for best is battled out ferociously between a handful of elegant cafes in Lisbon proper, the Antiga Confeitaria De Belem assuredly holds the crown.
After extensive tasting (warm, room temperature, with cinnamon, with sugar, with a sip of Ginjinha) I can tell you that the most sublime, just-set, gently quivering, creamy, eggy custard tart, in the crispest pastry, with just enough caramelisation on its bottom, is indeed from Belem.
They have been making them there since around 1820. When the monastery next door closed, the pasteleria acquired the recipe (which is top secret) from the nuns, and the rest is history. Their pastry technique is perfect and so it should be, this place serves 10,000 of these little tarts every day.
If you can’t make it to Portugal the next best thing is probably found at Lisboa on Golbourne Road, W10.
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
Savage Selection: we rely on this Gloucestershire wine merchant when we need advice on the best wine to serve for a particular event or the best partner for a new dish.
Mark Savage is a renowned Master of Wine who loves seeking out fine wines produced largely by small family vineyards.
Like Berwyn, Savage Selection is a small, independent company which is uncompromising in its pursuit of quality and originality. They also take an appealingly relaxed approach to wine ‘rules’ which allow for unexpected suggestions and creative victories.
Top and tail the rosehips. Bring 3 pts of water to the boil. Mince the rosehips in a food processor and put the fruit into the boiling water. Bring to the boil again. Remove from heat and stand for 15 minutes. Pour through a muslin square. Return the pulp to the pan, add 1.5 pts of boiling water and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and stand for 15 minutes. Strain through the muslin. Pour extracted liquid into a clean saucepan, and boil to reduce the liquid to 1.5 pts. Add the sugar and boil rapidly for five minutes. Pour into hot sterile bottles and seal immediately or leave to cool and freeze in ice cube trays. Stir into yoghurt, drizzle over warm pancakes or make a Rosehip Royale with well chilled prosecco.
