Goose with Pheasant stuffing and Hare.

Something a little different for Easter, using some odds n ends from the freezer, left overs from the Autumn season. The result was very rich, flavoursome and tender, enjoyed by all for lunch today, the quantities are very variable with this one, but the idea is sound and has worked well for us on a couple of occasions now.




 1 Goose breast--wild
3 Pheasant breasts
2 Hare legs, boned and diced
Bunch fresh herbs from the garden
3 Onions, finely chopped
3 Cloves garlic
6 rashers bacon
Tub of frozen stuffing from xmas!
Bottle red wine
Good dollop of Elderberry jelly
2 Tins plum tomatoes--chopped
3 Tablespoons tomato paste.

Cut the goose breast twice lengthways to create 2 flaps that can be lifted from the centre to result in a large flat escalope shape. Cover with cling film and bash out with a rolling pin to increase the size and to tenderise the meat.
Cut Pheasant breasts into chunks, place in a food processor with the stuffing and herbs, then pulse until blended. Place the resultant stuffing in a long sausage shape on the goose breast, roll the goose up to seal in the stuffing. Roll the bacon around the length of the goose meat.
Soften the onion and garlic in a large cast iron casserole, when soft add the bacon wrapped goose. Brown all round, add the hare and when sealed, add a dollop of elderberry Jelly, 2 bay leafs and a generous half bottle of red wine. Bring to the boil and allow the liquid to reduce by about half. Add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, bring to a simmer, place in oven for approx 2 hours or until the hare meat is tender.
Serve and enjoy.

Fritatta

An ideal quick supper or lunch, straight from the fridge and made from almost anything that you find in there too. Never two the same, but totally satisfying and made for sharing . No recipe here, seems self explanatory, but remember to warm the pan and pre heat the grill first....Enjoy.

Provençal Sauce

Simple ingredients, stunning result.

One of those great standbys to have in the fridge and the basis of so many good tasting dishes. Why buy one of those jarred alternatives when this is so easy to make? Just use a spoonful to give extra taste or texture to sauces, or as a sauce on vegetables, heat and serve on top of pasta or even spread it on a pizza base. The sauce is a great with fish, wrapped in foil and baked together in the oven, or with prawns and peppers, maybe simply spread on an omelette and topped with cheese, once again this sauce base is only limited by your creativity and imagination. It will easily keep for 2 weeks stored in the fridge and the flavour can be adapted simply by adding fresh basil, paprika, chilli, roasted vegetables etc again the combinations are endless and a whole world better than those you can buy. Have a go, you will not be disappointed. Enjoy.

Ingredients

2 medium onions, chopped finely
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
A glass white wine-optional
4 tins plum tomatoes
Salt and black pepper to season

Method

1. Place a pan onto warm, peel and chop onion. Add a little olive oil to the pan, add the onion and sauté gently to soften, but not colour.
2. Meanwhile, peel and slice the garlic and add to the pan too.
3. When onion is softened add the glass of white wine, if using and reduce until syrup like in consistency. Add seasoning.
4. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and reduce again until the watery appearance of the liquid disappears and the sauce thickens somewhat.
5. Pour into container, chill until ready for use.

Chicken Stock

One of your kitchen essentials is simply stock. Rather than reach for the stock cubes, have a go at making some yourself. Very straightforward and very rewarding and very easy to store too.

Bones from 1 raw chicken
2 Carrots
2 Sticks Celery
1 Medium Onion
Handful fresh herbs-parsley, thyme, sage
1 Clove Garlic, whole but crushed.
Half glass white wine
25ml White wine vinegar
750ml Water

1. Place stock pot onto heat gently. Peel carrots and onion, then chop all coarsely with the celery. Crush garlic by covering unpeeled clove under side of blade of your chopping knife, and thumping down sharply with the underside of your fist.
2. Pour a little vegetable oil into the stock pot and add the chopped vegetables, your herbs and garlic, when sweated and softened, add the chicken bones. Cook all until golden brown.
3. Pour the white wine and vinegar over the vegetable and chicken bones, stir in and allow to reduce until the liquid becomes syrup like.
4. Add the water, bring to boil, then turn down to simmer. Allow to reduce by half. Skim off any scum that forms carefully. Strain through a sieve into a suitable container. Use stock as your recipe requires.

The stock can be reduced still further, if you wish, until it becomes even stronger in taste, at which time you can cool it and then pour it into ice cube trays and freeze for later use. This way you can always have your own instant stock in the freezer, ready to use, simple add them to your cooking for an instant taste boost. Great for gravies or sauces, or adding depth to lighter cream based reductions too. Should you wish for a lighter coloured stock then simply seal the chicken and vegetables and do not brown.

Tagliatelle

One of the real pleasures that we get  from food is to just open the fridge, look around the garden, market or shop, wherever and just to collect up some ingredients together and then to simply knock out whatever falls into place. A fridge and larder are never devoid of a meal, just follow your senses and see what happens, some of the tastiest dishes that we have made happened this way, this recipe is the result of one of those moments. Luckily we had Salmon in store, but it could just as easily have been bacon, various sausage, ham, tuna or even based upon vegetables alone, peas, broad bean, carrot, courgette to name but a few. This technique can be applied to so many ingredients, just experiment, be brave and do it.

Just a quick supper, using the now dried Tagliatelle from the Cannelloni we made earlier. No real ingredients list this time, simply put on a large pan of salted water to boil (remember pasta likes to swim), now chop an onion, slice a couple of garlic cloves and sweat these till soft with a knob of butter in a hot pan. Now, slice some Salmon into bite size pieces, toss these into the pan with the onion, add a splash of white wine and reduce volume by half on a high heat. Add finely grated zest of a lemon plus the juice from half along with a teaspoon of sugar, reduce again by half. Add your tagliatelle to the now boiling pan of water. Chop a good handful of fresh herbs, we had chives and parsley, and place to one side. Add a generous amount of double cream to the Salmon pan, bring to boil, add the herbs. By now the Tagliatelle should be almost cooked (homemade cooks more rapidly than shop bought) add some delicate shoots of fresh broccoli, boil for 1 minute, drain this into a colander, return to the pan, or serving dish, pour over the Salmon mixture, stir lightly to combine, serve with thinly shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil over the top.



Enjoy.

How To Chop An Onion

The Onion and The Knife

Here is another video tutorial, it is just on how to chop an onion as onions are in pretty much every meal we have. Again it tell's you the instructions as you go along so you can cut while listening. Hopefully this will save many a tear in your preparations!