Thanks to all of you who sent in your cookery questions. Here are my answers to some of them. Check to see if yours is included. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer them all, but keep them coming in.
Janet from Southampton asked:
Your ultimate gravy says 2 litres stock which I’ve used but afraid it’s very thin, it does seem a lot for 4 people.
Make sure you’ve reduced the wine before adding the stock. Allow the full 20 minutes of the gravy to simmer after it has reached the boil, which will reduce the gravy.
If you’d like it slightly thicker, bring it back to heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes after passing. Simply continue to simmer for longer until it reaches the thickness you’d like.
David from Harrogate asked:
Hi Tom. We have 12 adults coming for Christmas dinner. What are your thoughts/tips on cooking the Christmas turkey in advance of the big day?
Well, you can, of course, cook the turkey the day before and simply slice and portion it, then reheat it on a covered tray with a splash of stock on it. However…
For me, I would do everything else the day before, including roast potatoes, gravy, veg, cauliflower cheese, stuffing, etc, and then they can all be simply reheated.
Cook your turkey on the day. Once cooked, take it out of the oven, wrap it in tin foil, and allow it to rest for 45 minutes to an hour while you reheat the potatoes and vegetables. Then, serve.
Joanne from Wisbech asked:
Hi Tom. Firstly just to say I love your new book Pub Kitchen. I’ve borrowed a copy from the library and am eagerly awaiting my own which is coming via Father Christmas. Just want to ask you which blowtorch you would recommend. It will be the first one I’ve purchased and I have been looking but want to get a decent one.
In a commercial kitchen chefs often use a plumber’s blowtorch but for home I would recommend the smaller butane filled handheld torches, they are readily available on amazon.
Sally from Darlington asked:
Hi Tom, I’m allergic to all nuts and coconut, what can I use in Thai food and curries instead of coconut cream or milk?
I quite often use Greek yoghurt to finish curries, which works really nicely.
Tracey from Middlewich asked:
Any ideas for a Christmas Day starter to feed 10 people who all have different tastes in food.
The best starter for Christmas day is “picky food”, I love having lots of little canapes, snacks, savoury pastries etc, some hot and some cold. They can all be made (or bought) beforehand and simply heated and plated and let people help themselves.
Doug from Galashiels asked:
Hi Tom, I have been out pheasant beating and picking up with my dogs and I’m looking for a good pheasant recipe with sides.
Here is one of my favourite dishes for pheasant season.
Pot roasted pheasant with pearl barley and stuffed onions.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 large pheasant crown (legs removed and kept for the stuffing – see tip below)
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
- 50g pearl barley
- 200ml dry cider
- 400ml fresh chicken stock
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 100g small wild mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms, quartered if large
- 1 Braeburn apple, peeled and chopped into small cubes
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
For the stuffed onions
- 2 small onions (just bigger than a golf ball), peeled but left whole
- 2 pheasants legs, bones removed and minced with the skin (ask your butcher to do this – see tip)
- 50g pork sausage meat
- 2 juniper berries, toasted and crushed
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
For the salsa
- 50g sprout tops or cavolo nero, stalks removed
- small pinch of ground mace
- 1 tbsp grated chestnuts
- 1 small garlic clove
- 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
- zest of ½ lemon
- 6 sage leaves, fried until crisp, to serve
METHOD
- First, start making the stuffed onions. Heat the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Lay the whole onions on a large sheet of foil and wrap them up to make a parcel. Cook for 1 hr 30 mins or until soft, then remove and leave to cool. Turn up the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 4.
- While the onions are roasting, heat a medium flameproof casserole dish and add 1 tbsp oil. When the dish is hot, add the pheasant crown and brown on the skin side, then set aside. Add the remaining oil and the onion and fry for 10 mins until soft and starting to brown. Add the garlic and parsnip, cook for a few mins, then add the pearl barley and cider. Simmer until the cider has reduced by half, then pour in the chicken stock and keep on a low simmer for 15-20 mins.
- Remove and discard the core from the baked onions using a teaspoon, making them hollow but still keeping them intact. In a mixing bowl, mix all the stuffing ingredients and season. Spoon the stuffing into the hollow onions, making sure that they are full. Roll any extra stuffing into small balls.
- Add the pheasant crown and any balls to the simmering barley and sprinkle with a little salt, add the stuffed onions and thyme. Cover with a lid and put in the oven for 20 mins.
- To make the salsa, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the sprout tops until they are just soft, then plunge them into a bowl of iced water. Drain the leaves and squeeze out any excess water, then chop roughly. Add them to the small bowl of a food processor, along with the mace, chestnuts, garlic, rapeseed oil and lemon zest, and blitz until it becomes a rough salsa texture. Add a little seasoning to taste.
- Once the pheasant is cooked, remove the dish from the oven and transfer it to a plate to rest. Cover loosely with foil. Return the barley to the heat and stir in the mushrooms, apple, and parsley, using the mixture to baste the stuffed onions. When it becomes a rich and reasonably thick stew, remove it from the heat.
- With a sharp knife, remove the breasts from the crown and trim a little to neaten them. Spoon the pearl barley onto a large serving bowl or plate, put the pheasant breast on top, and serve with the braised onions and extra meatballs. To finish the dish, add a large spoonful of the salsa and sprinkle over the crispy sage leaves.
James from Leighton Buzzard asked:
Do you have a family festive food tradition?
My absolute favourite food tradition at Christmas is cold cuts, bubble and squeak and pickles on Boxing day.
Sharon from Watford asked:
Recipe for a good bread sauce please!
Rye bread sauce is delicious:
INGREDIENTS
- ½ loaf rye bread, sliced
- 200ml milk
- 100ml double cream
- 50g butter, plus a little extra to finish
- 2 star anise
- 2 cloves
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon white peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds salt and pepper, to taste
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 120°C/Gas Mark 1/2.
- Lay the bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and toast the bread for about 1 hour until the slices are completely dried out. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool completely.
- When the bread slices are cool, crumble them into a blender or food processor and blend until very finely ground, like a powder. Leave to one side until needed. Place the milk, cream, butter and all of the spices in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover with clingfilm and leave to one side until the mixture cools. Pass the spiced milk through a fine sieve, then place in the fridge until needed.
- Measure 300ml of the spiced milk and cream mix into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low, add 30g of the dry rye breadcrumbs and whisk for 6–8 minutes until thickened. Stir in a little butter, if needed. Season and serve.
- If you’ve made this in advance, reheat it very slowly over a low heat and add a little extra milk if it needs letting down.
