The Review - FOOD & DRINK- Cooking with CLARE Published: 15 November 2007
A bumper selection of seasonal fare from the road to Norfolk
Roadkill might not be pretty, but it’s put Clare Latimer in mind of some tasty recipes
I HAVE just been to Norfolk for the weekend and was amazed by the amount of road kill that lined my path.
This got my imagination firing on all cylinders as to how and when all these delicious gifts could be put to a good purpose rather than being abandoned to the crows and magpies.
There were the usual foxes, badgers, pheasants, rabbits and then the specials of the day were munjack deer, hare, squirrel and a partridge in a pear tree… no, the tree bit was made up. Christmas must be getting to me already.
While in Norfolk I was taken by my gourmet friends to a stunning farm shop in Walsingham.
Not only had the best lemon drizzle cake, but they have a butchers at one end of the shop with fabulous cuts (including the rose veal that I am always going on about, which helps prevent calves being exported) and at the other end they have a very smiley and friendly chef cooking all the leftover cuts.
This means there is absolutely no waste and the produce is all from a radius of 10 miles.
That, to my mind, is the perfect solution to farming. I bought a beef and ale pie to test the produce and, wow, did it keep me happy last night.
The place was started by John Downing who rallied a group of farms together with some money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is the way to go!
Partridge
Such a flavoursome bird but be sure it is hung for quite a while to get that lovely game taste. Serve one bird per person with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. This slow-cook way makes the flesh so tender it melts in the mouth.
Ingredients
Serves 2
2 partridges, oven ready
1 lemon, halved
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and halved
25g butter
Little fresh thyme
2 desp spoons of redcurrant jelly
4 slices of streaky bacon
1 small glass damson gin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices brown bread, toasted and crusts removed.
Method
Preheat the oven 170C 325F or gas 3.
Squeeze each half of lemon over each partridge.
Put half a pear into the cavity of each bird along with a knob of butter and some thyme.
Spread a dessert spoon of redcurrant jelly over the breast of each bird, season and drape the streaky bacon slices over each bird.
Place the birds breast-side-down in a casserole. Splash over the sloe gin and cover with a lid. Place in a preheated oven for an hour and then check.
Cook for a further 15 minutes if not tender.
To serve, put the a piece of toast on each plate and then place a bird on top and pour over the juices which will soak into the bread.
Jugged hare
Ask your butcher to prepare the hare and also to reserve the blood. This is such a great winter dish with its spicy, dark, rich sauce. Perhaps serve with mashed potato and some red cabbage.
I add about 25g very dark chocolate to the sauce at the end but you may feel that I am going to far!
Ingredients
Serves 6
1 hare, oven ready and cut into joints
Blood from the hare
6 rashers streaky bacon, cut up small
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
50g butter
1 tbsp plain flour
1 bouquet garni
6 cloves, stuck into a shallot or half lemon
1 tsp ground allspice
Zest of 1 lemon
Half a bottle red wine
Dash brandy
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Splash of port
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C, 325F or gas 3.
Coat the joints of the hare with flour and put into a heavy casserole dish with the bacon and onion and fry for about five minutes to brown the meat and to release the juices from the bacon.
Add the herbs, spices, lemon peel and seasoning. Add the wine, brandy and redcurrant jelly and then add little water to cover the hare. Bring slowly to the boil.
Cover and cook for 2½ hours or until the hare is tender. Remove the hare, onions and bacon with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Discard the bouquet garni and the cloves in shallot or lemon.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.
Gradually add the cooking liquid and stirring continuously until thickened. Stir in the blood and add port to taste, mix well and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the hare and serve.
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