Yotam Ottolenghi

Pomegranate
pigs in blankets
Benjamina Ebuehi
Mini coffee and
clementine pavlovas
Ravinder
Bhogal
Prawn blinis
Meera Sodha
Vegan walnut and
mushroom samosas
Sam & Sam Clark
Spiced shrimps
Fiona Beckett
Best party wines
Felicity
Cloake
Perfect pork pie
Thomasina Miers
Martinis with
deep-fried olives
Rachel Roddy
Stuffed mussels
Grace Dent
‘It’s very small. Don’t
go there if you’re
having an affair’

Push the boat out!

Christmas party food

Issue No.255 Saturday 10 December 2022

2 Feast The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022
 Yotam Pomegranate
and pistachio
pigs in blankets
Ottolenghi
Prep 10 min For a quick short cut, use chipolatas
Cook 45 min ready-wrapped in bacon.
Serves 12-15
Heat the oven to 195C (175C fan)/
24 pork chipolatas, gas 5½. Wrap a piece of bacon
each twisted in the
middle, then cut in around each half-chipolata, then put
half, to make 2 them on a baking tray lined with
smaller sausages greaseproof paper. Put the pistachios
24 rashers smoked
streaky bacon, cut
on a second, smaller tray, then put
in half widthways both trays in the oven. After 10
20g pistachios minutes, when the pistachios are
1 tbsp parsley leaves, lightly toasted, remove them and set
finely chopped
It’s party season, which, paradoxically, 1 tbsp dill leaves, aside to cool, but leave the chipolatas
finely chopped in the oven for a further 20 minutes,
is when everyone shares their ‘rules’. 80ml maple syrup until golden. Once the nuts are cool,
70ml pomegranate
Contradiction or otherwise, here are mine: molasses
chop them roughly, mix with the
¼ tsp ground herbs and set aside.
1. When it comes to party food, embrace cinnamon Meanwhile, put the maple syrup,
½ tsp urfa chilli
the classics. 2. Serve food that can be eaten flakes, or ¼ tsp
pomegranate molasses and cinnamon
in a small pan. Bring to a boil, cook
by hand or put in a vessel that can itself regular chilli flakes
for a minute or two, then pour into
be eaten – washing-up, done! 3. If in doubt, a large bowl and leave to cool for 10
minutes, during which time the mix
bejewel your food: this is the season will thicken.
pomegranate seeds were made for. 4. Take Once the chipolatas are cooked,
put them in the molasses bowl,
shortcuts where you can (extracting those
PHOTOGRAPHS (INCLUDING COVER): LOUISE HAGGER/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: EMILY KYDD.

leaving any fat behind

be on the tray.
seeds is not for everyone, after all). 5 Dial
PROP STYLING: JENNIFER KAY. FOOD ASSISTANT: SUSANNA UNSWORTH. INSET: GETTY IMAGES

Mix gently to coa

coat the sausages in
the molasses mimix, then arrange in
up the salty-savoury ingredients – your a pile on a serving
servi plate. Drizzle over
mulled-wine-drinking guests will thank any remaining molasses, scatter the
you. 6. Last, and most crucially, never, ever pistachio herb mixture on top and
serve sprinkled
sprinkle with chilli flakes.
underestimate the enduring power of
a sausage wrapped up in bacon.

Vegetarian Vegan Gluten free Dairy free Feast 3

 Mackerel paté
with curried
onions and lemon

Prep 25 min If you want to get ahead, make the

Cook 35 min onion butter and paté the day before;
Serves 10 bring both to room temperature
before serving.
For the curried
onion butter
2 large onions First, make the curried onion butter.
(400g), peeled and Put the onions, oil, butter, curry
finely chopped powder and a half-teaspoon of salt
2 tbsp olive oil
200g unsalted
in a small saute pan and cook,
butter stirring frequently, for 12-15 minutes,
4 tsp hot madras until soft and translucent. Leave to
curry powder cool for five minutes, then put in
Salt and black
pepper a bowl and chill for 10-15 minutes,
until the onion mix semi-solidifies.
For the paté Meanwhile, put the mackerel in
4 hot smoked
peppered mackerel
a medium bowl with the creme
fillets (340g), fraiche, horseradish, cracked
skinned pepper, spring onions, lemon zest
120g creme fraiche and juice, and a quarter-teaspoon of
2½ tsp creamed
horseradish (shop- salt. Mix until just combined – you
bought is fine) want some of the fish in chunky
1¼ tsp cracked black pieces – then cover with a plate (or
pepper
chill, if serving the next day).
4 spring onions
(80g), thinly sliced; Now for the topping: mix the
keep 15g sliced chilli, lemon flesh, oil and a quarter-
greens separate teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.
1 large lemon, zest
grated, to get 1½ To assemble, divide the onion
tsp, and juiced, to butter between the toasts, spreading
get 1½ tsp it on thinly. Spoon mounds of the
10 x 2cm-thick slices
paté on top, scatter over the reserved
of sourdough,
toasted and cut in spring onion greens, spoon on the
half at an angle chilli and lemon mix, and serve.
For the lemon
topping
1 red chilli (20g),
cut into thin rounds
1 large lemon,
peeled, pith, seeds
and membranes
removed and
discarded, flesh
finely chopped
1½ tsp olive oil

4 Feast The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022

 Chicory boats
with feta, walnut
and pomegranate

Prep 20 min The filling can be made two or three Put the remaining 100g walnuts
Cook 15 min hours before assembly, if you want in a food processor with the herbs
Assembly 10 min to get ahead. Another option is to and spring onions, and pulse until
Serves 15 serve the filling by itself, as a dip, roughly chopped. Tip into a large
or spoon it into pre-cooked pastry bowl, add the feta, cream cheese,
165g walnuts cases (whisper it: vol-au-vents). cucumber, three-quarters of a
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp olive oil teaspoon of flaked sea salt and a
Flaked sea salt and Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/ good grind of pepper. Mix well. Stir
black pepper gas 5. Mix 65g walnuts in a small in 120g of the pomegranate seeds.
15g coriander leaves
15g dill leaves
bowl with the maple syrup, olive oil To assemble, divide the filling
15g mint leaves and a teaspoon of flaked sea salt, between the chicory leaves – you’ll
6 spring onions, then arrange in a single layer on need a teaspoon or two of the mix
trimmed and finely a lined oven tray and roast for 15 on each leaf – then arrange them
chopped (125g)
100g feta, crumbled minutes, stirring every five artfully on a platter.
165g cream cheese minutes, until deeply golden and Scatter the chopped walnuts
100g cucumber, sticky. Remove, leave to cool for and remaining pomegranate seeds
grated and liquid
squeezed out
10 minutes, then roughly chop. on top, and serve.
130g pomegranate
seeds (ie, from about
1 pomegranate)
4 heads red and
white baby chicory,
leaves separated

Feast 5
 Thomasina Miers Juniper lemon
martinis with
The new flexitarian deep-fried olives

Prep 20 min The infused gin recipe makes

Infuse 3-4 days enough for six to eight martinis, but
Chill 1 hr in the method below, I have given
Cook 15 min the quantities for making two.
Serves 6
For the martinis
To infuse the gin, pare the zest from
2 unwaxed lemons the lemons, then add to a sterilised
The joy of entertaining at home is 350ml gin
2 tbsp juniper
jar with the gin and juniper berries.
Add the rosemary and agave, leave
underrated. You can have fun creating berries
2 sprigs rosemary for three to four days, then strain.
a great menu, like this glamorous 1-2 tsp agave syrup
Dry vermouth
To make the olives, chop the
anchovy with the flesh from a
combination. Preparing the olives ahead For the fried olives quarter of an orange and the zest
makes them achievable snacks; throw 1 anchovy fillet in oil
½ orange
from half. Mix with the cheese,
garlic and thyme, and lightly
in some infused gin martinis and you 50g cream cheese
season. Pop this into a piping bag
1 garlic clove,
have the makings of a serious party peeled and minced and use it to fill the olives.
1 tsp thyme leaves Put the flour on one plate, the egg
– something we all deserve this year. Salt, black pepper on another and the breadcrumbs
200g pitted green
gordal/queen olives on a third. Season the flour with
3-4 tbsp plain flour some pepper. Roll each olive in the
1 egg, beaten flour, then the egg and finally the
100g panko
breadcrumbs
breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for an
Vegetable oil hour to set, or longer if you want to
make them in advance.
When you’re ready to cook, fill a
small, high-sided pan two-thirds full
with vegetable oil and heat to 180C
– it’s ready when a piece of bread
dropped in sizzles and turns golden
in about 30 seconds. Fry the olives
PHOTOGRAPH: YUKI SUGIURA/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: AYA NISHIMURA.

in batches (don’t crowd the pan) for

two minutes or until golden; drain
on kitchen paper. You can either do
this as your guests arrive for a bit of
PROP STYLING: LOUIE WALLER. FOOD ASSISTANT: HANNA MILLER

drama or fry in advance then reheat

in a moderate oven (150C (130C
fan)/gas 2) just before they arrive.
To make the martinis (I make
two at a time), fill a mixing glass
with ice. Measure out 100ml of the
gin and pour into the glass with
20ml vermouth. Stir with a long
spoon until the gin is ice-cold. Pour
into martini glasses, offering your
guests a choice between a dirty
martini (with a trickle of olive juice
from your jar) or one with a twist
of lemon peel squeezed over the
surface of the drink to release its
oils. Serve at once.

Feast 7
Ravinder Bhogal Jerusalem jackets
with mushrooms
Christmas and parmesan
canapes
Prep 5 min These dreamy, twice-baked
Cook 1 hr jerusalem artichoke jackets can
Serves 6 conveniently be stuffed well in
advance and popped into the oven
500g jerusalem when your guests get peckish.
artichokes (look
for small ones that
aren’t too knobbly Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/
and that are good gas 6. Put the artichokes on a tray
Canapes and party nibbles shouldn’t for stuffing)
50g butter
and roast for 30-40 minutes, until
be overly complicated, but they should 250g mixed very soft inside.
mushrooms of your Meanwhile, make the filling.
involve more effort than emptying a bag choice, finely Melt half the butter in a pan and fry
chopped
of crisps into a bowl. By definition, finger 3 garlic cloves, the mushrooms for three to four
peeled and very minutes, until they are crisp and
food shouldn’t require cutlery and finely chopped nutty. Add the garlic, fry briefly
2 tbsp creme fraiche
should disappear in no more than two A few sprigs of flat-
until fragrant, then take off the heat
and stir in the creme fraiche and
clean bites, ideally accompanied by leaf parsley, finely
chopped, plus extra parsley. Season well and set aside.
something cold and bubbly. They are to serve
Sea salt and pepper,
Once the artichokes are
cooked, leave them to cool a
tiny, bite-sized opportunities to thrill, to taste
A generous grating little, then cut in half and scoop
so, where flavour is concerned, go big of nutmeg out the flesh, taking care not to
60g parmesan,
tear the delicate skins. Put the
or call off the party and stay at home. grated
empty skins on the baking tray
while you finish off the filling.
In a blender, blitz the remaining
25g butter, the warm jerusalem
artichoke flesh, a good grating of
nutmeg to taste and 40g of the
parmesan, until smooth. Scrape
this into a bowl, then fold in the
mushroom mix.
Pile the filling into the empty
jackets – use a piping bag or just
jac
a teaspoon.
t Sprinkle over the
remaining grated parmesan, then
rem
bake for 15 minutes, until golden
ba
and crisp. Arrange on a platter,
an
sprinkle over a little extra chopped
spr
parsley and serve.
pa

8 Feast
east The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022
 Prawn and yuzu
mayo blinis

Prep 10 min I’ve never met a blini I didn’t like,

Cook 5 min but I especially love these easy and
Makes 20 refreshing prawn ones. The yuzu
in the mayonnaise is zippy enough
20 cocktail blinis to add interest and cut through the
20 large cooked
prawns rich, sweet prawns. You can find
20 picked coriander yuzu juice in some supermarkets,
leaves or online.
1 small jar salmon
roe (optional)
1 long red chilli, very Begin by making the yuzu
finely sliced on the mayonnaise. Put the egg yolk, yuzu
diagonal juice and ginger in a small food
2 tsp black sesame
seeds processor and process until smooth.
With the motor running, pour in
For the mayonnaise the oil in a slow, steady stream; the
PHOTOGRAPHS: LOUISE HAGGER/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: EMILY KYDD. PROP STYLING: JENNIFER KAY. FOOD ASSISTANT: ANNA COLWELL

1 egg yolk
20ml yuzu juice
mixture should start to emulsify
1 tsp finely grated and turn into a mayonnaise. Add
ginger salt to taste, then refrigerate.
175ml rapeseed oil Warm the blinis according to the
Sea salt, to taste
packet instructions and arrange
them on a platter. Top each one with
a little mayo, a prawn, a coriander
leaf, a small spoonful of salmon roe
(if using), a piece of sliced chilli and
a sprinkling of black sesame seeds,
and serve.

Feast 9
10 Feast The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022
 Meera Sodha Walnut and
mushroom
The new samosas
vegan
Prep 10 min This is adapted from a recipe in my
Cook 1 hr 45 min second book, Fresh India.
Makes 21
Finely grind the nuts in a food
120g walnuts processor, then tip into a bowl. Tear
600g chestnut
mushrooms up the mushrooms, add to the
2 tbsp rapeseed oil processor and chop until pea-sized.
¾ tsp mustard seeds
Samosas are a byword for parties. It’s what ¾ tsp cumin seeds
Put the oil in a large frying pan on
a medium heat, add the mustard,
we Indians eat fresh out of a vat of hot oil, with ½ tsp nigella seeds
1 large onion, cumin and nigella seeds, and, when
a wiggle in the hips ready to hit the dancefloor peeled and diced
4 large garlic cloves,
they start to wriggle, add the onion
and saute, stirring, for eight minutes,
at a wedding. It’s what my mum would fry and peeled and minced
2cm knob ginger, until soft and starting to brown.
stack in a pyramid before Dad’s colleagues peeled and grated
2 green finger
Add the ginger, garlic and chillies,
and stir-fry for five minutes, until
came shuffling through the door for dinner. chillies, finely
the onions look like dark jewels.
chopped
And it’s what my husband Hugh and I have 1 tsp fine sea salt Add the mushrooms, cook gently for
¾ tsp ground seven minutes, then add the salt and
made to feed friends at parties over the years, pepper pepper, and cook for 15 minutes,
1 x 220g pack filo
alongside a bowl of chutney, ice-cold beers and pastry (ie, 7 sheets) until all the liquid has evaporated;
there should be only the merest trace
a side helping of Mariah Carey and Wham! 100g unsalted
butter, melted left, or you’ll have soggy samosas.
Stir in the nuts, cook, stirring, for
three minutes, then take off the heat.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/
gas 7 and line two oven trays with
baking paper. Unroll a sheet of filo
PHOTOGRAPHS: LOUISE HAGGER/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: EMILY KYDD. PROP STYLING:

and lay it on a work surface with one

long side facing you. Brush lightly
with melted butter, then top with
a second sheet. Cut the stack in half
JENNIFER KAY. FOOD ASSISTANT: SUSANNA UNSWORTH. INSET: GETTY IMAGES

from top to bottom, then cut each

half in three horizontally, so you
have six 8½cm x 23cm strips. Make
a triangular cone at one end of one
strip, place 30g filling inside, then,
working up the strip, fold the filo
over the filling, following the
triangle shape. When you get to the
end of the strip, stick the last bit
down using a little butter as glue.
Pop the samosa on a tray and
repeat twice more. When you get to
the seventh sheet, cut it in half from
top to bottom, brush with butter and
lay one half on top of the other. Cut
into three, then fill and fold as before.
Brush the samosas with melted
butter, then bake for 15 minutes,
until golden brown, and serve with
a chutney – a coriander one. ideally.

Feast 11
Sam & Sam Clark Labneh, corn,
coriander
Easy nibbles and paprika

Prep 10 min Do not underestimate tinned

Cook 10 min sweetcorn. This is also delicious as
Serves 4 a side to pork or chicken.

75g butter Melt the butter in a saucepan on

3 spring onions,
trimmed and finely a medium heat and cook, stirring,
chopped for three to five minutes, until it
1 garlic clove, starts to caramelise (when the white
Christmas parties don’t have to peeled and finely
chopped
bits of whey turn golden). Add the
mean cheap crackers and mince 1 tbsp roughly spring onions, garlic and coriander
ground coriander seeds, and cook, stirring, for three
pies. We like to put twists on classics, seeds minutes more, until soft and sweet.
4 sun-dried
such as potted shrimp, which we’ve tomatoes, finely Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes,
chopped (we use fresh coriander and paprika, fry
given a Moorish and Christmassy spin the dehydrated ones for a minute more, then add the
and soak them in
by infusing the nutty butter with spices. just-boiled water
sweetcorn and season. Puree a
quarter of the mixture, adding a
This needs to be prepared well ahead, until soft)
5 tbsp chopped splash of water to loosen it if it is
to give the butter time to set, so it’s coriander
½ level tsp hot
very thick, then stir back into the
rest of the corn.
super-easy for a party: simply spread paprika
250g tinned To make the labneh, combine
it on warm toast and serve. The dip, sweetcorn the cream cheese and yoghurt,
150g cream cheese
season with salt to taste and spread
meanwhile, is wonderful for any festive 500g Greek
out on a large plate. Spoon the hot
yoghurt, strained
occasion: sweetcorn combined with 2-4 flatbreads or sweetcorn mix over the labneh and
pittas, warmed
coriander, sun-dried tomato, garlic serve with warm flatbreads or pittas.

and creamy labneh (strained yoghurt),

all scooped up with pitta or flatbread.

12 Feast The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022

 Brown shrimps
and spiced
brown butter

Prep 5 min We all know and love potted

Cook 15 min shrimps, but the addition of spices
Set 2 hr + – nutmeg, black pepper, bay and
Serves 4 fennel seeds - to the caramelised
brown butter makes this classic
150g unsalted even more delicious.
butter
2 bay leaves (fresh,
ideally) In a small pan, melt the butter with
1 whole nutmeg, the bay leaves over a low heat – the
finely grated
A pinch of cayenne
butter will separate, but carry on
or hot paprika cooking it until the white, milky bits
½ tsp ground fennel of whey start to caramelise and turn
seeds golden. Add the nutmeg, cayenne,
¼ tsp ground black
pepper fennel seeds and pepper, and cook
A squeeze of lemon for another minute or so, stirring
juice occasionally to prevent anything
200g peeled brown
shrimps
sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Toast or crispbread, Squeeze a little lemon juice over
PHOTOGRAPHS: SUSAN BELL/EBURY PRESS. FOOD STYLING: SAM AND SAM CLARK AND FLORENCE BLAIR. PROP STYLING: WEI TANG

to serve the shrimps, then stir them into

the hot butter. Season with salt,
cook for 30 seconds, then scoop
out the shrimps with a slotted
spoon and transfer to four small
ramekins (or one larger dish). Press
them down with the back of the
spoon, then pour over the warm
butter and chill in the fridge for
a couple of hours, until set. This
can be done well in advance.
Serve with toast or crispbread.
Extracted from Moro Easy by Sam
and Sam Clark, published by Ebury
at £30. To order a copy for £26.10, go
to guardianbookshop.com

Feast 13
Fiona Beckett
Wine to take to
a Christmas party
Is there such a thing as a good party
wine? By good, I don’t mean great,
which is rarely what’s needed at
a party, unless you have friends
who pour Krug like water (an
unlikely scenario for most of us).
Rather, I guess it means a wine that
makes most people happy without
breaking the bank. But does that
have to be prosecco?
I’d argue not. Not that there’s
anything wrong with the stuff
– prosecco is a good choice with
“finger food” – but, with the odd
exception such as Morrisons’ £6.75
Sorso Prosecco (11%), it’s going to
cost you more than an inexpensive
still wine, as you’ll see from today’s
pick. Personally, I would go for a
bright, breezy white or a soft, fruity
and not overly alcoholic red such
as a merlot.
Four cheap and
cheerful party wines
Tilting Tree Merlot 2021
£6 Co-op, 13%.
Appealingly soft, fruity
red from Moldova (the
sauvignon is decent, too)
Welmoed Sauvignon Blanc
2022 £7 Co-op, 13%. If
you’re into citrussy New
Zealand sauvignon, this
Stellenbosch is a great buy
Mimo Moutinho
Portuguese Avesso 2021
£5.99 Aldi, 12.5%. Bright
and crisp: no one will know
you’ve spent only six quid
Taste the Difference
Colchagua Merlot 2021
£7 Sainsbury’s, 13.5%.
Chilean merlot that will
hit the spot
I find that people drink less if you
limit the choice, so a pair from the
same producer often works well.
Co-op’s Tilting Tree Sauvignon
Blanc, for example, would be a
decent buy to go with the merlot in
today’s pick (though it’s not as good
as the Welmoed also listed), while
Aldi’s Mimo Moutinho Dão would
make a good partner to its avesso.
A more economical way of
handling the situation is to ask
everyone to bring a bottle, but if
you don’t want to end up with a
hotch-potch of hooch, it’s worth
giving guests a theme. Maybe a pie-
and-a-pint party, the centrepiece
of which could be Felicity Cloake’s
pork pie on page 18, although no
one would complain if it was just
sausage, or sausage-less, rolls.
Or pigs and pinot, which should
obviously include pigs in blankets,
pale ale and pizza. Or, for a budget
option, ask everyone to bring a
bottle of cava and an interesting
bbag of crisps.
A different approach is required
wwhen you’re the guest. Then, it’s The good Give this punchy, festive pre-mix a
a question of bringing something day to infuse before bottling. It will
tthat a) you like and b) wasn’t given
mixer keep for up to two months, so is
to you (and definitely not by the Premier ideal for sipping over the Christmas
hhost) for one of your own parties. padmini holidays and well into the new year.
PHOTOGRAPH: ROB LAWSON/THE GUARDIAN. DRINK STYLING: SEB DAVIS
It’s worth making an effort to take negroni
something interesting, such as Aldi’s Gently bash the cocoa beans with a
Castellore Ribolla Gialla 2021 (£6.99, Makes 7 servings cocktail muddler or a wooden
11.5%) or Marks & Spencer’s similar spoon. Peel and roughly chop the
version in its Found range (£7.50, 5g cocoa beans (we pear half – you should end up with
12%); or try Morrisons’ Cidade use Indian ones about 20g flesh. Put everything bar
beans, naturally)
Branca Alentejo 2021 (£8, 14%), ½ small pear, cored the chocolate in a non-reactive
wwhich is a lovely Portuguese red. 210ml gin container, add 120ml water, then
A bottle of champagne always 210ml Campari pop on the lid and leave to infuse at
210ml sweet
ggoes down well, though there’s a vermouth, such as
room temperature for 24 hours.
danger your host will squirrel it Martini Riserva The next day, fine-strain through
away. Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny and Speciale Rubino two non-absorbent cloths or muslin,
Lidl’s Comte de Senneval are still 7 squares good dark then decant into a sterilised 750ml
chocolate (70%
lless than £15. More fun might be cocoa solids), to bottle and seal.
tthe 12.5% Ferrari Sparkling 2021, an finish To serve, pour 100ml into a
elegant, Italian fizz from Morrisons tumbler filled with ice, garnish with
and Asda at £23. Just don’t open it a square of chocolate and enjoy.
racing driver-style. Jake Odlum, head of drinks, Dishoom
Feast 15
16 Feast The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022
 Benjamina Ebuehi Espresso and
clementine
The sweet spot pavlovas

Prep 30 min Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/

Cook 1 hr gas 4, and line two oven trays with
Chill 4 hr + baking paper.
Makes 8 For the meringue, put the sugar
in a deep roasting dish in the oven
For the meringue for eight to 10 minutes, until hot.
280g caster sugar
4 large egg whites Remove and turn down the oven to
Never do I let a festive season go by (about 160g)
½ tbsp cocoa
130C (110C fan)/gas ½.
In a large bowl or stand mixer,
without a pavlova. It is my ideal, make- powder
1 tsp cornflour
beat the egg whites until frothy with
ahead dessert and always delivers, bringing soft peaks. Keep the mixer running
For the coffee cream and add the hot sugar gradually,
the wow factor without too much effort. 450ml whole milk letting it dissolve before adding
1 tsp vanilla bean
The coffee cream in this one gives it a bit paste more, until thick and glossy.
1½ tbsp instant Spoon eight dollops of meringue
of a tiramisu vibe, while the orange liqueur- coffee on to the lined trays and make a well
4 egg yolks
soaked clementines help cut through 90g caster sugar
in each. Dust with cocoa powder
and bake for 40-45 minutes: they
some of the richness. I’ve made these in 30g cornflour
200ml double are done when they are firm and
individually sized portions, so they’re a bit cream lift off the paper easily. Turn off the
oven and leave the meringues inside
more manageable, but you can take them For the clementines
3 clementines until cooled completely.
even smaller, for canapes, or go big for 1 tsp sugar To make the coffee cream, put
2 tbsp Grand
the milk and vanilla in a saucepan,
a proper showstopping centrepiece. Marnier or
heat until steaming, then stir in the
Cointreau (optional)
Cacao nibs, to top coffee. Take off the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the
yolks and sugar until pale and
y
ccreamy. Whisk in the cornflour,
PHOTOGRAPH: LAURA EDWARDS/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: BENJAMINA EBUEHI.

then a quarter of the hot milk. Pour

th
PROP STYLING: ANNA WILKINS. FOOD ASSISTANT: JULIA ADEN. INSET: GETTY IMAGES

in the rest of the milk, then pour

everything back into the saucepan
ev
and whisk. Let it come to a boil,
an
then take off the heat and pour into
th
a bowl.
b Cover with clingfilm, letting
it touch the surface of the custard,
so it doesn’t form a skin. Cool, then
chill for four hours.
ch
Whisk the coffee custard to
remove
rem any lumps. In another
bowl,
bow whisk the double cream into
stiff peaks, then fold it through
the custard.
the
Cut
C the tops, bottoms, skin and
pith off the clementines. Slice them
thinly, put these in a shallow dish
and toss in the sugar and liqueur.
Fill
F the meringue shells with
the coffee cream, top with a few
clementine
clem slices and their liqueury
juices
juice and finish with cacao nibs.

Feast 17
Felicity Cloake
Masterclass:
pork pie
Prep 1 hr 15 min 1 Chop the meat 2 Mix with the
Cook 2 hr 20 min Start by seasonings
Serves 10-12 preparing the Put the meat
meat. Remove in a large
800g boneless pork any skin from bowl with the
shoulder
400g skinless pork the two cuts chopped sage
belly of pork, if and remaining
100g streaky bacon
Christmas isn’t Christmas in my 1 tbsp chopped
necessary, seasonings – if
fresh sage
then chop all you’re leaving
family without a vast pork pie, 1 tbsp English the shoulder, out the anchovy
which, unlike the rest of us, becomes mustard powder
1 tsp ground mace
belly and bacon (a traditional
into roughly addition – I used
increasingly slight as the festivities wear 1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground ½cm dice. Ask Geo Watkins’
on. For all my mum’s horror stories on pepper, preferably
white
a butcher to Anchovy
mince them Sauce, but
the subject, it’s surprisingly simple to ½ tsp fine salt
coarsely, if you anchovy paste,
1 tsp anchovy sauce,
make your own – especially if you or 4 anchovy fillets prefer, but I like chopped fillets
in oil, drained and the rougher, or Gentleman’s
replace the traditional, and divisive, pork finely chopped juicier texture Relish would
(optional)
jelly with a quicker, fruitier alternative. of chopped also work),
For the pastry meat here (if the you’ll need to
175g lard butcher will dice add more salt.
675g plain flour,
it for you, even Mix well, then
plus extra to dust
1 tsp fine salt better, because fry a little in
1 egg, beaten with a this is the most a dry pan and
little water or milk, time-consuming taste to check
to brush
element of the the seasoning;
For the jelly whole dish.) adjust if need be.
600ml apple juice
1 small bunch fresh
thyme
4 gelatine leaves
3 Once the dough
mix is cool
enough to handle,
tip it out and knead
gently until you
have a smooth ball

1 Roughly chop the

pork belly and
shoulder into ½cm
dice, then mix in
the chopped sage,
spices and mustard

3 Put the lard and

300ml water in
a pan and heat to
melt. Mix the flour
and salt, then stir
in the hot liquid

18 Feast The
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3 Make the 4 Roll the pastry 5 Fill the case 6 Crimp to seal 7 Bake, brush 8 Make the jelly 9 Add to the pie,
pastry Heat the oven to Spoon the pork Pinch together with egg and While the pie is cool and serve
Put the lard in 220C (200C fan)/ filling into the edges of the bake again resting, simmer Remove and
a medium pan gas 7. Set a the pastry – it case and lid to Bake the pie the apple juice discard the

HOTOGRAPHS: ROBERT BILLINGTON/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: LOÏC PARISOT

with 300ml quarter of the will shrink as seal, then crimp for 30 minutes, and thyme thyme from the
water and bring dough aside, it cooks, so all around the then turn down in a pan until jelly liquid. Poke
to a simmer, and wrap so it pack it down edge (there are the oven to 180C the liquid has a funnel into the
by which point stays warm. Roll firmly. Fold the many videos (160C fan)/gas reduced by hole in the top
the lard should out the rest on a overhanging online), or press 4 and bake for a about half. Soak of the pie, then
have melted. lightly floured pastry over down with the further hour and the gelatine pour in a little of
Meanwhile, put surface until it’s the meat at the flat tines of a a half. Brush leaves in cold the jelly mixture
the flour and large enough edges. Roll out fork. Poke a lightly with the water until soft and leave until
salt in a large generously to the remaining large hole in beaten egg, and and pliable, it’s all been
bowl. Pour in line a deep, dough, cut out the centre with return to the wring them absorbed by the
the liquid lard, nonstick a circle a little the handle of a oven for another out, then stir meat. Repeat
stir to combine, springform tin larger than the wooden spoon 20 minutes – if them into the this until all the
then tip out on about 20cm in circumference or similar, then, you have a hot apple mix jelly mix is used
to a clean work diameter, of the tin, then if you like, thermometer, until they are up or the pie is
surface and, leaving some place on top of decorate the lid the internal completely full. Leave the
as soon as it’s sticking out of the filling. with any pastry temperature dissolved. Leave pie somewhere
cool enough to the top. Use the trimmings. should read to cool, but cold to cool and
handle, knead excess pastry at least 65C. don’t refrigerate set completely,
until you have a to patch up Remove and it – you want it then slice and
smooth dough. any holes. leave to cool for to stay pourable. serve. Eat
at least an hour. within five days.

8 While the pie is

cooling, make
the fruit jelly mix.
Once the jelly is
cool, funnel it bit
by bit into the pie 9 Leave to set and
cool completely,
then cut into slices
(eat within five days,
5 Fill with the pork
mix, then roll the
remaining dough to
assuming it lasts
that long)
make a lid. Crimp to
seal, then bake until
golden and cooked

4 Roll out three-

quarters of the
dough until it’s big
enough to line a
nonstick 20cm tin
with some overhang

Feast
Feast 19
 Kitchen aide
How to up your
party snack game
How can I jazz up shop-bought
things for easy party food?
Alison, Canterbury
“We’re all short of time, and who
has the patience to make 50 devilled
quail’s eggs?” asks Amy Poon, who
runs Poon’s London. “But ready-
made canapes and dips can be a
bit lacklustre.” Luckily, she adds,
“they are hugely improved by a
homemade sauce or a handful of
herbs.” That’s not to say you have
to get all fancy: dips, for example,
are vastly better with just a squeeze
of lemon, a drizzle of flavoured oil
(chilli, garlic) and a sprinkling of
chopped coriander or parsley.
A seasoned soy sauce is just the
ticket to “liven up shop-bought
cooked prawns for a marinade”. Poon
PHOTOGRAPHS: JILL MEAD/THE GUARDIAN. FOOD STYLING: OLIVER ROWE. PROP STYLING: ANNA WILKINS. GETTY IMAGES.
gets a heatproof bowl and adds 100ml
light soy, a half-teaspoon of sugar,
half a chopped red chilli, a finely
sliced clove of garlic, a tablespoon
of chopped coriander, some
seasoning and sesame oil. Combine
with two tablespoons of heated
neutral oil and you’re good to go.
Peanut butter also has a way with
canapes: simply mix two tablespoons
of smooth peanut butter with a
tablespoon each of light soy sauce,
rice vinegar and chilli oil, a teaspoon
of sugar and, finally, four drops of
toasted sesame oil. “I usually use
this sauce for noodles,” Poon says,
“but it can lift virtually anything,
from cooked chicken pieces to
summer rolls and crudité platters”.
If you’ve got tinned fish, you’re
well on your way to a party platter;
little fish with the big flavour are
ideal for topping things such as
crackers, says Devon-based chef
Mitch Tonks. “You can make a nice,
little mackerel tartare: a bit of cream
cheese, some tinned mackerel,
chopped shallots, capers, parsley,
maybe some red onion,” says the
founder of the Rockfish group of
restaurants, which tin their own
20 Feast
fish. “A good slab of unsalted butter
with finely sliced shallots and a Waste not ...
salted anchovy is wonderful. And
mixing tinned tuna with a bit of
Smoked salmon
Olivier salad is always a joy.”
No one wants to contend with
Tom Hunt
cutlery at gatherings, so take a stab at Today’s thrifty and simple mousse
Stevie Parle’s sweet-and-salty devils can be made with the leftovers
on horseback. “My grandpa would from a side of smoked salmon or
always make them at Christmas,” with trimmings bought from the
says the chef-owner of Pastaio in fishmonger, which are often sold at
London. Soak 18 “big, soft agen a knockdown price, making them
prunes” in a pot of earl grey for an an economical and waste-saving
hour (a little longer for dried ones), ingredient, as well as a delicious one.
then remove the stones and “replace
with a quarter of a chestnut. Wrap Spelt and cheddar gougeres
the prunes in pancetta or streaky with salmon trim mousse
bacon, then fit snugly in a tray.” Blitz 50g smoked salmon trimmings
Pour in 75ml red-wine vinegar, with 80g cream cheese, 30g yoghurt,
sprinkle with chilli flakes and bake a sprig of dill (including the stem)
for about 10 minutes, until the and the juice and zest from a quarter
bacon is crisp. (Leftover prunes of a lemon, until smooth. Season
can be soaked in brandy and eaten gently to taste, if need be.
on porridge – “you’ll thank me”.) Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/
If you’re up for a bit more cooking, gas 6. Melt 80g unsalted butter
though, Ollie Templeton suggests with half a teaspoon of sea salt,
turning pitta into arayes (meat- add 75ml each of milk and water,
stuffed pockets popular in the and bring to a boil. Add 70g flour
Levant). The executive chef and (I used 50g plain mixed with 20g
co-founder of Carousel in London wholemeal spelt flour), turn the
says: “Mix minced lamb, harissa and heat down low and stir vigorously
grated tomato, and stuff inside pitta. until the mix comes together into a
Grill, brushing with butter as they dough. Tip into a large bowl, stir in
cook, until golden.” Cut into wedges three lightly beaten medium eggs
and serve with seasoned yoghurt. one at a time, then fold in half a
Now, they’re sure to entertain you. teaspoon of cracked black pepper
Anna Berrill and 40g grated cheddar (an old piece
Printed at Walstead Group, Elvington, York YO41 4AU
Have you got a culinary dilemma? or rind would work well here).
Email feast@theguardian.com Line a large baking tray with damp
(but not wet) greaseproof paper and
top with teaspoon-sized balls of the
batter spaced 2cm apart. Scatter over
more grated cheese, then bake for 25
minutes, until the gougeres are puffy,
dark golden brown and crisp. Lightly
prick the base of each gougere with
a skewer (this stops them deflating)
and return to the oven for five
minutes. Remove, leave to cool, slice
open, fill with the salmon mousse
and a sprig of dill, and serve.
The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022

Rachel Roddy
Tales from an
Italian kitchen
Cozze gratinate – stuffed
mussel shells
Eat more mussels. For a while,
I had this written on a Post-It
stuck to the fridge. It was maybe
my most successful fridge note
(certainly more effective than
the one reminding everyone to
close the door firmly), and one
that helped decide endless meals
while putting away the milk.
I remember writing it. It was after
having a fling with a secondhand
copy of Jenny Baker’s Simply Fish
– a practical, really well laid-out
recipe book and guide that sparkles
thanks to her simple, intelligent
writing. I particularly like the pros
and cons sections: “Sharks – don’t
be alarmed – make really excellent
eating and being cartilaginous
have no irritating bones. Barbel –
a fine fighter but bony, and needs
seasoning. Smelt – a freshly caught
smell of cucumber and rushes, and
make delicious eating: snap them up
if you see them. Mussels are lovely
and inexpensive: don’t be put off
by fears of preparing them – it’s far
less of a chore than new potatoes.”
Scrubbed up mussels look like
a cross between a jewel and a fast
car, have orange flesh and – always
welcome, and especially at this time
of year – bring their own liquor.
What’s more, mussels, both wild
and farmed, are undemanding,
requiring no feeding, antibiotics or
PHOTOGRAPH: RACHEL RODDY FOR THE GUARDIAN
agrochemicals, and their impact is
positive. They are “little pumping
stations”, filtering bivalves that are
able to recycle 10 gallons of water
a day, therefore cleaning the water
they live in, be that in open sea
or farmed beds. Brilliant for the
environment, possibly problematic
when it comes to eating, so a
good reason to listen to someone
who knows the cleanest spots to
collect them from. Or buy farmed
mussels, which are cultivated
under strictly-controlled conditions
and are generally sweeter and
more reliably fattened than wild
ones, anyway, though the wild
ones produce better liquor.
While it is best to eat mussels
the day you buy them, they can
be kept overnight in a bowl of cold
water – just feed them a tablespoon
of flour or oatmeal (which pleases
children no end). To clean mussels:
first wash them in a couple of
changes of water, then yank out
the hairy beard and use a pan
scourer or stumpy knife to scrape
Cookery writer of the year
away any barnacles or calcium;
discard any with cracked or open
shells. If you are not ready to cook
them just yet, put them in a bowl
of clean, cold water, and this time
feed them a teaspoon of salt.
Put the mussels and 100ml or so
of white wine in a large pan set over
a high-ish heat: I cover the pan for
a bit to build up heat, then shake
gently for about three minutes,
until I hear the shells unzip open,
to reveal the bright orange flesh.
Pull them out as soon as they
open (over-cooking makes them
rubbery), save the precious juices
and reject any that haven’t opened.
There are a few recipes for stuffed
mussels that ask for both shells,
but, for pass-around-party-food,
I think breadcrumbed mussels play
extremely well, and half-shells are
easier to make, serve and eat.
Break the top shell off the
mussels, leaving the flesh in
the bottom half (if any are very
small, lift them out and pair with
another in their half-shell boat).
To make the stuffing, mix 120g
soft white breadcrumbs with a
clove of very finely chopped garlic,
two tablespoons each of minced
parsley and grated parmesan,
one heaped teaspoon of dried
oregano, the zest of an unwaxed
lemon, three tablespoons of
Pass-around party olive oil and two tablespoons
food: mussels of mussel liquor. Season with
cooked in white
wine, then covered salt to taste. Divide the crumb
in seasoned, herb, mixture between the half-shells,
cheesy breadcrumbs pressing it down gently. Arrange
and grilled until the stuffed mussels on a baking
crisp
tray and zigzag with more olive
oil. Finish under the grill for two
to three minutes, until the crumbs
are slightly golden and crisp.
Serve immediately while they
are still hot enough that anyone
who takes one might need to blow
a few times, and that the crumbs
sizzle slightly when bitten into.
Feast 21
Grace Dent
‘Small and intimate, with a heart
that is bursting with ambition’
Lewes, where Fork lives, had evaded
my attention until now. Perhaps
like me, you’d got as far as Brighton
and then, distracted by bright lights
and candyfloss, never travelled
further. I suspect that’s exactly how
the locals like it, slightly ignored by
the brouhaha of tourists requiring
toffee apples, or venues to scream
in while wearing hen-night sashes.
Lewes is not like this: it is a different
land entirely, quaint, quirky and
charming and all sorts of other
words that make you loiter wistfully
by estate agents’ windows, after
visiting Anne of Cleves House and
buying some beans from Trading
Post Coffee Roasters.
22 Feast
PHOTOGRAPHS: SIMON J EVANS/THE GUARDIAN
Until recently, the rumours were Fork
that the restaurant landscape was 14 Station Street,
a little limited, even if the new Lewes, BN7 2DA
Turkish place Zorba has breathed 01273 809445
life into the town. Others told me fork-lewes.co.uk.
Open Tue–Sun,
to check out for the new, superhip noon–2:30pm
Relais Cooden Beach hotel revamp and 6pm–9.30pm
going on at nearby Bexhill-on-Sea, (6pm–9.30pm
where I went pre-Fork, hoping for Tue, noon–3.30pm
Sunday).
Sunday brunch like the cool cats Two courses £30,
order, but was begrudgingly served three courses £38,
an untoasted ciabatta sandwich plus drinks.
with a ready salted crisp garnish at
10.30am, as the chef was no longer
doing breakfast. By the time I
reached Fork, my hunger was high
and expectations thwarted. Luckily
it was worth saving my appetite.
The Guardian Saturday 10 December 2022

Fork is small and intimate: it’s
set in a Grade II-listed building
and painted pale grey. Do not
come here conducting a sordid
affair and expect the adjacent
tables not to hear every word
of your chat; your neighbour’s
elbows may well be in your soup.
The room is sparse, with an
open kitchen down one side and
a walled garden to eat in during
sunny months. This is a chef-led,
independent restaurant with
modern aspirations: it’s fancy and
imaginative rather than hearty.
The Sunday menu when we
visited was two courses for £30
and three for £38. On the starters
was a quenelle of rich chicken liver
paté on sweet, moist home-baked
brioche with deep-fried gherkins,
membrillo quince jelly and a
scattering of pistachio. A dish like
this sets out a restaurant’s stall
immediately: think The Ledbury
and absolutely not Toby Carvery.
Every element of this bowl is made
from scratch and pondered over,
including the placement of the
micro cress and pea shoots.
Same too for my favourite dish
of the day, if not that month: Fork’s
cauliflower velouté (above), which
sounds like it could be a humble
soup, but is sating and complex.
It has a hint of the cruciferous
but is rich with blue cheese and
hazelnuts, and is topped with
small, slightly sweet beignets
– a posh word for tiny doughnuts
that eradicates all their calories.
This is the sort of place I dearly
want to succeed, and times are
perilous right now for restaurants,
so if you can support places like
Fork, please show willing. My
feeling is that Pizza Express and
the big beasts will weather the
coming storm, while chefs who
devote hours to duck-fat rosti to
perch beside organic sirloin, or
make individual lobster wonton
to complement day-boat fish
for only a handful of customers
will find things much harder.
Use them or lose them will be
the theme of winter 2023, as
we look to our high streets and
wonder which restaurants might
have the radiators on, so we
might save a few hours of gas.
I can think of worse ways to
spend January than eating Fork’s
glorious chocolate dessert. Same
too for the cunningly plain-seeming
Restaurant writer of the year
vanilla brulee, which on prodding
gives way to a delicious pear
compote and arrives with a very
good spicy ginger ice-cream.
Presently, Fork is offering
a Christmas menu where this
ice-cream appears to be served
with baked alaska and a Mont
Blanc with chestnut ice-cream
Instafeed (left). They don’t do anything as
upfront as turkey with trimmings,
but seasonal nods are there in
cheesecake served with calvados-
poached apples or in a starter of
confit duck pastilla with fig and
spiced apricot chutney.
Fork is a small, neighbourhood
My new love: restaurant with a heart that is
the vegan no
duck donburi at
bursting with ambition. The team
Wagamama with the are enthusiastic and just the right
fake coconut egg level of earnest, and the clientele
are locals, probably hoping that a
restaurant critic doesn’t pitch up
and enjoy a cauliflower velouté so
much and blow their secret.
It is with some sheepishness
that I must do just that. If you got
as far as Brighton, then blow right
I like black forest through, head to Lewes and have
gateau. I like
porridge. Why have dinner at Fork.
my tastebuds waited
so long? The next episode of Grace’s Comfort
@gracedent Eating podcast is released on Tuesday.
Feast 23*