Butter beer

This is a curious oddity from history that conjures up images of buxom wenches with steaming tankards of beer for thirsty travellers. When we first tried to recreate it, we didn't have much success, but eventually we found a great old recipe and adapted it to make it our own delicious version.

SERVES 6-10

2 cans Old Speckled Hen ale
¾ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
120g caster sugar
5 egg yolks
20g unsalted butter

Pour the ale into a saucepan and stir in the ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Gently heat this mixture until it is warm (to approximately 52ºC if you have a thermometer).

In the meantime, using a hand-held blender, blitz the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy.

Once the spiced ale is warm, add the egg yolk and sugar mixture and return to the heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid starts to thicken slightly (no hotter than 78ºC). Be careful not to let the saucepan get too hot or the eggs will scramble. Maintain this temperature for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter until it melts. Then froth the mixture with a small cappuccino whisk until it looks like frothy, milky tea. Pour into small glasses, mini tankards or espresso cups and serve immediately.

Powdered goose with chestnut velouté

This recipe is a great way to use the legs of the goose. Removing the legs and leaving the breasts on the crown for the roast goose itself means that this will make a wonderful starter for Christmas lunch. It can also be done in advance and finished off at the last minute so there is less work to do on the day.

SERVES 6-8

For the powdered goose:

2 goose legs
9 star anise
5 juniper berries
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 sprig thyme
zest of half an orange
zest of half a lemon
5 black peppercorns
60g salt
1kg goose or duck fat (available from good supermarkets)
40g cherry or mesquite wood chips

For the chestnut velouté:

350g fresh chestnuts (250g if you manage to find pre-peeled ones)
100g unsalted butter
60g shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
60g leeks (white and light green only) thinly sliced
60g smoked bacon, diced
4 sprigs thyme
250ml Madeira
300ml white port
800ml fresh chicken stock
400g double cream
200ml whole milk
salt and freshly ground white pepper
sherry vinegar

Grind the spices, zests and peppercorns to a powder and rub on to the legs. Place in a covered container, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Cover the legs evenly with the sea salt and place back in the refrigerator for another 8 hours.

Rinse the legs and pat dry. Pre-heat an oven to 75°C. Melt the fat and pour into an ovenproof dish with the legs, making sure that they are fully covered in the fat. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven for 16 hours. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Remove the legs and reserve the fat in the refrigerator.

Scatter the wood chips evenly over the bottom of a large pan. Place a cake rack or similar perforated tray inside the pan so that there is a gap between the perforated holes and the chips below. Cover and place over high heat. When the chips begin to burn and smoke, remove from the heat, quickly remove the lid and place the legs, skin-side up, on to the cake tray. Cover and leave to smoke for 30 minutes (if the lid does not fit tightly enough, cover the pan with tin foil before replacing the lid). Remove the legs and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the velouté, pre-heat the oven to 150°C/gas 2. Score the skins of each chestnut and roast on a tray for 20 minutes. Remove one chestnut and peel with a paring knife to check that they are roasted and continue roasting if needed. Peel all the chestnuts and reserve, setting aside one chestnut per person for garnish. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and cook until it begins to brown and develops a nutty aroma. Strain through a sieve, wipe the pan clean and return the butter to the pan. Add the shallots, leeks, bacon, and cook, over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the bacon has browned and the vegetables are soft and translucent.

Increase the heat and add the Madeira and white port. When boiling, flame off the alcohol and reduce until syrupy. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and add the chestnuts. Return to a simmer for 20 minutes, adding the cream and milk after 15 minutes. Using a hand blender break up the chestnuts but do not purée them. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes then pass through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper (bearing in mind the goose meat is already salty) and add a few drops of sherry vinegar to taste. This can be allowed to cool if making ahead or kept warm if serving immediately.

When you are ready to serve: if the velouté is cold, warm it gently over a medium heat. While it is warming, shred the powdered goose meat with a fork and heat gently with a bit of the reserved goose fat. Finely slice the reserved roasted chestnuts and toss in the pan with the goose. Drain the chestnut goose-leg mixture and place in the bottom of warmed soup bowls. Using a stick blender, aerate the soup to give it a light, foamy texture and pour over the goose mixture.

Savoy cabbage

This is a great side dish for goose, turkey or any roast meat.

SERVES 6-8

6g allspice berries
6g juniper berries
200g unsalted butter
800g onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
60g bacon, sliced
600ml Gewürtztraminer wine
100ml chardonnay vinegar
salt and pepper
2 Savoy cabbages
20g unsalted butter
Lightly crush the allspice and juniper berries and tie up in a muslin bag.

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bacon and spice bag and sweat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the Gewürtztraminer and reduce to a syrup. Finish with the vinegar and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Discard the outer green leaves of the cabbage, then separate the remaining leaves and cut away the central veins. Cut the leaves into thin strips and put in a pan with the butter. Cover and cook over a medium-high heat, shaking the pan frequently to ensure it cooks evenly. Once cooked, add the onion mix and check the seasoning before serving.

Tudor rice-pudding sausages with banana mash

In the 16th and 17th centuries, food was often not what it seemed. Here is a classic example - 'bangers and mash' for pudding!

SERVES 6-8

For the cooked fragrant rice:

100g short-grain rice
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbs honey
300ml water

For the rice-pudding sausages:

20g currants
verjus (a sour grape juice, available from wine merchants), to cover the currants
40g diced bone marrow (you will need to buy 200-300g marrow bones from your butcher)
110g strained tinned rice pudding
30g cooked rice (see above)
2 egg yolks
½ tsp salt
15g custard powder
20ml rose water
75g clarified butter or ghee
100g caster sugar

For the banana mash:

500g peeled bananas
40ml lemon juice
300ml apple juice
3 tbs honey

For the gravy:

marrow bones
maple syrup, enough to cover the bones

For the 'onions':

2 fennel bulbs, very finely sliced

Approximately 12 hours in advance, put the currants in a container and cover with verjus; allow to sit in the fridge until needed.

Approximately 2 hours in advance, cook the spiced rice: place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat; allow to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice is completely cooked. Spread the hot rice out on a parchment-lined tray and allow to cool completely.

While this is cooling, put the rice pudding into a sieve and allow to drain thoroughly, discarding the liquid. At the same time, put the marrow bones into a bowl of cold water to soak. After an hour, separate the marrow from the bones and put the bones to one side. Chop the marrow into a fine dice.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 6. When hot, place the bones on a tray in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Then remove them from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with maple syrup. Allow to cool. When cool, remove the bones and discard them, then add the fennel to the syrup and allow it to sit for 30 minutes before serving.

In the meantime, mix all the other sausage ingredients, including the currants, diced marrow, 110g of the strained rice and 30g of the cooked rice, in a bowl until well combined. Place approximately 40g of the mixture in the middle of a square piece of all-purpose clingfilm; fold the clingfilm over the mixture and roll it while holding the edges until a tight sausage is formed. Repeat until you have used all the mixture or have made as many sausages as you require. Place the wrapped sausages in a pan of just-simmering water for 15-20 minutes or until each sausage is firm to touch.

While the sausages are cooking, mash the banana flesh and put into a saucepan with the other ingredients for the banana mash. Bring to the boil and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Then remove from the heat and, using a hand-held blender, blitz into a purée. Pass the purée through a sieve and keep warm.

When the sausages are cooked, remove the clingfilm carefully and fry in the clarified butter. Remove from the pan and add the sugar. Heat it until it begins to caramelise and become liquid. Return the sausages to the pan and coat in the sugar. Serve on a bed of banana mash, pouring over the 'onion' gravy just as you would with savoury bangers and mash.