LUCAS HOLLWEG: ROAST
GOOSE
Goose is deliciously rich, with darker meat than turkey. The total weight
usually includes the giblets and cavity fat, though these should be packed
separately. The skin needs to be dry if you want it to crisp in the oven. I
give the bird a thorough once-over with some kitchen roll, then leave it
uncovered in the fridge overnight. For different sizes, find the weight
without the giblets and fat, then allow 13-14 minutes per 450g, following
the method below. Be aware that cooking times are only approximate. Geese
vary — as do ovens, particularly when everybody in Britain is cooking at the
same time. But the basic idea is to render down the fat, leaving the bird
crisp-skinned but moist-fleshed.
Click
here for roast goose recipe
What to drink with goose
The richness of goose can fell a subtle wine, all the more so if there’s fruit
in the recipe, as there is here. One school of thought says semi-sweet
whites (such as Vouvray) or sweet German wines are best where fruit is
involved, but I would go for red — one with plenty of ripe fruit to stand up
to the quince and the rich meat.
2005 Massaya Silver Selection, Bekaa Valley £11.40-£13.49 Lebanon’s
answer to Châteauneuf-du-Pape: generously proportioned and perfumed, with
spicy cherry flavours, supple tannins and soft oak (Tanners, 01743 234455;
Hedley Wright, 01279 465818; Christopher Piper Wines, 01404 814139). If
you’re on a tighter budget, there’s a little-brother version, Massaya
Classic (£8.40-£9.86).
2006 Martinelle Côtes du Ventoux, £8.50 A lovely southern
Rhône red that combines rich raspberry fruit with savoury spice and sweet
herb notes (Vine Trail, 0117 921 1770).
2005 The Fergus, Clare Valley, £9.99 A powerful, succulently
fruity, spicy Australian red (a blend of grenache, cabernet franc and
cabernet sauvignon, and a little bit of merlot). Very approachable, but with
the structure to age at least five more years (Tesco). JS
Buy the best goose
* Goodman’s Geese Fed on grass, cereal and straw, kept in open paddocks and
matured to 24 weeks, Judy Goodman’s award-winning birds are succulent and
full flavoured, with dry-plucked skin that cooks to a nutty scrumptiousness.
From £65.30 for a 4½kg bird. Order by Dec 14; goodmansgeese.co.uk
* Seldom Seen Farm Claire and Robert Symington’s geese get their intense
savoury flavour from a diet of home-grown potatoes, corn and grass, followed
by 10 days of hanging. From £62 for a 4½kg bird. Order by Dec 12; seldomseenfarm.co.uk,
0116 259 6742
* British Goose Producers To find a goose farmer in your area, visit goose.cc.
* Heal Farm An ethical farming pioneer and multibird specialist, with 15
boned, stuffed and layered birds, from a relatively modest game bird roast
(guinea fowl stuffed with pheasant and pigeon breasts, £49.35) to the
outrageous True Love Roast (at 25kg, it contains 48 meats and feeds 125
people, £665). Order by Dec 10; healfarm.co.uk,
01769 574341.
FERGUS HENDERSON: BUTTER-ROASTED
TURKEY
Fergus Henderson, co-owner of St John Bar and Restaurant, EC1, is famous for
his innovative approach to cooking meat and classic British food.
His most recent book is Beyond Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking:
Part II (Bloomsbury £17.99).
I’m not sure whether it was the angst of getting up early enough to make sure
the turkey was thoroughly overcooked, but I approached my first Christmas
dinner with some trepidation. Now I wonder what all the fuss was about.
Click
here for butter-roasted turkey recipe
What to drink with turkey
Roast turkey is a dream to match to wine. It’s the powerful flavours — sweet,
fruity, spicy, sharp — in the stuffings and accompaniments you need to keep
an eye on. Red wines go best, but, if you prefer white, choose a
good-quality chardonnay and expect to pay £10+.
2006 Domaine du Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape, £19
An opulent young Châteauneuf with dense, sweet fruit and nutty, spicy
flavours (Marks & Spencer).
2005 Asda Extra Special Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, £6.98 A
classic Coonawarra cabernet with supple cassis, mint, dark chocolate and
coffee flavours (Asda).
2004 Corney & Barrow Pomerol, £13.49 It wouldn’t be Christmas
without claret at the feast, and here is a textbook Pomerol with cedary
fruit and velvety tannins (Corney & Barrow, 020 7665 2500).
Buy the best turkey
KellyBronze
A king among turkeys. Grown to maturity over six months, dry-plucked and
hung for at least a fortnight, Paul Kelly's birds have dense, rich flesh,
marbled with fat so they baste from the inside out. From £66 for a 4kg bird.
Order by Dec 19; kellybronze.co.uk,
01245 223581
Peele’s Norfolk Blacks In the 1950s, Frank Peele single- handedly
saved the Norfolk Black turkey from being bred out of existence. His
grandson, James Graham, still raises them on the family farm. Blacks have a
more angular, pheasant-like breast than other breeds, with fine-grained,
gamey meat. From £61.50 for a 4½kg bird. Order by Dec 14; 01362 850237
Copas This Berkshire turkey farm, run by Tom Copas and his daughters,
produces mainly free-range and organic bronzes. The slow-grown birds are
hung for two weeks, giving tender, deeply flavoured meat. From £75 (incl
delivery) for a 4½-5½kg free-range bronze. Order by Dec 18; copasturkeys.co.uk.
VALENTINE WARNER: PROPER
RED CABBAGE
He is dubbed "the Russell Brand of the kitchen", abandoned his
career as an artist to set up his own catering company.
His focus is on home-grown, seasonal produce. He has published one book, What
to Eat Now (Mitchell Beazley £20), which accompanied his recent BBC2 TV
series, and he also owns Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant in Westbourne Grove.
I live in hope that any red cabbage will be treated well, but on the whole my
heart sinks when yet again it arrives at the table like a waterlogged
inkblot of dark lilac misery. Here is the secret: do not boil.
Click
here for proper red cabbage recipe
JAMIE OLIVER: STUFFED
SQUASH
He made his name as the Naked Chef with various crusades to improve the
nation’s diet.
His latest restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, opened in Oxford last summer, and his
most recent book, Jamie’s Ministry of Food (Michael Joseph £25), came out
last month.
This recipe shows how to stuff a butternut squash. Leave out the meat for a
cracking vegetarian dish.
Click
here for stuffed squash recipe
MARK HIX: BREAD
SAUCE
As chef-director of Caprice Holdings, he oversaw restaurants such as the Ivy.
He left in 2007 and opened Hix Oyster and Chop House, EC1, earlier this year
to much celebration. He has written several books, including his latest,
British Seasonal Food (Quadrille £25).
This is a useful sauce to serve with any simply cooked game. For full flavour,
infuse the milk with the onion, bay leaf and spices a day beforehand.
Click
here for bread sauce recipe
SYBIL KAPOOR: SPICED
CRANBERRY SAUCE
She trained at Leiths and worked at Sally Clarke’s eponymous restaurant before
turning her hand to food writing.
Her latest book, Citrus and Spice: A Year of Flavour (Simon & Schuster
£20), came out earlier this month.
This sauce has a lovely fruity mulled-spice flavour. You can also use frozen
cranberries — Waitrose sells them in 300g punnets.
Click
here for spice cranberry sauce recipe
ADAM BYATT: SAGE
AND ONION STUFFING WITH APRICOTS
Best known for his hugely popular Clapham restaurant, Trinity, his recipes use
only traceable products, sourced from independent farms.
I prefer a well-seasoned, fruit-and-onion- filled, crumb-based filling for the
cavity of the bird. The stuffing is cooked inside the meat, collecting
flavour during the process and is served as a garnish in the best sense of
the word. This is the stuffing I use for goose, but if turkey is your
calling, replace the apricots with chestnuts and cranberries.
Click
here for sage and onion stuffing with apricots
GORDON RAMSAY: FIG
ICE CREAM
Within three years of him working as head chef at Aubergine, the restaurant
won two Michelin stars.
He has opened nearly 30 restaurants since 1993, including Maze and Gordon
Ramsay at Claridge’s, and has a plethora of Michelin stars to his name. He
has written 13 books, the latest being Cooking for Friends: Food from My
Table (HarperCollins £25).
What to drink with fig ice cream
The numbing cold, intense sweetness and mouth-coating texture of ice cream are
a hurdle too great for most sweet wines, but a handful have what it takes to
make a winning combination. Look for Pedro Ximénez (or PX) sherries and
Australian liqueur muscats.
Click
here for fig ice cream recipe
DELIA SMITH: BLACKBERRY
CHEESECAKE
The most trusted of television cooks, Delia Smith has been showing the nation
how to cook for more than 30 years. This recipe is from Delia’s Frugal Food
(Hodder & Stoughton £17.99).
Click
here for blackberry cheesecake recipe
Buy the best pud and cake
- Tara’s Handmade I tried Tara Breen’s pudding last year and was blown away.
Made in Co Waterford, Ireland, it has a wonderful depth of flavour and a
light, open texture. £7.75 for 900g. Order by Dec 18; tarascookies.com
, 0845 370 0480
- Carved Angel A pudding with a cult following. Based on a recipe by the
Victorian cook Eliza Acton, it is fruity and rich without being heavy.
There’s now a white chocolate and cranberry version, and another with dark
chocolate and ginger. From £10. Order by Dec 15; thecarvedangel.com,
01822 835020
- The Bay Tree Food Company If you prefer your festive flavours without
stodge, Bay Tree’s Christmas Compote (£3.95) and boozy Christmas Syrup
(£7.50) are the way to go. Both are delicious spooned over ice cream or
yoghurt. The company also does great miniature figs marinated in rum
(£3.40). thebaytree.co.uk
- Meg Rivers The classic Christmas cake from this Cotswolds bakery is moist,
rich and liberally laced with brandy. The icing is perfect and the marzipan
is spot on (£22.95 for an eight-portion cake). There’s also a charity
version; for each one sold, £3 goes to Macmillan. Order by Dec 5; megrivers.com,
01608 682858.
- The Christmas Cake The Edmiston sisters send their gloriously old-fashioned
cakes all around the world. Made in August to a family recipe, the
deliciously dense slab of cognac-soaked fruit and nuts is left to mature
before being topped with more glazed fruit and nuts. £55 for a 2kg cake.
Order by Dec 12; thechristmascake.com
- Selfridges New to the food hall this year is a pretty, hand-decorated
honeycake house (£39.95). A softer take on traditional gingerbread, it’s the
stuff Hansel and Gretel fantasies are made of. There’s also a
triple-chocolate brownie house (£34.99), made by the cakery Sweet Things.
SAM AND SAM CLARK: POMEGRANATE
JELLY
Husband and wife Samuel and Samantha Clark co-founded Moro restaurant in
Exmouth Market, EC1, after travelling around southern Europe and picking up
lots of ideas. Their three books include Moro East (Ebury £25), which
focuses on Spanish and Moroccan influences.
Click
here for pomegranate jelly recipe
