Roast Lamb with Quinces and Marmalade Glaze

If you read my blog even occasionally, you might know that I love culinary challenges and projects. I was delighted to be asked to take part in Mackays Christmas project which challenged the bloggers to create a festive dish, using new preserves from Mackays. To celebrate my husband's birthday last week I cooked a roast leg of lamb for dinner. And though it was technically not a Christmas dish, it is easily adaptable for Christmas, if you are a bit fed up with the traditional turkey.

Roast lamb with quinces and marmalade glaze
Ingredients:
a leg of lamb
2 big quinces, quartered
4tsp Mackays Christmas marmalade
40ml brandy
sea salt
1tsp sumac

 Mix the marmalade with brandy and sea salt and pour over the leg of lamb. Cover with the foil and let it marinade for a couple of hours, turning the meat over a couple of times.
Place the tray with the lamb in the oven preheated to 200C and roast for half an hour open. Then cover the meat with the foil, lower the temperature to 180C and cook for two hours.

Add the quartered quinces for the last hour of cooking and sprinkle both the quinces and lamb with sumac. Roasted quinces are excellent with the red meats, and they add a beautiful aroma to an overall dish. The meat was melt-in-the-mouth, very moist and flavourful. The marmalade & brandy glaze added a touch of citrussy sweetness and enriched the gravy.

As a side dish I served a selection of roasted vegetables: a sliced turban pumpkin, 5 little beets (skinned and quartered), a fennel (thinly sliced), several baby carrots, 3 banana shallots (halved lengthways), a handful of baby tomatoes with pomegranate seeds scattered in the last few minutes of roasting. I have used some dried herbs too, cannot remember now if it was Italian mixed herbs or French.

Roasted pumpkins are simply fantastic. I usually first pre-cook the whole pumpkin in the oven for half an hour, then it is easier to slice and remove the seeds. Later the slices go back in the oven for another half hour or so.

I didn't take the picture of sliced lamb with veggies on a dish on the day. The next day I had a bit of lamb with the floral salad. Nasturtium leaves are very tasty, they remind me of rocket. I mixed a handful of nasturtium leaves and flowers, a couple of small marigold flowers and pomegranate seeds.

For the glaze I used a newly launched Christmas marmalade with cranberries from Mackays. This festive marmalade is a pure delight. I love the combination of oranges, cranberries and ginger. Superb on a toast, it is also an excellent ingredient in cooking. I recently used it as a glaze for a gammon steak (will post a recipe separately). If you are making your own Christmas hampers as gifts, this is a great addition to any foodie hamper.

Disclosure: I received four jars of jam and marmalade from Mackays for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Roast pheasant with bacon

When it starts getting dark pretty early and there is a frost on the rooftops in the morning, you can bet the game season is here. It is best to buy your game like pheasants from the butcher who has hung them for about a week (and also who can dress them for you). Our local Denshams butcher's has been part of our town for many years and provides the quality meats.The game they sell is sourced locally. The pheasants are sourced from one of the big estates in the county.

Roast pheasant with bacon
Ingredients:
1 pheasant, medium-sized
50ml olive oil
25g butter, softened
1tbsp fresh thyme
3 juniper berries, crushed
sea salt, pepper
1/2 lemon
2-3 slices of streaky bacon
2 thin slices of lardo (optional)

Place the pheasant in a deep ceramic dish/roasting tin and rub with the olive oil. Season well with the salt and pepper. Mix the softened butter with the thyme and crushed juniper berries and push the butter under the skin over the breast. Lay the strips of bacon over the top of the pheasant, covering the breasts. Place the lardo slices over the legs. Put half the lemon inside the cavity.
I have brought a block of lardo from Italy recently, bought it in the airport in Venice. Lardo is a cured fatback, flavoured with herbs like rosemary.

Put the roasting tin in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for 30-35 minutes.

I served the pheasant with the red cabbage and roast pumpkin slices, which were cooked in the oven at the same time as the pheasant. Drizzly plenty of olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg + sea salt.

I have also made some quince mash. Wrap the quinces in foil and roast for about an hour in the oven at 180C. Remove the foil, and let them cool a bit, before mashing with the fork (discard the harder inner part with the pips). Add 2 tbsp vanilla syrup or maple syrup, 2tsp sugar and cook for 5 minutes in a small pan, stirring a few times. This quince mash goes very well with the game.

The roast pheasant is often served with the bread sauce, but I am not a fan of the bread sauce.
If you prefer, make a quick gravy: collect all the juices left in the tin, add the port or red wine, plus a good tablespoon of redcurrant or quince jelly. Reduce. Pour over the game.

As I am using the local produce, I am adding my recipe post to Shop Local Blogging Challenge.

Quince and almond crumble

I'm a lucky girl. Our friend Michelle who shares my love of quinces, saved a huge bag of this delightful fruit for me. Now I have enough to try all the lovely recipes I fancy, like this comforting, flavourful and luxurious Quince and almond crumble. Back in September incomparable Dom from Belleau Kitchen posted a recipe for a lush and impressive Baked plum and Pimm's jam granola crumble. I have half a bottle of Pimm's in the fridge, semi-forgotten since the hot summer days of outdoors drinks with ice. I know the bottle is there, but who really fancies having a drink with it in winter?! Not me. Using some of it in crumble sounds like a great idea.

Quince and almond crumble
Ingredients:
4 quinces
3 cloves
4tbsp sugar
1/2tbsp cinnamon
4tbsp Pimm's
100g flour
90g butter, softened
50g ground almonds
50g oats
100g muscovado sugar

Peel the quinces and chop them into big pieces, rubbing with a piece of lemon to prevent from browning. Put the quince pieces in a medium pan, add the sugar and cloves and enough water to cover the fruit. Cook for 15 minutes.
Take the softened quinces out of the pan and put in a deep ceramic dish (I actually use a lasagne dish, but you might have a special crumble dish). Pour the Pimm's all over the quinces.
In a mixing bowl mix the softened butter with the flour, oats, ground almonds and muscovado sugar, and rub the mix with your hands until it resembles the crumbs. Cover the quinces with the crumb mix and place the dish in an oven preheated to 180C.
Cook for about 35 minutes, until golden brown and the juice bubbling out in the corners.

Serve hot, with a generous dollop of plain Greek yogurt, pour cream or add a good helping of Kelly's clotted cream ice cream. It is a winning combination of flavours. The ice cream melts into a delicious sauce, and the Pimm's adds an extra verve to the crumble.

Thank you, Michelle, for the quinces!

Kelly's ice cream: winter recipes and serving ideas

As a true Russian girl, I loved eating the ice cream outdoors in winter. It could be freezing cold with the temperatures plunging below zero (our typical winter temperature would be below 20C, and when we were kids, we were allowed to skip the school only if it were below 27C with the wind, otherwise we were supposed to attend the school, and on those cold days with the school being closed, most of us were playing in the snow anyway). It was particularly cool and daring to eat the ice cream outside, and yes, some of us had colds and sniffles, but we lived to tell the tale. So, winter or not, I don't see why ice cream should be only a hot weather treat? Kelly's of Cornwall have come up with a few recipes and serving ideas.

I have tried almost all Kelly's ice cream flavours, but keep going back to the classic Clotted Cream flavour. It is so versatile, rich and moreish! (see my blog review A scoop of Cornwall). As a friend of ours has generously sent to us a huge bag of quinces, I am cooking them on a daily basis. Just the other day I made a tasty Quince and almond crumble, and served it with the luxurious Kelly's clotted cream ice cream. The melting ice cream complemented the hot crumble perfectly, and the combination of flavours and textures was wonderfully good.

Kelly's ice cream is a perfect companion to any hot pudding.

Kelly's ice cream serving ideas for winter:

"Don¹t let the cold winter air put you off your ice cream. Here are some ideas to take the chill out of your ice cream and create delicious desserts perfect for colder days."
   
1) Hot sauces for ice cream: 

The simplest hot sauce to make is a melted chocolate sauce. Melt dark chocolate and combine with cream to make a classic chocolate sauce.

Allow to cool and pour over the ice cream of your choice. Kelly's Clotted Cream and Raspberry ice cream with hot dark chocolate sauce is particularly delectable.

For a sweeter sauce, appealing to kids and adults with a sweet tooth like my darling husband, melt some chocolate bars like Mars or Fudge bars instead of the dark chocolate. Pour over Kelly's clotted cream ice cream.

2) Hot chocolate with a scoop of Kelly's Clotted cream ice cream on top. Now we're talking business. Sounds so yummy!

or for grown-ups, a scoop of ice cream covered in a shot of espresso to recreate the classic Italian dessert Affogato.

  

And how about a small cup of coffee glisse? Just add some sugar (or keep it sugar-free) to a freshly brewed cup of coffee and top up with your favourite vanilla or clotted cream ice cream?

Of course, Kelly's ice cream goes beautifully with the toffee apples, all kinds of crumble including the rhubarb crumble, treacle tart and apple pie.

4) Classic baked Alaska: defying all logic, this 70s favourite is due for a revival. A sponge cake, which is covered in meringue and served with a hot sauce. Try vanilla sponge cake covered in Kelly's clotted cream and golden syrup ice cream, or a chocolate sponge covered in Kelly's Clotted cream and raspberry ice cream.

For more inspiration, visit Kelly's of Cornwall recipes.

Disclosure: I received vouchers for a tub of Kelly's ice cream for the purposes of promoting the winter recipe ideas with Kelly's ice cream. All opinions are mine.

Roast quinces with vanilla syrup

Just a couple of weeks ago I was moaning that I haven't seen any quinces in the shops, when I suddenly came across the big box of quince offered for free by one of the kind neighbours and helped myself. Then a friend emailed me, asking if I want any quinces. So, I am now "quinced" for the season, making jelly and roast quinces. It is such a beautiful fruit, which inspired many old masters of still life.

As Nigel Slater wrote: "I love the quince's shape, its generous curves and bulges. It is a voluptuous, even magnificent fruit to look at, like a Rubens bottom. (There is one in my dish now that is the spitting image of his Bacchus)."
And though for the photo shoot I couldn't find any particularly bottom-resembling quince, they are certainly curvy.

This recipe is inspired by Nigel Slater's recipe for roast quinces. He suggests cutting the quinces in half (from the photos you can see I did both halves and quarters). He uses the maple syrup, while I added the Gourmet Vanilla syrup with Vanilla pod and Gourmet Ginger Syrup from Selsley Foods (not together, but on different occasions, and both syrups work brilliantly).
We didn't have it as a dessert but as a side dish to roast chicken. I would imagine it will be beautiful with the roast ham or gammon for Christmas.

Roast quinces with Gourmet Vanilla syrup
Ingredients:
4 smaller size quinces
4tbsp + sugar
water (enough to cover the quinces)
2 cloves
1/2 lemon
4tbsp syrup (either vanilla or ginger)

Halve or quarter the peeled quinces, remove the seeds. Take half a lemon and rub it over the quince pieces to stop them from browning. Put the quinces in a medium pan, add the cloves, sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice and water, enough to cover the quinces.

Poach the quinces for about 10-15 minutes until quite soft. Nigel suggests cooking them for longer, but the first batch I was doing started to go a bit mushy, so I would't cook them longer in water.

Take the quinces out of the pan and put in a deep baking dish or tin. Add some of the liquid from the pan and pour the syrup. Roast in the oven preheated to 180C for about 25 minutes.
Serve as a side dish to roast meat or as a dessert.

I should also add that both Gourmet Vanilla syrup with vanilla pod and Gourmet Ginger syrup work exceptionally well with the roast quinces. What I love about Selsley foods syrups is their superior quality. The vanilla syrup actually has a vanilla pod inside, and the ginger syrup has a long piece of ginger. They are delicious, and until 15 November you have a chance to win a selection of beautiful syrups from Selsley Foods on my blog (see Selsley syrups giveaway).

You could also try this recipe with the maple syrup.

For the original Nigel Slater's recipe and other quince recipes, check the link Quince recipes.

I am entering this recipe in the Dish of the month linky created by Farmersgirl Kitchen blog and hosted this month by A little bit of heaven blog.

Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage: PDO Cookery Challenge, part III

You might remember reading earlier that I was recently invited to take part in a PDO Cookery challenge, competing against nine other popular food bloggers. The challenge involved cooking with two Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products: Grana Padano cheese and prosciutto di San Daniele. The products arrived in a wicker hamper with some cooking equipment and a press release with recipe ideas and background information.
"The "PDO - The taste of origin and tradition" campaign, launched in partnership with the Consortium of Prosciutto di San Daniele and the Consortium of Grana Padano Cheese, is designed to promote PDO products. Now in its third and final year, and funded by the EU and Italian government, it is focused on sharing the unique qualities & characteristics of these products in the UK and raising awareness of what PDO status means".

This recipe - Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage - is my third and final entry for the challenge.

It all started with a bit of a trouble, as instead of a 1.75kg piece of pork, Tesco delivered a double amount, which I only discovered later, once I started unpacking. I wasn't planning to cook for an army, so had to cut the piece of meat in two. Why do they never-ever get it right, I don't know.

Pork roulade with prosciutto and sausage
Ingredients:
1.600kg shoulder of pork, boned
2 sausages (pork & Bramley apple)
3 slices of prosciutto
50g Grana Padano, grated
125g cooked basmati rice (1 pouch of Tilda Kids sunshine rice)
1tbsp ground almonds
1 small shallot, finely chopped
a bunch of basil, chopped, about 15g
1tbsp olive oil
salt, freshly ground pepper

Open the boned shoulder of pork and season well. If the skin is not scored, score it before adding the stuffing. In a small bowl mix the skinned sausage meat with the ground almonds, chopped shallot, grated Grana Padano, chopped basil, cooked basmati rice (Tilda sunshine rice has pieces of pumpkin, sweet corn and carrot among other flavours) and mix well.
Place the slices of prosciutto inside the open shoulder of pork, slightly overlapping each other. Place the sausage mix on top. Roll the shoulder, and tie with a string.
As you might notice from the photos, I used a ribbon, as I have run out of the string. So, my pork roulade looked a bit unconventional.
Pour the oil over the pork once you place it in a roast dish, and using hands, make sure the oil is spread all over the meat. Season again.
Place the tray in the oven preheated to 200C. Cook for 35 minutes per every pound of weight. Turn it over a couple of times, so that the meat gets crispy evently, then you will have lovely crunchy crackling.
Serve with the roast potatoes, baked apples and a dollop of the quince jam or jelly. Apple sauce or apple jelly is another tasty alternative.

I have recently discovered an innovative and inspiring producer of jams and chutneys called The Artisan Kitchen, and having browsed their online shop, placed an order. It was a tough choice, as the jams and marmalades look absolutely stunning. I love the quince jams and jellies, and make my own. Sadly this year, I haven't been able to get my hands on any quinces.
Gloucester Quince & Lime Jam from The Artisan Kitchen is a true winner. It tastes exactly like a homemade jam/jelly should taste like. The colour is gloriously claret rich, sparkling like a ruby. And it tastes heavenly.

If you missed my previous PDO cookery challenge posts, you can catch up, just follow the links:
Crespelle with spinach and prosciutto
and
Sea bass with prosciutto and crispy sage

Disclosure: I received a hamper of PDO products to take part in the cooking challenge. All opinions and ideas are mine. 
For more information on these products including recipes from the renowned chef Giancarlo Caldesi, visit Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano.
For more information on the PDO programme, please visit
Ec.Europa.Eu site

My great grandma's quince jam recipe

My great grandma Alexandra was born in the 19th C. She was a unique woman. I wrote about her on my arty blog (see here). In the days before the revoltuion of 1917 Alexandra (or baba Shura, as I called her when I was little) worked as a cook in a baron's household. I suppose she was an equivalent of Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey, only much younger.
Here she is with her friends, young and yet unmarried (she is sitting in the photo). A friend with the long cascading plaits became a mistress of a nobleman.

Later, when she was already in her 40s, she used to work as a chef in a roadside restaurant where well known Soviet producers and actresses loved to stop for lunch on the way to the south. Her sweet buns were so famous that people would queue from the early hours to buy them from the restaurant shop.
Sadly, when I was a child, I wasn't much interested in her stories, and preferred to lie in the hammock with a book whenever we visited my gran and great grandma's house. I utterly resented the fact that my mother took us to the Godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere every summer and tried to demonstrate my independence. I regret it now. I so wish I could go back in time and talk to my great grandma, ask her about her life and her recipes.
One of the recipes that my Mum learnt from her is a recipe for a quince jam, which I call a vitamin jam. It is perfect for the cold winter weather. It is more of a chutney than a jam.
You will need:
4-5 medium quinces
1 ginger root (about 10cm long, not too stringy, try to find a young one)
1 orange
1 lemon
100g pine nuts (or walnuts)
dried oregano (optional)
granulated sugar (if your quinces weigh about 900g, take 800 g of sugar)

Start with chopping (or grating) ginger.
Put the sugar in a big pan, add a bit of water and once the sugar dissolves, add the ginger, keep it on low heat for about 10 minutes. Chop the quinces into small cubes and put in the hot syrup. Cook for 45 minutes on slow, stirring occasionally. I also add water, so that all the cubed quince is evenly covered with it. After 45 minutes, add a chopped orange and lemon (remove the pips, but keep the peel as it gives that marmaladey taste to the jam). Cook for another 25-30 minutes, stirring frequently, as at this stage the liquid is reduced.
Add the pine nuts (or the chopped walnuts if you prefer) and the dried oregano (which I don't add personally) and cook for another 5 minutes.
Prepare the jars the usual way and spoon the thick jam in the jars before sealing them.

My Mum offers it to her guests in the typical Russian way. You serve a jam in a little crystal dish with tea. She also often adds a few spoons of jam in a mug and pours boiled water over it, she insists this drink is very nice after a walk in the cold. My brother jokingly calls Mum's teas "chacha". When he comes to visit her, he often asks to make some chacha. This brings lots of memories of Mum adding sliced apples and other fruit to tea.

I hope my story will inspire you to try my great grandma's recipe. Raise a mug of hot tea in her memory!

Quince jelly (recipe)

A family friend asked me if I would like a bag of quinces. Yes, of course, I would. As tempting as it was to try the recent Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipes from The Guardian, I love the quince jelly.

I used the most basic and simple recipe as I don't think quinces need any extras, they have such an intense beautiful flavour of their own.
You will need
500g/1lb granulated sugar to every 600ml/1pint of strained juice
or in simple terms, if you don't have scales, for a full cup of strained juice you will need to fill a cup with sugar about 4/5.

1.Wash the quinces well and cut into chunks, removing any blemished or rotten parts, keep the skin on. Put in a large pan and pour over enough water to just cover the fruit. Simmer until pulpy, which will take at least an hour.
2.Put the pulp into a jelly bag or muslin cloth and leave to drip for at least 4 hrs (or overnight).
3.Measure the juice and pour it into a preserving pan. Stir in the sugar.
4.Heat slowly, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil rapidly, skimming the scum off the top, until the jelly reaches setting point.
5.Pot into warm, dry jars, cover and seal.

Serve your quince jelly on crumpets, muffins or toast, or with roast hot or cold meats, especially game.
I absolutely love a good dollop of quince jelly with a chunk of smelly cheese.

I made a batch of quince jelly jars and also left a couple of quinces for a game casserole I am cooking tonight.

I tried to take a few photos outdoors to show the most gorgeous colour of the jelly, but the sun is hiding today, and the photos do not do the justice to the colour palette.