FROM PATCH TO PLATE: MATTHEW FORT Our food

MY ENGLISH HOME Matthew Fort FROM PATCH TO PLATE

The food writer and critic opts for tangy, zesty salads to restore the spirit after Christmas overindulgence

Robert May published The Accomplisht Cook, one of our earliest cookery books, in 1665. His suggested menu for Christmas Day starts with ‘1. A collar of brawn’, before moving on to ‘2. Stewed Broth of Mutton marrow bones; 3. A grand Sallet; 4. A pottage of caponets; 5. A breast of veal in stoffado’ and so on and so on for twenty dishes. Twenty dishes! I kid you not. May finishes with ‘20. A Custard’. They were true trenchermen and women back then. May’s menu makes our Christmas indulgences look like a Weight Watchers mid-week fast.

What about the range of meats, too? May lists brawn, mutton, marrow bones, veal, beef, partridge, venison, swan, goose, sweetbreads and even turkey, that would have arrived relatively recently, like so many good things, from the Americas.

Our turkey originally hailed from Mexico and, whilst we know it arrived in Britain before1541, because that’s when it gets its first mention, it really only became fashionable at Christmas in Victorian times. Now we may deride it, dismiss it, be tempted by exotic novelties, but when push comes to shove or fork comes to mouth at Christmas, only turkey carries the warmth of family, hearth and home, in spite of the best efforts of food writers down the ages to persuade us otherwise. To be fair, given decent provenance and kindly cooking, turkey can be quite as good as most chickens.

It wasn’t always so. Before turkey, goose was more usual, and before goose, wild boar. For the better-off families, naturally. Wild boar aren’t that easy to get hold of these days, although they’re a pest in various parts of the country such as the Forest of Dean. The problem with goose is that ratio of goose to the number of people you can feed off one bird is alarmingly small. I reckon six people at most to one decent-sized (4.5 kg) goose. But you do get all that divine fat in which to roast potatoes. Given the fact that for most families the Christmas Day menu is governed by hallowed tradition, there is little room for the self-expression of the cook. That’s why I prefer Boxing Day on the whole. On Boxing Day, like many others, I tend to be in repentant mode, a consequence of the overindulgence of the day before. On Boxing Day I want lightness of touch, freshness of flavour, and restoration of the spirit. Plus, as a cook, I don’t want too much trouble.

Using up the leftovers from the day before cuts down on the workload. Cold turkey is best devilled as my mother used to do it. Cold goose also comes in very handy for this. Cold roast beef is also a Boxing Day treasure as far as I’m concerned. But the real secret to Boxing Day are salads. Perhaps not Robert May’s ‘grand Sallet’ that contained cold roast capon, neats (deer) tongues, minced tarragon, minced onions, minced lettuce, olives, samphire, broom buds, pickled mushrooms, pickled oysters, lemon, orange, raisins, almonds, blue figs, Virginia potato, chaperons, and crucifix peas (whatever they may be). It sounds like the kind of assembly you might make when cleaning out the fridge.

Here’s a more Boxing Day-friendly salad.

About Matthew Best known as a judge on BBC2’s Great British Menu, Matthew is an award-winning food writer and critic. He was the Food & Drink Editor of The Guardian for 15 years and is the author of four books.

BEETROOT AND HORSERADISH SALAD

An alternative to the fennel and orange salad (opposite), as this splendid winter dish may be a little too characterful for some. Make it a few days ahead and keep it in a jar in the fridge, where its flavours will develop to beautiful effect.

For 4 people

INGREDIENTS

4 medium fresh beetroots Juice of 1 orange A splash of red wine 1 dsp of freshly grated horseradish (or 2-3 dsp horseradish relish) 1 dsp caraway seeds

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas mark 6. • Put the beetroots, unpeeled, into the oven and cook until soft (around 45 minutes to an hour). • Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then peel and slice as thinly as possible (on a mandolin, if you have one). • Pour the orange juice and wine over the beetroot slices, add the horseradish and stir and sprinkle with caraway. • Chill.

FENNEL, ORANGE AND OLIVE SALAD

Something of a Sicilian classic, but its crunchy sharpness cuts across the opulence of the goose.

For 6 people

INGREDIENTS

3 fennel bulbs 3 oranges Extra-virgin olive oil 125g black olives

METHOD

• Slice the fennel as finely as you can.

I do this on a mandolin – not one of those expensive professional ones, but a simple blade on a sturdy, plastic frame that my mother bought me. It does the job very well. Put the slices into a bowl. • Peel the oranges right down to the flesh, then cut out the segments from the surrounding membranes by cutting in

from the outside towards the centre (it’s easier than it sounds, so do give it a go). • Add the orange segments to the fennel slices, then stir in as much olive oil as you like. The orange will provide the acid element in the dressing, in place of vinegar. • Decorate with the olives. If you have kept any of the feathery fennel fronds, chop them up and sprinkle them over the top, too. ■