Vittles

40 The West Dorset Magazine, December 16, 2022 Vittles (food & drink)

Karen Broad lives in Burton Bradstock, with her husband and two mad dogs. She ran The Mousetrap in Dorchester, has lived in France and loves discovering new food producers.

We have all created our own Christmas traditions and have passed them on from generation to generation. My father would place ‘sooty fingerprints’ on the tiles of the fireplace, sherry glass and plate, leaving just a sprinkling of crumbs. Presents under the tree, Father Christmas had been! Those are magical memories. One of our traditions is collecting our turkey on Christmas Eve. Bounded by fertile, sloping grasslands in the sleepy village of Askerswell, can be found Medway Farm. Tucked away down a long trackway is where the Coutts family rear their prize-winning bronze turkeys. I will be honest and say they are not the cheapest, but they have a fantastic flavour. Medway Farm is welcoming, kids running around, there is an exciting Christmas buzz and as work finishes for a few days, our Christmas begins here. Don’t ever throw the turkey carcass away, it makes the best soup. Strip the turkey of all meat if it’s stuffed, all the better for this adds to the flavour of the stock. Find a large saucepan or stock pot add some whole carrots plus an onion and some celery cover with a lid and bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and leave to simmer for a few hours. Believe me there is nothing better than turkey stock for a perfect winter soup. You can freeze the stock too. We have a turkey but not on Christmas Day. Christmas Day we barbeque! Roast lamb and/or roast beef and all the trimmings. It’s convivial and fun and it takes the emphasis off one person. Fairy lights twinkle around the garden a fire pit crackles away, and fizz is on tap! It’s cold and crisp, but a warm fire inside warms chilly noses. Barbeques are not just a summer pastime, here in the Broad household they are an all-year-round event, whatever the weather, even snow! With an extended family, ‘drop ins’ are the norm, so cold turkey is at the ready for the best sandwiches. When I had my restaurant, I literally must have cooked hundreds of Christmas dinners. Every year starting December 1 plus a full house on Christmas Day. My own Christmas Day dinner consisted of salmon as by then I was on ‘turkey overload’, until the next year that is, when it started all over again. So go and create wonderful traditions and memories of your own. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

PLEASED TO MEAT YOU: Tomahawk steak and, right, a leg of lamb

Festive traditions across generations

Mum’s Kitchen...

Rabbit with Tarragon and Mustard

Growing up in a farming family in the 1950s, I can remember my mother frequently cooking the most delicious rabbit pies and stews. She used to skin and draw the rabbits herself. Coming across a prepared rabbit at the supermarket, I could not resist having a go at this more updated recipe to serve four people Ingredients: 1 large rabbit, cut into portions (I used my poultry scissors to help to cut through the bones) 2 tablespoons plain flour Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil 1 medium leek, finely chopped 1 medium carrot, finely chopped 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 bay leaf 1 sprig of rosemary A few sprigs of thyme 200ml dry white wine 300ml chicken stock

with Diana Holman

Vittles (food & drink)

Lizzie Crow – AKA Lizzie Baking Bird – is a self taught baker, who has a stall outside The Old Ship Inn in Upwey each Saturday. See her scrumptious eats at lizziebakingbird.co.uk or find lizzibakingbird on Instagram. Ideal for those Christmas emergencies

So here it is – skidding into Christmas Eve and typically I have sold all the cakes. I remember my first year as a baker. I pulled up outside the cottage and my partner asked me for his Christmas cake. I dragged out a sad last-minute offering from the supermarket shopping bag – his face dropped! Since then I always have this little number up my sleeve. It’s a lovely anyoccasion fruit cake – the magic is in what you add or take away. Many of the ingredients are optional and flexible. Substitute dried cranberries, apricots or cherries, any nuts, booze or juice – just be sure you keep the same overall quantity of liquid and dry ingredients. The cake will keep for a month or can be eaten the same day that you make it. You can even marzipan and ice it.

Last-minute Christmas Cake

Ingredients 450g mixed dried fruit

STOCKING FILLER: My last-minute Christmas cake 50 ml brandy 100ml fresh orange juice, 150g butter, 150g dark brown sugar, 2 tsp mixed spice, 12 glacé cherries, quartered, 120g nuts, chopped, 3 eggs, beaten, 225g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp marmalade, 1 tbsp brandy Method Bring the dried fruit, orange juice and brandy to the boil in a small pan for 2 minutes. Add the butter, sugar and spice. Simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat. Throw in the cherries and nuts and stir. Leave to cool for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3 and line a 20cm/8in cake tin with baking parchment. Pour in the beaten eggs a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Put the mixture into the prepared tin and cover loosely with foil. Pop in the oven for 45 minutes then remove the foil. Leave for a further 15-20 minutes and check it’s cooked. A skewer will come out of the cake with a few crumbs attached when ready. Stir the marmalade and brandy together and paint on top of the cake as soon as it’s out of the oven. When cold put it in an airtight tin – or wrap well in foil.

n Lizzie will be on the Old Ship Inn in Upwey, Saturday mornings until 12.30. Check out the website lizziebakingbird. co.uk

75ml double cream 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard A good handful of tarragon leaves Method: Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Put the flour into a large bowl, season well, and toss the rabbit portions in the flour. Add 2 tablespoons of oil in a flameproof casserole or large, deep frying pan and brown the rabbit portions for about 2 minutes each side. Remove them onto a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the leek, carrot, bay, rosemary and thyme and cook over a gentle heat for about 4-5 minutes until the leek is soft, adding the crushed garlic for the final minute. Add the chicken stock and wine and increase the heat. Cook, stirring for 5 or 6 minutes until the liquid is syrupy. Put the rabbit pieces back in the pan, cover with a sheet of foil and a lid and cook in the oven for around 2 hours until the rabbit is tender. Stir in the cream and mustard and tarragon leaves. I served this with mashed potatoes and vegetables, but rice would also be good.