Risotto of Butternut Squash and Chorizo

So cold in Oxfordshire tonight!  At least we don't have snow, but temperatures are forecast to drop to -3C and possibly -10C with wind chill factored in.  So strange for this time of year.  There is a real need for warming carbohydrate, and a bowl of piping hot risotto hits the mark.  Made the usual way, but with some finely-chopped celery along with the onion, and some fresh sage half-way through.  At the end, I stirred through chunks of sweet roasted butternut squash and freshly grated parmesan, along with some cubes of sauteed cooking chorizo.  Warming, filling, and another butternut squash bites the dust!  However, another one arrived in the veg box today.  Doh!

Roast Butternut, Goats' Cheese and Sage Souffle

Supper really was the highlight of my day today.  Whether that meant that I had had a particularly bad day at work, or just that I am greedy, I'll leave you to decide - a bit of both, if truth be told.  I've wanted to do this recipe, by Sarah Raven, for a while, and as I had some leftover roasted butternut squash in the fridge, today seemed like an ideal opportunity.  So, a bit of mashing of squash, a bit of grating of parmesan and chopping of soft, squidgy goats' cheese, tearing of sage leaves, and beating of egg whites, and we're done.  I made a little 'panade', the classic thick white sauce, as a base, and beat the mashed squash and 3 egg yolks into this along with most of the parmesan and the sage.  Then, I folded the cubed squidgy goats' cheese in along with the egg white, tipped it into a gratin dish lined with butter and more parmesan, and sprinkled the remaining cheese on top.  Twenty minutes later, it emerged from a hot oven all golden, wobbly and crisp.  Dear reader, it was delicious, and the day seems nicer and life more mellow, with a full tum and a fragrant flat!

Braised Duck Legs with Onion and Sage

Duck legs are by far the most delicious part of the bird, and this recipe, inspired by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse-fame, managed the difficult task of producing tender, melting meat, a delicious gravy and crisp skin. Simply brown quite a lot of onions in a tablespoon of oil and transfer to a casserole with some chopped garlic and a few sage leaves - go easy as they are a very dominant flavour - and a bay leaf. Now, brown duck legs, skin-side down, in the same pan as the onions. Let the skin take on a good, deep-golden colour. Season the meaty uppers of the leg with salt and pepper, then turn and brown the meat side. Remove to the casserole, pour off the rendered fat (keep it in a pot for roast spuds) and deglaze the pan with a wine-glass of white wine. Pour this over the duck, cover, and braise for an hour. Uncover, pour off the sauce (keeping it, of course) and return the duck to the oven for a further 30 minutes - turn it up high to crisp the skin. Before serving, skim the duck fat off the sauce and add the onions from the casserole. Bring to the boil and allow to reduce a little before pouring over the crisp duck and serving with dark greens and potatoes - mash is good! I will use the remaining two duck legs for a soup tomorrow. Gorgeous with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

Pot Roast Pheasant with Celery and Sage [#183]

Firstly, sorry for the huge gap since the previous entry - busy, busy, busy, with a crook back and a trip up north to our friends in Lancaster. Still, while we were there, we cooked this delicious recipe. Surprisingly, no official online presence, so you know the mantra by now....go buy the book! Anyway, to give a taste of the recipe: we used FOUR pheasants (greedy), which are carefully browned in butter, then casseroled for an hour with chunks of celery, small potatoes, an onion, lots of garlic, sage leaves and......a bottle of white vermouth. The birds threw loads of wonderful juices, and emerged tender and succulent, which is a triumph for pheasant. Absolutely lovely all-in-one recipe, and great served with roasted roots and sprouting broccoli. We had a lot of pheasant left over, so we shredded it the next day and 'potted' it with melted butter flavoured with lemon zest and juice, mace, and generous salt and pepper. A few spoons of the left-over braising juices were added too. Packed into a bowl and chilled, it made the most amazing 'rillettes' to serve with hot toast. Great recipe all round, and our friends' 3 little boys couldn't get enough of it, with even the 8 month-old cheekily reaching over to his his brother's plate to grab a pheasant leg!

Pot-roast Pigeon with Luganega Sausage [#160]

One of the joys of the Aldeburgh Food Festival was that it was held during the season for a lot of game birds (no jokes about me being a game bird, please!). We were able to get hold of a couple of partridges, now safely in the freezer, and also some dinky woodpigeon breasts just right for this recipe. The Wild Meat Company in Suffolk has the most wonderful supplies, and prepares them for the cook beautifully. Procuring fresh bay leaves was more problematic, and I must offer apologies to the stand at the festival selling herb plants - one of your bushes is short a couple of leaves......sorry! The Luganega Sausage was also a wee bit problematic, not because they weren't available, but rather the sausage supplier at the festival had run out!! So, we went with Nigel's alternative of good chipolatas from the stall instead, Proctor's of Ipswich. This was a rich and tasty way of cooking pigeon, although I would shorten the cooking time if I do this again. Lovely with creamy mash and local Suffolk Kale, though, and a good bottle of Chianti. Sorry for the stock photo.