BLACKCURRANT COCKTAILS RECIPES

Steps:

• If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, put a saucer in the freezer. Sterilise the jars you want to use. Tip the blackcurrants into a heavy-based saucepan with about 100ml of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins until the fruit has broken down to a chunky pulp. Leave to cool slightly.
• You now have two options. For a smooth jelly-style jam, squash the fruit through a sieve into a bowl. If you prefer your jam chunky and seeded, leave the pulp as it is. Whether it's strained or unstrained, weigh the fruit pulp and then add 400g of sugar to every 500g of pulp, then tip back in the saucepan.
• Pour in the lemon juice then heat gently, stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat, then boil hard for about 10 mins or until it reaches 105C (setting point) on a cooking thermometer. If you don’t own a thermometer, test for setting point by spooning a little jam onto the cold saucer. After a couple of minutes gently push your finger through the jam – if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. If not, return to the boil for 2 mins, then re-test.
• Take off the heat and skim off any froth with a slotted spoon. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Stir gently to distribute the fruit, then ladle into sterilised jars. Keeps for 6 months in a cool dry cupboard.

Steps:

• 1. Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery and porcini. 2. Place in a large pan on a medium heat with a splash of oil and all the herbs. Fry for 25 minutes, or until turning golden, stirring occasionally. 3. Add the port and jam, and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until sticky and caramelised. 4. Stir in the flour, then the Marmite, tomato purée and red wine vinegar. 5. Pour in the stock, then bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for around 10 minutes, or until thickened and reduced to the consistency of your liking. 6. Pour it through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, using the back of a spoon to push through all that lovely flavour. 7. Taste and season to perfection, cool to room temperature, then pour into containers or bags and pop into the fridge or freezer, ready to finish off on Christmas Day. 8. On the day, if frozen, take the gravy out to defrost when your nut roast goes into the oven, then simply heat through in a pan ready to serve.