PORCINI RUB RECIPES

1. Remove the venison from the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
2. Crush the juniper berries in a pestle and mortar until fine. Pick the leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme and all the rosemary, then finely chop together.
3. Place the venison on a board and rub all over with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, then scatter over the juniper and herbs, and give everything a good rub.
4. Preheat a large frying pan on a high heat and sear the venison for 2 minutes on all sides, turning with tongs, then remove to a plate.
5. For the filling, clean the mushrooms and roughly tear any larger ones. Place the porcini in a small bowl, just cover with boiling water and leave to soak for a few minutes. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
6. Wipe the frying pan clean, then add the garlic and mushrooms with the butter and a lug of olive oil. Strip in the remaining thyme leaves, then roughly chop and add the soaked porcini and its soaking liquid (straining to remove any grit). Cook on a medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the liquid has gone and the mushrooms are soft, stirring regularly.
7. Tip the contents of the pan onto a board, drizzle with ½ a teaspoon of truffle oil and a few gratings of nutmeg, then roughly chop to a coarse pâté-like consistency with a sharp knife (or blitz in a food processor). Taste and season to perfection, then leave to cool.
8. On a flour-dusted surface, roll out the pastry to 30cm x 40cm. With one of the longer edges in front of you, spread the mushroom pâté over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border.
9. Beat the egg and use to brush the edges. Sit the venison on the mushroom pâté then, starting with the edge nearest to you, snugly fold and roll the pastry around the venison, pushing it away from you and cupping each end to shape it around the fillet. Press the ends together to seal, then indent with the back of a fork.
10. Transfer the Wellington to a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, and brush all over with egg wash (you can prep to this stage and chill until needed – just remove it 1 hour before cooking so it’s not fridge-cold).
11. When you’re ready to cook, heat the tray on the hob on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to start crisping up the base, then transfer to the oven for 30 minutes for blushing, juicy venison.
12. Once cooked, leave the Wellington to rest for 5 minutes, then slice. Delicious served with gravy and steamed greens.

1. Dad and I had a really interesting conversation about smaller families not wanting whole turkeys for their dinner. So we had a scout around the supermarkets and developed a really delicious and impressive recipe for this. It’s dramatic and stretches the meat a fairly long way. The case of pastry and minced mushrooms keeps the breast moist and delicious and is a little forgiving so the meat holds its juices. You could assemble it a day before and just leave it in the fridge ready to over deliver on Christmas day.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the turkey breast upside-down on a board. Gently slice into the natural join of the breast muscle to open it out and make a sort of pocket. Season well and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over half the thyme leaves, then spread over an even layer of cranberry jam, pushing it into all the nooks and crannies. Fold it back into shape to seal the mixture inside – swiss roll-stylie – and push a few cocktail sticks into the seam to keep it together. Transfer the turkey to a roasting tray, season the outside with the remaining thyme leaves, a good pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Rub it all over, cover in tin foil and roast in the hot oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until just cooked through – using a thermometer, you want it to be 72°C at the thickest point.
3. Meanwhile, soak the porcini in a dish of just-boiled water. After 5 minutes, stir with a fork so any bits of grit sink to the bottom. Add the bacon to a large frying pan with a splash of oil on a medium heat and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, or until beautifully golden and super crispy. Strip in the leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs for the last 30 seconds or so. Remove everything from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon fat behind. Add the fresh mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drain and chop the porcini, saving the water, then stir into the pan. Add a splash of the water, avoiding the grit, then cook for around 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pan starts to sizzle again and the mushrooms are golden, soft and sticky with caramelly edges.
4. To make the gravy, cut the thigh off the turkey leg and slash into it slightly. Throw the leg and thigh into a pot along with the carrot, leek and onion. Stir in the flour, add a good pinch of salt and pepper and 2 litres of boiling water. Add a heaped tablespoon of cranberry jam, the balsamic vinegar and remaining rosemary sprig. Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for around 2 hours, or until thick. Strain it through a sieve and reheat before serving.
5. When the mushroom pan is dry, add a knob of butter and toss to coat. Tip the mushrooms into the food processor and whiz until you get a good mixture of smooth and chunky. Leave to cool. Once the turkey breast and stuffing have cooled, you can get on with assembling the wellington.
6. Dust a clean surface with flour, then roll out each packet of puff pastry to the size of a shoe box (one will be the base, one the lid – roll the lid ever so slightly bigger). Line a large roasting tray with greaseproof paper, dust with flour, then add the smaller piece of pastry. Spread half of the mushroom stuffing onto the middle of the base to cover an area the same size as your turkey breast. Remove the cocktail sticks, then place the turkey breast on top and spread the remaining stuffing over the top packing it all in and smoothing it out so that the whole breast is covered. Sprinkle with the crispy bacon and rosemary, then brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg. Lay the second sheet of pastry over the top, gently mold it round the shape of the breast, pushing all the air out and seal together. Trim the edges to around 4cm, then pull, twist, tuck and pinch in the pastry (like in the picture).
7. Brush the whole thing with beaten egg then all the hard work’s done. Leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight until you’re ready to cook. On Christmas day, cook at 180°/350°F/gas 4 for 50 to 60 minutes, or until risen, puffy and beautifully golden and the turkey is piping hot throughout. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for around 10 minutes before carving. Serve carved into 2.5cm with the gravy and all the usual. Christmas in a mouthful.

Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes plus overnight chilling.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Scrub the celeriac, rub with 1 tablespoon of oil and wrap in tin foil. Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, then finely slice and season with sea salt and black pepper. Meanwhile, halve, wash and finely slice the leeks, then place in a large casserole pan on a medium heat with the butter. Peel, finely slice and add the garlic and mushrooms, then cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the flour and mustard, followed slowly by the milk, then simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly, and remove from the heat. Pick, finely chop and stir in the parsley, crumble in the cheese, then season to perfection.

Line a 20cm bowl (8cm deep) with clingfilm. Arrange slices of celeriac in and around the bowl until covered. Reserving half the sauce, layer up the rest with the remaining celeriac in the bowl, finishing with celeriac. Pull over the clingfilm, weigh it down with something heavy, and chill overnight with the remaining sauce.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. On greaseproof paper, roll both sheets of pastry out to around 30cm x 35cm. Unwrap the filling parcel and place in the middle of one sheet. Beat the egg and brush around the edge of the pastry and all over the celeriac, then carefully lay the second piece of pastry on top, smoothing around the shape of the filling. Trim the edges to 2.5cm, crimp to seal, then eggwash all over. Very lightly score the pastry (like in the picture), making a small hole in the top. Bake at the bottom of the oven for 2 hours, or until beautifully golden, brushing with more eggwash once or twice, then serve with the warmed-up creamy sauce. Delicious with dressed seasonal steamed greens.

ENERGY 442kcal FAT 27.4g SAT FAT 16.2g PROTEIN 12.8g CARBS 36.2g SUGARS 7.6g SALT 1g FIBRE 6.2g