Yule-dinner

It's Yule-time. Or Christmas-time as you wish. It consists of dark, long, cold nights, hopefully a bit of snow, friends, and (of course) good food. This year's dinner was made with as many seasonal and local fruit and veg as possible. We started off with a parsnip and celeriac rosti with cumberland sauce, followed by a beetroot and pomegranate soup. The main course consisted of a tofu medallion with mulled wine sauce, accompanied by roasted taters and a composition of butternut squash, celeriac mash and mushies. We finished off with a Yule-log.

The (changed) recipes:

Parsnip and celeriac rosti
½ tbsp cumin seeds
¼ tbsp coriander seeds
150g parsnip, grated
100g celeriac, grated
¼ tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp mustard powder
2 tbsp gram flour
1 medium free-range egg
1 tbsp water
salt and pepper as needed
oil
1 packet of watercress

1 Dry fry the cumin and coriander seeds and grind. 2 Mix parsnip and celeriac with lemon juice, spices, flour, seasoning and egg. 3 Heat oil in a frying pan. Divide mixture into (approx) 8 portions and pat into rounds. Put a few at a time into the pan and cook, turning once until crisp and golden on both sides. 4. Serve on a bed of watercress with Cumberland Sauce.

Cumberland Sauce
½ medium organic orange
½ medium organic lemon
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly (or redcurrant jam)
2 tbsp port
½ tsp dried mustard powder
½ tsp powdered ginger

1. Thinly pare the rinds of half of the lemon and half of the orange with a potato peeler, removing all the white pith. Cut into very thin strips about 1 cm in length. 2. Boil the rinds in water for 5 minutes to extract any bitterness and drain (don't taste the juice it's horrible!). 3. Place the redcurrant jelly and port into a saucepan and melt over a low heat for 5 or 10 minutes. Pass the mixture through a sieve to breakdown any remaining globules. 4. In a large bowl mix the mustard and ginger with juice of quart of a lemon until smooth. 5. Add the juice of half an orange, the port and redcurrant mixture and the orange and lemon peel. Mix well. 6. Serve with the rosti (can be served either warm or cold according to the recipe. We served it cold, which was very nice)

Beetroot and pomegranate soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 smallish onion, finely chopped
175g carrots, thinly sliced
150g parsnips, thinly sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
800ml stock
350g cooked beetroot (not in vinegar), sliced
2 tsp dill, chopped
1 pomegranate
4 tbsp mascarpone

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onion, carrot and parsnip for 5 minutes until starting to soften. 2. Add the coriander and cook for a further 2 minutes. 3. Add the stock and beetroot. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, adding 2 tsp of dill for the last 2 or 3 minutes. 4. Cut the pomegranate in half and extract the juice using a lemon squeezer. Blend the soup and add 4 tbsp of the juice to taste. 5. Garnish with the mascarpone.

Tofu medallions with shiitake and walnut stuffing

Mediallions
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ bell pepper
1 tsp dried celery-leaves
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp tamari
275g tofu, drained
1 egg (or maybe 2)
150g cashew nuts, finely ground
2 tbsp water
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200C. 2. Grease 8 ramekins (or cups, bowls, etc). 3. Heat the oil in frying pan and sauté onion, garlic and bell pepper, until soft. 4. Add basil, thyme, turmeric and tamari and stir well. 5. Place this mixture in a food processor together with the tofu, egg(s) and ground cashew nuts and 2 tbsp water and process until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. 6. Season to taste. 7. Divide evenly between the 8 ramekins and press down well. 8. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch and filling comes away from sides of ramekin easily. 9. Turn out onto 4 individual serving plates.

Stuffing
2 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, peeled and finely chopped
200g shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp yeast extract dissolved in a little hot water
40g walnuts very finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs
black pepper

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion until soft. 2. Remove the tough stalks from the shiitakes and discard them. 3. Finely chop the shiitakes and add to the shallots, together with the yeast extract and oregano. 4. Cook gently for 5 – 10 minutes allowing much of the moisture to evaporate. 5. Add the walnuts and breadcrumbs, stir and season with black pepper to taste.

Combining the 2
Sandwich a layer of stuffing between 2 medallions, garnish and serve immediately with the:

Mulled wine sauce
100g Demerara sugar
400ml red wine
2-3 cloves
some strips of orange peel
1 large cinnamon stick

1. Place all the ingredients in a pan, gently bring to the boil and simmer. 2. After a while (prob 15 minutes) remove the cinnamon stick. 3. Simmer to reduce the liquid for approx. 1 hour. 4. When desired consistency is achieved, remove cloves and peel. Whilst still piping hot, spoon a small amount onto or around the Tofu medallions and serve immediately.

Sweet Rosemary Roasted Taters
½ kg potatoes
1 tbs maple syrup
2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
big knob of butter

1. Preheat oven to 200C° 2. Peel the potatoes, cut into small chunks. Put into boiling water and cook until beginning to soften. The inside should still be slightly firm. Drain. 3. Grease a big enough bowl with butter and put in the taters. Add the syrup, rosemary, some freshly ground sea salt and toss. 4. Put this in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. If this doesn't provide you with the right result, put it in a frying pan and fry it till you get the desired effect.

Roasted squash, celeriac mash and mushies
1 butternut squash
oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
salt and pepper
300g celeriac
1 medium potato
300g mixed seasonal mushrooms
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp thyme, dried
2 cloves of garlic

Squash
1. Preheat the oven to 200C°. 2. Cut the pumpkin in 1,5 cm slices (cut 4 or 8 depending on the size and/or your guests). 3. Grind the coriander seeds, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. 4. Put the slices on a baking tray, cover them with a bit of olive oil and the spices. 5. Bake them in the oven for about 30 mins.

Celeriac Mash
1. Cut the celeriac and the potatoes in cubes. 2. Boil them for 15 mins. 3. Mash and add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. 

Mushrooms
1. Cut the mushrooms (any size you like). 2. Put some oil in a frying pan, heat, and add the mushies, thyme, and garlic, and fry for 5 mins. 

Place the pumpkin on a plate, place a bit of the mash on top, and top this with the mushies.

Yule log
5 eggs
140g light muscovado (licht bruine basterd) sugar
100g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder
caster sugar

Icing and filling
200ml whipping cream
90ml/g mascarpone
400g 70% dark chocolate

 1. Heat oven to 190C. Butter and line the base and sides of a 30 x 35cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment (or make your own one with aluminium foil). 2. Separate the eggs, putting them into two large mixing bowls. 3. Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to the egg yolks. Whisk the sugar and yolks for about 5 mins until the mixture is light in colour and nice and thick. Sift in the flour and cocoa in 3 batches, fold in lightly, using a large spoon. 4. Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the cake mixture in 3 batches very carefully, to preserve as much air as possible. 5. Pour the mixture evenly over the prepared tin, then carefully spread to the edges. Bake for 12-15 mins (until the cake feels firm to the touch). 6. Put a large sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Turn the cake out onto the parchment and peel off the lining paper. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Roll the cake up from one of the long sides of the cake, using the paper to help you, rolling the paper inside the cake.

7. To make the icing and filling, bring the cream to the boil in a small pan, remove from the heat, then break in the chocolate. Stir until it is melted and smooth. Leave to cool, then chill until it is spreadable, about 1.5 hours.

8. Carefully unroll the cake, then spread 1/3 of the filling over the cake staying clear of the edges (about 2cm). Roll up the cake again using the paper to help you (peeling off the paper proved to be a wee bit more difficult then earlier), then set on a board.

9. Cut a thick diagonal slice off one end of the cake. Spread a little icing over cut side of the small piece of cake and fix it to the large roll to make a stump. Spread remaining icing over the cake, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

You can also make meringue mushrooms to garnish. I didn't have the time but i'll provide you with the recipe anyway: 

Meringue
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
100g superfine (caster) white sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30 seconds in a food processor).

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Fit a pastry bag with 1cm round tip. 2. Preheat oven to 100C and place 2 oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. 3. Beat the egg whites until foamy. 4. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. 5. Continue beating, whilst gradually adding the sugar, until the whites are very stiff and glossy.

Keep 4 or 5 tbsp of meringue apart (this will be used as glue) 

4. Caps: Holding the pastry bag upright and close to the parchment paper, pipe the meringue with even pressure into rounds building up the meringue to form a 5 cm round that is about 2.5 cm high. Sharply twist the bag and stop the pressure as you slowly move the tip off the meringue. Try to make the top as smooth as possible but use a wet fingertip to smooth out any bumps.

5. Stems: Holding the pastry bag upright and close to the parchment paper, pipe the meringue with even pressure, into a cone-shape, making the base of the stem a little larger than the top.  The stem should be about 2.5 cm high.  Try to keep the stems as straight as possible.  Some of the stems may fall over on their sides during baking, so it is a good idea to make extra.

6. Bake the meringues for approx 1 hour, or until the mushrooms are firm enough that they can be lifted from the baking sheet without sticking.  Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back (about three quarters of the way through) to ensure even baking.

Remove from oven and with a small sharp knife, make a small hole in the middle of the underside of each mushroom cap.  Using the pastry bag fitted with small tip, pipe a little bit of meringue in the hole and gently press the top of the stem into the hole.

Place the mushrooms, caps down, on a parchment lined baking sheet and return to oven for about 15 - 30 minutes, or until the mushroom are dry.  Remove from oven and lightly dust the tops of the mushrooms with cocoa powder.

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