48 | CHEF’S COMMENT | CATERING AND HOSPITALIT Y
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‘Tis the seasoning
“And girls in slacks remember Dad And oafish louts remember Mum
And sleepless children’s hearts are glad
And Christmas-morning bells say ‘Come!’” Laureate John Betjeman (1906–1984), from his poem, Christmas.
Peter Walters, Keele University’s Executive Chef, steps back in time to serve up a festive alternative to the traditional Christmas lunch
'Tis the seasoning F
eeling a bit Christmassy? Perhaps not yet! When you get to Christmas Eve and you’re still not in the festive mood just take time out to read
the rest of this great poem by John Betjeman. Have a mince pie, slow down and Christmas will come. I hope this dish is not going to bore you but it could be a respite from all the turkey you have probably had to serve this December. This month, we are taking a trip back to medieval times when wild boar would have been a worthy celebratory main course and defi nitely the highlight of the feast. Especially if you had been in the hunting party that had tracked it down and triumphantly presented it to the household. Cue the Christmas song of The Boars Head Carol and a bit of 15th-century music with crumhorns, pipes and hurdy gurdy. Nothing so dramatic like that for us these days I suspect, unless you leave the shopping to the last minute and get trampled and gnawed in the crush to escape the supermarket, playing laboured tunes like Merry Xmas Everybody et al.
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Braised Wild Boar and Pumpkin 4 garlic cloves, fi nely sliced 2 red onions, fi nely sliced 3 celery sticks, fi nely sliced 300ml red wine vinegar 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp salt 2 bay leaves, broken up 1 wild boar shoulder 2–3kg, fat scored in a criss-cross pat ern 2 tbsp oil 50g smoked streaky bacon, diced 1 cinnamon stick 1 tbsp tomato purée 2 litres chicken stock 600g pumpkin or but ernut squash, unpeeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm wedges or rounds 2 tbsp olive oil 6 fresh sage leaves
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Get two walnut-sized pieces from the dough and roll into fl at circles on a fl oured surface to about 20cm. Continue this with the rest of the dough.
Mix the garlic, onions and celery with the vinegar, sugar, salt and bay in a large
dish. Add the meat, then cover and marinate overnight in the fridge, turning halfway.
The next day heat the oven to 180˚C. Heat the oil in a deep roasting tin and fry the bacon until crispy.
Remove with a slot ed spoon and set aside. Remove the wild boar from the marinade and drain. Brown the joint in the tin until lightly golden all over. Add the marinade, along with the cinnamon, tomato purée and bacon. Boil up then simmer until reduced by half.
Add enough stock to cover two-thirds of the meat and bring back to the boil. Reduce to a
simmer, cover and transfer to the oven for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender and the juices look glossy and are reduced. Do check throughout every 20 minutes to check it’s not reducing too much. Uncover and let the top of the meat roast for about 20 minutes, until browned.
Remove the meat to a suitable dish and rest it covered in foil, while you cook the pumpkin.
Turn the oven temperature up to 220˚C and put the prepared pumpkin or squash on a greased baking sheet, season with salt and scat er with the sage. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss together. Roast for 20 minutes, until soft and golden brown.
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Place any liquid from the pan in a saucepan to boil up and thicken with a lit le cornfl our
mixed with port. Add the mixed cornfl our to the simmering liquid and allow it to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary with salt and pepper.
Slice the wild boar and serve with the sauce, pumpkin, baby roast potatoes and
cabbage that has been sautéed with mustard seed, fenugreek, ginger and red chilli. UB
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