D
A Christmas AT HOME
Nick Coiley T
he festive season is quite a long one here at Agaric. It starts in October when the industrial sized, three-tiered steamer comes out and the annual Christmas
pudding production starts. We make small batches of 24 puddings at a time, all hand mixed with fresh ingredients including fresh apples, lemons, oranges, free range eggs, juicy sultanas, muscovado sugar, brandy, crystallized ginger and spices. We sell them in ceramic, muslin topped bowls finished with a tag & ribbon and they serve 4 - 6 people.
The beginning of December sees the
introduction of our Festive Menu in the restaurant but with lots of choices and daily specials, it's not all Christmassy. By the time we close the restaurant on Christmas Eve we are all pretty exhausted and Christmas Day usually means the whole family eat with us - last year there were 22 of us!!!
This year we are doing things incredibly differently by having a very laid back Christmas at our smallholding. We have built a bread oven in our outdoor kitchen and once the fire has died down and the temperature is hot enough we'll be roasting a piece of juicy Devon beef with beetroot, crunchy polenta, dusted roast potatoes and
steamed vegetables.
G 7
FESTIVE MENUS, OUTDOOR OVENS AND SEASONAL TREATS FROM AGARIC’S HEAD CHEF
The beauty of the bread oven is that there is no set timing or temperature, it cooks fairly quickly which means the beef is perfectly crispy on the crust and pink and juicy inside. While we are waiting for the beef to cook we'll light a big bonfire and simmer a pan of mulled Devon cider to keep the chill off. Some locally smoked salmon from Jacksons in Newton Abbot on homemade bread with a little creme fraiche, a squeeze of lemon and black pepper will keep our hunger at bay.
“While we are waiting for the beef to cook, we'll light a big bonfire and simmer a pan of mulled Devon cider to keep the chill off ”
42 | THE WESTCOUNTRY FOODLOVER
After our beef we will have a light pudding of brown sugar meringue with cinnamon ice cream and chocolate sauce. The Agaric Christmas pudding will be all we will want for supper when we get home, stretched out in front of the fire.
Heaven: a simple, stress free Christmas Day.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60