Recipe of the Month December

Honey & Szechwan Glazed Turkey, Sprout and Almond Soufflé and Cranberry Compote by Kartl Cheetham of Gliffaes Country House Hotel.

Gliffaes County House Hotel and Restaurant is situated above the river Usk just 3 miles west of Crickhowell, where Karl Cheetham is the Head Chef of the hotel. Karl started at The Gliffaes when he was 16 years old, on a placement from college, after which they offered him a full-time job. He gradually worked his way up, leaving for a while to work at the Pale Hall in North Wales and eventually coming back, first as Chef de parti and for the last 2 years, as Head Chef at The Gliffaes.

Honey & Szechwan Glazed Turkey for 8
1 X Turkey crown – 8x 5-6 oz portions
3 oz Szechwan or cracked Black Pepper
Clear honey for glazing
Butter
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Ask your butcher to prepare the turkey crown into 8 x5-6oz portions or do it yourself.

Season the turkey portions with the salt and Szechwan or Cracked Black Pepper. Heat frying pan till it starts to smoke slightly, add a drop of vegetable oil to the pan and place the turkey in the frying pan. When the turkey has browned slightly on each side, add 2 tablespoons of honey, add the butter to the pan, at this point turn the heat down and spoon the honey and butter over the turkey for about 40-60 seconds, until glazed. Take out of the pan and leave to rest – reheat later.

Souffle
1lb 12oz sprouts
1 onion
1 garlic glove
1 pt milk
3 oz ground almonds

Bouillon
Ginger
Honey
3 oz flaked almonds
Eggs, chives
Roux
2 oz butter
3 ox flour
½ pint milk
3 oz ground almonds
3 oz dried bread crumbs
6 oz melted butter

8 x 6 cm ramekins

Melt the butter and with a pastry brush, brush the melted butter around the inside of the ramekins till totally coated, then place in the freezer until cold. Take the ramekins out and repeat the process with the butter, then fill the first ramekin with bread crumbs, empty into the next ramekin and repeat this till all ramekins have a coating of the breadcrumbs.

For the soufflé
Boil the sprouts till soft, then cool and cut up roughly.Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger and fry in a little butter until soft. When soft add the sprouts. After 1 min add the ground almonds, bouillon and milk. Let it boil for 30 seconds then take off the heat. When cooked, blend until smooth and pass through a sieve. Add honey to taste. For the roux, heat butter in a pan and add the flour. When starting to look dry, add the milk slowly and beat the roux ‘til smooth. Fold the sprout mix into the roux. Weigh the completed mix and for every 100g you need 1 egg. The mix should make 800g. Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the sprout roux. Beat the whites until they form soft peaks then fold slowly into the roux. Pour the mix into ramekins up to 4/5 full, then sprinkle with almonds and bake at 170 C or Gas mark 6 for 10-15 mins. Leave to cool, take out of ramekins ready to heat later.

Cabbage and Pancetta
1 Savoy Cabbage
300g Pancetta
3 Shallots
Thyme
Butter

Finely slice the cabbage, cutting out any stalk. Plunge cabbage into boiling water for 30 seconds then refresh in cold water. Cut Pancetta into small strips, finely slice shallots and chop the thyme. Gently fry with shallots in a little butter ‘till they’re soft and the Pancetta is cooked. Add thyme, then take off the heat and mix with the cabbage thoroughly and season.

Cranberry Compote
500g fresh cranberries (600g if frozen)
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
250g castor sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Redcurrant jelly
Port and Apple juice

Place cranberries in a saucepan and add all the other ingredients (50 ml port and apple juice) and bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer until liquid is reduced to thick compote. Taste to adjust sugar, although does not want to be too sweet.

Chestnut Puree
300 gram chestnuts
1 onion
Chicken stock ½ pt
Milk ¾ pt
Cream ¼ pt

Fry the chestnuts with the onion for about two mins. Add the chicken stock and milk and boil until the liquid is reduced by ½. Take off the heat and cool. Then blend the chestnuts, adding a little cream to make the mix a smooth puree, season and leave.

Gravy
Turkey bones
1 onion
1 celery
½ bottle red wine
Redcurrant jelly
1 carrot
1 bulb garlic
1 bay leaf
200 grams tomato paste

Brown the turkey bones and vegetables in the oven, add tomato paste roast for another 20 min. Then take out and add to a large pan. Add the wine and redcurrant jelly and reduce until it’s three quarters gone. Press the sauce through a fine sieve and reduce more until it is thickened into a sauce.

When all of the elements of the dish are completed, it will take about 10 minutes to re-heat the soufflés. The soufflés and most of the other elements can be made the day before, apart from the turkey which is best done on the day.

Tip from Sally Trumper of Trumpers Turkeys

General rule of thumb for cooking turkey is 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes but when it’s a huge bird, you probably wouldn’t want to cook for that long. Her tip is “If it slumps off the breast bone, then it’s done” Cover with foil for all but the last half hour and then take off foil to brown.

For more information on Trumpers Turkeys visit their website: website link.

For other meat producers in the county visit website link.

For award winning meat producers in Wales visit
website link