Hugh F-W's Ginger Beer

There's lashings of Hugh's famous fizz all round on River Cottage Every Day

Hugh: "For this, you will need screw-top, 2-litre plastic bottles, which you have cleaned thoroughly using sterilising tablets."

Makes 2 litres

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ tsp brewer's yeast
• 225g caster sugar
• 1½-2 tbsp finely grated fresh root ginger
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 good tbsp honey

METHOD

How to make ginger beer

1. Add the yeast to the bottle. With a funnel, pour in the sugar.
2. Mix the grated ginger with the lemon juice and honey.
3. Pour the ginger mixture through the funnel into the bottle. Now fill the bottle about ¾ full with water, put the cap on and shake the bottle until all the sugar is dissolved.
4. Top up the bottle with water, leaving a 2.5cm gap at the top, to allow for production of gas. Cap the bottle tightly, then place it somewhere warm. Leave it for about 48 hours. Once the bottle feels very hard and has no give in it, your beer should be ready.
5. Place the bottle in the fridge for several hours to stop the yeast working. Once the beer is thoroughly chilled, pass it through a fine sieve and serve.

Tim's Bloody Bastard

This is Tim’s twist on a Bloody Mary, named after a line in the cult film ‘Withnail & I’ on River Cottage Christmas

Makes 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 75ml gin
• 200ml beetroot juice
• 200ml tomato Juice
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp freshly grated horseradish
• 2-3 drops Tabasco
• 10-12 shakes Worcester sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 50ml red wine
• Celery sticks, to garnish

Method

1. Fill a jug with ice and pour in the gin, beetroot and tomato juices. Add the celery salt, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcester sauce, black pepper and red wine. Give everything a good stir with a celery stick and taste, adjusting seasoning if needs be.

2. Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in the Bloody Bastard and garnish with a celery stick.

creamy celeriac gratin

Hugh bakes a crisp and creamy celeriac gratin on River Cottage Christmas

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large celeriac, peeled
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• ½-1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 150ml whole milk
• 350ml double cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Using a mandolin, food processor or knife, slice the celeriac to the thickness of a 10p coin. Place the celeriac, garlic, chilli, salt and plenty of black pepper in a large bowl and toss to coat. Add enough oil to coat and toss again.

2. In a jug mix the milk and cream together, add ¾ to the bowl and give everything a good mix to coat. Butter a gratin dish and pour in half the creamy celeriac mix. Arrange the celeriac evenly then add the rest of the celeriac and arrange in the dish and top up with the remaining cream.

3. Bake for

Hugh F-W's Christmas loaf

Hugh gets festive with this fruit-filled Christmas loaf on River Cottage Christmas

Makes 1 round loaf

INGREDIENTS

• 75g raisins
• 125g sultanas
• 50g dried apple, roughly chopped
• 2-3 tbsp apple brandy
• 500g strong white flour
• 150ml warm milk
• 100g butter, softened
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 7g dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp mixed peel
• 1 tsp preserved stem ginger
• Zest ½ orange

Method

1. Put the raisins, sultanas and dried apple in a mixing bowl, pour over the brandy and leave to steep overnight.

2. Put the flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, yeast, salt, spices and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Combine everything together and knead for 10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and elastic. Leave the dough in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

3. Once the dough has risen, knock back and place the dough on a work surface and pat out flat. Sprinkle the fruit, nuts, mixed peel, ginger and orange zest over the dough and roll up. Gently knead the dough to incorporate the fruit and nuts.

4. Divide the dough into seven pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls into a buttered and flour-dusted 20cm cake tin. Loosely cover with cling and leave to prove in a warm place for about an hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 2½ and bake the bread for 45-60 minutes.

Xmas pudding ice cream

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 150ml chilled ready made custard
• 150ml double cream, whipped
• 125g leftover Christmas pudding, crumbled
• Liquor such as brandy, rum, whisky or Baileys (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix together the custard and whipped cream then stir in the crumbled Christmas pudding.
2. Freeze in a large Tupperware and stir every half hour or so until it’s the consistency you want.
3. For a softer freeze, add a little brandy or leftover Christmas liquor such as rum, whisky or Baileys.

Xmas panettone & mincemeat pudding‏

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 75g leftover mincemeat
• Alcohol such as baileys, brandy whisky or rum (optional)
• 50g butter
• 1 panettone, sliced into small squares 100ml milk
• 375ml double cream
• 4 eggs
• 125g caster sugar
• A few drops vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to mark 170°C (325°F) mark 3. Put the leftover mincemeat in a bowl and cover with your chosen alcohol. Leave to soak.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the panettone slices for 2-3 minutes or until golden on both sides. Arrange the panettone slices with the mincemeat, overlapping slightly in a baking dish.
3. Pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring slowly up the boil. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until frothy and pale. Add the milk and cream mixture to the eggs and stirring continuously, add the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the mixture over the panettone and set aside for 30 minutes to allow to soak in well.
5. Bake in a bain-marie or roasting pan filled with hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until just set in the middle.

banana & walnut bread‏

Ingredients:

• 125g butter (unsalted is better for cooking.)
• 180g dark brown sugar
• 4 medium bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• 250g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tablespoons warm milk
• 125g walnuts

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) mark 4. Butter a 1 kg or 2lb loaf tin or use 12 large muffins cases.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and then whisk in the mashed bananas. Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and whisk well.
3. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth. Mix the bicarbonate of soda into the milk and stir into the batter.
4. Toss the walnuts in a little flour before adding to the mixture. This will prevent them from sinking.
5. Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes, until the bread is crusty on the top and a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean.
6. Cool in the tin, and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Cook the smaller muffins for 20-25 minutes.

Freezing egg whites and yolks

Eggs can be frozen successfully, but separately.

For whites, make sure you label how many there are in each container. Leave whites to thaw naturally. They are ideal for making meringues: allow 50g caster sugar per white and proceed as normal.

Yolks should be covered (in a container with a lid) and will keep for 4-5 weeks. Defrost and use yolks as normal in sweet and savoury dishes.