We invited six renowned Dorset chefs to share some easy to make festive nibbles and starters you can make at home. These include a cockle warming spiced soup, zesty cured salmon, indulgent puds, stollen with homemade marzipan as well as a rather fabulous cocktail.
James Mearing, Executive Head Chef at Summer Lodge, Evershot
Clementine & Anise Cured Salmon, Pickled Cucumber, Avocado
My mum always starts Christmas day with smoked salmon and a glass of buck’s fizz. Curing your own salmon is not that difficult and this version adds some extra festive flavours. This works well as a canapé or as a starter.
Ingredient
500g salmon, one whole piece skin removed
100g Dorset Sea Salt
150g sugar
2 star anise
100g clementine juice
zest of 1 clementine
1 shallot, finely diced
100g Lilliput capers, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 cucumber, diced
50g white wine vinegar
25g water
1 avocado
1 lime
Method: Blend the star anise, sea salt and clementine zest together, mix with 100g sugar. Sprinkle a layer onto a high-sided baking tray, lay the salmon on top, then cover the fish with the rest of the mix. Add the clementine juice and cure for 6 hours, turning every 2 hours.
Boil the water, vinegar and remaining sugar together until the sugar dissolves, allow to cool, then add the diced cucumber to it, leave to marinate.
Rinse off the cured salmon and pat dry. Dice and mix with the shallot, capers and lemon zest. Season to taste.
Roughly chop the flesh of the avocado, reserve the stone, season with lime juice and salt. Add the stone to the mixture to keep it green.
Place the salmon mix in a ring and press down, top with a spoon of smashed avocado and pickled cucumber. I’ve garnished it with borage flowers, but fresh dill also works well. For some Christmas luxury, add a little spoon of caviar.
Spiced Parsnip Veloute, Roasted Chestnuts, Crème Fraîche
The mild curry spices pair beautifully with the sweet parsnip and the smell of roasted chestnuts adds a dash of Christmas nostalgia. Tucking into a warming bowl of this soup after a bracing Boxing Day walk ticks all my boxes.
Ingredients
500g parsnips, peeled and quartered
1 onion, diced
300g vegetable stock
1tbsp curry powder
100g butter
300g milk
handful of chestnuts
1tbsp crème fraîche
Method: Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Make an incision in the chestnuts, lay the nut flat on a chopping board, using a serrated knife slit lengthways across the entire surface of the long side. Place the chestnuts in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and immediately remove with a slotted spoon. Place the chestnuts flat side down and cut side up on a baking tray in the oven for around 15 minutes until golden roasted. Wrap in a cloth, allow to sit, then peel whilst warm and set aside.
Slice the parsnip quarters very thinly. Bring the vegetable stock and butter to the boil, add the parsnips and cook rapidly. They should be cooked through just as the water has evaporated. Add more water during the cooking if required.
In the meantime, sweat the onion and curry powder in a little oil to cook out the onion gently and release the flavour from the spices. Add the milk, onion and spice mix to the parsnips and gently bring to a simmer, then process with a hand-blender or food processor, add more milk to get the consistency you like. Garnish with chopped roasted chestnuts and a dollop of crème fraiche. Some parsnip crisps are also a lovely addition.
summerlodgehotel.co.uk
Ana Martins of The Acorn Inn, Evershot
Rabanadas
Also known as Brazilian or Portuguese French Toast, rabanadas is something I enjoyed when I was growing up in Portugal, it’s best made with bread that is a couple of days old.
Ingredients
500ml milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
skin from half a lemon
3 eggs, whisked
half a loaf of white bread, cut into thick slices
Port Wine Syrup
200ml Port
2 tbsp honey
1 cinnamon stick
skin from half a lemon
1 tbsp of raisins, walnuts and hazelnuts
To serve: ground cinnamon and caster sugar
Method: Put the port syrup ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until reduced by half. Set it aside.
Put the milk, sugar, honey, lemon skin and cinnamon stick into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and allow it to cool.
Pour a little oil into a frying pan and put some heat under it. Dip each bread slice into the milk mixture, for around 3 seconds on each side. Then dip into the beaten egg, fry on both sides until golden, then allow to drain on some kitchen paper. Do this with all the bread slices. Dredge in a mix of ground cinnamon and caster sugar, and serve with the port syrup which can be spooned over each slice.
Acorn Espresso Martini
This classic cocktail gets a Dorset twist with two award-winning locally made spirits.
Ingredients:
35ml Black Cow Vodka
35ml Conker Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
shot of double espresso
7ml agave syrup
Method: Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. The more vigorous the shake, the more foam on your cocktail. Strain it into a martini glass and decorate with some chocolate shavings.
acorn-inn.co.uk
Mark Hix of The Fish & Oyster House, Lyme Regis
Lobster Tortillas with Poismole
Avocados seem to be on every trendy brunch menu these days. But would you consider ditching this exotic fruit and its air miles for frozen British peas? Packed full of protein, vitamins and minerals, peas are not only tasty they also have a smaller carbon footprint. Could you swap your beloved smashed avocado on sourdough for smashed peas? Try my poismole (a pea version of guacamole) and see what you think; here it is paired with Lyme Bay lobster for a special Christmas treat. Pop the shell from the lobster in your freezer to use for a soup or sauce to get a second meal from this king of shellfish.
Serves 6-8
1 cooked lobster, claw, leg and body meat removed
12-16 tortilla chips
a few sprigs of coriander
For the salsa
medium mild red chilli, finely chopped
½ tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
For the poismole
150g frozen or fresh peas, podded
stalks from the coriander, chopped
1/2 spring onion, finely chopped
sea salt
a good pinch of pimenton or paprika
Method: Make the poismole: cook the frozen peas in boiling salted water for a couple minutes (8-10 minutes for fresh peas) drain, reserving some of the water for blending. Blend the peas in a food processor or liquidiser to a coarse constancy with enough water to assist the blending, pour into a bowl to cool then mix with the other poismole ingredients, check seasoning and adjust to taste. Mix the chilli, rapeseed oil and chilli sauce together to make the salsa. Cut the lobster tail into slices and half the claws. To serve: spoon the poismole onto the tortillas, place a slice of lobster on top, then spoon a little salsa over and top with some fresh coriander and get the party started.
Salmonata
This is my take on the classic taramasalata using the belly and tail trimmings from my Hix Smokin’ House smoked salmon from Chesil Smokery in Bridport. I use the salmon skin deep fried or crisped up in the oven then broken into pieces on top of the salmonata. If you are in the fortunate situation of having a little too much smoked salmon in your fridge during the festive season, this is a delicious way to use it up. Serve as a starter or as a dip with pre-dinner drinks.
Serves 4 as a starter
30-40g white bread, crusts removed
150-180g smoked salmon belly and trimmings, cut into small pieces, skin removed
100ml vegetable oil
juice of half a lemon
pinch of cayenne pepper
iced water
Method: Soak the bread in water for a couple of minutes then squeeze out the water, put it into a food processor with the smoked salmon pieces. Blend to a purée then gradually add the oil until well mixed in
and smooth. Add the lemon juice, cayenne pepper and enough iced water to lighten the mix. The consistency should be smooth and shiny. Check the seasoning then serve with warm flatbread.
theoysterandfishhouse.co.uk
Luke Stuart of WhitePepper Chef Academy & Cookery School
Founded by chef Luke Stuart in 2010, the award-winning WhitePepper Chef Academy & Cookery School at Lytchett Matravers offers cookery tuition for keen amateur cooks as well as training for those seeking a professional culinary career. Their short courses are an ideal gift for foodies and range from themed days such as plant-based or patisserie to world cuisines such as Thai and Mexican. white-pepper.co.uk/short-courses
Pickled Pink Quail Eggs
This healthy Christmas nibble can be kept in sterilised jars for up to two weeks. The multi-purpose pickling liquor works with most vegetables too. Serve with celery salt.
12 quail eggs
Pickling liquor
100ml cider vinegar
100ml water
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 raw baby beetroot (approx. 100g total), peeled and grated
Method: Cook the quail eggs in boiling water for 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Remove with a draining spoon and immediately place in iced acidulated water. Place the pickling ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Boil for 2 minutes, then set aside to cool. Peel the quail eggs and place in a sterilised jar. Strain the pink pickle liquor and pour over the eggs to the top of the jar and seal. Chill for 24 hours before serving with celery salt on the side.
Spicy Crab Beignets
There are many versions of this French fritter but made with fresh Dorset crab it’s a real treat! Choux pastry can be made in advance and the crab bought ready picked.
Choux Pastry
50g flour
150ml water
25g butter
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk
Method: Sift the flour into a small bowl or onto a piece of greaseproof paper. Put the water and butter into a medium saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil. When the liquid is boiling, shoot the flour into the pan, remove from the heat and beat until smooth. Return the pan to the heat and cook, beating all the time until the paste becomes smooth and leaves the side of the pan. Take off the heat; add the egg yolk and beat well. Gradually add the beaten egg, the mixture should be thick and shiny.
Crab Beignets
1 cooked crab, white & brown meat picked
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 cloves garlic, chopped
25g fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
finely grated zest of 1 lime
2 spring onions, finely chopped
choux pastry
Method: In a bowl mix the white and brown crab meat with the finely chopped chilli, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, coriander, lime zest and spring onions. Mix well. Add salt to taste then carefully mix in the choux pastry to bind the mixture. Heat a deep fat fryer to 180°C and drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil. Cook until golden and puffy. Drain well on kitchen paper and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve hot.
James Shadbolt, Head Chef at The Pig on the Beach, Studland
Truffled Cheese on Toast
This indulgent cheese on toast pairs beautifully with a glass of port. We use all local ingredients when we make this: sourdough from Orchard Bay Bakery in Cranborne, Robert Fields Purbeck Honey, The Book & Bucket Cheese Company’s Shakespeare (a brie-style cheese), and fresh local truffles from Sasha aka The Truffle Huntress and her dog Ralf, though a drizzle of truffle oil and some chopped chives also works well.
Makes 3-4 starter size or 6-8 as nibbles
Ingredients
1 sourdough loaf
2 Shakespeare cheese or brie
local honey
fresh black autumn truffle or truffle oil
Method: Slice the sourdough to your desired thickness and toast both sides. Slice the cheese, roughly 5mm slices, and lay on top of the toast so it overlaps. Grill or bake until the cheese starts to ooze and bubble. Remove, cut into smaller slices, drizzle with honey and a generous grating of fresh truffle, or a dash of truffle oil and serve with a glass of port and a log fire.
Baked Dark Chocolate Custard with Boozy Blackcurrants
This boozy pudding is best served cool to room temperature, topped with whipped Meggy Moo’s Dairy double cream from the award-winning dairy near Blandford.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the custard
340g 70% cocoa chocolate
200ml cream
140ml milk
2 whole eggs
30g caster sugar
For the blackcurrants
250g frozen blackcurrants
50g caster sugar
50ml sloe gin
Method: Preheat oven to 100°C/gas mark ¼. In a saucepan bring the milk and cream to a gentle simmer, pour over the chocolate in a mixing bowl, stirring until all is incorporated. Gently mix the eggs and sugar together without aerating, stir into the chocolate mixture. Pour this into either individual dishes or one large dish, you want the mixture to be about an inch deep. Put on a baking tray and bake until set around the edges with a slight wobble in the middle, timing depends on your oven and the size of dish you use. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
Make the boozy topping: Put the blackcurrants and sugar in a saucepan and gently simmer, the blackcurrants should soften but hold their shape. Strain the fruit and set aside, pour the blackcurrant liquid back into the pan and reduce by two thirds, stir in the sloe gin and pour this mixture over the blackcurrants. Once cooled, spoon on top of the chocolate custard and serve with a dollop of whipped cream. thepighotel.com/on-the-beach
Andy Tyrell, co-owner with Joel Gostling of Soulshine restaurant and cafe in Bridport
Soulshine Stollen
Stollen is very popular with our customers at this time of year. This festive bake is something you can make at home, and tastes so much better than the shop bought version.
Makes 1 loaf
For the dough
100g raisins
50g glacé cherries
zest ½ large unwaxed orange
25ml dark rum/brandy
50g unsalted butter
90ml milk
7g dried yeast
60g caster sugar
250g strong white bread flour
¼ tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
25g flaked almonds
3 cardamom pods crushed
For the filling
250–300g marzipan (homemade ideally)
To finish (optional)
25g unsalted butter, melted
icing sugar for dredging
Method: Place the raisins, glacé cherries, orange zest and rum/brandy in a bowl and mix, allow the fruit to plump up.
Warm the milk until it is tepid, not hot. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt, add the warmed milk and beaten egg, mix to form a dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, around 6-8 minutes. Alternatively, use a free-standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook to bring the dough to this stage.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in it and turn so it is covered all over with a thin layer of oil. Cover the bowl with cling film, leave in a warm place for 1–2 hours.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock back. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand, sprinkle with half the rum-soaked fruit, flaked almonds and crushed cardamom seeds. Fold the dough over the fruit, then lightly knead until the fruit is evenly distributed. Repeat until all the fruit, plus any residual rum, has been worked in.
Flatten the dough into a rectangle (about 25cm x 15cm). Roll the marzipan into a sausage shape, a little shorter than the length of the dough. Position along the dough rectangle, slightly off centre. Fold the dough over the marzipan to make a long, loose loaf. Place seam side down, on a lined baking sheet. leave in a warm place for 1–1½ hours until well risen.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ has mark 4. Bake the risen loaf for approximately 25 minutes, until pale golden. Then, if you like, brush with melted butter, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar, wrap in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin for a week or so before eating. Stollen will keep for up to three weeks.
Make your own marzipan: This is so easy to make, use it in Christmas baking, covering cakes or dipping in chocolate. It keeps well too, if you don’t scoff it!
Ingredients
1 medium egg
1 tbsp brandy/rum
125g caster sugar
125g icing sugar, sifted
250g ground almonds
Method: Whisk together the egg and alcohol in a bowl. Add caster sugar, icing sugar and ground almonds, mix to a stiff paste. Sprinkle your work surface with a little icing sugar, turn the almond paste onto it. Knead until the marzipan is soft and smooth, this won't take long. Seal the marzipan in a plastic bag and store in the fridge until required.
Soulshine’s Kimchi
Traditionally this Korean ferment has many variations. Our version, that we’ve made since day one at Soulshine, uses a method where the vegetables are left for a little while in the salt brine then combined with a paste of chillies, garlic and ginger and allowed to ferment. It’s usual to use Chinese cabbage for kimchi. It’s a good idea to mix in other vegetables including carrots, radish, mouli, kohlrabi and spring onions. Less traditional, but very delicious, is when we use celeriac either on its own (no cabbage) or mixed through the cabbage. Change this recipe as you like.
Ingredients
Chinese leaf cabbage or napa cabbage
Other veg up to half the weight of the cabbage. We use carrots, radish and spring onions most often.
salt
fresh ginger
red chilli
Korean chilli flakes (Gochugaru)
garlic
Method: Shred or chop the cabbage, tgrate, shred or slice the other vegetables. Weigh them and calculate 3% of the weight. This will be the amount of salt to use. Add this to the shredded veg and get your hands in there scrunching and massaging. The salt helps to release moisture from the cabbage, squeeze it and rub it, this will take a few minutes, you should end up with enough liquid in the container that, when pushed down, the mixture is submerged. Allow the vegetables to sit in this brine for about an hour or two to allow the salt to penetrate.
For about a kilo of cabbage and veg I'd recommend about 5 cloves garlic, an inch or so of ginger, 3 red chillies and 2 tablespoons of Korean chilli flakes depending on how spicy you like it. Blend in a liquidizer or hand blender. At Soulshine we also add some of the juice from a previous kimchi batch to this.
Lift the vegetables out of the salty brine and place into another bowl, save some brine just in case. Combine the vegetables with the spice paste tasting as you go. It should be spicy, but balanced with salt and umami, bright red in colour with enough spice mixture to coat everything. Pack the kimchi firmly into a sterilized Kilner jar or similar, pushing the mixture down as you go. Leave at least a 2-inch gap at the top of the jar. The kimchi should be fully submerged in brine when it's pushed down, this is very important. If it's a little short, then use some of the brine that you saved. The kimchi should be reasonably juicy.Some people weigh their kimchi down with a little plastic bag filled with water, placed in the top of the jar. I just put the lid on the jar and seal it. If you’re gifting the kimchi, make a large jar then divide into smaller ones when completed.
Leave somewhere warm to ferment, your kitchen is ideal. You will see signs of fermentation after a couple of days, using a fork try some at this stage, keep checking it. For me it's usually good after at least a week to 10 days, sometimes two weeks if the kitchen is cooler.
When you’re happy with the flavour, transfer the jar into the fridge or a cool place to halt the fermentation. Kept submerged in the brine in a cool place, the kimchi will last for many months.
wearesoulshine.co.uk
