Festive Hosting

Method

To make the Nduja butter… Crumble up your nduja and pop it in a pan on a medium heat, stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick to the pan and burn. Once the fat has started to render out of the Nduja, add the diced butter to the pan to melt it. Once melted, add in your paprika and stir until thoroughly combined. Simmer this for 5 minutes. This will make enough Nduja butter for around 8 portions of Turkish Eggs but will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. It’s delicious with EVERYTHING.

To make the hot honey (Ideally the night before to enhance the flavour)...Warm all the ingredients on a low heat in a pan, stirring occasionally until the honey is runny. Leave it to cool overnight before use. Reuse the honey jar for storage and last up to 2 weeks. Great with a cheese board or charcuterie.

For the whipped goat's curd... Place 1 bulb of peeled garlic into a pan and cover with olive oil, simmer this until the garlic is caramelised and soft (about 40 minutes). Remove from the oil, and using the back of a knife, smooth the garlic into a paste. Transfer it into a stand mixer or a bowl with a whisk, add the goats curd and whisk until the mixture has been thoroughly combined. Or, if you’re using the 200g goat's cheese and 100g of whipping cream, whip the cream to soft peaks and then combine the two until it’s a smooth consistency. Place 1 bulb of peeled garlic into a pan and cover with olive oil, simmer this until the garlic is caramelised and soft (about 40 minutes). Fold the garlic through the goat's cheese mixture in a bowl.

To plate up... Place 2 tablespoons of the goat's curd mixture into the bottom of your preferred bowl. Poach your eggs and place one on top of each spoonful of goat's curd mixture and dress in the nduja butter, ensuring to include some pieces of nduja. Generously season the eggs with salt and garnish with finely chopped chives and freshly picked mint leaves. Squeeze the juice form the lemon wedge onto the the dish and finally, drizzle a teaspoon worth of Hot Honey over the top.

At Galleria we serve our Turkish Eggs with out in hous4 flatbreads, made daily from an Italian preferment called a Biga, but your favourite freshly baked bread will work!

galleria-lds.com | @galleria_lds

Method

Season the venison with salt. In a large pan fry in oil on either side, (the belly can be cut into four if needs be). Add the spices, garlic, bay and red wine.

Reduce the red wine to a third of its original volume. Add the chicken stock or water and cover with a lid, simmer for 2 hours or until tender. Remove the venison and chill, cut into four if you haven’t already.

Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve and reduce to a sauce consistency.

For the dauphinoise, warm the cream, garlic and thyme and leave to infuse while you finely slice the peeled celeriac and potatoes. Strain the cream and mix with the celeriac and potato, season with salt before layering into a lined dish. Cover with tin foil and bake at 180°C for two hours.

Bread the venison by placing it first in the flour, then egg and finally breadcrumbs.

Pan fry in oil and butter until golden on both sides, place in the oven for ten minutes until hot in the center.

Reheat the sauce with the green Peppercorns.

Plate up the dauphinoise and venison, sauce generously and serve with a garnish of watercress.

Wild Flor

Autumn is just the best time of year for cooking & ingredients. Year after year it is our favourite season at the restaurant as we welcome game, mushrooms, early roots & late-season fruits. We work with fantastic local sources such as James Dodson of Golden Horn Farm for mushrooms, Shrub provisions for first class fruits & veggies & Calcot Farm for this venison dish. We take whole deer & utilise the whole animal; prime cuts go on the a la carte menu & secondary cuts get braised for stews, pie fillings & the like. This cut is one of our favourites as it makes the most of the flavoursome fat, which is rendered to perfection in this cooking process. We’d love to hear that you’ve attempted it yourself, or better still, swing down to Church Road to try some of our classic cookery for yourself!"

James Thomson - Co-Founder & Managing Director

Moda offer: NBHD readers who join us during December: Book online or email reservations@wildflor.com quoting the code “Moda resident” and receive complimentary welcome drinks and desserts (minimum 2 courses, maximum 6 guests).

wildflor.com | @wildflorhove

Method

In a clean dry mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and no lumps remain. Split the vanilla pod and using a small knife scrape the seeds out and add into a saucepan with the milk and cream. On low-medium heat, bring the milk and cream to a light simmer while stirring with a wooden spoon. While this is warming through, weigh your chocolate into a separate clean, dry mixing bowl with a fine sieve set over the bowl. Temper your egg and sugar mix with the hot milk/cream, one ladle at a time while whisking so your egg mix doesn’t begin to cook. Add this back to a pan and cook on low while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon until the mix reaches 82 degrees. Once this mix reaches temperature, pour it over the chocolate through the sieve and allow to sit for a minute or so. This will help all the chocolate to melt. Add your orange zest and juice along with the pinch of salt, and whisk until everything is combined. To ensure a silky smooth finish, you can blend the chocolate mix with a hand held or stand up blender before setting. Once blended thoroughly, pour the mix into your desired dish and set in the fridge overnight before serving.

Add your prunes, teabag and 175ml boiling water to a pan, cover and turn to medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, add all contents of the pan, including the cooking liquid, to a container or mixing bowl. Add in the orange peel and Armagnac and give it a good stir. Cover with a lid or clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight before serving.

Once your cremeux is set, serve with your Armagnac prunes, a light sprinkle of sea salt and a little extra orange zest!

medlockcanteen.com | @medlockcanteen

Method

A good liquor coffees integrity relies on one thing. Very hot coffee and very cold cream. As soon as cream touches coffee that thing is perfect to drink, so drink it now!

Pre-heat your glass with a little hot water, discard it and then throw everything apart from the cream into the glass and stir. As it swirls in the glass, layer on the cold cream by pouring it directly on to spoon hovering just above the surface of the coffee. This will slow it down as you pour and help it to float. Finish with freshly grated nutmeg.

sisterray.bar | @sisterray.bar

The NBHD V4 has landed.

This edition arrives in time for the festive season where the twinkling lights are creeping in and everyone’s winding down (or winter arcing!) ahead of Christmas.

Check it out here.