Sloe Whisky



 

 

I'm a big fan of Sloe gin, but the pursuit of different ways of using my wild gatherings is an addictive and enjoyable one. A fruit-whisky-sugar combination works fabulously well in the Scottish classic Cranachan; I see no reason why this should be any least successful. High hopes rest on getting a bit of game involved with the soon-to-be ruby mixture during the cold winter months of the new year, not to mention a cocktail or two.

 

40cl Whisky (it's best not to use anything to fancy/expensive, in a similar fashion to Sloe Gin making)

125g Granulated sugar

Roughly two large handfuls of Sloes

Half a cinnamon stick

A couple of cloves

 

Pour the sugar into a bottle with the Whisky, add the spices and then fill to the rim with sloes. Gently agitate the bottle daily for the first 7 days and weekly thereafter to help everything blend together. It'll taste good after about three months, but patience is rewarded.

Crispy chicken thighs with griddled peaches, rosemary and honey

The promise of a glut of Autumnal fruit is swelling in the hedgerows. I think that our year of strange weather has been beneficial in it's own off-kilter way; the brambles along the lane jostle with little green blackberries, while there also looks to be a good crop of Wild cherry plums (albeit a late one, as everything is this year). In the interim we're making the best of the strawberries from the Pick your own, plus sunshine fruits like peaches and apricots. This subtly spiced chicken dish is perfect for a dusky evening supper, washed down with a crisp glass of dry rose.

2Tbsp Plain flour
2Tsp Ground cumin
6 Chicken thighs (skin left on)
3 Large peaches, cut in half with stones removed
A sprig of rosemary, leaves stripped from stem
2 Red onions, roughly chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Star anise
2Tbsp Honey
Salt & pepper

1 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Mix the flour and cumin on a plate with a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Coat the chicken in the flour, then fry in a splash of oil until golden. Pop onto a baking dish and cook in the oven for 25 minutes.
2 While the chicken is cooking, drain any excess fat from the frying pan and place back on the heat. Add the rosemary, garlic, onions, cinnamon and star anise, then keep on low so that the onions start to soften. Heat a griddle pan with a brush of olive oil, then cook the peach halves; cut side down first, then for a slightly shorter time on the underside.
3 Stir the honey into the softened onions, then spoon over the chicken and peaches.

Quinces roasted in Pineau des Charentes

Remember the opening credits to Quincy M.E.? A recurrent clip is interspersed throughout episode footage (mostly snippets of Quincy in a blind rage, shouting at someone); we’re led to believe that it shows him inspecting a dead body on a post-mortem table. But wait! The camera zooms out to reveal our hero ‘examining’ a bikini-clad lady’s shoulder on a yacht, moored up in a posh harbour! The cad! They toast a pair of gin & tonics - I swear that hers is laced with anaesthetic snaffled from the lab though. He’s not quite right that Quincy is he?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here

Reader, I apologise. I feel that I’ve lured you here under the pretence of offering warming autumnal sustenance, only to digress with talk of a 1970s American TV series*. Many thanks to the lovely Silvana de Soissons for a bagful of gorgeous Quinces - I plan on making a batch of membrillo with the remaining fruit, but couldn’t resist roasting a few up on Sunday for dessert. It’s really worth trying to track down a bottle of Pineau (to drink as well as to cook with); I had the good fortune to visit the Charente Valley in the summer, but Oddbins stock it. Serves 4.

*Which was never a patch on Columbo, I might add.

4 Quinces, quartered and cored

1 Wine glass of Pineau des Charentes (use port or sherry if you can’t get hold of this)

Zest and juice of 1 orange

4Tbsp Honey

6 Cloves

2 Star anise

1 Cinnamon stick, broken up

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Arrange the quinces in a large baking dish, then add the remaining ingredients. Cook in the oven for about an hour, turning the quinces regularly and spooning the juice over the softening fruit. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb crumble

Whenever I read the term 'forced rhubarb', I get a picture in my head of an unruly pink stalk wriggling around like an eel as a farmer tries to cram it into a veg box. Anyway, it's in season now, and there's nothing better on a dark winter night than a rhubarb crumble served with rivers of thick custard.

400g Rhubarb
150g Light muscovado sugar
1tbsp Honey
A thumb sized piece of root ginger, grated
100g Self-raising flour
100g Butter
50g Porridge oats
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut the rhubarb into thumb-sized pieces, then transfer into a saucepan with the ginger, honey, a splash of water and 100g of the sugar. Simmer on a medium heat until the sugar has melted and the rhubarb has softened slightly. Take of the heat and pour into an oven proof dish.

To make the crumble topping, sieve the flour into a mixing bowl with the cinnamon, add the remaining 50g sugar and grate the butter in (or chop it into small cubes, it just makes it a bit easier to work with). Use your fingertips and to rub everything together, it takes a bit of time but you should end up with a coarse, breadcrumb-like mix. Stir in the porridge oats then scatter on top of the rhubarb. Bake for approx. 30 mins until golden.