A surprise for the holidays
Menu
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4 persons
December is, by far, the most festive month of the year and includes many moments with family and friends at the table. Why not surprise them at one of these occasions with this festive menu from the Big Green Egg, whether it’s on Christmas or Boxing day or New Year’s Eve? Each course of this menu, which consists of a slow cooked cod loin fillet, a venison fillet wellington and a fig clafoutis, could come straight from a Michelin-starred restaurant.
STARTER
Buttery soft cod with razor shell escabeche
Wine tip: Albariño from Rías Baixas, Spain
MAIN COURSE
Venison saddle Wellington with candied vegetables
Wine tip: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy
DESSERT
Fig clafoutis with vanilla-crème fraiche
Wine tip: Sweet Jurançon (moelleux) from the French Pyrenees
INGREDIENTS
For the buttery soft cod
- 12 large razor shells
- 500 g cod loin with skin
- butter, for greasing
- 1 kg beef tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- ½ bunch of curly parsley
- ½ oak leaf lettuce
- ½ lettuce
- olive oil
- ¼ tsp. madras curry powder
- 330 ml tomato juice
- 40 ml red wine vinegar
- 12 sprigs of Shiso Purple
- 12 sprigs of Affilla Cress
- 12 sprigs of Borage Cress
For the venison saddle
- 500 g flour
- 175 ml milk
- 10 g fresh yeast
- 5 g sugar
- 2 ½ eggs
- 100 g butter (room temperature)
- 10 g salt
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 chicken fillet
- 2 egg yolks
- caul fat
- 600 g venison saddle
- coarse sea salt
- ½ butternut squash
- 6 Jerusalem artichokes
- ¼ celeriac
- 1 kohlrabi
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 400 ml jar of game fond or gravy
- 1 l goose fat
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 3 tbsp. Honey
- 1 Jonagold apple
For the fig clafoutis
- 40 g butter
- 550 ml milk
- 375 ml cream
- 6 eggs
- seeds of 2 vanilla pods
- 185 g flour, sieved
- 75 g sugar
- 12 fresh figs
- 250 g crème fraiche
- powdered sugar
- Atsina Cress or a sprig of mint
PREPARATION IN ADVANCE
Buttery soft cod
Thoroughly rinse the razor shells under the cold tap to remove any possible remaining sand, then place them on the Perforated Cooking Grid.
Brush the smooth side of the Half Moon Cast Iron Plancha Griddle with butter. Sprinkle pepper and salt on the meat side of the cod loin, then place it on the Cast Iron Griddle Half Moon, skin-side up.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of cold water. Remove the beef tomatoes’ stems and cut a cross into the latter with a knife. Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 10-15 seconds until the skin starts to loosen, then submerge them in cold water. Peel off the skin, cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove the seeds. Then cube the flesh.
Peel and halve the bell pepper, remove the stem and seeds, and cut the flesh into cubes. Peel and chop the onion, peel the garlic and chop finely. Wash and pluck the parsley, then chop. Wash the lettuces and pluck the leaves.
Venison saddle
Put the flour in a food processor’s bowl and attach the dough hooks. Heat the milk to 39°C and dissolve the yeast and sugar in it. Add this mixture to the flour, switch on the machine, slowly adding the eggs, the butter and finally the salt. When a good ball has developed, remove the dough from the bowl, press it flat and allow it to thoroughly cool down in the fridge after wrapping it in Clingfilm.
Finely chop the chestnut mushrooms and peel and chop the garlic. Heat a dry frying pan, fry the mushrooms till they are done, adding one clove of garlic at the very end. Allow the mixture to cool in the fridge.
Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it out until it’s ½ a centimetre thick on a flour dusted surface, then cover and allow to rest in the fridge.
Put the chicken fillet in the food processor and mince it. Add the egg yolks and finally the cold mushroom mixture creating a good farce. Season with pepper and salt.
Carefully thoroughly rinse the caul fat under the cold tap, fold it out on your work surface and dab it dry. Brush the lower part with a thin layer of farce, the same size and dimensions as the radius of the venison saddle and place the saddle on it. Roll the saddle in the caul fat so it has a layer of farce on all sides. Cut away the excess caul fat with a sharp knife. Remove the dough from the fridge, place the venison saddle on the dough and fold shut. Ensure the seam runs along the middle (cut off any possible excess dough). Beat the remaining egg yolk and brush the contact area of the seam with egg yolk. Put the package seam down onto the work surface and fold the ends in. Brush the pastry with egg yolk and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Place seam-down on the Baking Stone and cover with Clingfilm.
Spoon the seeds from the pumpkin and use a melon baller to make balls of the flesh. Peel the Jerusalem artichokes, the celeriac, kohlrabi and sweet potato, and cut them into robust chunks.
Put the game fond or gravy in a saucepan and, on medium heat, reduce until it has the consistency of a thin sauce.
Fig clafoutis
This delicious clafoutis is enough for approximately 10 people . It will still be really tasty with coffee or as a dessert the day after when it has cooled down entirely.
Brush the Deep Dish Baking Stone and line it with baking paper.
Put the milk, cream, eggs and the seeds from one vanilla pod in a mixing bowl and stir briefly ensuring the ingredients are properly mixed.
Add the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt to a second mixing bowl and pour in the milk mixture creating a nice smooth batter.
Cut the tops from the figs and halve the latter. Pour the batter into the Deep Dish Baking Stone and carefully place the figs, cut-side up in the batter. Make sure the cut side stays above the surface.
Put the crème fraiche and the seeds from the second vanilla pod in a mixing bowl, add powdered sugar to taste and fold together. Store this in the fridge.
PREPARATION
Buttery soft cod
Heat the Big Green Egg, with the Cast Iron Grid fitted, to 180°C. Place the Cast Iron Dutch Oven on the EGG’s grid and heat a generous dash of olive oil.
Fry the chopped onion, bell pepper cubes, garlic and madras curry powder, then add the tomato juice and bring to the boil. Add the cubed tomatoes and close the EGG’s® lid.
Allow the escabeche to simmer until a pleasing, thickened mass has developed, stirring from time to time. Now add the red wine vinegar and allow to gently cook for a few minutes more. Remove the Cast Iron Dutch Oven from the EGG, season with pepper and salt, then stir in the chopped parsley. Put the lid on the pan and set aside.
Place the Half Moon Perforated Grid with the razor shells and theCast Iron Griddle Half Moon with the cod on the grid and close the lid. Cook the razor shells for approximately 4 minutes, then remove them from the EGG. Cook the cod for an additional 2 minutes, remove from the EGG and cover with aluminium foil. Reduce the EGG’s temperature to 120°C so you are ready for the main course.
In the meantime, remove the razors from their shells, cut into good-sized pieces and mix into the escabeche. Skin the cod loin separating the sections.
Spoon the escabeche into a circle on a presentation plate. Arrange the cod sections and the salad on top, garnish with the various types of cress and sprinkle with olive oil. Serve immediately.
Venison saddle
Remove the Cast Iron Grid from the EGG using the Cast Iron Grid Lifter, place the convEGGtor and put back the Cast Iron Grid. Place the (cleaned) Cast Iron Dutch Oven on the grid and add the goose fat. Peel the garlic and add it together with the thyme and rosemary. Wait until the goose fat has melted and then add the pumpkin balls, the Jerusalem artichokes, the celeriac, the kohlrabi and the sweet potato. Close the Big Green Egg’s lid and allow to candy for approximately 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Take the Cast Iron Dutch Oven out of the EGG, put the lid on and set aside. Raise the EGG’s temperature to 180°C.
Put the Baking Stone bearing the Wellington on the grid, insert the Instant Read Digital Thermometer’s probe into the core of the venison saddle and close the lid. Cook until a core temperature of 53°C has been achieved in approx. 25 minutes.
Take the Baking Stone and the Wellington off the grid, allow to rest for 5 minutes, in the meantime, you can put the Cast Iron Dutch Oven back to reheat the vegetables.
Whilst this happens, heat the honey in a frying pan. Peel and core the apple and cut it into pieces. Wait until the honey starts caramelising, then add the apple and stir until coated.
Cut four good slices from the Wellington, put one on every plate and add a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Arrange the vegetables and apple around it, ladle some game gravy onto it and garnish with purslane.
Fig clafoutis
Raise the airflow into the EGG so it reaches 190°C. Put the Deep Dish Baking Stone with the clafoutis on the grid, close the lid and cook the clafoutis until done and golden brown in approximately 45 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar and allow to cool slightly.
Cut generous slices of clafoutis placing a quenelle of vanilla-crème fraiche on each one (simple to make using two tablespoons). Garnish with Atsina Cress or a sprig of mint.
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