Neil and I live in a Shoreditch townhouse, where the kitchen’s in the basement. For a long time, we used to host people upstairs and keep the chaos down below but by now most people who come here know that’s a bit of a show and they’ll muck in. For small dinners, like the menu here, we’ll keep everything downstairs.
We work out menus by going to the butcher’s in the morning, choosing a bit of meat and building a meal out around it. There’s not much planning beyond that, and we tend to cook jumping in on top of each other rather than dividing jobs equally . . . except pasta is always me, and carving the meat is always Neil. A friend once told us we make hosting look easy. There’s no panicking, although, admittedly, quite a lot of swearing. The only time the system doesn’t work is if Neil cooks one thing on the entire menu and it ends up being the dish that everyone compliments. That leaves me fuming.
We’re in the heart of game season at the moment, which is something we should all be eating more of but are a bit scared to approach. Venison, in particular is very easy — you treat it like beef, and all you need to remember is that it’s a lean meat, so you want plenty of butter and maybe some lardons. In terms of game birds, partridge is mid-level when it comes to difficulty — because it’s small it’s most suitable for pan frying, whereas pheasant and poussin you can treat more or less like a chicken, just cooked for less time. You could substitute either here if you’re struggling to get hold of partridge. But do try and get a game bird of some sort, because it makes so much more sense than importing our meat.
Table notes
You could make the soup and the rarebit mix a day in advance. Make the vanilla tart in the morning. The salad component of the venison could be made a few hours ahead and the cavolo nero blanched. That leaves the meats, onions and pommes aligot to do just before serving.
Tips
Salads: Too often salads are served with the vinaigrette drizzled over. But you need to get in there and mix it up — particularly with a leaf like radicchio, where you don’t need to worry about it going soggy. Then transfer the salad to a nice clean plate just before serving, so it really stands out.
Finishing soups: A crème fraîche finish wouldn’t work on top of something very thin like a minestrone. But for a blended vegetable soup like this, it adds a sense of luxury. The same would be true of anything thick like leek and potato, or lettuce and pea.
Game season
Game birds all have different seasons for when they can be hunted, but most are in autumn-winter, followed by a “closed season” when they are rearing their young. The start of the game season is August 12, “the glorious 12th”, when the grouse season opens — but if you eat grouse anywhere other than a hunting estate that same day to celebrate, it’ll have come out of a freezer.
Drinks
A negroni while cooking, and a litre of wine on the table. We’ve found this Tuscan blend from Ampeleia, Unlitro, works well for a table of drinkers.
Snacks
It’s better to do five things well than 10 things badly. So appetisers are generally salami, olives and parmesan biscuits — which Neil makes, and are my absolute favourite things to snack on.
Pumpkin soup
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In a large pan big enough to hold all the diced pumpkin add the olive oil and knob of butter and heat gently.
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Add the onion and garlic. Cook gently until soft, then add the pumpkin. Season and then stir for a couple of minutes.
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Cover with the stock, bring to a boil then turn down and simmer until the pumpkin is soft, about 20 minutes.
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Remove from the heat and blend together using a hand blender until smooth. At this stage, you can store in the fridge until ready to serve.
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Gently reheat and serve with a dash of olive oil and spoon of crème fraîche.
Welsh rarebit
This is unashamedly the St John recipe, which is truly the best Welsh rarebit in the world.
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Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour, and let this cook together until it smells biscuity but is not browning, about two minutes.
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Add the mustard powder and cayenne pepper. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and whisk the Guinness in, then add the cheese gradually over a gentle heat so that it melts into the mix.
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When it’s all of one consistency, remove from the heat, pour out into a shallow container, and allow to set. It will keep happily in the fridge for a couple of weeks in this state.
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When ready to serve, take each piece of bread and toast on both sides. Cover one side with the rarebit mixture to about 1cm thick — if you find that it doesn’t spread with ease, press it on with your fingers. Put it on a baking sheet and place under the grill until golden and bubbling.
Beetroot and venison salad
For the vinaigrette
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Make the vinaigrette by combining the ingredients. Leave to one side.
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In a pan, add the washed beetroot and cover with cold water. Add the vinegar, salt, sugar and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until a knife can go through the beetroot easily, about 45 minutes.
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When cooked, drain, and peel the skin off the beetroot once cool enough to handle but still warm. (If you have plastic gloves it will save you getting red hands.) Cut into inch-sized chunks while still warm and toss into the vinaigrette.
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When ready to serve, heat a frying pan and add the oil and butter until it starts to foam, then add the seasoned loin and colour evenly, turning as you do.
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Once it’s evenly coloured, cook the loin for another four minutes in a pan, then remove from the pan and allow to rest.
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To finish the salad toss the beetroot with the torn radicchio and crushed pickled walnuts. Arrange on a serving dish and place the sliced venison over the salad then serve immediately.
Pan-fried partridge
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In a pan large enough to hold the partridges, add the oil and butter, and gently heat until the butter starts to bubble and turn golden brown.
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Season the partridges inside and out.
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Place into the foaming butter and start to colour all over, starting on the breast side. Move the partridges around to evenly colour the birds. This should take about 10 minutes. (If you have the legs, repeat the same process in a separate pan but cook for 20 minutes, so they are lovely and soft.)
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Remove the partridges to a deep tray, placing them cavity-side upwards. While the pan is still hot, add a dash of red wine vinegar and mix with the butter then use a spoon to baste inside the cavity with the fats.
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Rest the partridges for 10 minutes then serve with their cooking juices on the cavolo nero.
Cavolo nero
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Place a pan of salted water on to boil.
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Prep the cavolo nero by removing the leaves from the stalks.
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Place in the boiling water and blanch until cooked, about five minutes. Drain well and allow to cool.
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When ready to serve, add a spoon of oil and the garlic and bacon to a frying pan and sauté over a medium heat until crispy.
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Add the cavolo nero and sauté together briefly. Check the seasoning and finish with a touch of black pepper.
Caramelised onion halves
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Halve the onions across their middles (leave the skins on).
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Over a medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter together in a frying pan or saucepan large enough to hold the onions in a single layer.
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When the butter has melted and starts to bubble, season the onions with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, cut side downwards. Allow them to sizzle for three to four minutes, until golden brown, then turn them over so that they are skin-side down.
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Add five tbs of water and cover the surface of the pan with a piece of baking paper or lid.
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Turn the heat down to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, removing the covering to turn occasionally and adding a little more butter and water as necessary, until the onions are soft enough that a knife goes through them easily.
Pommes aligot
This cheesy potato dish is a southern French staple and often appears on the menu at The French House, where Neil is head chef. But there is no substitute for tome fraîche, an unsalted fresh cheese, so if you can’t find it, it’s best to serve mashed potatoes instead.
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Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until very tender.
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Melt the butter with the rosemary and garlic and set aside.
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Drain the potatoes well, and allow them to steam for a few minutes.
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Pass the butter (not the aromatics) into a clean pan, push the potatoes through a sieve, add milk and check seasoning.
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Add the tome fraîche and heat while stirring vigorously until smooth and stringy. Serve immediately.
Rum-soaked prunes
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Stir tea and 500ml boiling water in a small bowl; let brew for five minutes.
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Strain into a medium saucepan.
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Add the rum and vanilla, if using, and bring to the boil for two minutes.
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Place prunes in a large bowl; stir in hot syrup. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
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Store in the fridge.
Vanilla tart
For the pastry
For the custard
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Preheat your oven to 170C. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and rub into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, salt and lemon zest and mix well.
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Beat together the egg yolk and whole egg and slowly add to the mixture. Mix until the pastry forms a ball. Do not over-work.
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Wrap tightly in parchment paper and press down so it forms a flat disc, then refrigerate for two hours.
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On a lightly floured surface roll the pastry out to about 2mm thick, then use it to line an 18cm tart ring. Press the pastry gently into the sides and prick the base with a fork.
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Line with parchment paper and add baking beans or rice to cover the base. Bake blind for about 10 minutes or until the pastry is starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove the beans (once cool enough to handle) and cook for a further 10 minutes until evenly coloured.
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Turn the oven down to 130°C.
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Bring the cream to the boil in a pan with the vanilla.
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Whisk the yolks and sugar together then add the cream and vanilla and mix well. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug.
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Place the empty pastry case in the oven then pour the custard mix right to the brim. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the custard appears set but not too firm. Remove from the oven and grate the nutmeg on top. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving with the prunes.
Angela Hartnett is chef-patron of Cafe Murano and Murano. Neil Borthwick is head chef at The French House
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