SAVOUR & SIP
Yuletide Stuffing DIG IN TO DECEMBER, AND DISCOVER PARKER’S TAVERN CHEF TRISTAN WELCH’S SEASONAL KNOW-HOW! FOOD FOR THOUGHT
breast is so high. It blew our minds. We did our first Rubbish Cooks dinner in 2018. It is astonishing what goes into landfill and how, as a society, we have become very privileged in the way we buy. The thing I’ve discovered is how passionate people are about decreasing waste and how willing they are to have their minds opened. Things that were slightly forgotten – the waste-not- want-not mentality – are being rekindled. Now we’re on TikTok, which I thought
t’s all about beautiful root vegetables coming into their own right now. I always think vegetables taste better after a little bit of harsh weather. Game is in full swing throughout December as well. One of my favourite things is pheasant – we poach and then roast it, and it comes out beautifully. Chestnuts are at their best, too, plus cep mushrooms. THE FESTIVE FEAST The thing I like about Christmas is the leftovers. For Boxing Day breakfast – this is the controversial one – we have fried Christmas pudding with eggs and chilli. The sweetness and richness marries beautifully with eggs. You can substitute it for black pudding. My kids also love Christmas dinner stuffing pancakes. Take Christmas leftovers, pop them into a pancake, roll them up, bake in the oven with the gravy and stilton left from the Christmas table. In my house, if you want anything to go down well, put it in a burrito. THE TOP KITCHEN TIP Cook your roast potatoes the week before, pop them in the freezer, then finish them off on the day in the oven. We’ve always cooked our stuffing separately and made it a real feature. At Christmas, we grate beetroot in so it’s bright red – essentially the stuffing becomes nut roast. Pears that aren’t 100% ripe and soft – peel them, grill them, serve with a little honey, lemon and thyme dressing, chuck in some chestnuts and you’ve got a lovely side dish. Save your vegetable peelings throughout December and make a vegetable stock. For vegetarian gravy, add roasted tomatoes, tomato puree, some white wine and a dash of flour. If you strain it into a jam jar while it’s boiling hot, the gravy should last for a week because it sterilises itself. THE STORY I was interviewing suppliers with my friend Alex Rushmer and a butcher offered us chicken legs for free. He said they’re surplus to requirement because demand for chicken
was just for kids and dancing – but it’s incredible. I’ve always thought recipes can disconnect an individual from the cookery. I’ve experimented with writing recipes in different ways, but none really resonated. Anything to connect you more with the experience has to be positive. THE FOOD PHILOSOPHY My food philosophy has gone full circle. I grew up on almost a small holding, with our own chickens, fruit and vegetables. What drove me when I was in London from age 17 was a passion for amazing produce, because that’s what I’ve come
from. There’s nothing I’m more passionate about than going to the market and getting the most amazing produce, not knowing what I’m going to cook. In year 9, we started home economics classes. I would cook something and my mother would say ‘this is fantastic!’ – if you know my mother, that’s a big thing for her to say. I realised that when I cooked things, it made people happy. Cambridge is. It’s really diverse. Agriculture is in our DNA. I believe every region in the world has got its own special flavour – a unique mix of amazing suppliers supporting the cooks, creators, bartenders and pubs. The flavour of Cambridge, I think, is the perfume of meadows, it’s thoughtfulness and respectful cooking. THE CAMBRIDGE FLAVOUR It’s food for thought – that’s what
TOTALLY STUFFED Experiment with leftovers this Christmas and create your own family traditions – or give Tristan’s Boxing Day breakfast a go!
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK DECEMBER 2022 57
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