Ingredients:
350g (12oz) dried prunes
570ml (1 pint) cold tea
50g (2oz) sugar
150ml (5fl oz) brandy
Soak prunes overnight in the cold tea, drain and then just cover them with water, add the sugar and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, sprinkle over the brandy, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Whilst your roast goose is standing, heat the prunes gently in a frying pan and then stand in a warmed dish to serve along with the stuffings.
Ingredients:
225g (8oz) pork sausagemeat
50g (2oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
15g (½oz) butter
Goose liver, chopped
12 green olives, stoned and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
Lightly fry the chopped goose liver in butter. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, season well and bind to a loose stuffing with beaten egg. Spoon the mixture into the goose cavity.
Ingredients:
500g (1lb) prunes, pitted
220g (8oz) port
1kg (2lb) fresh chestnuts
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 stalks of celery, chopped
4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the prunes for one hour in the port. Meanwhile prepare the chestnuts. Make a slit in the top of each one with a sharp knife. Put them in boiling water and simmer for ten minutes. Remove a few at a time with a slotted spoon.
Wearing clean rubber gloves to protect your fingers, slip off the outer and inner skins. Place the chestnuts in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the onion, garlic and celery.
Cook without browning until the onion has softened. Add the chestnuts and prunes with the port they have been soaking in and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper, and stuff the mixture into the goose cavity. Sew up the cavity.
Ingredients:
350g (12oz) gooseberries
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) sugar
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the gooseberries in a saucepan with 150ml (¼ pint) of water and cook for 4-5 minutes, until tender and pulped. Drain and rub through a sieve or purée in a blender or food processor. Add the butter, sugar, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Reheat and serve. To vary, substitute the gooseberries for either plums or apples.
Ingredients:
225g (8oz) dried prunes
250ml (½pt) dry cider
225g (8oz) Bramley apples
½ medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp goose fat
2 level tbsp caster sugar
Soak prunes overnight in cider. Next day, place in a saucepan with 150ml (¼pt) of soaking liquor, simmer until they are plump and tender. Press through a sieve, removing the stones.
Peel, core and chop apples. Soften chopped onion in a saucepan with tablespoon of goose fat. Stir in chopped apples and simmer until a soft pulp. Stir in prune mixture and sugar, taste and add more sugar if necessary. Reheat and serve
Add ¼ tsp of powdered cloves and 2 pinches of powdered mace with the sugar, if to your taste.
Ingredients:
175g (6oz) cherry jam (must be good quality, high fruit content)
150ml (5floz) red wine
Combine the jam and wine in a saucepan and simmer without a lid for 10 minutes. Reheat and serve. This sauce can be made well in advance.
Ingredients:
450g (1lb) cooking or eating apples
125g (4oz) caster sugar
1 tbsp water
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Grated lemon rind of small lemon
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
Sherry to taste
Peel, core and slice apples. Poach in saucepan with sugar, water, spices and lemon rind, until tender, stirring occasionally. Pass through a sieve or blender. Stir in unsalted butter and sherry to taste. Serve sauce hot or cold, but make sure if you are serving it cold, that it really is well chilled. To vary try adding 25g (1oz) of chopped walnuts.
