Three seasonal Christmas recipes from the best of Borough Market

No one knows the seasons quite like the traders at Borough Market, so who better to turn to for some inspiration for the festive season?

Food writer and podcaster Angela Clutton did just that for her new book, Borough Market: The Knowledge, and while it may not have a Christmas chapter, it does have plenty of festive feasts to indulge in.

First up, dark rum egg nog, arguably the most indulgently decadent and delicious of all traditional festive drinks.

Next, game terrine with fennel, apple and radish remoulade, which is not only a wonderful appetiser, but a quick way to become well practised at butchering birds – a handy skill for this time of year.

Finally, she shares her recipe for whisky mocha charlotte, a 19th-century showstopper of a dessert that’s just as full of wow now.

Lean into the seasons and make your Christmas extra-special with her recipes below.

Egg nog is one of the most indulgently decadent and delicious of all traditional festive drinks. The addition at the end of whipped-up egg whites is what gives this its wonderful light frothiness.

It’s a recipe I’ve done before for demonstrations in the middle of the market when crowds of shoppers gather nearer and nearer the closer you get to having something finished to share round, and also for the Borough Market Cookbook Club’s Christmas parties. There’s almost as much pleasure to be had in converting people to the deliciousness of this, as drinking it yourself. Shaking off egg nog preconceptions, one elegant glass at a time.

Serves: 4

2 eggs

80g caster sugar

200ml chilled single cream

200ml chilled whole milk

200ml dark rum (see note)

8 dashes of orange cocktail bitters, or the pomelo bitters

4 whole star anise or sprigs of thyme

Nutmeg, for grating

Method:

Separate the egg whites and the yolks into two clean large mixing bowls. Divide the sugar evenly between the bowls. Whisk the yolks and sugar until thick; then whisk into that the cream, milk and dark rum. Add the dashes of orange bitters. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Now for the egg whites. Whisk them with the sugar until they form meringue-like stiff peaks, then gently but thoroughly fold the stiff whites into the bowl containing the cream and rum etc. Ladle into glasses, finishing each one with a grating of fresh nutmeg and a star anise or thyme sprig.

Note: Your choice of rum ideally needs to be not just dark but also interesting. East London Liquor Co’s Rarer Rum is definitely both things, being made in Guyana from demerara sugar cane that brings its caramel notes. It is aged in former bourbon casks (and it’s worth noting that bourbon would be a good swap for the rum in this recipe, as would whisky).

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This terrine – which in my house is always associated with Christmas – is a good way to become practised at butchering birds. As you are cutting the meat up anyway to go into the tin, it doesn’t have to be perfect or neat. Even if you are not too confident about it, it’ll be fine. And if you are more experienced, you’ll already know this is really a cinch.

The recipe says to use a whole pigeon but if you are unlikely to use the carcass for stock then just buy two pigeon breasts. The prosciutto I use here for its texture and flavour could be swapped for unsmoked streaky bacon or pancetta. In the past, I’ve made the terrine quite happily without breadcrumbs or egg.

You will need a loaf tin of approximatey 19 x 9 x 6cm and 2 food tins as weights.

Makes: 1 terrine, about 8 slices

Ingredients:

For the terrine:

2 pheasants

1 pigeon or two pigeon breasts

450g wild boar sausage meat (or other sausage meat)

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of sage

1 tablespoon juniper berries

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons fruit vinegar (elderberry or blackberry would be ideal)

40g breadcrumbs

1 egg

10 slices of prosciutto

For the fennel, apple and radish remoulade:

1 medium fennel bulb

150g mooli (daikon) radish (or other radishes)

200g apples

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons creme fraiche

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons capers

Method:

Deal with your birds first. Sit a pheasant on a chopping board breast-side up and use a very sharp, small knife to cut along the breastbone so you can then cut out the breasts. Remove the skin and set the breasts aside. Now take off the legs, remove the skin and set them aside separately from the breasts. Really try to get as much meat off the bird as you can. Repeat for the other pheasant, then do the same for the pigeon, but remove the breasts only, as there’s barely any meat on the legs. Save the carcasses for stock.

Chop the pheasant leg meat as finely as you can, getting as much as you can off the bones, then mix in a large bowl with the sausage meat. Pick the herb leaves away from the stems of just one rosemary sprig, both thyme sprigs and the sage. Roughly chop and mix them in, too. Crush the juniper berries and peppercorns using a pestle and mortar, then add them to the meat along with the vinegar and breadcrumbs. Beat the egg and mix in. Season with salt and use your hands to bring it all together.

Slice your pheasant and pigeon breast meat into strips about 1cm wide.

Line your loaf tin with a large piece of non-PVC cling film that overhangs the tin. Sit your remaining rosemary sprig in the base. Take a slice of prosciutto and, starting at one long edge of your tin, lay its short end halfway into the base, then up the sides and overhanging at the top. Repeat with a further three slices along that side, then use four slices to line the other side. The idea is that the two sides of prosciutto meet and overlap in the middle of the tin’s base.

Spread half the sausage stuffing into the tin, top with half the pheasant breast meat, then the pigeon, and then the rest of the pheasant breast. Really press everything down well as you go, then finish with the rest of the sausage stuffing. It should all come nicely up to the top of the tin. Wrap the overhanging prosciutto over the top of the mixture and use your remaining two slices to fill any gaps. Fold the cling film over the mixture and wrap the tin tightly with foil.

Preheat the oven to 140C fan/160C/325F/gas mark 3.

Sit the wrapped loaf tin in a large roasting tray and pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1½-2 hours, until the internal temperature is 70C on a probe thermometer, or a skewer inserted into the middle comes out very hot.

Lift the loaf tin out of the roasting tray to cool, then – while it is still wrapped up – put it into the fridge on a plate and place another plate or board on top, weighted down with two food tins. Leave for at least 8 hours before turning it out, unwrapping and slicing. Make sure you take the terrine out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before eating. Well wrapped up, it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Make the remoulade shortly before serving the terrine. Trim the fennel, keeping back the perkiest of its fronds. Slice the bulb as thinly as possible and put it into a mixing bowl. Slice the radish very thinly too and toss it with the fennel. Quarter and core the apple(s), then slice them very thinly. Add them to the vegetables (you could of course use a mandoline for all this fine slicing if you have one). Squeeze the juice of the lemon into the bowl and toss. In a separate bowl, mix together the creme fraiche and the mustard with a little salt. Use to dress the vegetables and apple. Finish by draining, washing and then chopping the capers before adding those too, along with the reserved fennel fronds.

Serve slices of the terrine with the remoulade.

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Charlottes were a 19th-century showstopper of a dessert, and are just as full of wow now. In this one, savoiardi biscuits (aka ladyfingers or boudoir biscuits) are dipped in whisky, then used to encase richly smooth chocolate mousse with a hit of espresso. The end result is stunning, much sturdier than it looks (or you might fear), and proves the worth once again of having in your cupboard the Italian deli staples of savoiardi biscuits, good chocolate and coffee.

You will need a deep 20cm springform cake tin.

Makes: 8–10 slices

Ingredients:

275g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)

6 medium eggs or 5 large eggs

75g caster sugar

275ml double cream

75ml freshly made espresso

200g savoiardi biscuits (about 24)

100ml whisky

80g caster sugar

2 teaspoons icing sugar, to serve

Method:

First, make the mousse. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water), and let it melt. Once the chocolate has melted, take the bowl off the pan and set aside.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a scrupulously clean mixing bowl and the yolks into a saucepan. Add the sugar and cream to the yolks, then use a hand whisk to get them nicely mixed together. Sit the pan over a low heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.Take off the heat, then stir in the melted chocolate and freshly made espresso.

Whisk the egg whites to meringue-like stiff peaks, then use a metal spoon to fold them into the chocolate. Work gently, quickly and thoroughly to combine them without losing the air. Chill the mousse mix you’ve just made for about 30 minutes.

To build your charlotte: stand the savoiardi biscuits around the inside edge of the cake tin so you can gauge how many you need to line it. Trim off one curved tip from each biscuit to give you a flat edge. Keep the trimmings. Pour the whisky into a shallow bowl and, working one by one, dip the non-sugared side of the biscuit into it. Straight away stand it in the tin, flat end down, whisky-dipped side facing inwards. Go all round the tin without leaving gaps and making sure it looks neat. Use more biscuits to fill the base, again dipping them in whisky first. Cut the biscuits to cover the base as fully as you can.

Spoon half the mousse inside the ring of biscuits. Scatter over the pieces of biscuit you trimmed off, then top with the rest of the mousse. Chill for at least 6 hours.

To make your spun sugar decorations, put a large piece of baking paper on the worktop. Heat the caster sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat and watch – but don’t stir – as it melts, then turns golden. Working quickly, use a spoon to dribble spirals or strands onto the baking paper. Leave to cool and after a couple of minutes you will be able to ease them off the paper with a knife.

To serve, sit the cake tin on whatever you will be serving the charlotte on. CAREFULLY release the springform and ease the tin up and away. Tie ribbon around the charlotte – for looks, but also to help relieve any nerves that it might collapse before reaching the table. Although honestly, this isn’t as delicate as it appears.

Arrange your spun sugar decorations on top, sift over the icing sugar and either slice into it straight away or put it back into the fridge until needed (in which case add the sugar decorations and icing sugar just before serving).

If these recipes sound like a bit of you, we have some excellent pairing recommendations from the new Independent Wine Club.

With the game terrine, our gurus suggest the Moulin de Gassac Tèrra Rouge 2020, a syrah-based blend from Languedoc that, with dark fruits, a hint of spice and garrigue, offers a long, succulent finish. The Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2016 is better suited to the whisky mocha. This legendary sweet wine is one of the most famous products of South Africa, displaying sunny dried fruits, toasted nuts and superb freshness to cut through the boozy depth of the dessert.

To learn more about our Wine Club and catch the first cases – the Italian Festive Case and the Festive Heroes Case – before they sell out, sign up here.

Recipes from ‘Borough Market: The Knowledge’ by Angela Clutton (published by Hodder and Stoughton; photography by Kim Lightbody).