LITMIR.BIZ

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as I explained above, don’t rush it, just concentrate on finding the spot where the knife will slide through easily. Place the removed leg, skin side down, on the board, and separate the drumstick from the thigh by cutting again through the ball and socket joint where they are attached at the top of the drumstick. Place separately on a hot serving plate.

      To remove the flesh from the breast, turn the bird around with the cavity now facing away from you and the wishbone towards you. The first piece to be removed here is the wing, and in the case of chicken, duck and guinea fowl, with about 3cm of the breast attached to the wing bone. Carve into the breast and push your knife down towards the wing bone, where it is attached to the carcass. The search for the ball and socket goes on here again, and when found and cut through, the wing and piece of breast meat will come away easily in one piece. Continue carving the breast in neat slices. I like to carve these slices about 7.5mm thick. Serve some of the white breast meat with some of the brown leg meat, arranging the neatest slices of white meat on top of the brown.

      When carving a very small bird like quail, the legs and breasts are generally served whole. In the case of a larger bird like turkey, the legs once removed from the carcass will be carved off the bone and sliced, the wings for those who like them can be served whole and the breast meat carved into neat 7.5mm slices.

      Serve the carved and neatly arranged fowl on hot serving plates.

Parsley pesto

      This is brilliant stuff. Given that fresh basil is only available for a couple of months during the summer, parsley is an obvious year-round and delicious substitute. I strongly believe that most people’s experience of the classic basil pesto is an unpleasant one, as basil deteriorates so quickly if not carefully handled. As a result it is generally bitter and rancid.

      This parsley pesto made to the classic recipe has a special flavour all of its own. It is very good in soups and broths, on bruschetta, with grilled or roast fish, poultry and meats, and on pasta. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

      Serves 6–8 25g flat-leaf parsley, weighed after removing tough stalks

      25g pine nuts

      1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed to a paste

      75–150ml extra virgin olive oil

      40g finely grated Parmesan

      Pinch of Maldon sea salt

      Place the parsley, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse-chop to a fine crumb. Add the olive oil in a stream to achieve a soft consistency. Fold in the grated Parmesan.

      Taste and correct the seasoning with a pinch of sea salt.

      Spring wild garlic pesto

      Replace the parsley in the master recipe with wild garlic leaves. Finely chop the wild garlic before processing, as otherwise it may end up being a little stringy. Proceed as in the above recipe.

      Rocket leaf pesto

      Remove the tough stalks from the rocket leaves before weighing and continue as in the master recipe.

      Basil pesto

      You can make this sauce at any time of the year if you are happy to use imported basil, though the notion of eating basil pesto in January leaves me feeling rather cold. I only make it during the summer months, when fresh local basil is available, and then I use a pestle and mortar, which imparts a particular consistency that I enjoy. However, you can achieve a good result using a food processor.

      Remove the tough stalks from the basil leaves before weighing and continue as in the master recipe, adding the oil immediately so as to protect the torn leaves from the air. As basil oxidises and becomes bitter after the leaves are chopped or broken, it is essential to get the oil in straight away, so cover the pesto with a layer of olive oil and chill it as soon as possible.

      Béchamel sauce

      Every cook needs to know how to make a béchamel or white sauce. Even though it seems a bit old-fashioned, and won’t be featuring at your local molecular gastronomy restaurant, it is still an essential part of the cook’s repertoire. Properly made, this sauce is well flavoured, smooth and shiny, and has a silky consistency. The plain or master version becomes a vehicle for other flavourings such as herbs, mustard, anchovies, capers, spices, vegetables, cheese and so on. You can’t really consider a cauliflower or macaroni cheese or a fish pie without it. It can be delicious to serve with a poached chicken, in which case a little of the chicken poaching liquid can be added to the sauce to achieve a thinner consistency than you normally expect from this sauce.

      So if your memory of white sauce is a miserable one, of a lumpy, thick, stodgy, floury and bland non-event, perhaps this recipe, carefully followed, will change your mind and remind you why this classic remains important.

      Serves 6–8 300ml full-fat milk

      1 small carrot, peeled and thickly sliced

      ¼ of an onion, peeled

      1 bay leaf

      4 parsley stalks

      1 thyme branch

      25g butter

      25g plain flour

      Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

      Place the cold milk, carrot, onion and herbs in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Do not allow the milk to boil over, as you will lose some of the milk and the proportions of the sauce will be wrong, yielding a sauce that is too thick – exactly what we are trying to avoid. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. The vegetables and herbs will add a subtle flavour to the milk.

      While the milk is infusing, melt the butter in another small saucepan and add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, and cook on a low heat for 3 minutes, all the time stirring regularly and making sure the mixture does not overheat and burn. It is crucial that you allow it to cook for the 3 minutes as suggested, to remove any raw trace of flour from the sauce. This slightly odd-looking mixture of cooked flour and butter is called a roux, and it will both thicken and enrich the sauce. (You can make exactly the same mixture to whisk into a gravy to thicken it.)

      The sauce should be thick enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon

      Strain the milk and whisk it into the roux. Place on a low heat and, whisking all the time, bring the sauce to a simmer. The sauce will not start to thicken until the liquid reaches a simmer. At this point, maintain the sauce at a gentle simmer for 2 minutes, still whisking to ensure that there are no lumps of roux left floating in the sauce. You will notice the sauce becoming smooth and shiny.

      Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. The consistency should be thick enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon. The sauce is now ready to serve. You can prepare a béchamel in advance and reheat when needed.

      Parsley sauce

      Just before serving, add 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley to the finished sauce and bring back to a simmer. Serve immediately for the freshest taste.

      Cheese sauce

      Add 2 tablespoons each of grated Parmesan and Gruyère and 1 teaspoon of French mustard to the finished sauce. Whisk in well and simmer for 1 minute before serving.

      Pancakes, sweet or savoury

      It’s a funny name really, pancakes, as they are as far removed from a cake as you could imagine. Mind you, they can be great, and when thin and light and sweetened with a citrusy butter or a warm fruit compote, or stuffed with a carefully chosen vegetable wrapped in a light yet rich sauce, they will bring a smile to most faces.

      I use the same recipe whether making the sweet or the savoury version, just adding a small pinch of sugar to the dessert option. The addition of melted butter is a tremendous asset to the texture and flavour.

      Keys to success

      Whisk all the ingredients thoroughly to ensure

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