If you want to dine like the lords and ladies of Downton Abbey, here are some recipes from Pamela Foster's new book, Abbey Cooks Entertain. Roast Chicken A simple roast chicken can be elegant to serve both upstairs and down.
If you want to dine like the lords and ladies of Downton Abbey, here are some recipes from Pamela Foster's new book, Abbey Cooks Entertain.
Roast Chicken
A simple roast chicken can be elegant to serve both upstairs and down. This is a great recipe for beginners as it uses lemons to help keep the chicken moist and flavourful, Pamela Foster writes.
Try not to knock it on the floor as Mrs. Patmore famously did in Season 1, but if you do just dust it off and carry on.
Makes: 2 to 3 servings
1 whole chicken (1.5 kg is ample for 2 to 3 people)
n extra-virgin olive oil
n kosher salt
n freshly ground pepper
n assortment of root vegetables: 3 carrots, 3 parsnips, 3 potatoes, 1 onion
2 garlic cloves
n fresh herbs you have on hand: rosemary, sage, thyme, flat-leaf parsley
n dried herbs of your choice (optional)
2 lemons (one thinly sliced)
1 Tbsp softened butter (optional)
Clean and prepare root vegetables. Roughly chop into large chunks. Place in a roasting pan with a grill rack. (If you don’t have a grill rack, simply place chicken on top of a few vegetables.) Pour a little olive oil over vegetables, add garlic and toss in fresh herbs.
Remove any giblets from chicken cavity and wipe down chicken with paper towels. Rub with oil, salt and pepper. You can also rub it with other dried herbs you have on hand (rosemary, thyme, herbes de Provence).
Gently separate breast skin from meat on each side with your fingers or a spatula. Insert lemon slices and some fresh herbs which will help flavour the bird and keep moisture in. (Alternatively, you can rub in a little softened butter, again between the skin and breast meat. Go wild and do both.)
Lemon does a great job of moisturizing the chicken from the inside out. Depending on the size of the chicken, either cut the second lemon in half, or prick the whole lemon all over and stuff it into the cavity. Tuck wings under the back, but there’s no need to truss it (tie the legs together). Place, uncovered, in a 375 F oven.
Wash any surfaces that the chicken and your hands have come in contact with to avoid the spread of harmful bacteria.
Calculate a cooking time of 20 minutes per pound (500 grams) of meat. The temperature of the chicken needs to reach 165 F to 170 F when a meat thermometer is placed in the thickest part of the meat, avoiding any bones. If you don’t have a thermometer, the juices should run clear when you take a little poke into the thigh.
When chicken is cooked, let the bird rest for 20 minutes to let juices settle into meat. If you cut it too soon, you will see all the flavour on your cutting board.
Remove from roasting pan, cover with tinfoil and get your table setting ready.
Carve chicken and serve with roasted vegetables.
Strawberry Charlotte Russe
Charlotte russe is a French chilled dessert made with ladyfingers and filled with a fruit-flavoured cream filling set with gelatin, a favourite ingredient in Edwardian cookery. Pamela Foster’s version cuts some of the fat by substituting half of the whipping cream with yogurt.
The show-stopper has made the odd cameo appearance on Downton Abbey. In Season 3, Ethel, who formerly worked at Downton Abbey and has fallen on hard times, is retained as Isobel Crawley’s housemaid. Ethel gets some help from Mrs. Patmore to create the simple yet tasty russe.
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
5 tsp gelatin powder
3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute, divided
2 cups strawberry purée (about 1 1/4 cups strawberries, mashed), divided
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped soft
1 1/2 cups non-fat plain yogurt, plus extra for garnish
Ladyfingers
1 to 2 cups sliced berries
Clean and set out four to six individual charlotte moulds. If you don’t have moulds, improvise with large soup cans, with both ends removed.
In a small bowl, mix gelatin powder with 2 Tbsp of the sugar. In a saucepan, warm 1 cup of the strawberry purée with remaining sugar. Mix gelatin-sugar mixture into warm strawberry purée, mixing really well to prevent any lumps from forming. Add in remaining strawberry puree and let mixture cool to room temperature.
Fold in one-third of the whipped cream and then remaining whipped cream and yogurt.
Carefully trim ladyfingers into 7.5-centimetre lengths. The ends can be used in the base. Stand ladyfingers on end with rounded side out and rounded edge up, and carefully line inside of each mould, ensuring there are no gaps as best you can. Place scrap pieces inside mould to create a base for the charlotte.
Gently pour or spoon filling into moulds. If desired, you could add a layer of chopped sliced berries in the middle and then add more filling to the top.
Refrigerate charlotte for at least three hours.
The filling will be solid so you should be able to easily, but gently, wiggle the mould away from the charlotte. Garnish with fresh berries and a dollop of non-fat strained (Greek-style) yogurt sweetened with a touch of honey.
