ANDREW PERN, owner and chef at the Star Inn, Harome, thinks back to his rugby playing days to come up with some Six Nations-inspired dishes

RIGHT all you ageing rugby players, supporters, future players, WAGs, kids, etc, it’s time for the Ryedale alternative to the Six Nations - a charity rugby match at Terrington Hall School on Saturday, March 2, kick-off at 2.30pm. Everyone welcome.

There’ll be a hog roast, supplied by The Star Inn, Harome, and cooked by yours truly, a children’s entertainer, not me unless your kids like to watch someone cook a hog roast, and after the match, there will be an auction of promises at The Stone Trough, Kirkham Abbey.

I’m one of the auction lots - I’ll come along to cook dinner in the comfort of your own home (Ryedale only, I’m afraid) or you can take dinner at our chef’s table. Email Nina and Marcus Aldrich at getyourbootson@ yahoo.co.uk for more information.

It should be a great day out and all in aid of the MS Society.

Here are a couple of recipes, which would offer a good alternative to pie ‘n’ peas, while you watch the Six Nations tournament on the TV, but I’m sure the Terrington match will be a lot more entertaining.

Good luck to all concerned from a former player (phew) - somebody has to do the cooking.

The first recipe, a soupy sort of stew is, I think, the best way to describe this dish. All the pieces – breast, thigh, drumstick, livers – are served in consommé-like broth, full of the beautiful, fresh flavours, beans, baby carrots, fennel, bay leaves, etc - a harvest festival in a pot. The timings fit in well with a rugby match as you can prepare everything prior to kick-off, then start off the ‘simmering’ stage at half-time.

Chicken ‘Hotch Potch’ with Garden Vegetables (serves four)

Ingredients:
1 large, whole free range chicken
500ml good chicken stock
1 glass Fino sherry
2 star anise
8 baby carrots
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 bulb of fennel
6 shallots, topped and tailed
2 bay leaves
5g flat parsley, chopped
25g broad beans
Seasoning
100g chilled butter, diced
A little oil for frying

To serve: Crusty bread
Dressed green salad leaves

Method:
Split the chicken down into breasts, legs, thighs and liver, if you wish.

Then, heat a little oil in a frying pan and seal all of the meat to a golden brown colour. Once cool, take a pad of kitchen towel and pat off all of the oil from the meat. Bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the sherry, bay leaves and star anise. Chop the fennel and carrots, then add to the stock, along with the chicken, shallots and garlic.

Simmer for 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. To finish, lift out the chicken and keep warm.

Then rapidly reduce down the chicken stock by two thirds to form a broth-like ‘juice’ and add a few cubes of chilled butter. Spoon the chicken and the vegetables into a bowl or plate with a decent rim. Add the broad beans and parsley to the juices, simmer for two minutes, then check the seasoning and spoon over the meat and vegetables. Serve with crusty bread and a dressed green salad.

To finish, a pudding in the style of a sticky toffee – a winter warmer to eat in front of the fire. I have used Cropton ‘Two Chefs’, which The Great Yorkshire Brewery at Cropton developed with a little help from James Mackenzie and myself, and available from the brewery or from The Star Inn pub.

 

Steamed Ale Cake with Cropton ‘Two Chefs’ Ice Cream, Dark Muscovado Sauce (serves six)

Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter
350g Demerara sugar
4 eggs
10 ml vanilla essence
225g plain baking flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarb
400ml ‘Two Chefs’ Beer
100g cocoa

Method:
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until pale and creamy. One at a time add the eggs and mix well, it may appear to split, but it will come together once the flour is added. Add the vanilla essence and the dry ingredients. Mix well. Now add the beer and fold it through the mixture without knocking all the air out of it.

Pour into a greased cake tin and bake at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about one to one-and-a-half hours.

 

Cropton ‘Two Chefs’ Ice Cream

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
450ml milk
1 litre ‘Two Chefs’ Beer
50g caster sugar
100ml cream

Method:
In a pan, reduce the a litre of beer down over a high heat to approximately 100ml. Scald the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks until mixed through. Pour a little hot milk over the egg yolk and mix together, then pour it back into the pan. Return to the heat and continue stirring until the custard coats the back of the spoon. Remove the custard and strain, add the reduced beer and mix well. Now allow it to chill. Whip the cream and fold it gently into the ice cream mix. Pour into the ice cream churner and allow to churn until ready.

 

Dark Muscovado Sauce

1 pint cream
700g Muscavado sugar
200g butter

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a pan, warm gently and allow the sugar to melt and the sauce to thicken slightly.

• Recipes are taken from Loose Birds and Game by Andrew Pern, available from The Star Inn Corner Shop and all good booksellers.