WITH Christmas just a little way around the corner, you have probably got your food and festive rations shopping list started with a goose or turkey as item one, followed by the inevitable sprouts, sherry trifle and, of course, Christmas pudding ingredients.

While it does seem sometimes that the "eating up" the turkey tradition can dominate the holiday, I thought you might need a couple more ideas to break the monotony of gobbling up the old bird.

My first recipe is great for a festive brunch (you can’t beat a bit of crumpet on Christmas morning) with a glass or two of something fizzy to add to the celebratory feel; and it should carry you a good way through the day.

I have also included recipes for pheasant and walnut pasties, and for mallard and mixed peel sausage rolls, which, scaled down make great party food. The abundance of local shoots, including the customary Boxing Day shoot will also help to bolster the Yuletide larder.

Home-smoked River Salmon with Toasted Crumpet, Peppered Garden Spinach, Poached Village Duck Egg and Buckler Sorrel Hollandaise (serves four)

Ingredients

4 good slices of oak-smoked salmon

4 duck eggs

A little white wine vinegar

200g spinach leaf

A little butter

A pinch of nutmeg

Cracked black pepper

For the Hollandaise

2 hen egg yolks

50ml white wine vinegar

1 shallot, sliced

1 bayleaf

2-3 peppercorns

250g unsalted clarified butter

50g Buckler sorrel, finely chopped

For the crumpets

150g strong white flour

10g fresh yeast

5g sugar

4g salt

100ml water, hand hot

150g butter

Method

First make the crumpets, by mixing together the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and water in a mixing bowl. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes, by which time you should be able to see bubbles starting to form on top of the mixture.

Heat some small frying pans or crumpet/pastry rings on a low heat and add a knob of butter to each one. When melted, spoon in a couple of tablespoons of mixture and allow it to cook slowly. Small holes should begin to form on the top of the crumpet, after around 4 minutes.

Finish in a low oven (140°C/Gas Mark 2) for a further three to four minutes and turn out.

Poach the duck eggs in simmering water, with a little white wine vinegar added, for approximately two minutes, so that the centres are still soft.

For the Hollandaise, first add the sliced shallot, peppercorn and bayleaf to the white wine vinegar, then reduce until only a tablespoon remains. Remove the aromats. Place the egg yolks into a mixing bowl and add the vinegar reduction. Cook the mixture lightly over a bain marie, gradually adding and whisking in the melted, clarified butter, until very thick. Season to taste. Mix the chopped sorrel into the sauce.

Wilt down the spinach in a pan with a knob butter, and season with black pepper and a good pinch of nutmeg.

Toast a crumpet under a warm grill, remove and place in the centre of the plate. Place a slice of smoked salmon on top, with a layer of spinach on top of this. Gently place the poached egg on top of the spinach and spoon over the Hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately.

Pheasant and Walnut Pasties (makes about 10 medium-sized pasties)

Ingredients

Homemade shortcrust pastry (or 1 packet of readymade)

110g cold butter

170g plain flour

1 large egg yolk

A little sea salt

A splash of cold water

1 pinch mixed dried herbs

Eggwash

4 egg yolks

A sprinkling of dried herbs or poppy seeds

For the filling

500g pheasant breast and thigh meat, cut into 1cm dice

5g dried mixed herbs

5g crushed juniper

50g smoked bacon lardons, cut into 1cm strips

150g blanched vegetables: potato, carrot, swede, cut into 1cm dice

1 measure of port

50g walnut halves

200ml game stock

20g onion, finely diced and softened in a little oil

10g unsalted butter

5g cornflour

Seasoning

Method

To make the pastry, first cut the butter into small pieces. Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub in the butter until the texture is similar to small breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, herbs, salt and a splash of cold water, and combine together to form a stiff dough. Mix thoroughly, but don’t over "work" it. Place in the fridge and allow to cool for around 30 minutes.

For the filling, first place a little butter in a thick-bottomed pan, and fry off the pheasant, bacon, roots and onion until golden brown.

Add the walnuts, herbs and juniper, and stir thoroughly to colour, then add the port and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about five minutes. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water and use this to thicken the sauce, check the seasoning, then leave to cool.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface, to a thickness of a 50p piece, then cut into 15-20cm discs with a round cutter (or cut around a side plate). Glaze the rim of each disc with a little egg wash, then place a couple of dessert spoons of the cooled pheasant mix into the centre. Lift up the sides of the pastry discs to make a "purse-like" pasty shape, then crimp the edge with your index finger and thumb to seal the pasty.

Egg-wash all over the pasties and sprinkle them with a little more dried herbs and poppy seeds, then place on a lightly-greased baking tray and chill again for approximately 20 minutes to set.

Preheat the oven to 200°C, then place in the pasties for about 12 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Allow to cool on a rack (for as long as you can resist), or serve as a hearty lunch with mashed spuds, greens and gravy.

Mallard and Mixed Peel Sausage Roll (makes 10)

Using normal baking mixed peel, dried mixed herbs and orange zest, the finely chopped mallard breast is bound with a little pork shoulder sausagemeat, then wrapped in full butter puff pastry, and baked until golden brown. Best eaten within a few minutes of coming out of the oven.

Ingredients for the pastry

500g homemade or a good readymade quality puff or shortcrust pastry

2 egg yolks

A sprinkling of poppy seeds

For the filling

225g pork sausagemeat

225g Mallard breast, skinless, finely diced

50g white breadcrumbs

Zest (fine) and juice of one large orange

A pinch of nutmeg

Seasoning

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.

First combine all of the filling ingredients together and set aside. Roll out the pastry to a long strip approximately 30cm long, 15cm wide and the thickness of a 50p piece and arrange the mallard forcemeat in a sausage-like fashion evenly along the length of the strip and seal the pastry around it.

Brush lightly with the eggwash and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cook in the preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling tray, then munch as required.