Flavours of the month: December

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Venison: one of December's less obvious treats

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There are plenty of flavours worth noting at this time of year beyond turkey and mince pies. Here are some seasonal treats.

VENISON
There has been deer farming in Britain since the 1960s and they have been kept semi-wild in the deer parks of the great houses for more than 300 years. Most of the venison on sale is from one of three species - roe, fallow or red - although some other ornamental breeds have established themselves in the wild such as the tiny Muntjac.

For the cook, venison could have been designed with the 21st century in mind; it is very lean with an admirably low fat content and because it is either wild, or kept as wild with minimal management, it is free from growth promoters and antibiotics.

A slightly gamy taste and closely grained texture means that it is perfect for the kind of slow-cooked casserole dishes that December cries out for. Take your favourite braised beef recipe and make it using venison, perhaps stirring a spoonful of red-currant jelly into the gravy just before serving.

There is some venison filtering into the supermarkets but it is best bought through a traditional butcher such as Allens, 117 Mount Street, W1 (020 7499 5831). Whole saddle (for roasting) £14 per kg, diced haunch £13 per kg.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Sprouts are at their best now and it is a pity that so many people have been put off them in childhood. The culprit is a compound in the sprouts called sulforaphane that breaks down when over-cooked to release a pungent whiff of rotten eggs.

Thankfully fewer cooks now boil their vegetables for hours. Brassica Oleracea variety Gemmifera (to honour the sprout with its full name) should be a force for good as it contains high levels of folic acid and potassium, plus the antioxidant vitamins C, E and A.

Try cutting the sprouts very finely (the cheffy term is "chiffonade") and then stir-fry them quickly with some chestnuts - you will end up with a dish that is many miles from the whiffy yellowing horrors.

To buy sprouts give each a squeeze and look at the cut mark on the bottom - fresh sprouts are firm and the cut has not dried out. Sprouts sold on the stalk are also a good option. Buy from a good greengrocer such as T Adamou & Sons, 124-126 Chiswick High Road, W4 (020 8994 0752) where loose sprouts are £1.40 per kg.

VACHERIN CHEESES
Most "seasonal" cheeses are at their best when made with rich spring and summer milk, but Vacherin is the exception. Made in the Alps between mid-August and the end of March, when the cows are brought inside and fed on hay, silage and grain, it is at its best in December. In 1973 cheese war was declared when farmers on the Swiss side of the Mont d'Or registered the name Vacherin de Mont d'Or (a name they had previously been happy to share with the French neighbours on the other side of the hill); the French then had to rename their cheese Vacherin du Haut-Doubs. Both are equally good but the Mont d'Or Vacherin is easier to find and makes a magnificent finale to any dinner party.

The golden cheese is banded with a strip of spruce bark and presented in a wooden box. To serve it you break through the crust and spoon out some of the gooey interior. When it is perfectly ripe the top should "wobble" as you push it down. You can buy Vacherin from good cheese shops such as Paxton & Whitfield, 93 Jermyn Street, SW1 (020 7930 0259). Vacherin Mont d'Or 400g, £8.50 or 600g, £12.95.

RED CABBAGE
There is a richness and heartiness to red cabbage that its white and green cousins struggle to match. December chills help to tenderise the cabbage while it is still in the field.

Red cabbage provides the perfect vehicle for other flavours - try cooking it slowly with a little streaky bacon and some dried fruits such as apricots or plump sultanas, then balance the seasoning with salt, honey and lemon juice.

At the Bavarian Beerhouse in EC1 they serve a rich homemade red cabbage with the Bayerisches Biergulasch - a kind of Bavarian beef goulash that is served with sp‰tzle, rib-sticking seasonal eating.

Red cabbages are available at all supermarkets and greengrocers, look for one that is bullet-firm and check the cut stalk for freshness. Red cabbage is available at all supermarkets. Expect to pay around 99p per kg. The Bavarian Beerhouse is at 190 City Road, EC1 (020 7608 0925).

CLEMENTINES
Citrus fruits will happily interbreed so there is a great variety, from oranges (sweet and bitter varieties), grapefruit, pomelos, lemons, limes, kumquats, citrons, mandarin oranges (written up in 1168 AD in China), satsumas, mineolas, tangerines - and the clementine. Growers have long sought the perfect small orange, seedless but easy to peel. And an accident of nature has meant that these glamorous fruits arrive in Britain just in time for Christmas.

The clementine is most closely related to the mandarin and it has a thin, easy-peel, skin; although sold as seedless it may occasionally contain a few pips. What sets it apart from the rest of the citrus gang is a great depth of flavour and a good balance between sweetness and acidity. Available in most supermarkets, Waitrose sells clementines with their leaves at £2.99 for 1.7kg.

 

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