The Origins of the English Classic, Herodotus' Pudding.

A Traditional English Pudding

In her book, Modern Cookery for Private Families, published in 1845, Eliza Acton published a recipe for what she termed Herodotus' Pudding. The full recipe is given here, as Eliza Acton wrote it:

HERODOTUS' PUDDING.
(A Genuine Classical Receipt.)
"Prepare and mix in the usual manner one pound of fine raisins stoned, one pound of minced beef-suet, half a pound of bread-crumbs, four figs chopped small, two tablespoonsful of moist sugar (honey, in the original), two wineglassesful of sherry, and the rind of half a large lemon (grated). Boil the pudding for fourteen hours."
Obs.—This receipt is really to be found in Herodotus. The only variations made in it are the substitution of sugar for honey, and sherry for the wine of ancient Greece. We are indebted for it to an accomplished scholar, who has had it served at his own table on more than one occasion; and we have given it on his authority, without testing it: but we venture to suggest that seven hours would boil it sufficiently.

The quotation marks mean that she was given the recipe by someone else and simply gives it verbatim in her book (you can find the full text here: Herodotus' Pudding from Chapter 20, Puddings of Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery).

I scoured my copy of Herodotus' 'Histories' and eventually came upon the right paragraph:

Writing about 325 BCE, the Greek writer, Herodotus, (Ἡρόδοτος Hēródotos) [c. 484 BCE – c. 425 BCE], who has been termed the 'father of history' wrote the folowing in the second book of his 'Histories' when the sacrifice of kine by the Egyptians:

The disembowelling and burning are, however, different in different sacrifices. I will mention the mode in use with respect to the goddess whom they regard as the greatest, and honour with the chiefest festival. When they have flayed their steer they pray, and when their prayer is ended they take the paunch of the animal out entire, leaving the intestines and the fat inside the body; they then cut off the legs, the ends of the loins, the shoulders, and the neck; and having so done, they fill the body of the steer with clean bread, honey, raisins, figs, frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatics. Thus filled, they burn the body, pouring over it great quantities of oil. Before offering the sacrifice they fast, and while the bodies of the victims are being consumed they beat themselves. Afterwards, when they have concluded this part of the ceremony, they have the other parts of the victim served up to them for a repast.

In effect, in the description above the pudding mixture is cooked in the fat of the inside of the animal's stomach and though the Victorian recipe may look very different, in fact it's not that far away.

The recipe next turns up in a recipe from Brasenose College Oxford for a meal in 1846 that were discovered in 1944:

That solid puddings of this kind became a part of everyday College fare is suggested by the survival of just one Brasenose recipe, from 1846, for 'Herodotus Pudding'. The ingredients were to be mixed well together, put into a mould or basin and boiled for seven hours:

Recipe
250g/2 cups suet
250g/2 cups raisins
125g/2 cups fine breadcrumbs
125g/1 cup sugar
4 fi gs, chopped
Grated rind of one lemon
2 teaspoons ground allspice
4 tablespoons of brandy
2 eggs

Method
Mix the ingredients together, put them in the pudding basin, tie a greaseproof paper circle over the top of the basin and steam for five hours.

You can find more about this here.

This is very similar to Eliza Acton's recipe, except that eggs are added to help bind the mixture and allspice is used as a flavouring.

In 1861, Mrs Beeton, in her Book of Household Management, publishes her own version of Herodotus' Pudding:

HERODOTUS PUDDING.
1287. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of good figs, 6 oz. of suet, 6 oz. of moist sugar, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, 3 eggs, nutmeg to taste.
Mode.—Mince the suet and figs very finely; add the remaining ingredients, taking care that the eggs are well whisked; beat the mixture for a few minutes, put it into a buttered mould, tie it down with a floured cloth, and boil the pudding for 5 hours. Serve with wine sauce.
Time.—5 hours.
Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

The recipe is much better presented, but the raisins of the original have been omitted, there is no mention that it is based on a recipe published by Eliza Acton and there is no mention that Herodotus is the ultimate source. So the recipe now is devoid of its context. You can see Mrs Beeton's version of this recipe at: (Mrs Beeton's Recipe for Herodotus pudding from Chapter 27, Pudding and Pastry Recipes, Book of Household Management). Again, eggs are used as a binding agent and the amouont of suet has been reduced and nutmeg is used as a flavouring.

An adaptation of this version appears in a 1947 in a book called 'Good Puddings and Pies'. Again this is essentially a copy of Mrs Beeton's recipe (figs but no raisins). However, this is so distant from Eliza Acton's original that the author no longer has any idea that it originates from Herodotus' Writintgs:


HERODOTUS PUDDING
Mix together half a pound of suet, a quarter of a pound of breadcrumbs, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, one egg, the grated rind of half a lemon, a glass of sherry, and five figs chopped very finely. Beat all together until quite smooth, put into a greased mould, and boil for six or seven hours. Serve with a Wine Sauce (page 86). But why Herodotus?

So, Herodotus' pudding has been published for almost a century. I am therefore in very good company in publishing my own adaptation of this classic recipe here that sticks a little bit more true to both Herodotus' and Eliza Acton's writings.

At least, I have published all the sources and given a history of the evolution and adaptation of the pudding!

Herodotus' Pudding

Ingredients:
225g seedless raisins
200g shredded suet (beef is best)
120g fine breadcrumbs
3 dried figs, finely chopped
2 tbsp runny honey
70ml dry sherry
1 egg, beaten
finely-grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Method:
Combine the fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and spices in a bowl. Mix thoroughly together then add the sherry, beaten egg and honey. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients have been well moistened then turn the pudding mixture into a pudding bowl or basin.

Cover with a lid or tie securely on a sheet of greaseproof (waxed) paper (fold a pleat in this to allow for expansion. Cover the pudding basin with a double layer of foil (again fold a pleat in this to allow for expansion) then tie string secruely around the rim of the bowl and use a loop of this string to form a handle.

Sit the pudding on a trivet or an upturned plate in a deep pan. Pour in boiling water to come 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pudding bowl. Place on the heat and bring to a bowl. Cover with a lid and boil for five and a half hours (top up the water as needed and ensure that the pudding does not boil dry).

To be true to the Victorian origins of this pudding serve it with a sweet wine sauce. Of course, custard also works well.


I hope you enjoyed this little article about a classic English pudding and that the question of Why Herodotus? has how been answered.

You can also find this pudding at its home on the Celtnet Recipes site: Herodotus' Pudding Modern Recipe, where modern versions of Eliza Acton's Herodotus' Pudding and Mrs Beeton's Herodotus' Pudding are also available.

Eliza Acton, The First Domestic Goddess

Eliza Acton, The First Domestic Goddess


I will admit, that if I have a cookery heroine, it is Hannah Glasse, who wrote and cooked during the middle of the 18th Century and had her volume, The Art of Cookery published in 1747. But next on that list has to be Eliza Acton, who wrote her Modern Cookery in 1845.

Acton's book was the model on which later writers (most notably Mrs Beeton and Francatelli) based their cookery books (indeed 150 of Acton's recipes find their way into Beeton's book).

Eliza Acton was one of the first modern writers to direct her recipes at the ordinary family (by which read the servants of middle class and lower middle class families) rather than at professional chefs.

But what makes her book stand out is the readability of the prose and that the list of ingredients and cookig times are separated out of the main text and presented at the end of the recipe. She created the template for the way that modern recipes are presented.

Of course, not all the recipes are hers, she gathered them from friends and acquaintances and presented these in her books as well. But what comes out of the writing and the presentation is that she actually tested and tasted all these recipes and she comments on which ones she particularly thinks are good, expressing this in brackets next to the recipe itself. All in a very understated and English way, of course.

Her book remained in print until 1915 and there are now new faximile editions available as well. But what I cannot unserstand is why this remarkable cookery writer is not so well know. Most people have heard of Mrs Beeton, but few have heard of Eliza Acton.

She was born on the 17th of April, 1799 in Battle, Sussex. She was the eldes of the five children of Elizabeth Mercer and John Acton. She always seemed determined to make her own way in the world and at the age of seventeen, she and a friend opened a school for girls in Claydon, near Ipswich which remained open for four years. Her health was always precarious, and it seems that at the school's closure she travelled to France. She may have travelled for her health and there may have been an unhappy love-affair when she was in France (which is hinted at in her poetry).

What she certainly did was to fall in love with French foods and French food preparation methods. In 1826 she published her volume of poetry, entitled Poems. But Longman, her publisher rejected her second volume of poetry and suggested she try something else, perhaps a cookery book. Eliza seems to have taken the advice to heart and she spent over a decade testing and improving recipes. This led to her Modern Cookery, published in 1845. This was so successful, that a second edition was published that same year, as well as an ammended volume for the American market.

There are many who claim that this is the best cookery book in the English language. It is certainly a seminal volume, and all the other contenders to the title, Mrs Beeton, Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson all owe a debt (which most of them acknowledge) to Eliza Acton.

I have a rather precious copy of th 1865 edition in my collection. But what I find truly astonishing is that the text is not available on the web (there is a poorly scanned PDF in Google Books). So, I have decided, as part of my site, Celtnet Recipes' aim to put historic and ancient cookery texts on the web, to add Eliza Acton's volume to the texts already on the site.

Currently you can read a brief Biography of Eliza Acton, and the work to digitize the text has begun. You can find the text of Modern Cookery, with everything uploaded so far at: Text of Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery.

Below is an example recipe from Eliza Acton's book, with a modern redaction.


COCOA-NUT GINGERBREAD
(Original Receipts.)

     Mix well together ten ounces of fine wheaten flour, and six of flour of rice (or rice ground to powder), the grated rind of a lemon, and three-quarters of an ounce of ginger : pour nearly boiling upon these a pound of treacle, five ounces of fresh butter, and five of sugar, melted together in a saucepan; beat the mixture, which will be almost a batter, with a wooden spoon, and when quite smooth leave it until its is perfectly cold, then add to it five ounces of grated cocoa-nut, and when it is thoroughly blended with the other ingredients, lay the paste in small heaps upon a buttered tin, and bake them in a very slow oven from half to three-quarters of an hour.
     Flour, 10 oz.; ground rice, 6 oz.; rind of 1 lemon; ginger, 3/4 oz.; treacle, 1 lb.; sugar, 5 oz.; butter, 5 oz.; cocoa-nut, 5 oz. : 1/2 to 3/4 hour.
     Or: Flour, 1/2 lb.; ground rice, 1/2 lb.; ginger, 3/4 oz.; rind of 1 lemon; butter, 5 oz,; sugar, 5 oz.; treacle, 1 lb.; cocoa-nut 6 1/2 oz.
     Obs.—The cakes made by them are excellent.

Modern Redaction:

300g plain flour
180g rice flour
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
25g ground ginger
500ml treacle (molasses)
150g sugar
150g butter
150g freshly-grated coconut

Mix together the flours, lemon zest and ground ginger in a heat-proof bowl.

Combine the treacle, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Heat gently until the ingredients have melted and combined then increase the heat slightly and bring almost to the boil.

Take off the heat them pour over the dry ingredients. Beat well with a wooden spoon unil completely combined and smooth. Set aside to cool completely then work in the grated coconut.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof (waxed) paper and drop the batter by the heaped tablespoons onto it, mounding then slightly (allow room to spread whilst cooking).

Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 160°C and bake for about 40 minutes, or unti done through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.


I hope you enjoyed this recipe. You can learn more about Eliza Acton on the Celtnet Recipes aite, as well as seeing more of her recipes (in original as well as redacted form on the Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery pages.

Foraging for a Wild Greens Gratin

Gratin of Wild Greens


Sunday was one of those wonderfully crisp, chilly, winter mornings that you only get after a hard frost.

December and early Januray have been so mild that many early spring plants are out and even starting to flower. But the frost of the past few days means that they will not last over-long. The weather was so beautiful that I decided to charge-up my camera and go on a bit of a forage.

I ended up with common hogweed shoots (they really would not survive the frost, so I had no qualms in harvesting), some rapeseed greens (I only took a few leaves, as the plant is hardy and would survive), bittercress leaves (typically the only guaranteed winter green) that would act as a seasoning and some very early nettle tops. Enough to fill a small baking dish and to give me my first wild-sourced dish of 2012.


Gratin of Wild Greens Recipe

Ingredients:
200g common hogweed shoots
200ml nettle tops
200ml rapeseed greens
4 tbsp bittercress leaves
1 small onion, sliced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
200ml milk
60g Cheddar cheese, grated
150g breadcrumbs
60g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
Bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil, add the hogweed shoots (trim the leaves and wash first). Blanch for 2 minutes then remove with a slottes spoon and set aside to drain.

Add the nettle tops to the pan, blanch for 2 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon, drain, chop and set aside.

Add the rapeseed greens to the same pan, blanch for 2 minutes then drain and set aside.

Personally, I do not mind the bitter flavour of the bittercresses, but if you would like to lessen this taste in them, trim the leaves neatly, blanch these for 2 minutes as well then drain.

Add a layer of onion to your baking dish then place half the blanched rapeseed greens on top. Layer in the common hogweed shoots then add a layer of onions and another layer of rapeseed greens.

In the meantime, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a pan. When foaming, scatter over the plain flour and work in to form a roux. Cook gently for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer then stir in the 60g Cheddar cheese until melted. Take off the heat then stir in the chopped nettle greens and chopped bittercress leaves. Pour into the gratin dish and allow to settle.

Mix the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese then use this to top the dish. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the dish is piping hot and the top is golden brown.

I served this with a mash of Jerusalem artichokes (from the garden), mixed with carrots and parsnips.

This is a rich, warming dish, ideal for winter.

For all the wild food recipes on this blog, see the wild food recipes page.

Sorting Tarragons as Herbs

Information on the Various Tarragons


Culinarily, there are two main types of tarragon, French Tarragon and Russian Tarragon. They are both actually cultivars of the same species, Artemisia dracunculus and are members of the Asteraceae (daisy) family of flowering plants.

French Tarragon is sweet and aromatic, reminiscent to fennel, anise and licorice. In contrast, Russian Tarragon, is not at all fragrant and tastes slightly bitter.

Russian tarragon is closer to the wild form of the plant (originating in Central Asia) and though many recipes state that it can be substituted for French tarragon, this is not really true. Russian tarragon is not really culinarily worthwhile. The only reason it is cultivated is that it is frost resistant and can withstand northern European winters to grow the following spring.

In the development of French tarragon, though the plant's aromatic qualities were much improved, it also became much less hardy. Anwyere there are low winter temperatures, it can only be grown as an annual (unless it is brought indoors or grown under glass). However, I have found that if you take root cuttings, plant these before the first frosts and bring them into the house, they will give you a supply of new plants to place in your garden for the following spring.

If you are looking at tarragon flavour, then an excellent substitute is Mexican Tarragon (also known as Winter Tarragon). This is not acutally a tarragon at all, as the species is Tagetes lucida which is actually a marigold, belogning to the Asteracea (aster/daisy) family. The plant is native to Mexico and the southern USA though it can be obtained as seed from many specialist nurseries. The plant is a half-hardy semi-woody sub-shrub that looks like a spindly marigold (growing to some 50cm) with small brightly-coloured flowers and elongated (often variegated) opposed leaves.

The flavour profile of the leaves is almost exactly the same as those of French tarragon, though stronger and Mexican Tarragon makes an excellent substitute for French tarragon in any recipe (though you should halve the quantities).

Typically tarragon is used for flavouring vinegars and sauces such as Hollandaise and Bechamel. But the mild aniseedy flavour of this herb makes it an excellent addition to fish dishes, chicken dishes (it goes particularly well in stuffings) and even tomato-based stews and sauces.

Below is a classic bean soup recipe using winter tarragon as a flavouring (though it works just as well with French tarragon).


Haricot Bean and Mexican Tarragon Soup

Ingredients:
250g white haricot beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 small fennel bulb, diced
2 tbsp freshly-grated lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.6l chicken stock (or strong vegetable stock)
1 tbsp fresh Mexican tarragon (Winter tarragon) leaves, finely chopped (or substitute twice the amount of French Tarragon)
3 tbsp thinly-sliced ham, cut into julienne strips
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Pick over the beans, place in a large bowl then cover with plenty of water and set aside to soak over night.

The following day, drain off all the water and set the beans aside. Add the oil to a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and fennel. Fry for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown then stir in the lemon zest and garlic. Fry for 1 minute more then stir in the stock.

Add the drained beans then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently for about 60 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Uncover the pot then stir in the winter tarragon leaves (reserve 1/2 tsp for garnish). Now add the ham then adjust the seasonings to taste.

Divide the soup between four warmed soup bowls, garnish with the reserved tarragon leaves and serve immediately.


Notice, in the recipe above, how the tarragon is added towards the very end of the cooking time. This is because the compound that give tarragon its distinctive taste and aroma are very volatile, they disappear quickly if the herbs is over cooked. Tarragon also displays the same problem if it is dried and the dried herb has little of the flavour of the fresh. This is the same problem as encountered with many herbs (except, notably, for celery leaves).


For more information on tarragons, please visit the following pages:


Gernot Katzer's tarragon information page

and as part of the Celtnet Guide to Herbs:
Celtnet Herb Guide Tarragon Page
Celtnet Herb Guide Mexican Tarragon page

Parsley and Parsley Recipes

The Herb, Parsley

Parsley, Petroselinum crispum is one of the most commonly used herbs in European cookery, being one of the four French 'fines herbs' (fine herbs). Parsley itself comes in two leaf varieties, flat-leaf parsley (sometimes known as Italian parsley), Petroselinum crispum var neapolitanum and curly-leaf parsley, Petroselinum crispum var crispum. Curly-leaf parsley is valued for its decorative qualities and is typically used as a garnish whereas flat-leaf parsley tends to be more used as a culinary herb.

For more information about parsley as an herb, please see the Celtnet Herb Guide entry for Parsley.

Below is a classic recipe that uses parsley as a main flavouring ingredient.

Arroz Español (Spanish Rice)

Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes, quartered
540ml water
1 small onion, chopped
150g brown rice
2 tsp garlic, pounded to a paste
1 tsp salt
Tabasco sauce, to taste (typically 5 or 6 drops)
1 tsp treacle (molasses)
200g chopped tomatoes
50g freshly-chopped parsley
120ml tomato purée
8 rashers streaky bacon
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

Method:
Combine the tomatoes, water, garlic paste, salt, Tabasco and treacle in a blender along with the tomato purée. Blitz to a smooth purée then add to a large pot along with the onion. Bring to a boil then add the rice.

Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, until the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid (about 45 minutes) then add the chopped tomatoes and parsley. Stir thoroughly and cover. Meanwhile, fry he bacon in a pan until crisp then remove and set aside on kitchen paper to drain. Add the green bell pepper to the bacon fat and fry until soft then stir into the rice mixture.

Take the mix off the heat then pour the rice into a 1l casserole dish that's been lightly-greased then crumble the bacon on top. Place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is completely tender. Serve hot.

(This recipe is kindly reproduced from the Celtnet Arroz Español (Spanish Rice) recipe page

For more information on culinary herbs (with over 90 catalogued and described) please see the Celtnet guide to herbs.

Gluten-free Cookery

Gluten is a protein found predominantly in wheat and barley, but also in their close relatives, rye. Gluten is what makes baking possible, as, when the dough is worked the gluten molecules cross-link and bind together giving you a smooth and elastic dough.

However, those suffering from ceoliac/celiac disease are intolerant to gluten and cannot eat products based on wheat, barley or rye.

It is possible, however, to create a Gluten-free Dry Flour Mix that can be used to substitute for wheat flour in a number of baked goods and you can use this flour to replace plain flour in cakes, pastries, pies and tarts.

Below is a classic gluten-free recipes that uses the gluten-free dry flour mix.

This is a classic individual Christmas cake alternative that uses gluten-free flour mix in its creation:

Gluten-free Cardamom, Orange and Plum Cakes

Ingredients:

200g unsalted butter, chopped
100g soft brown sugar
120g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp finely-grated orange zest
330g Gluten-free Dry Flour Mix
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cardamom
180ml milk
4 tinned plums, drained, patted dry and halved
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Medthod:
Cream together the butter and sugars in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. Now stir in the orange zest. Sift the flour, baking soda and ground cardamom into a bowl. Fold the flour mix into the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Continue stirring until the batter is smooth.

Grease and flour eight 250ml ceramic ramekins. Divide the batter between these then place a plum half, cut side down, into the top of the batter. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar then arrange the ramekins on a baking tray and transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the tough.

Serve warm, accompanied by thick double cream or ice cream.

For hundreds of gluten-free recipes, check out the Celtnet gluten-free recipes page
For more classic and modern Christmas recipes, visit the Celtnet Christmas recipes page

Classic Leftovers Recipes

With Thanksgiving almost upon us and Christmas only a month away, rather than the usual festive recipes I'm presenting here two traditional recipes to make the most of any leftovers after the main feast.


Below I present an adaption of a classic Francatelli recipe for a dish cooked ‘a la Gitana’ (Gypsy Style)  that, in the true spirit of Francatelli has been modified to be suitable for left-over turkey (he would have used game birds, fowl or even fish). This makes an excellent and frugal way of doing something different with left-over Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey (it was Charles Dickens, the quintessential Victorian who popularized turkey as the centrepiece of the English Christmas dinner).


Turkey Leftovers à la Gitana

Ingredients

400g (about) turkey leftovers, sliced
225g streaky bacon, cut into 2.5cm squares
30g butter
1 garlic cloves, sliced
2 white onions, thinly sliced
4 rip tomatoes, thinly sliced
300ml sherry
1 tsp paprika

Method:

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the turkey, bacon and garlic and fry over medium heat, turning the turkey over until it is gently browned all over. Pour off all the fat from the pan then add the onions and tomatoes.

Pour in the sherry, secure a tight-fitting lid and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Occasionally stir or shake the pan during the cooking time to ensure the contents do not catch and burn.

Just before serving, stir in the paprika then transfer the turkey pieces to a serving dish, pour over the sauce and serve.

If you want to know more about the Victorian chef Francatelli and his recipes, then check out the page on George Francatelli and his cuisine.

The next recipe is a much more modern one:

Turkey Risotto

Method:
3 tbsp olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1l turkey stock (make with the turkey bones)
400g risotto rice (eg arborio rice, carnaroli rice etc)
1 tbsp whole green peppercorns
2 tbsp butter
250g chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
500g leftover turkey meat, finely chopped
1 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (eg thyme, sage, parsley, tarragon, rosemary, chives)
4 tbsp freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil to a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and fry for about 3 minutes, or until soft but not coloured. Now add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes more.

In the meantime, pour the turkey stock into a pan and bring to a simmer. Stir the rice into the pan with the onion and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the rice is coated in the oil and looks translucent. At this point add two ladlefuls of the stock to the rice and stir well to combine before adding the green peppercorns.

Continue cooking until all the stock has been absorbed then add a further ladleful of stock. Continue cooking in this way, adding more stock as soon as the rice begins to dry out, until the rice is creamy and cooked through but is still al dente (about 20 minutes).

In the meantime, heat the remaining oil with the butter in a pan. When foaming, add the mushroom slices and fry for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Take off the heat then fold the mushroom mixture into the cooked risotto. Now add the turkey meat and fold through the rice to combine. Finally add the herbs and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then divide the rice between four serving dishes and bring to the table.


For hundreds more recipes for leftovers, check out the Celtnet leftovers recipes page where you can find hundreds of recipes for Christmas and Thanksgiving leftovers as well as leftovers form other meals.