Blueberry and Frangipane Tart

Serves 6

1        small quantity sweet pastry

58g    unsalted butter, softened

58g    icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

58g    ground almonds

1        free-range egg

1        tbsp double cream

470g  blueberries

1. Line a 2.5 cm tart tin with the pastry
2. Combine the butter, sugar, almonds, egg and cream to form a thick paste. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and top with the blueberries 
3. Place on the floor of the Roasting Oven and cook for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden. Check after 10 minutes, and slide the Cold Plain Shelf on to the last of runners if the tart is browning too quickly
4. Allow the tart to cook on a wire rack, then sift over icing sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream

Conventional cooking:

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5 and blind-bake the pastry for 15 minutes. Cool the pastry for 10 minutes, then add the filling. Lower the oven temperature to 180°C/gas 4 and bake the tart for 20 minutes.

Casserole of Pheasant with Chestnuts

Pheasants originated in the Near and Far East, but they have been part of the British diet for a long time. There is a recipe for pheasant in The Forme of Cury, Britain’s oldest cookery book, written after the coronation celebrations for Richard II in 1390. The recipe below is inspired by the Constance Spry Cookery Book, which was the bible for enthusiastic cooks in the 1950s and 60s. Young pheasants are generally roasted, but if they are older you need to stew them slowly. Pheasant is in season, and readily available, in autumn and midwinter, so chestnuts, which are also harvested in the autumn, seem an appropriate addition.

Serves 4

1     tablespoon olive oil

25g    butter

2        pheasants, cut into two, lengthwise

225g  peeled and skinned chestnuts

225g  button onions

2        teaspoons plain flour

450    ml stock

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

2        teaspoons redcurrant jelly 

1        glass red wine

1        bouquet garni

Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas 2. Heat the oil and butter in a deep casserole and brown the pheasant joints all over. Remove from the pan. Sauté the chestnuts and onions until they begin to change colour. Remove from the pan. Mix the flour with the remaining fat and cook for a few moments until it starts to change colour. Add the stock, orange zest and juice, redcurrants jelly, red wine and bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, stirring while the liquid heats. Take off the heat, put in the pheasant pieces, chestnuts and onions and cover with a lid. Cook in the oven for about 2 hours. The meat should be very tender. Sprinkle the casserole with chopped parsley before serving.