Recipes from the Havelock Tavern
Steamed mussels with cider (Serves 4)
30g/1oz butter
1 large onion - peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 tbsp thyme - finely chopped
1.2kg/2¾lb mussels - de-bearded & rinsed
100ml/3½fl oz medium cider
3 tbsp crème fraîche
In a heavy-bottomed, roomy pan, melt the butter and cook the onion, garlic and thyme for 10 mins without colouring. Turn heat up full, add mussels and cider and cover with tight-fitting lid. Steam mussels until they are open (about 5 mins), shaking pan from time to time. Remove mussels to a serving bowl. Add crème fraîche to the mussel juices and boil over high heat for a minute. Season with black pepper and pour over mussels. Serve with crusty bread to mop up juices.
Chicken and bacon pie (Serves 8)
6 free-range chicken legs
400g/14oz bacon
3 leeks - cut into 2cm slices
1 onion - finely sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
600ml/1pt chicken stock
300ml/½pt dry white wine
80g/3oz butter,
7 tbsp plain white flour
1 quantity of savoury pastry - at room temp
1 egg - beaten
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Put the first eight ingredients into a large saucepan, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 40 mins. Tip contents of the pan into a bowl, through a colander, to collect the juices. Transfer chicken to a plate and leave until cool enough to handle. Put the bacon, leeks and onion to one side. Discard the bay leaf. Remove the skin and pick the chicken from the bones, then break the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Melt the butter in a roomy saucepan. Add the flour and mix to a paste. Gradually incorporate the reserved chicken liquid to make a thick sauce. Add the chicken, bacon, leek and onion and give everything a good stir. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Divide the pastry into two balls, roughly two thirds and one-third. On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger ball into a circle with a floured rolling pin and line a 20cm tart ring, leaving a 1cm overhang. Blind bake the case for 10 minutes.
Remove the case from the oven and remove the baking beans and paper. Roll out the second ball slightly wider than the pie case to make a lid. Pile the chicken and bacon mix into the pie. Now dampen the rim of the pastry with the beaten egg and place the pastry lid in position on top. Press the edges together with a fork. Brush the remaining egg onto the lid. Make a small steam-hole in the centre of the pastry lid and bake the pie for 25 to 30 mins or until golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven and trim the excess pastry from the rim with a serrated knife. Slide the pie on to a chopping board and cut into wedges.