From Nigel Slater, Observer Food Monthly May 25th 2008

When British strawberries are not as good as they could be this recipe will deepen their flavour, Serves 3-4

Strawberries - 400g
Caster sugar - 1 tbs (or more to taste)
Bramley and Gage Blackcurrant liqueur

Put the sugar in a shallow bowl. Pour in 4 tablespoons of blackcurrant liqueur. Cut the berries into halves or thick slices, dropping them into the marinade. Leave the berries in the fridge for a minimum of an hour, maximum of three.

Pheasant Breast with Sloe Gravy

This recipe is re-produced from a recipe by Burpham Country House, Arundel.

Take 2 pheasant breasts and remove skin. Flatten out between two sheets of cling film. Remove any shot! Remove false fillet and mince with fresh parsley, orange zest, a few crushed juniper berries and then season.

Place the minced meat onto the centre of the pheasant breast and then wrap in pancetta or streaky bacon. Pan fry in butter to get the bacon coloured and then place in an oven at 200c for 5 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes then slice.

Serve on buttered savoy cabbage or kale and dress with a rich gravy flavoured with sloe gin. Accompany with a few roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Grapefruit with Damson Gin
2 Grapefruit
150ml (1/4 pt) Double cream
5cl Damson Gin
25g (1 oz) Chopped walnuts
50g (2 oz) Caster sugar
Halve the grapefruit and scoop out the flesh, discarding pips and pith. Mix the cream with the sugar and most of the Damson Gin then whip it until stiff. Fold in the grapefruit pieces and walnuts. Put a small amount of the remaining Damson Gin into the Grapefruit halves then fill with the mixture. Chill very thoroughly before serving. Decorate with sweet cicely leaves: if they are not available bay or mint leaves are fine.

The Cheese Board

All our liqueurs can be drunk with cheese as an alternative to Port. We’d like to hear your ideas for cheese and liqueur partnerships, in the meantime Felicity’s favourite combinations are:
Quince and Cheddar
Sloe Gin and Stilton

Duck with Sloe Gin

From Nigel Slater, Observer Oct. 30 2005
A Large duck
An onion
About 50g (2oz) butter
10 juniper berries
5cl Sloe Gin
Stock
2 small, sharpish dessert apples.
Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8. Put the bird in a roasting tin. Peel the onion, cut into quarters and stuff the bird with the pieces. Rub a thin layer of butter over the bird, then tuck a small knob of butter inside. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the juniper berries with a little coarse sea salt and half a dozen black peppercorns. Rub the mixture over the duck. Score the skin of the apples around the middle and tuck them into the tin. Roast for 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 180C/ gas mark 4 then continue roasting for 20-30 minutes or until the skin is a fine colour and lightly crisp. Lift out the duck and put in a warm place to rest. Put the roasting tin over a moderate flame, pour in the sloe gin and an equal amount of stock and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve any pan-stickings into the liquid. Season with salt and pepper, let it bubble for a couple of minutes. When the sauce has started to thicken slightly, pour into a small hot jug. Carve the bird onto warmed plates together with some of the apple. Stir the gravy and pour it over.

Lambs Kidneys with Quince Liqueur

6 Lambs kidneys cleaned and skinned
225g (8 oz) mushrooms, washed
25g (1 oz) Butter
Salt and pepper
5cl Quince Liqueur
To garnish, double cream and chopped parsley.

Cut the kidneys in half, remove the core and slice again. Slice the mushrooms lengthwise down the stalks. Heat the butter in a frying pan and sauté the kidneys, then add the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and add salt and pepper then cook gently on the lowest possible heat for 20 minutes. Add the Quince Liqueur, taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour cream over and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with rice as a main meal for 2, or on slices of buttered toast as a starter for 4.

Summer Pudding
Summer Pudding is a classical pud to have with raspberry liqueur, but in the winter, rescue
some summer pudding mixture from the freezer-or buy ‘Summer Fruits’ from your local shop’s freezer. Line an oven-safe basin with buttered bread (butter-side to the dish). Fill with the aforementioned mixture, add sugar if necessary, cover with more bread and butter, sprinkle with
some granulated sugar and bake in a moderate oven for 1/2 hour. Just before serving, pour over some Raspberry Liqueur and serve with cream or custard.

Rhubarb with Sloe Gin

From:
Nigel Slater Observer 23rd April 06
750g rhubarb
100g sugar
8 tbsp sloe gin
2 tbsp water

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Cut the rhubarb into short lengths, pulling off any strings. Put the rhubarb into a dish (not aluminium, as this will taint the rhubarb). Stir together the sugar, sloe gin and the water then pour over the fruit. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the age of your rhubarb. The toughest will take a good hour. Baste the rhubarb from time to time with the juices. When the fruit is tender, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. Best eaten warm, not hot - though it is good chilled.