Fr Albert Robertson OP prepares two dishes to accompany the Michaelmas goose at the end of September.
After a short assignment to our house in Edinburgh, I have been moved to take up a new apostolate, and now live in our priory in Cambridge. After a little time in a guest room over the summer, this month will be the time of truly settling in to my new life here.
Dominicans tend to refer to our rooms as just that, our room, although some of us in a more recherché or ironic way might speak of it as a cell. Oratorians get it right when they speak of their room as a nido, a nest, which captures something of the sense of the homeliness for which we all strive. So this September will be a time of both fresh starts and building a new nest as I start this new chapter of my Dominican life.
However, even if your September is not marked by this kind of fresh start, it’s a good time to think of nesting as the seasons begin to change. In the northern hemisphere this is the month for winter provisioning and preserving, making a warm nest and home against the coldness of winter. It’s the ideal time to make some chutneys or pickles which can bring something of the summer to the winter months.
Our priory in Cambridge is dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, and there is always a great celebration in the priory, a festal lunch, and Solemn Vespers (something Dominicans rarely do, so it must be a special occasion!). It’s also the beginning of the academic year, and so has a new-year, fresh-start feel to it for many of us who work in university chaplaincies or are involved in an academic apostolate. Being a noviciate house, this is also the time of change for our community, as the noviciate class make Simple Profession, and we welcome a new crop of novices. This all makes for the perfect opportunity for a feast.
As a novice, I cooked a Michaelmas goose for our feast day, something which I might well replicate this year if I’m down to cook. Many think of goose as very fatty – which it can be – and perhaps too greasy. But geese slaughtered earlier in the year are much lighter than those fattened right up until Christmas, and should give a less fatty taste. According to English folklore, when St Michael battled the devil, he fell straight into a blackberry bush, meaning that 29 September is the last day for blackberry picking, and so a blackberry and apple sauce makes a fitting accompaniment to a Michaelmas goose.
Beetroot chutney
Makes six 300ml jars:
1kg raw beetroot
Zest of 4 lemons
200ml lemon juice
300ml cider vinegar
4 red onions, finely chopped
4 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
4 tsp fennel seeds
400g granulated sugar
A large pinch of sea salt
Black pepper for seasoning
Do not peel the beetroot, but wash and trim it and place it in a large saucepan with cold water. Bring the water to the boil and simmer until just tender – around 30 minutes, depending on size. Remove from the water and leave to cool enough to handle. Remove the skin by lightly rubbing the beetroot. Cut the beetroot into 1cm cubes and set aside.
Before beginning this stage, begin to prepare your jars. Then put the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, red onion, apple and fennel seeds into a large, heavy-based saucepan. Place over a medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep simmering until the apple has softened to a purée. Add the diced beetroot and the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the mixture is thick, glossy. Just before the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Spoon the chutney into the prepared jars. Fill to the top, and gently knock the jar against the surface to remove air pockets. Seal immediately. Leave for a few weeks to mature. Eat before next autumn.
Blackberry and apple sauce for Michaelmas goose
1 onion, or 2 or 3 shallots, finely chopped
300ml chicken stock
100g redcurrant jelly
300ml red wine
400g blackberries
400g peeled apple
cubes of butter
Fry the onion until soft and then add the stick, redcurrant jelly, and wine. Reduce until thickened. Add the blackberries and apple, and once the apple has softened, use a stick blender to make a smooth sauce. If your sauce is still too thin, thicken with corn flour, but if you have a thick sauce, add in 100g of butter to make it glossy and smooth.
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