Despite what one would think January has on offer some fabulous fruit and veg.
Think blood and Seville oranges, kale, pears, apples, beetroot, clementines, leeks, cauliflower, celeriac, game (partridge, guinea fowl, venison…), Jerusalem artichoke, Hake, Halibut, pomegranate, lemon sole, clams, mussels, shallots, walnuts and kiwi fruits.
In this cold weather game stews and roast dinners would be great, but one of my favourite guilty pleasures is heating up and perfuming the house with homemade jams and marmalades that can be then generously spread over thick and warm slices of buttered toast or scones that have just come out of the oven with a dollop of fresh cream.
You can then sit on your couch, put a blanket over your knees and enjoy the fruit of your labour with a nice cup of tea to wash it down whilst the snow falls thick on the ground outside.
Clementine and Rose Water Marmalade
Makes 6 jars of 1/2lb
14 clementines
9 cups water
Pinch salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cups preserving sugar
4 tsp rosewater
2 tsp liquid pectin
Cut the clementines in half crosswise along the equator and squeeze the juice in a big, non-stick pan via a strain to separate the seeds.
Set the rind aside.
Remove any leftover pulp from below the rind and cut it into strips as thin as possible.
Add the rind, water, salt and lemon juice to the juice, put on a medium heat, bring to a boil and leave it to simmer for 35 minutes or until the the rind is soft and becoming translucent.
If you don’t like having too much rind in your marmalade then plunge a strainer in the pot at this point and remove as much rind as you want.
If, on the other hand, you don’t mind rind then move on straight to the next point.
Put the pot back on a medium heat, add sugar, rosewater and pectin, bring to a boil again and let it simmer until jellying point. This should take you around 40 minutes.
If you are first timers with jam/marmalade remember that it will not look jellied when it’s still boiling away in the pan; if in doubt take a little marmalade out of the pot, place it on a plate, let it cool for a couple of minutes and run your finger through it to test consistency.
Buon appetito!
