More Preserves from Nashtown Castle

Continuing the family tradition of preserving our own home grown heritage vegetables and preserving locally foraged fruit when there is a surplus, allows us to enjoy them all year round. Nashtown Castle Preserves and Pickles are now available in Glasrai & Goodies in Gowran, County Kilkenny and Phelans' Vegetable Shop in Ormond Street, Kilkenny.

Nashtown Castle pickles, jellies and chutneys ready for sale

Nashtown Castle Wild Crab Apple Jelly is created with foraged wild crab apples growing in the local wild hedgerows. 2012 was a bad year for apples, we found one special wild tree that yielded all the crab apples that were required.

Nashtown Castle Sloe & Crab Apple Jelly Not only was 2012 a bad year for apples, it was also a poor year for sloes. However, some careful sleuthing in the nearby woods located enough to make this special jelly. We had to watch and wait until the first frosts came along before we picked them, to allow the sloes to develop a little sweetness. 

Nashtown Castle Pickled Red Cabbage We grow our own red cabbage, it only travels a few yards from where it grows, to the pickling bowl in the kitchen. A stunningly beautiful vegetable, when cut in half, it always seems a shame to slice it up. We love to eat it raw, freshly grated in a coleslaw. We preserve it by pickling it, so we can continue to eat it out of season.

Nashtown Castle Apple & Lavender Jelly One of the greatest pleasures of gardening is picking your own home grown lavender, while the perfume swirls around. The lavender bags are emptied every year, refilled and replaced around the house to deter moths. The remaining lavender is infused to make a herbal tea and it is that juice that is added to this beautiful clear jelly. Having very few apples this year, we raided our neighbour's neglected old orchard, full of old, flavorsome varieties of apples to produce this jelly.

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Kilkenny Pheasant Liver Pate

Eating local and seasonal is hard to beat. A brace of wild Kilkenny pheasants, locally shot and hung for 6 days, arrived on the kitchen table. These pheasants had a healthy, free life until they met their demise.

A fine brace of Kilkenny Cock Pheasants

They were plucked and gutted. The pheasant feathers made a welcome addition to the compost heap. These pheasants were roasted with some fatty bacon and stuffed with a traditional seasonal herb stuffing, using breadcrumbs made from stale homemade soda bread.

The plump breast of a half plucked Kilkenny Cock Pheasant.

The livers were gently cooked, 3 to 4 times their weight, in country butter. Once they were cooked through, they were placed in the food processor along with a clove of garlic, a teaspoon of fresh thyme and lots of freshly ground pepper. The pan was rinsed out with a large splash of sherry, which was then added to the food processor. It was all whizzed up together and poured into a small bowl and placed into the fridge.  So easy.

Pheasant Livers on Melting Country Butter

The pate, with a little added sloe gin jelly, makes a rich starter to any winter meal. 

Pheasant Liver Pate with Sloe Gin Jelly

Waste not, want not... 

The pheasant bones should always be simmered up with root vegetables, herbs and spices to make a good stock. The base for a hearty seasonal soup.

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Kilkenny Sloe Gin & Sloe Jam

In Kilkenny, it has been one of the best years in recent times, for Sloes. They started ripening in early September and today, now in late November, the last of them, sweetened by the frost, are still on the blackthorn bushes waiting to be picked.

Sloe Gin, or Sloe Vodka, or if preferred Sloe Poteen, is the simplest of all recipes.

Freshly picked Sloes, ready for the pot.

Just prick the Sloes, pop them into a bottle (as in photo below) and add between a third of their weight and half their weight in sugar. The bottle in the photo is waiting to be topped up with more gin.

If you prefer your Sloe Gin to be sweeter, then just add more sugar. Fill the bottle to the top with your preferred spirit. Shake every day for a couple of weeks. Leave for three months and then strain.

SLOE GIN - Use as a liqueur drink on its own, or in cocktails.

A TART SLOE JAM

Weigh your sloes and then weigh out three quarters of that amount in sugar.

In a large pot or preserving pan, place your sloes with enough water to half cover them. Simmer until the stones are exposed and the flesh is soft.

Then rub the fruit through a coarse sieve or colander to catch the stones. Discard the stones. Add warmed sugar and bring slowly to boil while the sugar dissolves.

Simmer for five minutes and then place the jam into sterilised jars.

SLOE JAM in recycled jars.

The flavour is slightly tart and the colour is a deep colour. Eat with lamb or pork or use in a steam pudding.

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Sloe Gin and Wild Apple Jelly

Now that the first frost has arrived it is time to pick sloes and wild apples, sweetened by the frost, to make Sloe Gin Jelly. I have some of last year's sloe gin left over and will use it in the jelly recipe. 

Wild Kilkenny apples ready for picking

Ripe sloes

Sloes and wild apples ready for cooking

Sloe and apple juice

The finished article with last year's sloe gin added: Wild Apple, Sloe & Sloe Gin Jelly.
Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com