Traditional Christmas roast goose menu

The menu

• Starters & nibbles

  Roquefort salad with pears, chicory and walnut oil

• Main course

  Roast goose with apples and cider gravy

• Side dishes

  Roast potatoes

• Side dishes

  Creamed Brussels sprouts

• Side dishes

  Maple-roast parsnips

• Desserts

  Sherry trifle

Menu ingredients

Serves 6

• Fruit and vegetables

  • 2-3 heads red and white chicory, separated into leaves, soaked in iced water for about 10 minutes

  • 1 large ripe pear, peeled, thinly sliced

  • squeeze lemon juice

  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered

  • 3 small red apples (such as Cox or Discovery), cut in half horizontally

  • 1 onion, chopped

  • 2 carrots, chopped into 2cm/¾in pieces

  • 1 celery stick, chopped into roughly 2cm/¾ pieces

  • small bunch fresh thyme

  • 2 onions, finely chopped

  • 1 medium-sized cooking apple, peeled, cored and cut into quarters

  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus extra sage leave to garnish

  • 1 kg/2lb 3¼oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1kg/2¼lb parsnips

  • 4 tbsp blackberry or raspberry jam

  • 1 lemon, juice only

  • 2 oranges, grated zest only

• Tins, packets and jars

  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour

• Cooking ingredients

  • 2-3 tbsp walnut oil

  • freshly ground black pepper

  • sea salt flakes

  • freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 tsp caster sugar

  • 100g/3½oz fresh white breadcrumbs

  • 300ml/10fl oz giblet stock (see above)

  • olive oil or goose fat

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 125ml/4fl oz vegetable oil

  • 80ml/3½fl oz maple syrup

  • 85g/3oz toasted flaked almonds

  • 55g/2oz caster sugar

  • freshly grated nutmeg

  • 85g/3oz flaked almonds

• Biscuits, snacks and sweets

  • ½ packet of amaretti biscuits or 150g/5oz macaroons or ratafias

• Drinks

  • 250ml/9fl oz dry cider

  • 125ml/4fl oz sherry

  • 2 tbsp brandy

• Dairy, eggs and chilled

  • 125g/4oz Roquefort cheese, crumbled

  • 250ml/8¾fl oz double cream

  • 600ml/1 pint ready-made custard

  • 425ml/15fl oz double cream

• Meat, fish and poultry

  • 1 x 5kg/11lb oven-ready goose

  • goose giblets

  • 1 goose liver (optional)

  • 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality sausage meat

  • 8 rashers cured bacon, cut into lardons

• Other

  • 3 bay leaves, plus extra for garnish

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 2 tbsp goose fat (reserved from cooking the goose)

  • 1kg/2½lb floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper

  • 1 packet trifle sponges, broken into 5cm/2in pieces

  • 150ml/5fl oz sweet sherry

  • 1 tbsp cognac

  • 450g/1 lb fresh blackberries

  • 450g/1 lb fresh raspberries