It’s funny how Cumberland Sauce has ended up being a
quintessentially English sauce when it has its roots in Germany – a bit
like the royal family, you might say.
Traditionally, it comprises port and redcurrant
jelly with a few other bits and pieces - ground ginger, powdered mustard etc. It
should be thin, and sweet-ish, a pretty ruby colour with the gentle kick of a
retired can-can dancer.
Let’s go with the dancer analogy: If I was a critic
watching this sauce prance around the kitchen I would scribble the following
notes:
A little too thin to carry the role... a touch too
sweet... needs more attack...
Thicker than the traditional sauce - and golden rather than ruby - this saucy little Cointreau-laced number is more than able to high-kick its way across your taste buds and is well able to stand up to rich pâtés or terrines. (It is also delicious with the inevitable cold turkey and ham.)
For
a sauce with more attitude you will need...
1 lemon
1 large
orange
200g plum
jam (or similar flavour, not too dominant)
4
tablespoons Cointreau (or other
orange liqueur)
10g fresh
ginger, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon
fresh lemon juice
100mls
fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon
Dijon mustard
1. First,
using a vegetable peeler, thinly peel the zest from the lemon and the orange,
leaving as much of the white pith behind. Trim the peelings with a sharp knife
to remove any of this bitter pith that still clings to the zest. Cut the peel
into 4cm lengths trimming the edges so they are straight (this looks nicer in
the finished sauce). You can discard the uneven trimmings. Cut the strips of
zest into the thinnest shreds you can manage. Put them in a small bowl and
cover with boiling water to soften the flavour.
2. While
the zest is soaking, place the plum jam in a small saucepan, with the Cointreau, ginger, lemon juice and
orange juice. Heat gently until simmering and allow to bubble gently for about
8 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will help evaporate some of the alcohol.
3. Pass
the sauce through a strainer to remove the ginger and any fruity pulp from the
jam and fruit juices. Taking a little of the strained sauce, added it to the
mustard, mixing until smooth. Return this mixture to the sauce. Drain the shredded zest and pat with kitchen paper to remove any excess water before adding
to the sauce. Leave to cool.
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