Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets episode 2: Mary visits Scone Palace, the crowning place of Scottish kings and the epicentre of Scottish history, where she is invited to help Lady Mansfield prepare for a special dinner with traditional Scottish reeling in the palace where Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were once amused. Mary enjoys salmon fishing on the family’s private stretch of the Tay, and the regal pastime of Highland deer stalking with William, the future Earl of Mansfield, as well as the family’s long-serving gamekeeper. Inspired by such royal history, Mary rustles up Scottish classics in the estate kitchen, including venison wellington, cock-a-leekie soup and cranachan.
In this series, Mary Berry discovers the rich history of our nation’s greatest stately homes through the prism of food. Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings, known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering and shipping management at college. She then moved to France at the age of 22 to study at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs.
Mary Berry
Berry’s first job was at the Bath Electricity Board showroom and then conducting home visits to show new customers how to use their electric ovens. She would typically demonstrate the ovens by making a Victoria sponge, a technique she would later repeat when in television studios to test out an oven she had not used before. Her catchment area for demonstrations was limited to the greater Bath area, which she drove around in a Ford Popular supplied as a company car.
Her ambition was to move out of the family home to London, which her parents would not allow until she was 21. At the age of 22, she applied to work at the Dutch Dairy Bureau, while taking City & Guilds courses in the evenings. She then persuaded her manager to pay for her to undertake the professional qualification from the French Le Cordon Bleu school.
She left the Dutch Dairy Bureau to become a recipe tester for PR firm Benson’s, where she began to write her first book. She has since cooked for a range of food-related bodies, including the Egg Council and the Flour Advisory Board. In 1966 she became food editor of Housewife magazine. She was food editor of Ideal Home magazine from 1970 to 1973.
Her first cookbook, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, was published in 1970. She launched her own product range in 1994 with her daughter Annabel. The salad dressings and sauces were originally only sold at Mary’s AGA cooking school, but have since been sold in Britain, Germany and Ireland with retailers such as Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Tesco. She has also appeared on a BBC Two series called The Great British Food Revival, and her solo show, Mary Berry Cooks, began airing on 3 March 2014.
Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets episode 2
Cranachan
It’s super easy to whip up Mary Berry’s classic Scottish cranachan. Hold back some of the crunchy oats and raspberries for a pretty topping, but don’t hold back on the whisky!
Method:
- Put the butter, sugar and oats in a saucepan and stir over a high heat for 4–5 minutes, or until toasted and crunchy. Set aside to cool.
- Measure the mascarpone and cream into a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl.
- Add the whisky, 300g/10½oz raspberries and two-thirds of the cooled oats. Mix until combined, but try to keep the raspberries fairly whole.
- Spoon into glasses and top with the remaining raspberries and crunchy oats.
Easy cock-a-leekie soup
This warming Scottish cock-a-leekie soup is made in the traditional way, with shredded prunes to add slight sweetness and comfort.
Method:
- Sit the chicken in a large saucepan so it fits snugly and add the stock; you need enough to cover the chicken.
- Add the bay and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil on a high heat. Cover and simmer for 1–1¼ hours, or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the liquid and check the juices run clear with no trace of pink when the thickest part of the leg, between the drumstick and the thigh, is pierced with a skewer (if not, cook for a little longer). Pull it apart slightly so it cools quickly.
- Add the leeks, carrots, celery and prunes to the cooking liquid (if you used water, add a couple of chicken stock cubes at this stage).
- Bring to the boil, then cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Pull the meat from the chicken carcass into bite-sized pieces, discarding any skin and bone. Remove the bay leaves from the pan, add a little salt and pepper if needed, return the chicken to the pan and stir. Heat until piping hot. Serve in warmed bowls or mugs.
Venison Wellington with caramelised onions and port jus
An irresistible venison Wellington that will really stop the show. Mary Berry shows you how to ensure a pink, juicy inside and crisp puff pastry on the outside.
Method:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Season the venison with salt and pepper and fry for about 20 seconds on each side, or until sealed and golden-brown but not cooked. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the onions to the pan and fry for few minutes. Cover with a lid and cook for 15–20 minutes, or until soft and golden.
- Remove the lid and fry for a minute to drive off any liquid. Remove half the onions with a slotted spoon and set aside (this will be used for the gravy later). Add the sugar, vinegar and thyme to the onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until sticky. Leave to cool completely.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface until it is very thin – about 25x35cm/10x14in. Trim the edges to neaten. Brush the surface of the pastry with the mustard, sit the browned fillet in the centre and spoon over the sticky balsamic onions.
- Fold up the ends and bring over the sides, trim any excess if there are double layers of pastry, and brush with beaten egg. Use the pastry trimmings to cut out three leaves and arrange in the centre of the Wellington, then glaze them with egg. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour, along with any remaining beaten egg.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. You will need a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper preheated in the oven so that it is piping hot.
- Brush the Wellington with the remaining beaten egg. Sit it on the hot baking tray and roast for 20–25 minutes, or until golden-brown. Leave to rest for 5–10 minutes before carving.
- Meanwhile, to make the sauce, fry the reserved cooked onion in a saucepan over a high heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir. Add the hot stock, fruit jelly and port. Bring to the boil, stirring, and cook for 5 minutes, or until reduced and thickened.
- Strain the sauce through a sieve, return it to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a few more minutes, until it has a coating consistency. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Carve the venison into very thick slices and serve with the port sauce.