Joris Bijdendijk’s Christmas tip

Just like Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, Joris Bijdendijk works during Christmas. At least on Christmas Day and Boxing Day; he spends Christmas Eve at home with his wife and children. What’s on the menu then?

“A beautiful deer from the Oostvaardersplassen and a few small things to simply nibble on.”

Not on his own menu, but according to Joris, the absolute hit for this Christmas: “A little pastry like the one in my cookbook, made with hare and blood sausage.”

And for anyone looking for an alcohol-free drink to go with it, Joris also has a tip: “Try pouring a beautiful kombucha.”

Hare pie with smoked white cabbage and apple cider cream

This pie is made with brioche dough, which remains wonderfully light despite the amount of butter. The great thing about pies is that you can make them as large or small as you like. You could scale up this recipe to feed eight or ten people. A lovely idea for Christmas. The smoked cabbage takes some effort, but is definitely worth trying. It is also incredibly delicious with fish and raw oysters.

Brioche

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in milk at a temperature of approximately 38 °C. Mix the flour, eggs and yeast mixture, then add the salt. Gradually work in the softened butter. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it to rise at room temperature for half an hour.

Roll out 550 grams of the brioche dough into a 40 x 40 cm square. Cut out 4 rounds of dough, each 16 cm Ø. Cover and set aside for later. The remaining brioche dough can be frozen raw for later use. Make sure to cover it airtight to prevent it from drying out.

Hare forcemeat

Purée the cubes of cold blood sausage, the minced hare and the egg in a food processor until smooth. Add the cold cream and season the mixture with pepper, salt and cognac. Make 4 small balls of the forcemeat, place them on the slice of blood sausage and briefly freeze them.

White cabbage

Steam or boil the whole white cabbage until tender, without adding anything. Ask a smoker nearby whether they would be willing to cold-smoke your cabbage overnight alongside their fish or meat. Alternatively, smoke the cabbage yourself in the oven using smoking wood dust. The smoking must be done cold.

Apple cider cream

Cook the trimmings from the white cabbage with the diced apple, port and apple cider until completely tender. Blend in a blender and allow to cool slightly to approximately 40 °C. Then add the egg white, mustard and vinegar, and gradually add the oil while blending, so that a kind of mayonnaise forms. Season with pepper and salt. A very delicious cream that also goes very well with, for example, fried bacon.

Plating

Cut thin slices of the smoked white cabbage and place them on a warm plate or board. Fold the brioche dough around the hare forcemeat and blood sausage balls. Pull the ends together firmly, cut away the excess dough and make sure the bottom is sealed. Butter 4 moulds measuring 6 cm Ø. Place the brioches in them with the seal facing down.

Brush the brioches with egg yolk. Leave them to rise for 20 minutes. Bake them for 10 minutes in an oven at 180 °C. Remove the brioches from the moulds and serve them on a slice of smoked cabbage, with the apple cider cream.

Wine

A powerful, full-bodied white wine with relatively low acidity, such as a Viognier from the Rhône.