A Pilgrim’s Portion

Produced and styled by Carrie Campbell, Blake Miller, and Lisa Summerell
Photographs by Chris Edwards

The premise behind Chef Mark Allison's menu was simple—go retro. Really retro.

Mark William Allison
Master Chef
Associate Instructor
Johnson & Wales University

As in 1621, the first Thanksgiving dinner held in Plymouth, Massachusetts. And it turns out, Allison found that what the settlers feasted on centuries ago wasn't necessarily similar to what we eat today. Back then it was cod, eel, duck, swan, venison, chestnuts, dried currants, and parsnips. "Surprisingly what was not on the Thanksgiving table in 1621 were sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, cranberry sauce," Allison says, "as the colonists had little sugar at the time." So Allison, coincidentally an Englishman turned Charlottean, embraced the original American holiday, and then put his spin on it.

Menu 

• Herb and Walnut-crusted Cod
• Peppered Duck Breast
• Carrot Slaw
• Peas, Onions, and Lettuce
• Hot Apple and Chestnut Sponge

Drink Up!
Allison suggests skipping the traditional bottle of red or white wine and instead crack open a bottle of Sam Adams Scotch Ale.

Herb and Walnut-crusted Cod with Parsnip Puree

Serves 4

1 cup white bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon picked thyme leaves
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
8 walnut halves, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
3 tablespoons walnut oil or olive oil
4 six-ounce cod fillets, skinned
1 tablespoon walnut or olive oil

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, walnuts, and shallots into a small food processor and blend until the mixture is reasonably fine and rich in color. While processing, pour in some of the oil to moisten and loosen the texture of the crumbs.
• Season both sides of each cod fillet with the salt and pepper, and then cover the flat, skinned side of each fillet with the crumbs.
• Use the remaining oil to grease a sheet pan, then place the fillets on the pan.
• Place the cod into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Place a pool of parsnip puree in the center of each plate, top with a portion of cod, and serve.

Parsnip Puree
2 parsnips, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon butter
½ pint heavy cream

• Cut out the core of each of the parsnip quarters, then cut each parsnip into 1-inch lengths. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the parsnips. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, then add the cream and cook for another 15 minutes until tender. Season to taste, then pour into the food processor and blend until silky smooth.

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Peppered Duck Breast with Spicy Plums

Serves 4

4 six-to-eight-ounce duck breasts
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper corns
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Score the skin of the duck with a sharp knife, then sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Pour the oil into a frying pan and warm slightly. Add the breasts skin side down and fry for 8-10 minutes over a low heat; this will crisp the skin of the ducks.
• Turn each breast over and place into a roasting tray and place in the oven to finish cooking, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the duck breast to relax for 5 minutes before slicing.
• Slice the duck breast into thin strips and place overlapping each other on a service plate, arrange two halves of the plums alongside the breast meat, drizzle the sauce, and serve.

Plums
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 plums, halved and stone removed
10 ounces butter
2 teaspoons fine sugar

• To cook the plums, heat the oil in a frying pan and place the plums flesh side down into the oil. Cook until golden brown, then add the butter and sugar; this will caramelize the plums. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the syrup and turn over the plums to cook through.

Sauce
5 ounces red wine
2 tablespoons brandy
1-inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 star anise
Juice of ½ orange
Juice of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ lime
Pinch of five spice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons red currant jelly

• Place the red wine, brandy, cinnamon, cloves, and star anise in a saucepan and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the fruit juice and bring to a boil, then simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Then add the five spice, mustard, and red currant jelly. Whisk the sauce and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then strain

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Carrot Slaw

Serves 4

4 medium carrots, peeled, washed, and cut into thin matchsticks
1 bottle still mineral water
1 ounce butter
1 ounce golden raisins
½ teaspoon sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Place the carrots into a small saucepan and cover with just enough mineral water to cover the carrots, then add the raisins, half the butter, and sugar. Bring the carrots to boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until tender. Remove the carrots from the pan and keep warm. Return the pan to the stove and reduce the liquid left from the carrots until you have a loose-syrup consistency. Add the carrots back to the pan and stir in the remaining butter, season with salt and pepper, then serve.

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Peas, Onions, and Lettuce

Serves 4

1 tablespoon butter
12 peeled pearl onions
½ pound frozen peas
¼ lettuce, shredded
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then cook the onions until tender. Add the peas, lettuce, parsley, salt, and sugar, and cook until the vegetables begin to steam. Add a tablespoon of water, if needed, to cook the peas all the way through when hot. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

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Hot Apple and Chestnut Sponge with Vanilla Cream

Serves 4

4 Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon demerara sugar
4 ounces butter
4 ounces sugar
Zest of 2 orange peels, grated
2 eggs
4 ounces self-rising flour
Pinch of salt
1 level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 ounces cooked peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons golden syrup
½ pint heavy cream
1 tablespoon fine sugar
1 vanilla bean (or a few drops vanilla extract)

• Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then roughly chop them into a 1-inch dice. w Melt the butter in a frying pan, then sprinkle over with sugar. As the sugar begins to caramelize, add the apples and cook until golden brown, then remove from the pan to cool.
• To make the sponge, beat the butter and sugar with the orange zest in a food mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, until each one is mixed in well. Mix together the flour, salt, and nutmeg, and beat—along with the chestnuts—into the creamy butter.
• Butter a 1½-pint pudding basin, and pour in the golden syrup, then add a third of the caramelized apples. Fold the remaining apples into the sponge mixture. Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin. Cover with greased parchment paper and place into a hot steamer for 75-90 minutes.
• Remove the pudding from the steamer and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla seeds together until light and firm. Remove the parchment paper from the pudding basin and turn out the sponge. Divide the sponge into four pieces, place each piece onto a serving plate, spoon over the whipped cream, and serve.

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