Category Archives: Christmas

Cranberry Sausage Rolls

Christmas, Sides

Makes 26 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of premade puff pastry (320g)
  • 350-400g sausage meat – you can use any kind with any flavour, or even any type of stuffing mix
  • Roughly 10 tsp cranberry sauce
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 200C/180Fan
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper
  • Cut the pastry in half lengthways so you have two long strips.
  • Spread the cranberry sauce down the middle of the strip
  • Top with sausage meat/stuffing
  • Brush one edge with egg and then roll the other edge over and press down
  • Use a fork to seal the edge and make a nice pattern
  • Brush the whole thing with egg, and sprinkle with black pepper
  • Make little lines on top with your knife for a pretty pattern if you fancy it
  • Cut the roll into mini sausage rolls (about 2-3cm wide) and arrange them on the baking tray
  • Pop them in the oven for 25-30mins until golden brown

Honey Glazed Carrots

Christmas, Sides

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

  • 500g thin carrots (or cut them down the middle in half)
  • 25g unsalted butter
  • 1tbsp goose/duck fat (optional)
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/4 bunch fresh thyme
  • 2 clementines or half an orange
  • 2 tbsp runny honey

Method

  • Trim most of the leafy green stalks off the carrots, then peel them.
  • Melt the butter and fat (if using) in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
  • Crush the unpeeled garlic with the flat side of your knife, then add to the pan turning after 1 minute.
  • Pick and sprinkle in the thyme sprigs, squeeze over the orange juice, then add the honey and a splash of water.
  • Add the carrots in a single layer, season with sea salt and black pepper, then jiggle the pan to coat the carrots.
  • Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender.
  • Remove the lid, then cook until the glaze has reduced, and the carrots are sticky and caramelised, turning often.
  • Serve straightaway, or reheat when needed.

Braised Red Cabbage

Christmas, Sides

Ingredients (serves 10-12 people as a side dish)

  • 500g red cabbage, sliced
  • 1 white or red onion, sliced
  • 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
  • Zest of an orange or lemon
  • 1stp ground mixed spice
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 3tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 300ml dry cider
  • 25g butter

Method

  • Add all of the ingredients to a large pan (make sure it has a lid) and dot the butter on top
  • Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1.5hrs with the lid on.
  • Warm and drain before serving

Mulled Wine

Christmas, Drinks

Ingredients

  • 1 orange or 2 clementines
  • 1 lemon
  • 60g light brown soft sugar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 8 cloves
  • A drop of vanilla extract
  • 1 star anise
  • 60ml ruby port
  • 75cl bottle of red wine (I use merlot)


Method

  • Use a peeler to peel large strips off the lemon and the orange
  • Add all the zest with the juice of the orange to a large saucepan
  • Add sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla extract and port
  • Turn on a high heat and simmer until it turns to a sticky syrup (4-5mins)
  • Turn to a low heat and add the star anise
  • Add the wine and simmer for 20mins

Beef Wellington

Beef, Christmas, Mains

Serves 2-4 people

Ingredients

  • 450-500g fillet of beef
  • English mustard
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)
  • 1 fresh spring of rosemary
  • 4-6 slices of parma ham
  • Puff pastry (I buy pre-rolled but if not you’ll need to roll it out to about A4 size)
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  • Put a frying pan on a high heat and once hot, add about a tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Sear the meat in the pan – about a minute on each side and then quickly do the ends.
  • Place the meat on a chopping board/plate and brush it all over with English mustard.
  • Add the mushrooms, garlic, breadcrumbs (if using), salt and pepper to a blender and whizz up until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
  • Get a dry frying pan on a medium heat and tip the mushroom mixture in. The idea here is to cook out all of the moisture so this might take a little while.
  • Once completely dry, leave the mixture to one side until it has cooled down.
  • In the mean time, lay out some cling film and lay your parma ham along it, making sure they overlap each other
  • Spread the mushroom mixture over the ham, leaving about half an inch at the top and bottom of where you’ll roll it.
  • Place the beef on top.
  • Use the clingfilm to help roll the beef in the ham and wrap it up in the clingfilm like a sausage. Put it in the fridge to set.
  • Roll out more clingfilm and place your pastry on top. Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan.
  • Get the beef from the fridge and place it on the pastry. Again use the clingfilm to wrap the beef in the pastry. Trim the pastry so that you have just enough to go round the beef without overlapping.
  • Tuck the pastry at both ends and wrap up like a sausage in the clingfilm. Leave this in the fridge for 5-10mins to set.
  • Unwrap the package and place on a baking tray. Brush with beaten egg yolk and use the back of a knife to slice patterns in the top of the pastry (don’t go through it!). You could also use the spare pastry to make shapes on top.
  • Sprinkle with sea salt and then cook in the oven for 35-40mins until the pastry is golden brown.
  • Cut into 1cm slices and serve 🙂

Ultimate Roast Chicken

Chicken, Christmas, Mains

Ingredients

  • 1x 1.6kg whole chicken – adjust your cooking time for different weights.  The general rule is 20mins per 450g (1lb) plus 10-15mins on top.
  • 1 large or 2 medium onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 small whole bulb of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • 1x lemon
  • 1 bunch of mixed herbs like rosemary, thyme and sage

Method

  • Remove your chicken from the fridge around 30mins before cooking to bring it up to room temperature
  • Preheat your oven to 240C/220C Fan/Gas 9
  • Wash and roughly chop the onions, carrots and celery – you don’t need to peel any of them
  • Break the garlic bulb up into cloves and leave them unpeeled
  • Pile all of the vegetables into a baking tray with some of the herbs and drizzle with olive oil
  • Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub with salt and pepper
  • Place the chicken on top of the vegetables
  • Prick some holes in the lemon with a sharp knife (this will release the flavour) and place inside the chicken with the rest of the herbs
  • Put the tray in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6
  • Cook for the allotted time, which is 1hr 20mins for our chicken
  • At this point, you can get on with your vegetables such as my perfect roast potatoes and whatever else you fancy.
  • Take the chicken out of the oven when it’s done, cover it with foil and a tea towel, and leave it for at least 15mins to rest.
  • When you’re ready, carve the chicken and serve 🙂

Salted Caramel Shortbread Slices

Christmas, Sweets and Biscuits

Ingredients

For the shortbread

  • 175g/6oz unsalted butter
  • 75g/2.5oz golden caster sugar
  • Seeds from 1 vanilla pod OR 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 225g/8oz plain flour

For the caramel

  • 200g/7oz unsalted butter
  • 1x 397g tin of condensed milk
  • 4tbsp golden syrup
  • 1tsp sea salt

For the topping

  • 100-150g milk chocolate

 

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4
  • Grease and line a 20cm square tin
  • Rub the butter, sugar, vanilla and flour together to form a rough dough – don’t worry if it doesn’t all come together, it should be crumbly
  • Press the dough into the tin evenly and prick it all over with a fork
  • Bake the dough for 5 mins then turn the oven down to 150C/Gas Mark 2 and bake for another 35 mins.
  • Remove the tin from the oven and let the base cool in the tin
  • Now you can make the caramel. Add all of the ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to the boil for 10mins. I’d recommend stirring for the whole time even before it starts boiling.
  • After 10mins, the mixture should be golden and now you can pour it over the biscuit base. Use a spoon to level it all out.
  • Put your tin in the fridge to cool the caramel until it’s cool and slightly hardened.
  • For the topping, add the chocolate to a bowl and melt it over a sauce pan of simmering water.
  • Once melted, pour the chocolate over the caramel and level it out.
  • Return to the fridge to let it set.
  • Cut into as many or as few pieces as you like 🙂

Mince Pies

Christmas, Desserts, Fruit

Ingredients

  • 140g/5oz cold butter, diced
  • 225g/8oz plain flour
  • 50g/2oz ground almonds
  • 50g/2oz golden caster sugar
  • 1 orange, zest only
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tsp cold water
  • 280g/10oz good quality mincemeat
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • icing sugar for dusting

Method

  • Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  • Rub the butter into the flour and add the almonds, caster sugar, orange rind and salt until the mixture is a bit crumbly.
  • Combine mixture with the egg yolk and 1-2 teaspoons of water until it forms soft dough, then put it into a plastic bag and chill for 20 – 30 minutes.
  • Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 2-3mm(0.1in) and cut out about 18 rounds measuring 7.5cm(3in) with a pastry cutter.
  • Place in lightly greased patty tins and spoon the mincemeat evenly into the pies.
  • Re-roll the leftover pastry and cut out round lids, stars or other festive shapes to fit on top of the mincemeat.
  • Lightly brush the pastry tops with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until golden.
  • Remove from oven and leave for a few minutes before removing from tins and cooling on a wire rack.
  • Dust with icing sugar.

Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing

Christmas, Sides

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of pork sausage meat
  • 1 large onion (or two small)
  • 2 apples (braeburn or gala)
  • Dry sage
  • Black pepper

Method

  • Peel and roughly chop the onion and apple.
  • Put these in a mixer with the meat.
  • Sprinkle with a good helping of pepper and sage.
  • Mix until a smooth paste
  • Line a baking tray with baking paper or foil
  • Use spoons to create stuffing balls and cook on 200 for 25-30mins

Apple Sauce

Christmas, Sides

Chef’s Tip: You could also use a masher to smooth out lumps in your sauce.

Ingredients

  • 450g chopped cooking apples
  • 25g caster sugar
  • Dash of lemon juice
  • 2fl.oz. water
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Teaspoon of butter (maybe a little more)

Method

  • Chop the apples and put in a saucepan with all the ingredients
  • Cook on a medium heat for 15mins.
  • Then whisk to desired consistency – the more you whisk, the smoother the sauce.