CHRISTMAS DINNER - RECIPES
ROAST TURKEY
INGREDIENTS:
Turkey:
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
- Salt
- Pepper
- Unsalted Butter
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Foil
Turkey Glaze:
- Honey
- Mustard
- Vinegar
- Worcester Sauce
METHOD:
Make sure turkey is removed from the fridge and patted dry a good hour or two before you start cooking so its not cold when you start cooking it. Optional - Rub the skin generously with salt inside and out and leave in the fridge overnight. This dry brine will help bring out the flavour of the bird.
Preheat your oven to full
If you have brined then the turkey will already be salty enough. If you haven’t then you want to cover the Turkey in butter and salt and pepper. Get the butter under the skin and over the breasts.
In a deep sided turkey tray roughly chop up some carrots, celery and onions and pop them in the tray with rosemary, thyme, bay leaf. Add the giblets to the tray too.
Pop your turkey on top of the veg, cover with foil and insert your thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Stick it in the oven. At this point you want to turn your oven down to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
The size of the turkey will depend on how long the cooking time will take. The best way is to roast it until the thermometer reads 70°C
Now make the Glaze, your going to baste the turkey every 20/30 minutes with this.
Bring Honey, Mustard, Vinegar, soy sauce and a spoonful of brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer and add some Worcester sauce, rosemary and thyme. Simmer this until its thick enough to adhere to the turkey. Allow this to cool once at the perfect consistency.
Glaze turkey with this every 20/30 mins.
After 3 hours, remove the tin foil to crisp up that skin.
Once the Turkey is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least an hour.
SPINACH & MUSHROOM WELLINGTON
INGREDIENTS:
- 500g Spinach
- 50g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, finely sliced
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 600g chestnut mushrooms
- 200g chestnuts
- 150g soft goats cheese
- Flour, for dusting
- 500g puff pastry
-1 egg
METHOD:
Blanch the spinach in boiling water until wilted then drain and chop roughly.
Heat the butter and oil in a large pan and gently cook the leeks for 5 minutes until softened and caramelised. Add the thyme and garlic, fry for a further minute then add the mushrooms and fry for 5 minutes more until softened. Remove from the heat, stir in the chestnuts and leave to cool.
Combine the spinach and leek and mushroom mixture together with the cheese in a bowl and mix until it is all evenly distributed and the filling holds together. Roll into a log with some cling film and put it in the fridge to set for an hour or so.
Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll the puff pastry out to a large rectangle and to a thickness of about 5mm. Take the filling out the fridge and place of top of the pastry. Roll the wellington up taking care not to poke any holes in the pastry and making a neat seal on the underside of the pastry. Poke a small hole in the top of the wellington to allow the steam to get out and glaze the pastry with a beaten egg to give a nice shine when it gets out the oven.
Bake the wellington for 30 minutes until it looks golden brown and delicious. Leave it to stand for 5-10 minutes when it comes out the oven- this will help it slice a lot better.
CARROTS & PARSNIPS
INGREDIENTS:
- Carrots & Parsnips
- 500g carrots, peeled
- 500g parsnips, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp clear honey
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- Garlic
- 4-6 sprigs thyme
METHOD:
1. Chop your carrots and parnips into big even sizes.
2. Pop them in a pot of salted water and par boil for 6 minutes.
3. Remove them from the water and allow to steam dry for five minutes.
4. Get a tray and srtick the carrots and parnsips in it. Add some butter, olive oil, salt and pepper.
5.Pop them in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and serve!
ROAST POTATOES
INGREDIENTS:
- Goose Fat
- Thyme
- Goose Fat
- Maris Pipers
- Garlic
- Red Wine Vinegar
METHOD:
1. Pre Heat oven to 190
2.Peel your potatoes, then chop them. You want them all roughly to be the same size.
3. Put them in a colander and rinse under a cold tap, this will remove any excess starch on the potatoes.
4. Add them to a pot and cover with cold water and salt. Put the pan on the hob at a high heat and boil for 6 minutes. Drain them and allow them the steam dry for 5 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes to a tray and cover in Goose Fat, salt and pepper.
6. Pop them in the oven for 30 mins
7. Throw in a few crushed gloves of garlic, rosemary and thyme and red wine vinegar. Give them a shake and a squash (thanks Jamie Oliver). You want to increase surface area so you get nice crispy bits.
8. Stick them back in the oven for 30/40 mins until crispy all over. Turn them through the cooking process.
9. Once cooked, bring them out and serve.
STUFFING
INGREDIENTS:
- Knob of butter
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 75g white breadcrumbs
- Small bunch of sage leaves, finely chopped
- Grated zest of ½ lemon
- 450g pork sausage-meat
- Nutmeg, to grate
METHOD:
Melt some butter and olive oil in a frying pan on a low heat and gently fry the onion.
Turn up the heat and add half the breadcrumbs until golden.
In a bowl place the sausage-meat, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and herbs. Add the cooled onions and toasted breadcrumbs. Season with Salt & Pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
Form into balls and put in a greased baking dish.
Bake for 30 mins!
PIGS & BLANKETS
INGREDIENTS:
- Streaky Bacon
- Sage, Thyme & Rosemary
- Chipolata
- Worcester Sauce
- Honey
METHOD:
First up you want to lay out one piece of bacon and cover in a few of your herbs.
Pop the sausage at one end and roll it up!
Place each one in a roasting tray.
Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes.
Take them out the oven, splash some Worcester sauce on them and serve!
BRUSSEL SPROUTS
INGREDIENTS:
- 450g Brussel Sprouts
- 300ml Soured Cream
- 4 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 1tsp Cornflour
- 1tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp chopped tarragon leaves
- 225g smoked streaky bacon
METHOD:
SPROUTS
In a pan of boiled salted water, cook the brussel sprouts for 4-5 minutes or until tender, drain and set aside
Grill the streaky bacon until crispy then chop finely.
In a pan combine the cream, mustard, cornflour and honey- slowly bring to the boil and then simmer for 1 minute.
Stir in the tarragon and half the streaky bacon, season.
In a serving bowl combine the sauce with the brussel sprouts and sprinkle over the remainder of the bacon.
CRANBERRY SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
- 100g/3½oz light brown sugar
- 100ml/3½fl oz fresh orange juice
- 250g/9oz fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 clementine, finely grated zest only (optional)
METHOD:
Get your sugar and orange juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add your cranberries and simmer until the cranberries are soft but not disintegrated. Roughly 10 mins.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Stick them in the fridge and serve!
GRAVY
INGREDIENTS:
- Cornflour
- Cranberry Sauce
- Lea & Perrins
- Chicken Stock
- Red Wine or Port
METHOD:
First up you need the tray you cooked your turkey in, with the carrots, onions, celery and giblets in it.
Pop this on your hob and get a medium heat under it. Put some cornflour in and mix it up, this will thicken the gravy.
Empty your stock into the tray and bring to a simmer. Scraping away all the tasty stuck on bits.
Add some red wine, and any other flavours you want in your gravy. We like a bit of red wine and some of our cranberry sauce.
Simmer until it’s at your desired consistency.
You now need to sieve the gravy to get rid of all the bits. Pop this in a saucepan and leave to simmer until you’re ready to serve.