Festive feasts for Christmas
Perfect roasts and delicious accompaniments: some top chefs reveal what they will prepare for Christmas lunch at home.
JACK STEIN
Salmon en croute
If you want a showstopper fish dish, then go for salmon en croute. Half a salmon or two 500g fillets will feed six; just buy puff pastry sheets and then make a simple sauce with some sparkling wine. Reduce the wine, add cream and butter to thicken – no, you don’t need flour – then finish with tarragon and lemon juice. If you want to include spinach, wilt and add it now. Pat the salmon dry, season and place in the centre of one pastry sheet. Spread the sauce over the salmon, then lay another sheet over the top and pinch to seal. Egg wash with an egg mixed with a teaspoon of water and cook at 200C for 30 minutes until brown.
HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL
Brandade with breadcrumbs
Serves 4-6 as a main, 8-10 as a starter
INGREDIENTS
● 450g fillets of sustainably caught white fish
● 75g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks
● 40g unsalted butter
● 1 large garlic clove, chopped
● 150ml milk
● 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
● 75g coarse breadcrumbs
● Flaky sea salt and black pepper
METHOD
First, lightly salt the fish. Slice the fillets off their skins and check for bones. Sprinkle a thin, even layer of salt on a board, lay the fish fillets on top, then sprinkle over a further light covering of salt. Leave for just 15-20min, then rinse off the salt under a cold tap. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper.
While the fish is salting, cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15-20min until tender; drain and return to the hot pan.
Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat, add the garlic and sweat gently for a couple of minutes. Add the rinsed fish to the pan and pour over the milk. Bring slowly to a simmer, cover and cook very gently for another couple of minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Scoop the fish out of the pan with a slotted spoon on to a plate, leaving the hot milk behind.
Add 2½ tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and a few grinds of pepper to the hot milk in the pan, then tip in the hot potatoes and mash thoroughly. Break the fish into flakes and mash roughly with a fork, then add to the potato mash and stir well. Taste and add more pepper if you like. Preheat the oven to 190C. Spoon the brandade into a shallow ovenproof dish. Mix the coarse breadcrumbs with the remaining 1½ tablespoons of olive oil and scatter over the surface of the brandade. Bake in the oven for 15-20min until golden and piping hot.
PAUL AINSWORTH
The perfect turkey
I would put the turkey in a 10 per cent saltwater brine for a day or two, then allow it to dry in the fridge. Because turkey legs are quite large, cook them separately from the crown/breast, stuffed with sausage, sage and cranberry stuffing, wrapped in tin foil at a lower oven temperature of 120C for longer. It will keep them moist and allow you to focus on cooking the crown at a hotter temperature but for a much shorter time – this will help to keep the meat moist.
I make a stuffing with butter, lemon zest, thyme, garlic and brioche breadcrumbs and put that under the skin, over the breast meat. Bake the crown wrapped in tin foil at 180C, then increase the oven temperature to its maximum, remove the tin foil and cook for a further 10-15min and you will have the best golden, crispy skin with the addition of a moist breast filled with a beautiful stuffing.
MICHEL ROUX
My perfect stuffing
You can’t have Christmas dinner without stuffing. I cook it separately, I don’t actually stuff the bird. Make a big sausage and cook it in a terrine, or rolled up in aluminium foil. Use your favourite good-quality sausage meat, taken out of the skin, then pimp it up with whatever Christmassy flavours you enjoy.
I like a little kick, so I always use a little chilli flakes – if you’re eating a lot over Christmas you want something that’s going to wake your tastebuds up. Lots of nutmeg, but it’s very important it’s freshly grated so you get the full fragrance of it. And then dried fruit: apricots, prunes. Cut the fruit in half, so they’re in large chunks and cover them in whisky or maybe a bit of brandy.
Sometimes I’ll add a bit of extra breadcrumbs if the sausage meat doesn’t have any in it. Sometimes I’ll add a bit of chopped garlic and onion but it depends who’s coming. Whether I’m cooking turkey or goose, stuffing is key.
SKYE GYNGELL
Glazed ham
INGREDIENTS
● 1 leg of ham
● 5 carrots
● 1 stick of celery
● 4 leeks
● 10 juniper berries
● 15 peppercorns
● 5 fresh bay leaves
● Cloves
● 5 tbsp marmalade (or good jam)
● 4 tbsp Dijon mustard (or grainy, if you prefer)
For the glaze
● 2 tbsp marmalade
● 3 tbsp soft brown sugar, such as muscovado
● Finely grated zest and juice of one orange
● 150ml white wine
● Handful of cloves
●1 tbsp Dijon mustard (or grainy) for serving
METHOD
Place the ham in a bucket, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 24 hours, to take the saltiness out of it, then place in a deep stockpot.
Roughly chop the carrots, celery and leeks and add them to the pot. Then add the juniper berries, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. This can take up to 1½ hours. Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for a further two hours.
To make the glaze, mix the marmalade, sugar, orange juice and zest and wine together until you have a loose paste.
Remove the skin from the cooked ham, leaving as much fat on as possible, score it evenly all over and stud each diamond shape with a clove. Using a pastry brush, brush half the glaze evenly over the outside of the ham. Place in a baking tray on the middle shelf of the oven.
Roast for 10min, then brush the rest of the glaze on top. Cook for 20min or until sticky, golden brown and slightly set. Serve with grainy mustard or chutney.
JOSE PIZARRO
Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with sherry, green olives
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
● 2 large onions, finely sliced
● 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
● 2 tbsp olive oil
● 3-4 sprigs of oregano, leaves stripped
● 150g green olives
● 1 x 2kg lamb shoulder
● 200ml fino sherry
● 150ml chicken stock
● 700g gigante beans (or 2 x 400g tins butter beans), drained and rinsed
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the onions and garlic into a roasting tin and drizzle with oil and scatter with the oregano and olives. Season the lamb all over and place on top.
Roast the lamb for 20min, then add the sherry and stock and cover and reduce the oven temperature to 160C and cook for a further 2½-3 hours.
Uncover and add the beans and return to the oven for 10min to warm them through. Shred the lamb and serve with the juicy beans and onions.
MARCUS WAREING
Pork and sage croquettes
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
● 10g butter
● ½ onion, finely diced
● 250g sausage meat
● 2 tbsp finely chopped sage
● 25g golden raisins, finely chopped
● 2 tbsp chopped, toasted pistachio nuts
● Vegetable oil, for deep frying
● Sea salt and black pepper
For the crumb
● 30g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
● 2 eggs, beaten
● 60g dried breadcrumbs (panko or homemade from old bread)
METHOD
Heat the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, season well with salt and pepper and cook for about 10min until lightly golden, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add the sausage meat, sage, raisins and chopped pistachio nuts. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper. Fry a little of the mix to check the seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper if needed.
Roll the mixture into 16 small teaspoon-sized balls and refrigerate for at least 30min.
Put the crumb ingredients in three separate bowls. Coat the chilled croquettes in the seasoned flour, then the egg and finish with a generous coating of breadcrumbs. Return to the fridge for a further 10min. While the croquettes are in the fridge, pour enough vegetable oil into a deep saucepan to come up to about 5cm and place over a medium heat. If you have a thermometer, heat the oil to 170C. If not, to check the oil is at the right temperature, drop a 2-3cm cube of bread into the hot oil – it should turn golden and crisp in 1min.
Carefully drop a batch of croquettes in the hot oil and fry for 5-7min, until cooked all the way through (a metal skewer inserted into a croquette should be hot to the touch). Lift out carefully with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and serve while hot. Repeat with the remaining croquettes.
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Showstopping sides
POPPY O’TOOLE
Perfect roasties
INGREDIENTS
● 6 maris piper potatoes
● 1 tbsp salt, for the cooking water
● 3½ tbsp vegetable oil
● Good pinch of flaky salt to finish
METHOD
Cut your potatoes into quarters – so the pieces are nice and big and chunky. This will help to give you fluffy, crispy edges. Tip them into a large saucepan and just cover with cold water. Add the salt and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then cook for about 15min, or until you can poke the potatoes with the tip of a knife and they fall off.
Drain the potatoes in a colander, then suspend the colander in the potato pan and cover with a clean tea towel for about 10-15min, until the potatoes have steamed off and dried out a bit.
While your potatoes are steam-drying, preheat the oven to 220C. Pour the vegetable oil into a baking tray big enough to fit the potatoes in a single layer and place this in the oven to get hot while the oven is heating up. Once the potatoes have dried out, give them a shake in the colander so that the sides of them get all broken and crumbly.
Carefully get the baking tray out of the oven and tip in the potatoes. Give them a toss to get them coated in the oil, then return them to the oven to roast for 30min. Give them another toss, then leave them in the oven for a further 20min, until they are golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and serve sprinkled with plenty of flaky salt.
SELIN KIAZIM
Glazed rye carrots
Bring to the boil 500ml water, 125g butter, 100g sugar, 2 crushed cardamom pods and 2 star anise with a pinch of salt. Place 8 large peeled carrots into the liquid and cook for 12-15min or until the carrots are cooked through. Remove the carrots and keep warm. Continue to reduce the glaze to a syrup consistency, then pour it over the carrots.
At this point you could serve immediately or you can make these from a few days before and just reheat. For a final flourish I like to top the carrots with some rye breadcrumbs toasted in butter until crunchy.
NEIL RANKIN
Spiced red cabbage with ginger wine
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
● 1 large red cabbage, cored and finely chopped
● 1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
● 1 dessert/eating apple, peeled and grated
● 1 red onion, finely chopped
● 50g unsalted butter
● 1 cinnamon stick
● ¼ tsp ground star anise
● ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
● 50ml red wine vinegar
● 100ml ginger wine
● 100ml water
● Salt and black pepper
METHOD
Mix together the cabbage, fennel, apple and onion with a few pinches of salt, then let sit in a colander for 30min.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the spices and cook a little, then add the cabbage mix and sweat it down until starting to soften.
Next, add the vinegar, ginger wine and water and bring to the boil. Simmer until everything is cooked down and the liquid is almost evaporated. Season to taste and add more vinegar, if necessary.
RICHARD CORRIGAN
Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
● Sunflower oil
● 75g unsmoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons
● 600g small brussels sprouts, trimmed
● 400g cooked chestnuts
METHOD
Heat a little sunflower oil in a pan and saute the bacon lardons until crisp.
Meanwhile, blanch the sprouts in a pan of boiling salted water for 2min, or until just tender. Tip into a colander and run cold water over them, to stop them cooking further, and drain well.
Heat some more sunflower oil in a frying pan, then add the chestnuts and cook gently to heat and colour on all sides. Add the sprouts and bacon to heat through, stirring all the time. Season to taste and serve.
GIZZI ERSKINE
Bread sauce
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
● 600ml milk
● 50g unsalted butter
● 1 onion, chopped
● 6 cloves
● 6 peppercorns
●1 bay leaf
● 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
● 4 tbsp double cream
● ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
● ¼ tsp ground cloves
● Sea salt flakes and black pepper
METHOD
Put the milk, butter, onion, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf into a pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook gently for 5min, then leave to infuse for 1 hour.
Strain the liquid and return it to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs and simmer for 3-4min. Stir in the double cream, add the spices and season. The sauce is ready when it has a thick pouring consistency and is full of spiced flavour. If you make this in advance it will thicken up a bit, but it can be loosened with more milk and reheated ready to be served.
The Times