All the trimmings...
Award-winning chef Rachel Green dishes up your favourite traditional Christmas dinner with a twist.
ROAST TURKEY
(with pork, almond and apple stuffing)
Ingredients:
5kg free-range Golden Promise turkey; 1 lemon, quartered 6 thyme sprigs, 1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped;
1 stick of celery, coarsely chopped; 1 bay leaf
2 tbsp plain flour; 150ml dry Marsala; 500ml turkey stock
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly; 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Pork stuffing:
350g breadcrumbs from ciabatta bread;
500g sausage meat, 2 Cox’s apples, peeled, coarsely grated 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
100g chopped almonds, 150g parmesan, finely grated
4 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped; 5 eggs, lightly beaten 100g butter, melted; 6 Cox’s Apples,
Sea salt and black pepper
Method:
1 Preheat oven to 230°C/Gas 8. Remove giblets and reserve. Rinse the turkey inside and out and dry well.
2 For the stuffing, combine all of the ingredients including half of the butter and bind well.
3 Grease a loaf tin and line with baking parchment paper. Loosely place some stuffing into the tin, press down, cover and put in fridge until ready to cook. Cut the top off the apples, 1/3 from the top. Remove the core, and fill each apple with stuffing and replace the lid. Brush with butter and place in the fridge.
4 Place two tblspns of the stuffing into the small cavity (neck end) of the turkey, pull excess skin over stuffing and secure to underside of turkey with a wooden skewer. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan; fill the cavity with lemon and thyme sprigs. Brush the turkey with oil, season and cover with foil.
5 To make the stock, place the turkey giblets, onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2hrs, then strain. Cool and store in the fridge until needed.
6 Place the turkey in the oven, cook for 30mins, then lower the oven to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for 30mins per kilo, basting every hour.
7 Meanwhile cook the stuffing in the loaf tin for 45mins or until golden brown and 35mins before cooking ends, remove the foil, drain off any of the excess fat and place the apples around the turkey and cook for a further 35mins or until golden brown.
8 Transfer the turkey to a platter, placing the apples around it, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 20/30mins. Serve the turkey carved with slices of stuffing, apples and gravy.
PEA AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH HAZELNUT AND ORANGE GLAZE
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
400g frozen peas
200g prepared Brussels sprouts
Zest and juice of one orange
50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
50g butter
Sea salt and black pepper
1tsp sugar
Method:
1Cook the Brussels sprouts in boiling, salted water for 5mins or until nearly tender, add the peas, bring to the boil and simmer for a further 2mins.
2Drain and place into a warm serving dish. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small heavy based frying pan. When the butter is foaming, add the chopped nuts and fry for one minute until slightly golden.
3Add the orange juice and the sugar and boil for a further minute. Add the grated orange zest. Season with a little black pepper and pour over the sauce making sure that they are well covered.
CARROT CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Ingredients:
100g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp of mixed spice
100g suet
100g raisins
100g currants
100g potato, grated
100g carrots, grated
100g Demerara sugar
100g fine breadcrumbs
25g chopped glace cherries
1 large egg, beaten
Method:
1 Mix the flour, soda and spice well together. Add all the other ingredients except the egg, mix all ingredients well together and thoroughly.
2 Then add the egg and bind well. If it’s a little too stiff, add a little milk as well.
3 Pour into a large greased pudding basin, leaving space at the top as the mixture will expand during cooking.
4 Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper and tie with string. Steam for 3hrs. Serve with loads of custard, brandy sauce or double cream.
