CHRISTMAS CLASSICS

STUFFED TURKEY CROWN INGREDIENTS

1.5kg boned turkey crown*

25g butter

2 x 90g packs Parma ham

150ml white wine

For the stuffing:

25g butter

200g shallots, roughly chopped

150g mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

75g dried cranberries

50g pine nuts, toasted

75g fresh white breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

75g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

1 small leek trimmed and cut into long strips

1 tbsp olive oil

450g good quality sausage meat

METHOD

1. To prepare the stuffing, heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan, add the shallots and gently cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves and cook for another 5 minutes until the liquid has cooked off and the mushrooms are lightly coloured. Allow to cool a little, then add the cranberries, pine nuts and breadcrumbs and season well with black pepper. Divide this mixture into two, placing each half in a separate bowl. 

2. For the vegetarian stuffing, add the egg and chestnuts to one of the bowls and combine well. Quickly blanch the leek and refresh under cold water. Lay on kitchen roll to dry. Divide the stuffing into eight balls and wrap a length of leek around each one. Place in a patty tin, drizzle with a little oil and chill until needed.

3. To prepare the stuffing for the turkey, add the sausage meat to the other bowl and combine well – it’s best to use your hands for this. To stuff the crown, lay the Parma ham on a chopping board that’s been lined with baking parchment so that it’s overlapping – you need to create a rectangle of Parma ham measuring about 20 x 20cm. 

4. Pile the stuffing on top of the Parma ham and set the turkey on top, skin side up. Turn over and shape the joint into a nice long roast with your hands. Secure and hold the joint in place with string. Push some herbs under the string and place on a trivet in a roasting tin. At this point weigh the stuffed roast to calculate cooking time. 

5. To cook the turkey, preheat the oven to 180°C/R5. Pour the wine in the tin, rub the butter over the turkey and season well. Cover with a double layer of foil and roast for 20 minutes per kilo plus 1 hour. Remove the foil for the last 20 minutes of roasting to allow the turkey to crisp up and colour. Remove from the tin, place on a warmed platter, cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

ROAST POTATO & PARSNIPS, BUTTERED CABBAGE AND CARROTS METHOD

Roast Potatos

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and heat 75ml olive oil or 75g duck fat in a large roasting tin. Cook 2kg cubed King Edward potatoes for 15 minutes or until just tender. Tip into a colander to drain and rough up the edges. Tip into the hot fat and roast for 45 minutes until crisp and golden.

Add a twist…

Add a squeeze of lemon, the pared zest of a lemon and 2 tbsp chopped thyme for the last 15 minutes of roasting.

Parsnips

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6. Cook 500g trimmed and halved parsnips in simmering water for 5 minutes and drain. Heat 2 tbsp each olive oil and butter in a roasting tin. Add the parsnips and roast for 35 minutes, turning occasionally until crisp and golden.

Add a twist…

Combine 2 tbsp runny honey, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard and 1 tbsp chopped rosemary. Drizzle over the parsnips once they’ve been roasting for 25 minutes. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Buttered Cabbage

Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large frying pan, add 400g trimmed cavolo nero and a splash of water. Season and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender and the water has cooked off.

Add a twist…

Add a finely chopped clove of garlic to the butter just before adding the cabbage. Cook 50g chopped smoked bacon until crisp. Add 100g crumbled chestnuts and cook for 2 minutes. Scatter over just before serving.

Buttered Carrots

Steam 750g finely trimmed carrots for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain the water from the pan, add the carrots and 25g butter and warm for 2 minutes.

Add a twist…

Add 1 tbsp balsamic glaze, 2 tbsp fresh orange juice and finely pared zest to the butter in the pan and warm for 1 minute. Add the steamed carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes.

APPLE, PORK AND PECAN STUFFING METHOD

Cook 1 chopped onion and 1 diced apple in 1 tbsp rapeseed oil for 5 minutes and then cool. Add 50g roughly chopped pecans, 600g pork sausage meat, 75g chopped smoked bacon and 12 chopped sage leaves and combine well. Spoon into a roasting dish and roast for 35 minutes until golden and crisp.

MUST HAVE SAUCES

Port and Cranberry Sauce

Place 250g fresh cranberries in a pan with 125g light brown soft sugar, 100ml fresh orange juice, 3 pieces of pared orange peel, 75ml port and half a cinnamon stick. Slowly bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until softened and jammy. Spoon into a jar, cool and chill for up to one week.

Buttery Bread Sauce

Halve 1 red onion and stud with 8 cloves. Place in a pan with 500ml milk and a bay leaf. Slowly bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a jug, clean the pan and return the milk to the pan. Add 100g fresh white breadcrumbs, 25g butter and 100ml double cream. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring until thickened. Pour into a bowl, top with the onions and cover. Use straight away or cover and chill and then heat in the microwave to serve.

Rich Wine Gravy

Pour your turkey cooking juices into a jug and top up with chicken stock to make 750ml. Heat 25g butter and 25g plain flour in a large pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Whisk in the stock and 300ml medium-dry white wine. Bring to the boil, whisking as you go, and boil for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and then simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened nicely. Whisk in 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly and season to taste.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY PUDDING INGREDIENTS

175g caster

175g butter, softened

175g plain flour

50g cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50ml natural yogurt

3 eggs, beaten

2 tsp vanilla exract

300g fresh cherries, pitted and halved

For the sauce:

150g dark chocolate

150ml double cream

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp cherry liqueur (optional)

To serve:

A handful of fresh cherries

200ml double cream

METHOD

1 Butter a 1.5 litre pudding basin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Cut out a large square of baking parchment and a large square of foil. Create a fold in the centre of each and set to one side.

2 Place the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and whisk in briefly until just combined.

3 Combine the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract and beat in until combined, Fold in the cherries and then spoon into the prepared basin. Level off the top and then cover with the square of parchment and foil. Secure in place with string.

4 Carefully lower the basin into a pan of simmering water, cover with a tight fitting lid and then simmer for one and a half hours. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid for the first 30 minutes of cooking.

5 To make the sauce, place the chocolate, cream, syrup and liqueur in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until melted. To serve, invert the pudding onto a serving platter, remove the circle of parchment and then pour over the chocolate sauce. Top with the whole cherries and serve with the cream.

Perfect steamed puds…

Get your pan of simmering water going as soon as you start whipping up your pud. (And make sure the pudding bowl actually fits the pan – a mistake I’ve made more than once!) Once the pudding is in the pan cover with a tight fitting lid and don’t be tempted to lift the lid for at least 30 minutes – it’ll have the same effect as opening the oven door on a cake! If you do need to top up the water in the pan use boiling water so that the temperature doesn’t drop rapidly.