CHRISTMAS RECIPES
TRADITIONAL BRITISH CHRISTMAS DINNER
HOW TO MAKE AN EASY CHRISTMAS TURKEY
PREP: 20 MINS COOK: 2 HRS SERVES 6
The turkey is cooked high and fast like a chicken, giving it extra crispy skin. It needs longer to rest so the meat can relax and stay succulent
Ingredients:
- 100g butter, softened
- 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 1 turkey(around 4kg), giblets removed
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 large banana shallots, unpeeled, cut in half lengthways
- 250ml white wine
- 1 red cabbage(about 900g), cut into 6 wedges
- 500ml good-quality chicken stock
- 1 tsp cornflour (optional)
Method
- Take your turkey out of the fridge at least 1 hr before you cook it. Heat oven to 200 C/180 C fan/ gas 6 and beat the butter with the rosemary. Starting from the neck of the turkey, carefully push your fingers underneath the skin until you can get your whole hand between the skin and the breast meat. Trying not to tear the skin as you go, spread the butter inside the pocket, squishing some into the crevice between the thigh and breast meat.
- Put the garlic, lemon and bay leaves inside the turkey, then season liberally all over. Put the shallots in your largest flameproof roasting tin and put the turkey on top, breast-side up. Roast for 1 hr, then give it a good baste, pour in the wine and nestle the cabbage wedges in the tin (or underneath the turkey if they won’t fit). Return to the oven for another 30 mins – covered with foil if the turkey is looking too brown. The juices should run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh, or a thermometer should read 75 C. If not done, carry on cooking for a further 5-10 mins.
- Set aside the turkey on a board to rest for 1 hr, transferring the garlic and bay to the roasting tin for the gravy. If you want crispy skin, don’t cover the turkey. Wrap the cabbage wedges in two parcels of foil, with a spoonful of the turkey juices, season liberally and return to the bottom of the oven to carry on cooking while the turkey rests.
- Spoon away most of the turkey fat, then put the tin on the hob over a medium heat. Mash the veg with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much flavour as possible , then pour in the stock and reduce the gravy by half. If you want to thicken it, stir in the cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water. Once happy with the consistency, strain and keep warm until ready to eat.
HOW TO MAKE A DELICIOUS GRAVY SAUCE
Ingredients10 m 8 servings20 cals
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- 2 tablespoons fat drippings (from any type of roasted meat)
- 2 cups broth OR bouillon
- 2 tablespoons Corn Starch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- Add all ingredients to list
- Preparation time 5 m
- Cooking in 5 m
- Ready In 10 m
- Cook fat drippings and broth in a roasting pan or saucepan over medium heat, until hot.
- Stir corn starch and water in a small bowl until smooth; add to pan. If desired, add a dash of poultry seasoning for chicken and turkey gravies, a sprinkle of thyme for beef or a pinch of rosemary for pork. Stirring constantly with a wire whisk, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
HOW TO MAKE MINT SAUCE
Ingredients
Method
- bunch of mint
- pinch salt
- 4 tbsp boiling water
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 level tbsp caster sugar
Method
- Strip off the mint leaves, sprinkle with salt and chop finely.
- Place into a jug, add the sugar and pour over the boiling water, stir and leave to cool.
- Stir in the vinegar and taste.
- Add more water or vinegar and adjust seasoning to suit your taste.
Ingredients for the pudding:
- 50g blanched almond
- 2 large Bramley cooking apples
- 200g box candied peel (in large pieces) or all citron if you can find it
- 1 whole nutmeg
(you'll use three quarters of it) - 1kg raisins
- 140g plain flour
- 100g soft fresh white breadcrumb
- 100g light muscovado sugar, crumbled if it looks lumpy
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp brandy
or cognac, plus extra to flame - 250g packet butter, taken straight from the fridge
- 175g unsalted butter, softened
- grated zest of half an orange
- 5 tbsp icing sugar
- 4 tbsp brandy or cognac
- 2 pieces of stem ginger, finely chopped
- Get everything prepared. Chop the almonds coarsely. Peel, core and chop the apples. Sharpen your knife and chop the candied peel. (You can chop the almonds and apples in a food processor, but the peel must be done by hand.) Grate three quarters of the nutmeg (sounds a lot but it's correct). Mix all the ingredients for the pudding, except the butter, in a large bowl.
- Holding the butter in its wrapper, grate a quarter of it into the bowl, then stir everything together.Repeat until all the butter is grated, then stir for 3-4 minutes - the mixture is ready when it subsides slightly after each stir. Ask the family to stir too, and get everyone to make a wish.
- Generously butter two 1.2 litre/ 2 pint bowls and put a disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom of each. Pack in the pudding mixture. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, pleating it to allow for expansion, then tie with string (keep the paper in place with a rubber band while tying). Trim off any excess paper.
- Now stand each bowl on a large sheet of foil and bring the edges up over the top, then put another sheet of foil over the top and bring it down underneath to make a double package (this makes the puddings watertight). Tie with more string, and make a handle for easy lifting in and out of the pan. Watch our video to see how to tie up a pudding correctly.
- Boil or oven steam the puddings for 8 hours, topping up with water as necessary. Remove from the pans and leave to cool overnight. When cold, discard the messy wrappings and re-wrap in spanking new greaseproof or baking parchment, foil and string. Store in a cool, dry place until Christmas.
- To make the brandy butter, cream the butter with the orange zest and sugar. Gradually beat in the brandy or cognac and chopped ginger. Put in a small bowl, fork the top attractively and put in the fridge to set. The butter will keep for a week in the fridge, or it can be frozen for up to 6 weeks.
- On Christmas Day, boil or oven steam for 1 hour. Unwrap and turn out. To flame, warm 3-4 tbsp brandy in a small pan, pour it over the pudding and set light to it.