7 minute read
Foodie News
Sweet Treats
Advertisement
Flapjackery's mouth-watering flapjacks evoke memories of this wonderful time of year with flavours like Mince Pie and Christmas Mint Fudge. Its Millionaires flapjack and Creamy Fudge flapjack both have a Christmas tree piped in white chocolate. By adding the best, most scrumptious, high quality locally sourced West Country ingredients to gluten-free British oats Flapjackery have taken the rustic flapjack to the next level and added a flavoursome Christmas twist. Flapjackery gifts are gluten free, with a shelf life of 2 months and can be delivered direct to your door and include the Christmas flavours. They are gluten free, with a shelf life of 2 months. To order visit www.flapjackery.co.uk
A Christmas Tipple
Back this season by popular demand is the Limited Edition Cotswolds
Cloudy Christmas Gin (£34.95, www.cotswoldsdistillery.com).
Featuring nine carefully considered botanicals, including sweet zesty clementine and cardamom, this is a traditional juniper-led gin with a touch of
Christmas magic. Expect refreshing bursts of clementine, a hint of warm spice and a traditional juniper taste, as well as our signature cloudy glow when ice or tonic is added. A must-have for your Christmas gin collection!
Festive Food
Healthy food retailer Musclefood, have their festive food hampers back for you to try. Priced from £65, these hampers include the traditional favourites; pigs in blankets, stuffing and chipolatas along with all the vegetables with roasting potatoes, carrots, parsnips and sprouts all delivered in a single order. There are four hampers to choose from with turkey, beef or both taking pride of place in the centre of the table. Other treats in the hampers are meaty pork sausages, bacon medallions, rump steaks, unsmoked bacon and sausage meat. For more information, visit
www.musclefood.com/christmas
With Love From Searcys
Searcys, UK’s oldest hospitality company, in the heart of festivities for 175 years, has got the festive season all wrapped up with its 2022 Christmas gifting range. Treat loved ones to the gift of luxury, from Searcys limitededition 175th Champagne and its new English Sparkling Wine to bespoke signature bone-china sets and over 40 gift dining experiences across iconic venues, perfect for friends, family and colleagues. All gifts come in signature blue and gold honeycombpatterned boxes and are available online at www.searcys.co.uk/gifts with 48-hour nationwide delivery up until Christmas week.
Turkey Stew
Method
To start the dumplings, roughly chop the bacon and place in a large frying pan on a medium-low heat to crisp up while you wash, trim and finely slice the leeks. Stir them into the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, then cook for 15 minutes, or until soft and sweet, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Meanwhile, for the stew, peel the onions, trim the celery, then roughly chop both and place in a large, wide casserole pan on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil (or even better, use turkey dripping to intensify the flavours). Add the herb sprigs and bay, and cook for 15 minutes, or until soft but not coloured, stirring regularly. Stir in the mustard and flour for 2 minutes, then gradually stir in the stock to make a nice thick sauce. Crumble in the leftover stuffing and turn the heat off. Scoop out and discard the herb sprigs and bay leaves, then shred the turkey or chicken meat, stir it into your stew, taste, and season to perfection. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Place the flours in a large bowl. Dice and add the butter, then use your thumbs and forefingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the middle, pour in the buttermilk, then gradually mix into the crumbs, bringing them in from the outside. Stir in the cooled leeks and bacon until just combined, but don’t overwork it – we want the dough as light as possible. Gently roll it out on a clean flour-dusted surface until 2cm thick, then use a 5cm fluted cutter to stamp out as many round dumplings as you can, re-rolling and using up any offcuts – you should get at least 12 from this amount. Brush the dumplings with beaten egg, then sit them on top of the stew. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the dumplings are risen and golden and the stew is blipping and bubbling away nicely. Delicious with simple steamed greens.
Ingredients
Dumplings
2 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon 2 small leeks Olive oil 125 g self-raising flour 25 g maize flour , or polenta 30 g unsalted butter (cold) 125 ml buttermilk 1 large free-range egg
Stew
3 onions 3 sticks of celery 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary 3 sprigs of fresh thyme 3 fresh bay leaves 2 teaspoons English mustard 2 tablespoons plain flour 1.5 litres organic veg stock 150 g leftover stuffing 500 g leftover cooked free-range turkey or chicken meat
Vegan Nut Roast “Being vegan doesn’t mean compromising on flavour, crunchy and full of spices, everyone will be tucking in.”
Ingredients
50 g pine nuts , plus extra for decorating 50 g linseed 50 g sunflower seeds 100 g unsweetened chestnut purée 50 g gluten-free vegetarian suet 1 tablespoon maple syrup Gluten-free flour , for dusting
Spinach Topping
300 g chestnut mushrooms Rapeseed oil 260 g baby leaf spinach , or frozen chopped spinach 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1 ripe avocado 100 g silken tofu 1 pinch of ground nutmeg 1 squeeze of lemon juice ¼ of a sweet potato Olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Spread out the nuts and seeds on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, along with the chestnut purée, suet and maple syrup, and blitz until it comes together into a ball. It will be sticky to begin with, so stop and scrape the sides as you go. Place a large sheet of greaseproof paper on a work surface and sit the dough on it. Then, with lots of gluten-free flour on your hands and rolling pin, roll out the dough as thinly as possible (less than 5mm). If you’re making individual tartlets, oil and flour four 10cm loosebottomed tart tins, then cut the pastry to size. For 1 large tart, roll out the dough and cut to the size of a large, shallow baking tin, and transfer to the tin using a fish slice. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, cover with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans or rice and bake blind for 12 to 15 minutes. Leave to cool in the tray, and keep the oven on. Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a pan over a medium heat, then sauté the mushrooms for 6 to 8 minutes, until golden. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil and wilt the spinach (or heat through if frozen) along with the pepper. Blitz the spinach, avocado flesh, tofu, nutmeg and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. Thinly slice the sweet potato using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, creating a pile of peelings. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan, then fry the peelings over a high heat, turning occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until just turning crisp. Assemble the tart by spreading the spinach mixture over the baked and cooled tart base. Lay the mushrooms on top, and decorate with the sweet potato slivers and a scattering of toasted pine nuts. Eat at room temperature, or heat it up, if you like.
Christmas Crumble
Ingredients
1.5 kg mixed eating apples and pears 100 g quality cranberry sauce 1 tablespoon sherry, brandy, Vin Santo, whisky, rum , optional 1 clementine 50 g unsalted butter 100 g plain flour 50 g golden caster sugar 50 g flaked almonds or unsalted festive nuts 1 mince pie (60g) Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Peel and core the apples and pears, then quarter and chop into 3cm chunks. Place in a pan on a medium heat with the cranberry sauce and booze (if using), then finely grate in the clementine zest and squeeze in the juice. Cook with the lid on for 10 minutes, or until the fruit has softened, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Cut the butter into cubes and place in a mixing bowl with the flour and a pinch of sea salt. Rub together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs, then scrunch in the sugar to add a little texture. Roughly chop and stir through the almonds or nuts, and crumble in the mince pie.
Transfer the fruit to a 25cm x 30cm baking dish and sprinkle over the crumble topping, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Delicious served with custard, ice cream or brandy butter.
Method
