Foodie News

A Little Haute Couture

Leave the chocolate to the kids this Christmas and count down to the big day in style with Mariage Frères luxury Christmas calendar (£45, www.mariagefreres.com) featuring 25 unique premium teas from France’s trendiest teahouse, handsomely tied together with satin ribbon. Brighten up every morning leading up to the big day with a cup of one of the finest teas in the world.

Cake Crumbs

Rachael's Kitchen is a beautiful handmade gift, cupcake company who deliver the most delicious cakes (trust me, we’ve tried them) direct to your door the next day. With over 40 flavours, they’re elegantly boxed and perfect for sending for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas or just because, the only problem you’ll have is what flavours to choose!

www.rachaelskitchen.co.uk. Festive Food Treat

Christmas, the perfect time for cheese and wine. A whole 1kg of creamy Baron Bigod Brie shaped into a wreath topped and decorated with the best charcuterie and seasonal edible garnishes to create the most beautiful edible Christmas wreath (£75, www.yumbles.com) that anyone will want on their festive table.

12 Tipsy Days of Christmas

Every gin lover needs The 12 Gins of Christmas Bauble and Gin Tasting Set (£59, www.yumbles.com), either use the baubles and hang on the tree like an advent calendar or give as a gift for use AFTER Christmas.

Braised Chestnut and Grain Wellington

“A delicious Vegan alternative for anyone this Christmastime”

Ingredients

1 Leek, chopped roughly 4 Cloves Garlic, peeled 1 Red Pepper, deseeded 10 Shiitake Mushrooms 2 Carrots, peeled & chopped roughly 1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper 1 tsp Sea Salt 3 tbs Tomato Puree 1 tbs Dried Sage 1 tbs Dried Rosemary 1 Bay Leaf 2tbs Plain Flour or GF Flour 1/2 cup/125ml Vegan Friendly Red Wine 3/4 cup/195ml Vegetable Stock 2 tbs Soy Sauce 1 tbs Miso Paste 2 x 250g Pouches of Merchant Gourmet Spiced Grains & Chestnut 1 tbs Cranberry sauce

Pastry

1 Roll Ready Rolled Puff Pastry 1/4 cup/30g Plain Flour

Glaze

1/4 cup/60ml Milk 4 tbs Maple 4 tbs Oil Pinch Sea Salt

Red Pepper Dressing

2 cups/350g Roasted Red Peppers, from a jar, drained 2 tbs Olive Oil 1 tbs Tahini 1 tsp Dried Sage 1 tsp Dried Rosemary 1/2 tsp Smoked Sweet Paprika 1 tsp Sea Salt

Caramelised Red Onion

2 tbs Rapeseed oil or water 3 Red Onions, peeled, halved & sliced fine 4 tbs Coconut Sugar or Brown Sugar 3 tbs Balsamic Vinegar Pinch Sea Salt & Pepper 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, chopped, plus extra for garnish

Make the filling (this can be made the day before serving). Add the leek, garlic, red pepper, carrots & mushrooms to a food processor & blitz until they’re chopped small. Pre heat a large saucepan over a medium heat & add the oil. When it’s hot add the leek mix to the pan & sauté for 3 minutes or until golden. Stir in the tomato puree, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, salt & pepper then add the flour. Cook the flour out by stirring constantly for about a minute. Then de-glaze the pan with the red wine & vegetable stock. When the liquid comes to a simmer add the merchant gourmet chestnuts & grains, soy sauce, miso paste & cranberry. Let the mix bubble away for 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has really thickened up, then transfer the mixture to a container to cool completely. The day of serving, add all the glaze ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. Dust your surface with flour & roll out your pastry approximately 30cm x 30cm then cut it in half. Making sure your filling is completely cool (ideally fridge cold) spoon the filling into the centre of one of the pastry rectangles, leaving a 3cm boarder around the filling. Brush the boarder with a little of the glaze then place the other pastry rectangle neatly on top. Seal the boarder together with your finger, then trim the edges to keep it neat. You can crimp the edges with a fork and use Christmas themed cutters with any off-cuts of pastry to top the wellington. Brush over a little glaze. Then set the wellington aside until you’re ready to cook it. Meanwhile, add the red pepper dressing ingredients to a food processor and blitz until it forms a chunky paste. Set the dressing aside until serving. To make the caramelised onions, in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat add a touch of oil followed by the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often until they start to soften & colour. Add the sugar, vinegar, seasoning & thyme. Stir well and turn the heat down very low. Cover the saucepan & allow the onions to caramelise for 15 minutes, stir/shake the pan every now & then. To cook the wellington, place it on the middle shelf in a pre heated oven set at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes. Apply extra glaze 25 minutes through cooking. Serve your wellington with lots of dressing, caramelised onions, crispy sage, pomegranate seeds, pistachio nuts & vegan feta + all your Christmas garnishes.

Method

“A perfect side dish for your Festive food, whether you’re a vegan or not”

Ingredients

50g vegan butter 1 tbsp olive oil 2 large white onions, finely sliced 2 x 180g pouches of Merchant Gourmet Whole Chestnuts 5 thyme sprigs 300ml vegetable stock 1 kg desiree potatoes

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large frying pan with the olive oil and add the onions. Cook on a low heat for 40 minutes, until soft and caramelised, being careful not to burn them. Add the chestnuts, thyme, vegetable stock, a big pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering on a very low heat while you prep the potatoes. Thinly slice the potatoes using a mandoline (you can leave the skin on if you prefer, or peel) and grease a 20 x 30cm baking dish with some butter. Put a layer of potatoes in the bottom, overlapping them slightly, then scoop out some of the onions and chestnuts with a slotted spoon and spread evenly on top. Repeat this process until everything has been used up, finishing with a layer of potatoes and leaving a few slices of onion and chestnuts to go on top. Pour the remaining stock into the dish, along with any leftover onions, then spread everything out evenly on the top. Cut the butter into little cubes and dot around the dish. Cook uncovered for an hour, or until the top is crisp and a knife easily goes through the potatoes. Cover with tin foil if it starts to burn. Rest for 10 minutes before serving, finishing with some fresh thyme leaves if needed.

Jamie Oliver’s Winter Bombe

“A cross between a summer pudding and an Arctic roll, that is great to make in advance and freeze until your festive dining begins”

Ingredients

2 x 500 g tubs of quality vanilla ice cream 1 kg panettone 125 ml Vin Santo 3 heaped tablespoons quality raspberry jam 100 g tinned cherries , in juice 75 g glacé clementines (or other glacé fruit) 1 clementine 50 g shelled pistachios 300 g quality dark chocolate (70%) 25 g unsalted butter

Method

Get the ice cream out of the freezer so it can soften a little while you get things ready. Line a 2 litre pudding bowl with three layers of clingfilm. Use a serrated knife to slice four 2cm-thick rounds off your panettone, then cut them in half. You’ll have some panettone left over, so keep this for another day. Arrange six of your panettone slices in a single layer around the inside of the bowl, pushing them down if they overlap. Drizzle some of the Vin Santo on to the panettone so it soaks in, then use the back of a spoon to spread the jam all over it. Drain the cherries, and thinly slice the glacé clementines. Finely grate the fresh clementine zest and put aside, then peel and finely slice the clementine into rounds. Spoon one tub of ice cream into the bowl, spreading it around in a thick layer. Sprinkle in the pistachios, cherries and glacé fruit, then layer on the clementine slices. Add the other tub of ice cream. Spread it out, working quickly so the ice cream doesn’t completely melt. Put the remaining two panettone slices on top of the ice cream. Drizzle over the rest of the Vin Santo, then cover the bowl tightly with clingfilm. Press a plate down on top to push and compact everything down, pop a weight on, then freeze overnight, or until needed. Around 20 minutes before you want to serve it, unwrap your amazing winter bombe, carefully turn it out onto a beautiful serving dish, then leave to thaw slightly. Snap up the chocolate, place in a heatproof bowl with the butter over a pan of gently simmering water on a low heat, and leave to melt. Once nicely melted, stir in the reserved clementine zest, then pour the chocolate over the pudding so it oozes down the sides and looks super-tempting and delicious. Serve up any extra sauce in a little jug.