Christmas Cooking
Tuesday 3rd Dec 2013 with Allison Sawyer
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Recipes Almond Mincemeat Tartlet Makes 36 Ingredients: 275g plain flour 75g icing sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 175g butter 50g ground almonds 1 egg yolk 45ml milk 450g jar mincemeat 15ml brandy or rum
1. For the pastry, sift the flour, icing sugar and cinnamon into a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the ground almonds and bind with the egg yolk and milk to a soft dough. Knead the dough until smooth, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 190oC. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and cut out 36 fluted rounds with a pastry cutter, to line the tins. Mix the mincemeat with the brandy or rum and put a teaspoonful in each pastry case. Chill in the fridge.
For the Lemon Sponge Filling: 115g butter 115g caster sugar 175g self-raising flour 2 large eggs Finely grated rind of 1 large lemon
3. For the lemon sponge filling, beat the butter, sugar, flour, eggs and lemon rind together until smooth. Spoon on top of the mincemeat, dividing it evenly, and level the tops. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the Lemon Icing: 115g icing sugar 15ml lemon juice
4. For the lemon icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix with the lemon juice to form a smooth, thick, coating consistency. Spoon into a piping bag and drizzle a zigzag pattern over each of the tartlets. Alternatively, if you’re very short of time, simply dust the tartlets with sifted icing sugar before serving.
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Chocolate, Date and Almond Filo Coil Serves 6 Ingredients: 275g filo pastry, thawed if frozen 50g unsalted butter, melted Icing sugar, cocoa powder and ground cinnamon, for dusting For the filling: 75g unsalted butter 115g plain chocolate, broken into squares 115g ground almonds 115g chopped dates 75g icing sugar 10ml rose water 2.5ml ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Grease a 22cm round cake tin. Make the chocolate, date and almond filling. Melt the butter with the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, then remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients to make a thick paste. Set the pan aside to cool. 2. Lay one sheet of the filo pastry on a clean work surface. Brush the filo with melted butter and then lay a second sheet of filo on top and brush again with butter. 3. Roll a handful of the chocolate almond mixture into a long sausage shape and place along one edge of the filo. Roll the pastry tightly round. 4. Place the roll around the outside of the tin. Make enough rolls to fill the tin. 5. Brush the coil with the remaining melted butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Remove the coil from the tin; place it on a plate. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar, cocoa and cinnamon.
Recipes
Christmas Biscuits Makes about 12 Ingredients: 75g butter 50g icing sugar Finely grated rind of 1 small lemon 1 egg yolk 175g plain flour Pinch of salt
To Decorate: 2 egg yolks Red and green edible food colourings 1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon rind together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and then sift in the flour and the salt. Knead together to form a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat the oven to 190oC. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3mm thick. Using a 6cm fluted cutter, stamp out as many biscuits as you can, with the cutter dipped in flour to prevent it sticking to the dough. 3. Transfer the biscuits on to lightly greased baking trays. Mark the tops lightly with a 2.5cm holly leaf cutter and use a 5mm plain piping nozzle for the berries. Chill for 10 minutes, until firm. 4. Meanwhile, put each egg yolk into a small cup. Mix red food colouring into one and green food colouring into the other. Using a small, clean paintbrush, carefully paint the colours onto the biscuits. Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes, or until they begin to colour around the edges. Let them cool slightly on the baking trays, and then transfer them to a wire tack to cool completely.
hobsons|choice Christmas Chutney Makes 1.75kg Ingredients: 450g plums, stoned 450g pears, peeled and cored 225g cooking apples, peeled and cored 225g celery 450g onions, sliced 450g tomatoes, skinned 115g raisins 15ml grated fresh root ginger 30ml pickling spice 850ml cider vinegar 450g granulated sugar 1. Chop the plums, pears, apples, celery and onions and cut the tomatoes into quarters. Place all the ingredients with the raisins and ginger into a very large saucepan. 2. Place the pickling spice into a square of clean, fine muslinand tie with string to secure. Add to the saucepan of fruit and vegetables with half the vinegar and bring to the boil, stirring. Cook for 2 hours. 3. Meanwhile, sterilize the jars and lids you will need to fill. When all the ingredients are tender, stir in the remaining vinegar and the sugar. Boil until thick, remove the bag of spices and fill each jar with chutney. Cover with a wax paper disc and plastic lid, and label when cold.
Recipes
Creamed Turkey en Croûte Serves 6 Ingredients: 350g cooked turkey, chopped 75g smoked bacon, finely chopped 25g butter 1 medium onion, chopped 75g mushrooms, quartered 25g plain flour 350ml turkey stock 2 tablespoons brandy 75ml cream – single or double 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Salt and freshly milled black pepper 350g frozen puff pastry, thawed Beaten egg to glaze
1. Preheat the fan oven to 200oC. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently sauté the onion in it for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and let these soften a bit, keeping them on the move for a further 5 minutes. 2. Remove the onion and mushrooms to a plate with a draining spoon. Next add the bacon to the pan and fry until it turns a pale gold at the edges, at which point return the mushrooms and onion (and any juices) then sprinkle in the flour. Stir till the flour has soaked up all the buttery juices. 3. Add the stock, little by little, still stirring until you have a smooth thick sauce. Lastly add the parsley, cream and brandy. Season to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool. 4. When you’re ready to cook the pie, roll out the pastry to a 30cm square, trimming if necessary. Lift the square on to a greased baking sheet. 5. Mix the turkey pieces into the cold sauce, and then place this mixture in the centre of the pastry. Glaze round the edge of the pastry with beaten egg, then pull the opposite corners of the pastry to the centre and pinch all the edges firmly together, so you have a square with pinched edges in the shape of an X. 6. Glaze all over with beaten egg and decorate with any pastry trimming. Glaze these too and then bake the pie for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is well risen and golden. Serve the pie cut into squares with a green salad.
hobsons|choice Stollen Ingredients: 150ml milk 50g caster sugar 2 level teaspoons dried yeast 350g strong white bread flour ¼ teaspoon salt 110g softened butter 1 egg, beaten 40g currants 50g sultanas 25g mixed candied peel, finely diced 40g no soak apricots, chopped 25g glacé cherries, rinsed, dried & quartered 25g almonds, chopped The grated zest of ½ lemon 175g marzipan
1. Preheat the oven to 190oC. Warm the milk, till you can just still dip your little finger in it and pour it into a glass jug. Add 1 teaspoon of the sugar along with the dried yeast and leave it until it forms a frothy head of about 2.5cm.
For the Glaze: 110g icing sugar, sifted 1 tablespoon lemon juice
4. Leave the dough in a warm place, covered with cling film, until it has doubled in size. After that, turn the risen dough out on to a board floured with the reserved 25g of flour, and knock the air out of it and knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
2. Sift 300g of the flour together with the salt and remaining sugar into a mixing bowl, and make a well in the centre. Pour the milk and yeast mixture into this, then add the softened butter and beaten egg. Mix everything together – either with your hands or with a wooden spoon – until the mixture is well blended and leaves the side of the bowl cleanly. 3. Work in the fruits, peel, nuts and lemon zest, distributing them as evenly as possible. Knead the dough on a working surface for 5 minutes until it is springy and elastic.
5. Roll or press out the dough to an oblong (25cm x 20cm). Using your hands, roll out the marzipan to form a sausageshape and place this along the centre of the dough, finishing just short of the edges. 6. Fold the dough over the marzipan and carefully place the whole thing on a baking sheet, allowing plenty of room for expansion. Leave it to prove in a warm place until it has doubled in size again, then bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Allow it to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before lifting it on to a wire rack to finish cooling. 7. Meanwhile make the glaze by mixing the sifted icing sugar with the lemon juice, then use a small palette knife to spread this all over the top surface of the stolen (while it’s still warm). Serve as fresh as possible, cut into thick slices, with or without butter.
Recipes
Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon Gaggenau Appliance: Teppan Yaki Temperature: 220째C Serves: 4-6 Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 175g (6oz) buckwheat flour 10ml (2teasp) baking powder 10ml (2teasp) mustard powder salt and freshly ground black pepper 300ml (10fl oz) full fat milk 150g (5oz) mature cheddar cheese, grated 30ml (2tbsp) fresh chives, chopped 4 egg whites little groundnut oil To serve 150ml (5fl oz) soured cream 125g (4oz) smoked salmon pieces fresh dill or chives
1. Pre-heat the Teppan Yaki at 220째C. Mix together the buckwheat flour, baking powder, mustard powder, pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the milk and blend to make a smooth batter. Add the cheese and chives and mix until well combined. 2. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form when the whisk is lifted. Carefully fold the whisked egg whites into the batter mixture using a metal spoon. 3. Brush a little groundnut oil onto the pre-heated Teppan Yaki and spoon heaped teaspoons of the batter mixture onto the Teppan Yaki and cook for about 1 minute until golden brown, turn blinis over and cook for a further minute again until golden brown. Remove and keep warm. Continue until all the mixture has been used. 4. To serve spoon a little soured cream on top of each blini, top with a piece of smoked salmon and garnish with either a sprig of dill or a few chopped chives.
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Puff Pastry Whirls Gaggenau Appliance: Combination Steam Oven Temperature: 200째C/60% humidity Cooking Time: 15 minutes Preparation Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: For about 20 whirls 250g pkt puff pastry 1 jar pesto 25g parmesan cheese, grated 1 egg white beaten with 1tbsp water Pre-heat the combination steam oven at 200째C/30% humidity. Roll pastry into a rectangle and spread with pesto and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Roll in from the wide side to the middle and then roll in the opposite side towards the middle. Cut the roll into approximately 1cm wide slices. Line the cooking inserts or a baking tray with baking paper and place the pastry whirls a reasonable distance apart to allow for spreading during cooking. Brush with the egg white glaze and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
Alternative Fillings: Honey & Mustard 1tbsp Dijon mustard 2tbsp runny honey 75g proscuttio ham 3tbsp grated parmesan cheese 1 egg white beaten with1tbsp water Mix the mustard and honey together and spread onto the rolled out puff pastry. Place the proscuttio slices on top and sprinkle with 2tbsp parmesan cheese, roll pastry as above. Sprinkle with the remaining 1tbsp of parmesan once cooked.