Velvet Magazine brings you the top tips for cooking the ultimate Christmas Dinner from the regions top chefs…
We can all feel the pressure to get Christmas day lunch right. All the family are round the table, Christmas crackers are pulled and wine is poured, so the last thing you want is to sit down to a disappointing meal. Dry turkey, crunchy sprouts and flavourless gravy are never going to be on anyone’s menu. Fortunately, Velvet’s been in touch with the top chefs behind the best restaurants in the area and they’ve let us in on a few trade secrets to make sure you get it right on the big day. From succulent turkey and crispy roast potatoes to inspiring ways to cook your veg, we’re here to give you the guide to cooking the ultimate Christmas day dinner.
Roast Turkey
For most of us, we don’t cook a roast turkey on any other day of the year, so it’s excusable if we need a bit of as helping hand. Head chef at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket, Tim Turner, gives us his guide on how to get that turkey succulent, golden and flavoursome.
“To start, preheat the oven to 210°c (gas mark 7), half an hour before cooking,” begins Tim. “Remove the pre-prepared stuffing from the fridge to bring to room temperature. Season the turkey generously inside and out with salt, pepper, thyme and fill the cavity with the stuffing. Place the stuffed turkey onto a roasting tray and then spread the breasts with soft butter and wrap them in pancetta or streaky bacon. Then arrange onions, leeks, carrots, celery and thyme around the turkey and finally pour in 1 litre of water into the tray with the turkey and wrap tightly in tin foil. Place the turkey in the oven and cook for 45 mins.
“Reduce the temperature to 170°c (gas mark 3) and continue cooking for 2 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the tin foil. Peel back the bacon and increase the oven temperature to 200°c (gas mark 6) until the breast of the turkey is golden brown. Once cooked, remove from the oven and lay a clean piece of tin foil over the turkey and leave to rest for 45 mins. Now sit back, pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy a perfectly roasted turkey.”
Roast Potatoes
A Christmas dinner really wouldn’t be be the same without roast potatoes. They’re many people’s favourite part of the meal and getting them just right is quite an art form. Head chef at The Pantry in Newmarket, Vincent Woolley, gives us the lowdown on how to make sure your roasties are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside!
“Choose from King Edwards or Maris piper potatoes for the best results, ” recommends Vincent, “Peel, chop and boil the potatoes until they just fall off the knife, or if you want to achieve those really fluffy roast potatoes, cook them until they are just about falling apart. Drain and scuff the potatoes up by using a colander. This process is best done the day before, so you can spread the potatoes on a tray and refrigerate overnight to dry out. Refrigeration is a part that many people skip, but an important one, as you want the potatoes to firm up again before roasting. And anything that can be done in advance is a helping hand when it comes to the big day.
“When it comes to cooking the roast potatoes, Vincent suggests using goose fat to enhance the flavour or vegetable oil which will give the potatoes that lovely crispy outside. Get a roasting tray hot with your chosen oil and toss the potatoes in, making sure they all have an even coating. Roast for 30-45 minutes in a 200°c oven and serve hot to enjoy the scrumptious potatoes you’d only ever dreamt of making.”
Sprouts
Love them or hate them, a side of sprouts is a Christmas tradition. But they needn’t be passed round for everyone to take one or two out of courtesy and then shoved to the end of the table for the rest of the meal. These vegetables can be a tasty addition your Christmas meal if you can find inspiring and different ways to cook them. Lee Bye, head chef at Tuddenham Mill, has given us his recipe on how to make a delicious sprout gratin style bake to turn those sprouts into a winning dish.
“First, wash the sprouts and place in boiling water for a couple of minutes with a pinch of salt,” explains Lee. “Remove them and chill quickly in a bowl of ice water to help retain the flavour and freshness. Once the sprouts are chilled, dry them off and pack them tightly into a baking dish creating just one layer of sprouts. Using a good quality double cream, pour over the sprouts until just covered. Then bury small pieces of diced brie throughout the bake for a rich and creamy dish. Finish the top of the bake with a strong, hard grated cheese and finely chopped pancetta.
“Bake in the oven at 180°c for 12 minutes until the bake is golden brown. Finally, grate over chestnuts and top with freshly chopped parsley for a warming, wintery dish and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving to bring out the flavour. This bake is something a bit different and it’s certain that sprouts will have never tasted so good!”
Duck Fat Roast Parsnips
Parsnips are another delicious Christmas lunch must-have. Telling us how to roast them to perfection is head chef at the Bedford Lodge Hotel & Spa, James Fairchild.
“Using thin parsnips for this dish is best to ensure you get that crispy outside texture to the parsnips,” advises James. “Preheat the oven to 200°c. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, peel the parsnips and then boil them for three minutes. Spread the duck fat onto a large roasting tin and heat in the oven for five minutes or until sizzling. Drain the parsnips and add them into the hot duck fat along with sprigs of thyme and toss them well to make sure they are evenly coated. Season with sea salt and roughly ground peppercorns and roast for 25-30 minutes for delicious golden brown parsnips. These should be sweet and tender on the inside and crispy and well-seasoned on the outside, the ultimate parsnip!”
Clapshot
Clapshot is a traditional Scottish dish which is often served alongside haggis. It is made from mashing potato, carrot and swede and can easily double up as a tasty Christmas side dish. James Fairchild from the Bedford Lodge Hotel & Spa give us his secret recipe.
“Peel the swede and cut it into thin slices then boil in a large pot with plenty of water,” explains James. “Meanwhile, peel the carrots and chop them roughly. Once the swede has been cooking for 10 minutes, add the carrots to the boiling water. Then peel and chop the potatoes into large chunks and proceed to add them once the swede has been boiling for another 10 minutes. Boil for a further 20 minutes until they are tender then drain them and mash them together with a generous chunk of butter, salt and pepper. I recommend mashing them coarsely or pureeing, beating in an egg and turning it into a buttered casserole dish, baking it in the oven until lightly toasted on top.”
Stuffing
Yet another dinner time treat that really only comes out around Christmas is stuffing. While you can do many different variations, adding nuts, fruit, seeds, meats and breads to make delicious stuffing, head chef at The Courtyard Restaurant in Elveden, Scott Taylor has a chestnut and apricot stuffing that is our favourite. Well worth adding to your Christmas repertoire!
“The stuffing can be cooked inside the turkey or separately,” reveals Scott. “It makes enough for 6-7 servings. Finely dice a whole onion and some garlic and cook slowly in a pan with butter. Add the leaves from a sprig of thyme and cook until the onions are translucent then set aside to cool. Meanwhile peel and crush 200 grams of chestnuts to a coarse powder or use a smooth chestnut paste if you prefer. Chop up 80 grams of dried apricots as small as you like then add 400 grams of quality sausage meat along with the cooled onion garlic mix, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Put this back over the heat and cook a little to test the seasoning and adjust to taste.
“If you wish to use the stuffing inside the turkey, this can be done a day or so in advance. For cooking the stuffing separately, lay out a sheet of tin foil around 40cm in length on top of this and overlay a sheet of greaseproof the same size. Place your stuffing mix along the inside edge of this length and roll together inside the greaseproof and tinfoil sheet, twisting the ends in opposite directions to form a long Christmas cracker shape. Bake in the oven at 180°c for 20-25 min, then allow to cool briefly before unwrapping, slicing and serving up scrumptious stuffing to compliment everything that’s already on the table.”
Gravy
A Christmas lunch is never complete without a rich and tasty gravy to tie all those delicious flavours together. Telling us how to conjure up the very best turkey jus is Jeremy Medley, head chef at ICE near Bury St Edmunds.
“Firstly, heat a deep sided stock pan or pressure cooker and add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Remove the giblets from inside the turkey and chop up bones from a previously cooked chicken or turkey. Add the giblets and bones to the pan once the oil is hot and fry until the giblets are golden brown.
“Drain off the excess oil and add vegetables such as carrots, celery, onion and garlic, and diced bacon to the pan, cooking them for a further 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add 150ml of madeira and 150ml of white wine then cook for 3 minutes before adding in 2 litres of chicken or turkey stock, bay leaves, rosemary, sage and parsley. Bring to the boil, skim any surface fats and simmer for 3-4 hours. If you’re using a pressure cooker, seal the lid and cook for 1½ hours. Continue to skim the liquid to remove any excess fats and pass the liquid through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. Finally, season to taste and thin down to preferred consistency.”
Cranberry Sauce
The partner in crime to that roast turkey; you can’t go wrong with a bit of cranberry sauce at Christmas time. This recipe from Scott Taylor at The Courtyard Restaurant in Elveden is a delightfully fruity accompaniment, and perfectly easy to make.
“The recipe uses 500 grams of fresh or frozen whole cranberries, 200 grams of caster sugar, 200ml of fresh orange juice, 1 stick of cinnamon and 2 cloves,” instructs Scott. “Add all the ingredients into a thick bottomed pan and bring to the boil for three minutes. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes until the berries have slightly burst and the consistency of the liquid is similar to that of a jam. Place into a sealable container ready for use and store in the fridge. The sauce is great to make 3-4 days in advance to help you save time on the big day. The cranberries can be very sour so it may seem like a lot of sugar you are using, but we suggest you adjust the amount to suit your taste.”
Bread Sauce
An easy extra for Christmas day, this Bread sauce recipe from head chef Tim Turner at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket will be a popular condiment.
“Start by adding 250ml of milk, half an onion studded with cloves and a bay leaf to a sauce pan and simmer for 20 minutes,” suggests Tim. “Sieve the mixture and put the milk back into the pan. Preferably using slightly stale white bread with the crusts removed, make 100 grams of bread crumbs and stir them into the mixture. If you’re making the sauce in advance, leave it to cool and place into a plastic container and freeze. Make sure you remove from the freezer the night before you want to serve. Add a splash of double cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and reheat in a pan if you want to serve the sauce warm.”
Christmas Dessert- White Chocolate Panna cotta
It’s fair to say that Christmas pudding isn’t for everyone. You’re supposed to start it months before and really, it can all seem like a lot of hassle. So if you’re wanting a little something different to empress your guests this year, look no further than this White Chocolate Panna cotta served with Orange gel, Praline, Chocolate Soil and Chocolate Shortbread, as created by James Fairchild, head chef at the Bedford Lodge Hotel.
This recipe makes 6 Panna cotta.
“Begin by soaking 3 gelatine sheets in cold water and leave for a few minutes to go soft,” says James. “In the meantime mix 50 grams of caster sugar with 100ml of milk and 800ml of double cream and place in a sauce pan on a medium heat. Bring to a slow boil and pour on to 200 grams of white chocolate mixing with a whisk. Squeeze out any liquid from the gelatine and add these to the mixture. Pour evenly into 6 molds and leave to set in the fridge for two hours.
“To make the Orange gel use 50 grams of caster sugar, 50ml of water, 100ml of orange juice and 2 grams of agar agar. Place the sugar and water in a pan and simmer until sugar has dissolved, then whisk in the orange juice and agar agar. Simmer for five minutes and place in a container in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once the mixture has set, blitz with a hand blender to a smooth gel. Then place in a piping bag to allow ease of decoration on the plate.
“For the Chocolate Soil, you will need 50 grams of sugar, 50 grams of ground almonds, 30 grams of plain flour, 25 grams of cocoa powder and 30 grams of melted butter. Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Place on a non-stick oven tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 160°c. Once baked, leave to cool and break up into crumbs to sprinkle over the panna cotta as a final touch.
“Praline is surprisingly easy to make and a delicious garnish to an already decadent Christmas dessert. Melt 75 grams of white chocolate in a pan and stir in 125 grams of hazelnut praline paste and 150 grams of cereals. Pour onto a non-stick tray and place in the freezer. Once hardened you can break off what you desire for garnish.
“For the final garnishing element, James recommends a Chocolate Shortbread Biscuit. Cream together 55 grams of caster sugar and 120 grams of softened butter in a mixing bowl using a whisk. Fold in 50 grams of cocoa and 120 grams of sieved plain flour and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once rested take out and scatter some flour on your work service where you can roll out the dough. Roll out to a centimeter thick. Cut out the shapes you want and place on a non-stick baking tray. Bake at 155°c for 8 – 10 minutes.
“Finally you can assemble your dessert. Take the panna cotta out of the mold very gently; it should have a slight wobble to it, and place on a plate. Squeeze some dots of gel around the Panna cotta. Place the praline just sticking out of the panna cotta, a biscuit to its side and scatter the soil around the plate. Finish with a piece of holly for decoration. And there you have it! A spectacular Christmas day dessert which looks every bit as festive and special as it should. All of the elements of the dessert can also be made in advance so all you need to do on the day is plate up, sit down and enjoy!”
Article by Lauren Eade
The post Ultimate Christmas Dinner appeared first on Velvet Magazine.