Crushed beetroot with poppy seeds
serves 4
1kg raw beetroot
a tsp of red wine vinegar
2 tsp poppy seeds
Wash the beets, cut them into quarters (unless they are very small) and put them in a dish with a generous slosh of olive oil. Cover the dish with foil and roast for 35 minutes or so at 200 c/gas 6.
Remove the foil, tip the beetroot into a food processor and blitz till almost mashed (you will never get them to be smooth like potato). Scrape it into a warm serving bowl. Season with salt and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. Toast the poppy seeds briefly in a small non-stick pan (I use a saucer-sized one) then scatter them over the mashed beetroot.
A crisp, sharp relish for Christmas
This is the best relish for cold turkey I have yet tasted. Crisp, bright and sweet-sharp.
Pour 4 tablespoons of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp (available from Asian stores). Leave for a few minutes then strain in a tea strainer. Discard the pulp and keep the tamarind water.
Finely shred 250g each of carrots and red cabbage and 75g ginger. Put it in a bowl with 2 teaspoons sea salt and leave overnight.
Drain off the liquid and add 2 teaspoons palm sugar, 2 shredded hot chillies, 2 teaspoons of salt, a tablespoon Thai fish sauce, 150ml rice vinegar and 150ml water. Mix thoroughly. Store in airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week, turning the jar over from time to time.
Red cabbage with cider vinegar
serves 6 a side dish
a small red cabbage
a little olive or groundnut oil
juniper berries - 8-10
cider vinegar - 3 tbs
Shred the cabbage finely, cutting away and discarding the hard core, rinse thoroughly then drain. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a wok or deep saucepan and add the red cabbage.
Turn the cabbage in the oil, raising the heat if nothing much is happening, till the colour is bright - a matter of a minute or two.
Squash the juniper berries roughly, maybe with the flat of a heavy knife blade or a pestle. You don't want them so much to be a powder, more simply well bruised (the smell will be not dissimilar from that of a gin and tonic).
Add them to the cabbage with half of the cider vinegar, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Leave the cabbage to cook, covering with a lid and tossing occasionally. It will take 7-10 minutes to be tender but with some crunch left to it. Give it another 5-10 minutes if you prefer it soft. Freshen the taste if necessary with the last of the vinegar.
Pork ribs with honey and anise
Here's a truly sticky-ribs recipe but without the ubiquitous black treacle and tomato puree. Sweet, slightly hot and absurdly sticky they will fill the kitchen with that warm, Christmassy aniseed smell you so often encounter in Chinese restaurants.
serves 4
1.5kg meaty pork ribs
thickish honey - 6 tbs
oyster sauce -3 heaping tbs
garlic - 4 cloves
dried chilli flakes - 1 tsp
whole star-anise - 4
black peppercorns - tsp
salt flakes - tsp
To make the marinade, spoon the honey and oyster sauce into a roasting tin or baking dish. Peel and chop the garlic and add it with the chilli flakes, star anise and salt. Grind the peppercorns roughly and add them to the marinade.
Toss the ribs in the marinade then set aside for an hour or so. It won't hurt if they stay there overnight.
Roast the ribs at 175 c/gas 4 for an hour and 15 minutes, turning them in their sauce from time to time. Keep an eye on them, sometimes they tend to burn easily. They are ready when the meat is tender - though far from falling off the bone - and the ribs are glossy with sauce.
Serve with rice, spooning over the sauce from the pan.
Desserts
Exceptionally creamy lemon trifle
serves 8
I have a fancy for those custard-cup desserts that graced Edwardian dinner tables. This trifle - for want of a better name - in all its cream-laden and wine-sodden glory is the nearest I have come to it. No fruit here, just deep, billowing layers of cream and sponge and fine artisan-made lemon and orange curd. I regard the sugary crunch of almonds and crystalised violets on top as essential.
serves 6-8
for the syllabub layer:
50ml white wine
1 tbs limoncello liqueur
1 lemon
1 orange
30g caster sugar
150ml double cream
for the custard:
500ml creamy milk
1 vanilla pod
5 egg yolks
5 tbs caster sugar
for the sponge layer:
250g plain sponge cake
300g best quality orange or lemon curd
150ml white wine
2 tbs limoncello liqueur
to decorate:
crystalised violets
grated orange zest
3 tbs toasted flaked almonds
Pour the wine into the bowl of an electric mixer (or a mixing bowl if you are going to make it by hand), add the limoncello, then grate into it the zest of the lemon and the orange. Squeeze the lemon juice and add to the mixture. You won't need the orange juice, so just drink it. Set aside wine and juice mixture for as long as you have. Overnight is best, but an hour is better than nothing.
To make the custard, pour the milk into a saucepan, split the vanilla pod lengthways and drop it into the milk, then bring slowly towards the boil. When the milk is on the point of boiling - it will be shuddering, bubbles will be visible and maybe a little steam - remove it from the heat and leave it for about 20 minutes. This allows the vanilla to do its stuff. Lift out the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds out into the milk with the point of a small knife.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they are thick and pale, then pour in the milk and stir. Rinse the milk pan then pour in the custard and put it over a low heat. Stir almost constantly with a wooden spoon till it thickens somewhat, getting right down into the corners of the pan. The consistency should be that of double cream. It is essential not to let the mixture get too hot, otherwise it will curdle. (If it does, then pour straightaway into a clean container and plunge it into a sink of cold water, beat furiously until it comes together.) Leave to cool a little.
Cut the sponge cake into thin slices then spread each one generously with the orange or lemon curd. Pack them into the bottom of a large china or glass bowl then pour over the white wine and limoncello. Make sure the cake is thoroughly soaked. Pour the cooled custard on top of the cake and leave in the fridge to set.
Continue with the syllabub: pour the sugar into the reserved wine and zest mixture and start beating gently. Now pour in the cream and continue beating on a lowish speed until the syllabub starts to thicken. It is crucial to keep an eye on things at this point. You should stop when the syllabub will lie in thick, soft folds, only just keeping its shape.
Spoon the syllabub on top of the custard, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for a good few hours for the flavours to 'marry'. Finish it with a scattering of toasted almonds, grated orange zest and crystalised violets.
Chocolate mousse
A really deeply flavoured chocolate mousse.
serves 6-8
250g dark, fruity chocolate such as Valrhona 70%
40g butter
50ml hot espresso coffee
4 large eggs
Chop the chocolate into small pieces, tip it into a heatproof bowl and add the butter, coffee and 50ml very hot water. Balance the bowl over a pan of simmering water without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Just leave it to melt, occasionally pushing any lumps of unmelted chocolate and butter below the surface. Avoid the temptation to stir more than once or twice.
When the chocolate is completely melted stir once and remove from the heat. Separate the egg yolks and whites, and beat the whites to a thick froth. Check the temperature of the chocolate with your finger, it should be pleasantly warm, not hot. Mix the egg yolks with a fork then fold them, gently, firmly, into the chocolate, butter and coffee mixture. They should be amalgamated within three of four stirs. Now fold in the beaten egg whites with a metal spoon. Fold slowly and firmly, taking care not to knock the air out of the whites.
Pour the mixture into small pots or espresso cups, cover them tightly with clingfilm and refrigerate for a couple of hours until thick and glossy.
Orange and lemon cheesecake
The gooiest cheesecake, an alternative to the Christmas pud or maybe as a cake for Boxing Day tea.
serves 10
250g digestive biscuits
80g butter
500g mascarpone
150g cream cheese
150g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 orange
1 lemon
150ml double cream (a 142ml carton will do)
tsp vanilla extract
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Crush the digestive biscuits to a fine powder. You can do it the traditional way with a plastic bag and rolling pin or, as I do it, in a food processor. Tip the biscuits into the butter and stir to mix. Set the oven at 140 c/gas 1.
Press two-thirds of the buttered crumbs into the base of a deep, 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Set aside in a cold place to harden. The freezer is ideal.
Put the kettle on to boil. Put the cream cheese, mascarpone, caster sugar, eggs and the extra yolk in the basin of a food mixer (you will need the beater attachment). Finely grate the orange and lemon zest into the cheese and sugar then beat until mixed. Fold the cream, juice of the lemon (not the orange) and vanilla extract into the cheesecake mix.
Take the tin out of the freezer and wrap it in foil, covering the bottom and sides with a single piece. I do this twice to ensure the water doesn't seep in. Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the hardened crumbs. Pour the water from the kettle into a roasting tin, deep enough to come halfway up the cake tin. Lower the cake tin into the roasting tin and carefully, very carefully, slide into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes then leave the cake to cool in the oven.
Lemon ice-cream tart with ginger crust
serves 8
for the base:
120g butter
400g ginger biscuits
for the ice cream:
150mls white wine
2 tbs dry Marsala or brandy
2 lemons
an orange
4 tbs caster sugar
500ml double cream
You will need a loose-bottomed tart tin about 21cm in diameter.
Line the base of a tin with a single piece of greaseproof paper. Melt the butter in a small pan. Crush the biscuits in a food processor or bash them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Either way you want them to be a fine powder. Stir the biscuits into the butter. Line the base of the tin with the buttered crumbs, pushing some up the sides as far as you can. It doesn't matter if the edges are rough. Put the crumb-lined tin in the freezer.
Pour the wine into the bowl of a food mixer (or, if you're doing it by hand, into a large mixing bowl). Add the Marsala and then the finely grated zest of the lemons and the orange. Squeeze one of the lemons and add the juice. Reserve the orange for later.
Add the sugar and cream to the wine and zest mixture then beat slowly until thick. I always keep a close eye on this, you want the consistency to be soft and thick, so that it lies in soft folds rather than standing in stiff peaks.
Scrape the mixture into the crumb-lined tart tin and freeze for at least four hours. Remove from the freezer 15-20 minutes before you intend to serve it. I find it easier to remove the cake from the tin while it is still frozen, running a palette knife around the edge first. Cut the peel from the orange, slice the flesh thinly and serve at the side of each slice of cake.
This is a large cake, enough to feed about 16 or so.
350g butter
175g light muscovado sugar
175g dark muscovado sugar
1kg total weight of dried fruits - prunes, apricots, figs, candied peel, glace cherries
5 large free-range eggs
100g ground almonds
150g shelled hazelnuts
500g total weight vine fruits - raisins, sultanas, currants, cranberries
5 tbs brandy
zest and juice of an orange
zest of a lemon
tsp baking powder
350g plain flour
You will also need a 24-25cm cake tin with a removable base, fully lined with a double layer of lightly buttered greaseproof paper or non-stick baking paper, which should come at least 5cm above the top of the tin.
Set the oven to 160 c/gas 3. Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. I needn't tell you this is much easier with an electric mixer, though I have done it by hand. Don't forget to push the mixture down the sides of the bowl from time to time with a spatula.
While the butter and sugars are beating to a cappuccino-coloured fluff, cut the dried fruits into small pieces, removing the hard fig stalks. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time - it will curdle but don't worry - then slowly mix in the ground almonds, hazelnuts, all the dried and vine fruits, the brandy and the citrus zest and juice.
Now mix the baking powder and flour together and fold them lightly into the mix. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top gently, and put it in the oven. Leave for an hour, then, without opening the oven door turn down the heat to 150 /gas 2 and cook for 2 hours.
Check to see whether the cake is done by inserting a skewer - a knitting needle will do - into the centre. It should come out with just a few crumbs attached but no trace of raw cake mixture. Take the cake out of the oven and leave it to cool before removing it from the tin.
· The fruit content is no longer confined to currants, sultanas and raisins. Providing you get the ratio of fruit to flour, butter and sugar right, which fruits you include are entirely a matter of choice. So dried figs, cranberries, apricots can all be included. The juicier the fruit the better, so best not use the thin slices of dried fruit such as mango or apple. Glace cherries and dried apricots will keep the cake particularly juicy.
· Look, I know lining the cake tin is a drag but it has to be done, otherwise the edges of the cake will burn. You can't spend enough time on this. I do it while the butter and sugars are creaming in the mixer. A double layer of paper is the trick, skip the process at your peril.
· Rich fruit cakes are amazingly good natured. I once put my cake in the oven and started clearing up the kitchen, only to find most of the flour still on the scales. I simply took the cake out of the oven, mixed in the flour and put it back in the oven. And yes, it came out a treat.
Slater and spice
Vietnamese beef salad
A clean, fresh alternative to the usual Christmas fare, I find this makes a great first course, in which case it will serve 4.
serves 2 as a main dish
2 large sirloin steaks
1 bird's eye chilli
1 lime
a good pinch of sugar
2 tbs Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
4 large lime leaves (6 smaller ones)
a large handful coriander leaves
a large handful mint leaves
a 5cm length of cucumber
a medium carrot
a bunch of watercress
2 large or 8 cherry tomatoes
Season the steaks with black pepper and a little oil and set them aside while you heat a grill or griddle pan.
Halve the bird's eye chilli, scrape out and discard the seeds. Shred the flesh finely then put it into a mixing bowl, with the juice of the lime, the sugar, the fish sauce and the sweet chilli sauce. Mix thoroughly.
Remove the stem and central vein from the lime leaves then roll up the leaves and shred them very, very finely. Put them in a serving dish. Roughly chop the coriander leaves and the mint. Cut the cucumber and carrot into matchstick-size pieces, peeling it first if you wish, then add them to the lime leaves with the chopped herbs.
Wash the watercress and remove the stems. Slice the tomatoes into thin segments and add with the watercress to the rest of the salad. Grill the steaks briefly, salting them as they cook. They should be nicely singed on the outside and deep rosy pink within. Slice them into finger-thick strips, then toss with the salad and dressing. Serve while the steak is still hot.
Green curry of prawns and Thai aubergines
If I am going to eat this over the Christmas period I tend to use the pre-packed ready-peeled and cooked king prawns. Be careful of their provenance. Raw prawns need to be eaten on the day they are bought.
serves 4 with rice for the spice paste:
4 green bird's eye chillies
2 heaped tbs chopped lemon grass (2 large stalks)
6 fresh lime leaves
the roots of 4 coriander sprigs
3 large cloves of garlic
a 50g lump of ginger
3 heaped tbs coriander leaves
300g prepared large prawns
2 tbs groundnut oil
2 large (banana) shallots (about 150g)
5 small purple Thai aubergines (about 150g)
12 cherry tomatoes
250ml coconut milk
a tbs or more of nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
to finish:
20g fresh mint leaves and Thai basil
a handful of coriander leaves
2 large lime leaves
steamed white rice to serve
To make the spice paste, discard the stems from the chillies, then chop the flesh and tip it into either a food blender or processor; add the chopped lemon grass.
Roll the lime leaves tightly and slice them into shreds. Chop the coriander roots, peel and chop the garlic, then peel the ginger and cut into shreds. Tip everything into the blender. Add the coriander leaves then blitz to a paste with enough water to make the mixture go round. Continue until you have a coarse paste, pushing the mixture down with a spatula every now and again.
Peel and finely slice the shallots. Warm the oil in a shallow pan then add shallots and cook them until they are golden and soft. Slice the aubergines into four lengthways and add them to the shallots, letting them soften and colour - about 5-7 minutes. Scoop the shallots and aubergine out into a dish then add a further tablespoon of oil to the pan. When the oil is warm add the green spice paste. Let it fry briefly - the water will evaporate - then halve and add the tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes, then return the shallots and aubergine and add coconut milk. Season with the nam pla. Slip the prawns into the sauce and leave to cook for a minute or two - no longer - until they are warmed though.
Chop the mint, basil and coriander leaves roughly. Roll and finely shred the lime leaves then spoon the curry on to the rice and divide the herbs among them.
Read part one of this article here
