by Jamie Oliver
Roses of quality smoked salmon or slices of gorgeous Gravlax (see here)
A handful of clams, mussels, or periwinkles, popped into a pan on a medium heat with the lid on and heated for a few minutes with a small splash of white wine and 1 knob of unsalted butter (discard any clams or mussels that remain closed)
Cooked, shelled cockles, lightly dressed with nice oil, vinegar, and herbs
With some freshly buttered brown bread and a few lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over, this is a feast fit for any festive king or queen. Enjoy.
SMOKED SALMON PTÉ
SHRIMP, WHITE CRABMEAT, SALMON CAVIAR, & CAYENNE PEPPER
This is a real winner to have prepped and ready in the fridge to enjoy as a starter or as part of a buffet. The blend of seafood is sublime, giving you silkiness and nice meaty texture, and the salmon caviar adds a real flavor pop of the sea.
SERVES 16–20
30 MINUTES
PTÉ
5 oz cooked peeled shrimp
5 oz quality smoked salmon
5 oz white crabmeat
9 oz cream cheese
1 oz salmon caviar, plus extra to serve
1 lemon
new season’s extra virgin olive oil
cayenne pepper
GARNISHES
1 small red onion
1 fresh red chile
1 celery heart
½ a bunch of fresh dill (½ oz)
2 lemons
1 loaf of sourdough bread
Finely chop the shrimp and smoked salmon and place in a bowl with the crabmeat, cream cheese, and caviar. Finely grate in the zest from quarter of a lemon and squeeze in the juice from 1 lemon. Add a good pinch of black pepper and mix together well. Spoon into an appropriately sized dish and smooth out nice and evenly—I use a palette or butter knife dipped in hot water to make this process easier. Cover and pop into the fridge until needed.
To prep your garnishes, peel the red onion and chop as finely as you can. Seed and finely slice the chile. Click the outer stalks off the celery and save for another day. Cut the inner part in half and finely slice it, leaves and all. Pick and roughly chop the dill. Cut the lemons into wedges. Slice and toast the bread.
Before serving, use a regular butter knife to lightly score a criss-cross pattern into the top of the pâté, then drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle from a height with a pinch of cayenne. Either take everything to the table and let people tuck in and help themselves, or take a bit of pride in delicately plating everything up, giving each lucky guest a beautiful quenelle of pâté surrounded by all the garnishes.
BEET CARPACCIO
BALSAMIC, LEMON, WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE, & DIJON
It’s amazing how incredibly elegant, silky, and delicate beets can be. Invest in a decent mandolin and you can transform root veg like this into beautiful things. This take on a classic carpaccio is nothing short of a joy to eat.
SERVES 4
20 MINUTES
4 large raw beets
2 tablespoons thick balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
2 heaping teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 heaping tablespoon fat-free plain yogurt
1¾ oz arugula
Scrub the beets clean and trim them, then, on a mandolin (use the guard!), finely slice them about 1⁄32-inch thick and place in a large bowl—it’s a good idea to wear gloves for this. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar, add 1 tablespoon of oil and a good pinch of sea salt, then squeeze over half the lemon juice. Toss together until every sliver is well coated—this will flavor and tenderize the beets.
To make your dressing, whisk the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and yogurt with the remaining lemon juice and ¼ cup of oil, then taste, season to perfection, and pour into a jar or pitcher.
Arrange the beets over a large serving platter and sprinkle over the arugula. From a height, drizzle the dressing over the top, serving any extra on the side. With some warm crusty bread, good goat’s cheese, and a glass of wine, it’s pure happiness.
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MIX IT UP
There are some amazing heirloom beets around these days—white, yellow, candy striped—and they’re fantastic in this recipe. All I would suggest is swapping out the balsamic vinegar for a quality herb vinegar so you can enjoy the colors without it all getting dark.
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SILKY PTÉ
FLAMED CHICKEN LIVERS, SWEET ONIONS, SAGE, & THYME
This silky smooth pâté is super-satisfying to make. The ingredients are cheap, you get an amazing freshness, and you have complete control over flavor, so you can pimp it and make it really luxurious. It makes a great gift, too.
SERVES 12–14
50 MINUTES
PLUS SETTING
2¼ cups unsalted butter
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
½ a bunch of fresh thyme (½ oz)
2 lbs chicken livers, cleaned, trimmed
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
½ cup brandy
½ a bunch of fresh sage (½ oz)
To make your clarified butter, place 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan on a very low heat and let it slowly melt, then tick away until it separates. Use a ladle to remove the golden butter from the top into a separate small pan, leaving the whey behind.
Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic and place in a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the leftover whey. Strip in the thyme leaves and fry fast for 5 minutes, tossing regularly, until soft and starting to color. Add the chicken livers and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then finely grate in half the nutmeg. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the livers are blushing pink in the middle—don’t overcook them. Add the brandy to the pan for the last minute and let it cook off, ideally flaming it, if you feel confident enough to do so.
Tip everything straight into a food processor or blender with all the juices, and blitz until smooth. You’ll notice that the smell changes straight away. Taste and season to perfection, then add a little more because the seasoning seems to reduce when it gets cold, which is how you’ll serve it. Dice the remaining butter, add to the processor or blender, and blitz until silky smooth and the mixture starts to shine. Taste again to check the seasoning, then whiz for a final 2 minutes. You can serve the pâté in individual terrines or in a big bowl or platter. Pop into the fridge, covered with a sheet of parchment paper, until set.
Put the pan of golden butter on a medium heat and add 1 sage leaf—this will act as your gauge so you know when it’s hot enough. When the leaf just becomes crispy, pick in the remaining sage leaves and take the pan off the heat. They’ll go crispy, snappy, and delicious. Use a slotted spoon to pop the sage leaves on top of the chilled pâté, then pour over the clarified butter. Put back into the fridge and the butter will go hard and opaque, acting as a seal. You don’t have to eat the butter, but it will have amazing flavor. I like to serve this with toast, radishes, cornichons, watercress, and lemon wedges, and wash it down with a glass of wine.
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GET AHEAD
Make the pâté up to 1 week in advance, simply keeping it in the fridge until needed.
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GRAVLAX
BEETS, HORSERADISH, VODKA, & DILL
A firm favorite from my travels, this beautiful, delicate dish sums up everything I love about Swedish food: it’s elegant, clean, and fresh, it looks incredible, and is a doddle to make. You’ll be so proud when you see the finished result.
SERVES 10
20 MINUTES
PLUS CURING
FISH
7 oz raw beets
3½ oz rock salt
¼ cup demerara sugar
¼ cup vodka
1 big bunch of fresh dill (2 oz)
1 lemon
1¾ oz fresh or jarred grated horseradish
1 × 1½-lb side of salmon, skin on, s
caled, pin-boned
Peel and trim the beets and place in a food processor with the salt, sugar, vodka, and dill. Finely grate in the lemon zest, add the horseradish, finely grating it if fresh, then blitz until combined. Rub a little mixture onto the salmon skin, then place the salmon on a large tray, skin-side down, and pat the remaining mixture all over it so that the flesh is completely covered. Cover the tray tightly with plastic wrap. Pop a weight on top to help pack everything down evenly, then put the whole thing into the fridge for 36 hours. Please use your instincts here—if you have a particularly chunky side of salmon, you may want to leave it for up to 48 hours to allow for proper penetration.
Once cured, unwrap the fish, then, holding the fillet in place, pour the juices down the sink and rub away all the salty topping (it’s messy, so you might want to wear gloves). Pat the fillet dry with paper towel, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap (sometimes I like to cover the salmon with freshly picked dill before wrapping, for bonus flavor). Put back into the fridge until needed, where it will keep happily for up to 2 weeks.
To serve, use a long sharp knife to slice the salmon thinly at an angle and, as the knife touches the skin each time, kink it off, lifting away the salmon. Arrange the slices on a board or platter as you go. Delicious with a simple salad and good whole-grain sourdough, as part of a Seafood smörgåsbord (see here), served up at a party, or even as part of a festive brekkie spread.
PORK TERRINE
SMOKY BACON, FRAGRANT HERBS, CLOVES, & NUTMEG
This is a real treat and you’ll get a fantastic sense of achievement from making your own terrine. And, unless you buy one from a truly amazing artisan producer, you really won’t get any better than one you’ve made yourself.
SERVES 10–12
2 HOURS
PLUS COOLING & CHILLING
3 lbs pork—a mixture of neck, shoulder, and a tiny bit of leg
3½ oz pork or chicken livers, cleaned, trimmed
3½ oz smoked bacon lardons
½ a bunch of fresh thyme (½ oz)
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley (1 oz)
3 fresh bay leaves
1 large handful of bread crumbs
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 level teaspoon white pepper
Ask your butcher to coarsely grind the pork, or pulse it in a food processor, slicing and finely chopping a few bits to give you a nice range of textures and making the terrine more interesting to eat.
Take the meat out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook, so it can come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Blitz the livers and lardons to a purée in a food processor, then tip into a large bowl with the ground pork mixture. Strip in the thyme leaves, then finely grate in half the nutmeg. Finely chop the parsley (stalks and all). Pull the stalks out of the bay leaves, roll the leaves up, and finely chop them, then add both to the bowl with the bread crumbs, cloves, white pepper, and 3 really good pinches of sea salt. Scrunch and mix it all together well with clean hands.
Get yourself a round ovenproof earthenware dish, about 10 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep (I prefer to use a dish here, rather than a traditional terrine mold, which is where the recipe gets its name). Overfill the dish first, then really push and squash the mixture down and right out to the edges.
Place the dish in a large roasting pan, put into the oven, and carefully pour in enough boiling kettle water to come halfway up the side of the pan. Cook the terrine for 1 hour and 15 minutes. To check it’s done, insert a knife into the center—if the juices run clear, it’s perfect. It will shrink a bit during cooking, but that’s normal. Carefully remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan. Don’t drain off any liquid—that’ll keep it juicy once the terrine has cooled. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. Kept in the dish you cooked it in, with all the fat around the edge and properly covered, it will keep happily for up to 1 week.
I like to serve it with dressed cornichons, radishes, and chicory. A dollop of mustard, hot toast, and a glass of French Malbec on the side, and you’re laughing.
The MAIN EVENT
ROAST GOOSE
SLOW-COOKED WITH CHRISTMAS SPICES
If you’ve never had roast goose before, it’s an absolute must. This method is reliable and will give you an experience you definitely won’t forget, whether it’s the first meal from it, or using up the lovely leftovers it gives you (if there are any!).
SERVES 8
3 HOURS 30 MINUTES
1 large goose (9–11 lbs), halved lengthways by your butcher
2½-inch piece of fresh gingerroot
6 large sticks of cinnamon
6 star anise
2 teaspoons whole cloves
olive oil
2 oranges
red wine vinegar
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and finely slice the ginger, then, keeping everything quite coarse, lightly crush it in a pestle and mortar with the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Rub into the skin of the goose halves, then put both halves skin-side up in your biggest deep-sided roasting pan and drizzle with a little oil. Roast for 3 hours (depending on the size of your goose), basting every hour. After the goose has been in for 2 hours, slice the oranges and carefully add to the pan.
The goose is cooked when the leg meat falls easily off the bone. Now you’ve got two choices. Leave it to rest, covered, for 30 minutes, then serve up while it’s hot and crispy-skinned, in which case simply remove the meat to a board, shred the leg meat, and slice the breast. Pour all the fat into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day, such as my Best roast potatoes (see here). Stir a good swig of vinegar into the pan to pick up all the sticky goodness from the base, then drizzle over your meat. Serve with spuds, veg, and all the usual trimmings.
Your second choice is to let everything cool in the pan, then place it in the fridge for up to 2 days, with the goose submerged and protected in its own fat, ready to reheat when you need it, getting you ahead of the game and saving you time and oven space another day. To reheat, put the whole pan back in a preheated 350°F oven and let the goose crisp up for around 30 minutes, or until hot through, then shred, slice, and serve as above.
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LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS
They’ll be delicious shredded into a salad or stew, or used in place of leftover turkey meat for recipes in the Leftovers chapter. Blitz any leftover skin with bread crumbs, then toast, and use as an epic sprinkle.
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ROAST BEEF
WITH A DELICIOUS PULLED MEAT GRAVY
Forerib is such an exciting and beautiful cut of meat to cook. The subtle seasoning of ground ginger is absolutely sublime, and with tender pulled meat and Barolo gravy on the side, this meal is a real celebration of brilliant beef.
SERVES 12
3 HOURS 30 MINUTES
1 × 9-lb forerib of beef, French trimmed, chine bone removed, cap removed and reserved, fat tied back on
olive oil
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 onions
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 fresh bay leaves
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Worcestershire sauce
1 glass of red wine, ideally Barolo
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
Buy your beef from the butcher, and ask for local, grass-fed, well-marbled meat. Put in your order a month in advance so they can hang the meat for you, for better flavor and tenderness. Ask for a French-trimmed forerib with the chine bone removed and the fat tied back on, and ask them to reserve the removed cap meat for you, too. Get your forerib and cap out of the fridge 2 hours before you want to cook them, to let them come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drizzle both pieces of meat with oil. Mix the ground ginger with 2
teaspoons each of sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over both pieces of meat. Place the cap meat in a large roasting pan. Peel the onions, wash the carrots, then roughly chop with the celery and scatter into the pan with the bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, a good few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, the red wine, and the flour. Mix everything up, then place the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven. Sit the forerib directly on the bars above, so the cap pan catches all the flavorsome fat that drips out. Roast the forerib for around 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes for medium, or give it up to an extra 30 minutes if you prefer it more well done (if using a meat thermometer, you want to reach an internal temperature of 140°F or 160°F). Roast the cap meat for the same time.
Remove the forerib to a platter, cover with aluminum foil and leave to rest for 1 hour 30 minutes before serving. Skim away most of the fat from the cap pan into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. Pick out and discard the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, add 3 cups of boiling kettle water, cover with aluminum foil, and return to the oven for around 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the meat is pullable—the time can vary depending on the animal, so use your instincts. Use two forks to pull and shred the meat in the pan, discarding any sinew and wobbly bits, then either mix the pulled meat back through the flavorsome veggies and gravy, or sieve and serve the gravy in a pitcher on the side, loosening if needed. Carve the forerib, and serve both meats with all the usual trimmings, particularly Yorkshire puds (see here) and Horseradish sauce (see here).
JERK HAM
RUBBED WITH SPICES & GLAZED WITH RUM-SPIKED MARMALADE
These days, if I’m going to do a baked ham, it’s got to be this recipe. The contrast of gorgeous juicy ham with the outer crust of incredible jerk flavors and the sweet rummy marmalade glaze that finishes it off is just brilliant. Heaven.