Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbook
Page 4
FLAVORED BUTTERS
Flavored butters are a fun thing to make and have available in your freezer, ready to add an incredible flavor injection to anything you’re cooking: steaks, bread, fish, grilled meat, seafood, veggies, pasta—you name it, they’ll all benefit.
10 MINUTES
PLUS FREEZING
Blitz up your chosen flavor combo as below, spoon it onto a sheet of parchment paper, roll it up, shape it into a log and twist the ends like a Christmas cracker, then freeze for 1 hour. Get it out of the freezer, unwrap it, and slice it ½ inch thick, then rewrap and keep frozen until needed. This means you’ll be able to easily click off what you need, as and when you want it.
GREEN BUTTER
Peel 2 cloves of garlic, and blitz in a food processor with 1 cup of unsalted butter, 1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley (1 oz) and 11⁄3 oz of watercress, 1 tablespoon of jarred grated horseradish, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
MEDITERRANEAN BUTTER
Peel 2 cloves of garlic, and blitz in a food processor with 1 cup of unsalted butter, 3½ oz of sun-dried tomatoes, 6 olives (pitted), 1 heaping tablespoon of harissa paste, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
CURRY BUTTER
Peel 2 cloves of garlic, and blitz in a food processor with 1 cup of unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons each of medium curry powder, dried curry leaves, black mustard seeds, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
SAGE & ONION BUTTER
Peel 2 cloves of garlic, peel and roughly chop 1 medium onion, pick the leaves from 1 bunch of fresh sage (1 oz), then blitz it all in a food processor with 1 cup of unsalted butter and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
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JAZZ UP YOUR CHICKEN
If you’re using one of these for your Roast chicken (see here), let what you need come up to room temperature before use.
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ROAST DUCK
CRANBERRY HOISIN, CRISPY SKIN, CHILE, FRESH HERBS, & PANCAKES
This is a massive Oliver family favorite—everyone loves building their own pancakes, and roast duck is such a treat. I get my pancakes from a Chinese supermarket or online, but if you can’t find them, use iceberg lettuce leaves instead.
SERVES 6
2 HOURS 20 MINUTES
1 × 4¼-lb whole duck, giblets reserved
1 red onion
olive oil
Chinese five-spice powder
1 clementine
GARNISHES
4 scallions
4 small carrots
½ an English cucumber
1 fresh red chile
1 mixed bunch of fresh mint and cilantro (1 oz)
1 lime
18 Chinese pancakes
HOISIN
2 cloves of garlic
2-inch piece of fresh gingerroot
7 oz frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 clementines
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel the onion, cut into wedges, and place in a roasting pan with the giblets and a splash of water. Rub the duck all over with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of Chinese five-spice and a really good pinch of sea salt. Halve the clementine and place in the cavity, then sit the duck directly on the bars of the oven, with the pan of onions and giblets underneath to catch the tasty fat. Roast for 2 hours, or until the duck is crispy and cooked through, turning the onions occasionally to prevent them from catching.
While the duck cooks, prep the garnishes. Trim and halve the scallions and carrots, then finely slice lengthways, scratch a fork down the cucumber, and finely slice it with the chile. Pick the herb leaves. Cut the lime into wedges.
Remove the cooked duck to a platter, cover, and rest for 30 minutes. Pour all the fat from the pan into a jar, cool, and place in the fridge for tasty cooking another day. Now you’ve got a choice: you can make a dark hoisin utilizing the bonus flavor from the pan, or you can do it separately in a pan to achieve the vibrant color you see in the picture—both ways are super-tasty, it’s purely personal preference. Using the pan, remove and discard the giblets, leaving the onions behind. Place over a medium heat on the stove, peel, roughly chop, and add the garlic and ginger, add 1 teaspoon of five-spice, then stir in the cranberries, picking up all the sticky goodness from the base of the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the soy, rice wine vinegar, honey, clementine juice, and a splash of water. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until thick and glossy. Pour into a blender and blitz until smooth, then taste and season to perfection. If you’re doing it in a pan, just follow the instructions above, adding a splash of oil to the pan before the garlic, ginger, and five-spice.
In batches, warm the pancakes in a bamboo steamer over a pan of simmering water for just 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the duck meat, or get two forks and ravage it all off the bone. Serve everything in the middle of the table so everyone builds their own. The crispy duck skin will be an absolute treat dotted on top!
ROAST VENISON
WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO, SERVED WITH A BAROLO, & CHOCOLATE SAUCE
This is a phenomenally delicious way to roast venison, and the method is foolproof, too. Protected by the fatty, crispy prosciutto as it cooks, then served blushing with this outrageously good, silky sauce, it’s hard to beat.
SERVES 10
3 HOURS 15 MINUTES
SAUCE
2 lbs venison bones (ask your butcher)
1 red onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ a bottle of Barolo
1 oz quality dark chocolate (70%)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
VENISON
1 level tablespoon coffee beans
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
1 orange
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 × 1½-lb venison tenderloins, trimmed
14 slices of prosciutto
olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the venison bones in a large, deep roasting pan. Peel the onion, wash the carrot, then roughly chop with the celery, add to the pan with the flour, and toss together. Roast for 1 hour, then use tongs to transfer everything to a big pot. Add enough boiling kettle water to the pan to scrape up the sticky goodness from the base, then pour that into the pot with the wine. Just cover with boiling water, then simmer on a low heat for 2 hours, skimming the surface and topping up the water occasionally, if needed. Carefully remove the bigger bones, then strain the sauce through a coarse sieve into a pan. Simmer on a low heat to the consistency of your liking, then turn the heat off.
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Crush the coffee beans and peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until fine, pick and pound in the rosemary leaves, then peel and crush in the garlic to make a rough paste. Finely grate in the orange zest and muddle in the balsamic. Cut each venison loin in half to give you four pieces, then rub the paste all over the meat.
Divide the prosciutto between two large sheets of parchment paper, slightly overlapping the slices. Place two pieces of venison on top of each other on each one, spooning the meat so the thick and thin ends even each other out. Roll up in the prosciutto, tucking in the ends, tie with string at regular intervals to secure the prosciutto in place, then put on a roasting pan.
To cook, drizzle the loins with a little oil, then roast in a preheated oven at 350°F for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Remove and rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the sauce back up to a simmer, snap in the chocolate, add the butter, and whisk until smooth. Leave for a few minutes, then season to perfection. Remove the string from the venison, then carve and serve with the sauce. Delicious with Jerusalem artichoke and celery root mash and steamed seasonal gree
ns.
MEATLOAF
SWEET ROASTED FENNEL, CRISPY SMOKED BACON, HERBS, & JUICES
There’s nothing more comforting than a gorgeous meatloaf made with top-quality meat, lightened up with festive flavors. It’s a delicious, easy way to feed a big group of people. And when it comes out in a big pan it looks amazing, too.
SERVES 12
2 HOURS
4 medium bulbs of fennel
olive oil
2 onions
2 carrots
½ a bunch of fresh sage (½ oz)
½ a bunch of fresh rosemary (½ oz)
1 × 4½-oz ball of mozzarella cheese
7 oz sourdough bread crumbs
2 lbs ground pork
2 lbs ground beef
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
2 large eggs
12 rashers of smoked bacon
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons quality blackcurrant jam
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Trim each fennel bulb and chop into eight wedges, then place in a large roasting pan, drizzle with oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, and roast for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the onions and carrots, place in a large pan with 1 tablespoon of oil on a medium-low heat, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pick the herb leaves, finely chop half of them, and add to the veg pan, saving the rest for later. Leave the veg to cool completely, then tear in the mozzarella and add the bread crumbs, ground meat, mustard, eggs, and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Scrunch and mix well, then shape into a loaf.
Make a space in the middle of the fennel pan and sit the meatloaf in the center. Criss-cross the smoky bacon over the meatloaf, drizzle with a little oil, then cover the pan with aluminum foil. Roast for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and discard the foil. Mix the chicken stock, jam, and tomato paste together in a pitcher until smooth, then pour into the pan. Toss the reserved herbs with a little oil and scatter into the pan, then return to the oven for a final 45 minutes, or until cooked through. If the juices need thickening at this stage, simply put the pan on the stove to reduce for a few minutes, until they’re the consistency of your liking, skimming away any fat from the surface, if needed.
Serve the meatloaf, sweet fennel, and juices with mash and seasonal greens.
RACK OF LAMB
WITH A GARLIC, PARSLEY, & PISTACHIO CRUST
Lamb like this is a total treat—it looks dramatic, and gives you tender blushing meat with an irresistible feisty crumb. It’s also easy to scale up or down for two, six, or eight, just tweak the timings instinctively.
SERVES 4
50 MINUTES
PLUS RESTING
2 × French-trimmed 7-bone racks of lamb (caps, fat, and sinews removed)
olive oil
unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic
3½ oz unsalted shelled pistachios
1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley (1 oz)
2½ oz bread
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
Dijon mustard
GREEN BEANS
12 oz fine green beans
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
½ a lemon
3 sprigs of fresh tarragon
Get your meat out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drizzle the lamb racks with olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt and black pepper, patting the seasoning all over the meat. Sear in a hot frying pan on a high heat with a little extra oil and 1 knob of butter for 2 to 3 minutes, turning with tongs until golden all over, then remove the racks to a roasting pan and let them cool.
Peel 2 cloves of garlic and place in a food processor with the pistachios and parsley (stalks and all). Tear in the bread, finely grate in half the nutmeg, and blitz into a fine green crumb. Generously brush each lamb rack with mustard, then cover with the herby crumb, patting it all over the top and sides. Roast for 25 minutes, until the crust is crisp, to give you beautifully blushing lamb. Remove from the oven and leave the lamb to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim just the stalk ends off the green beans and cook for 6 to 7 minutes in a pan of boiling salted water. Crush the remaining unpeeled clove of garlic through a garlic crusher into a jar and mix with 1 teaspoon of mustard, the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and the lemon juice, then taste and season to perfection. Finely chop and add the tarragon leaves. Drain the beans and toss with the dressing. Carve up the lamb and serve with the dressed green beans and my Potato al forno (see here).
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BONUS FLAVOR
Sometimes I like to ask my butcher, when he’s removing the cap meat, to trim and chop the cap. I then fry it with some finely chopped onions and flour until golden, adding stock to make a simple gravy. You can leave it chunky, or pass it through a sieve before serving.
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Delegation
IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
Christmas is about everyone having fun with each other, and as the host you need to make sure you’re a part of that. Delegate jobs, whether it’s getting the kids to set the table and make place settings, tasking everyone with a different prep job, or asking any friends or family members who can’t cook to bring the cheese or take control of washing-up duties. If everyone chips in and does their bit, you’ll have dinner on the table with minimum stress and, most importantly, a room full of happy, well-fed faces.
SALMON EN CROÛTE
WITH AN HERBY SPINACH-STUFFED CRUST & A GORGEOUS CHEESY SAUCE
I couldn’t resist the opportunity to go a bit retro and include my version of salmon en croûte here—it’s such a nostalgic dish for many of us, and making it yourself is not only super-satisfying, it creates a brilliantly exciting centerpiece.
SERVES 8
1 HOUR 10 MINUTES
PLUS COOLING
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ a bunch of fresh oregano (½ oz)
2 lbs frozen chopped spinach
12 oz all-butter puff pastry (cold)
1 × 2-lb side of salmon, skin off, pin-boned (ask your fishmonger for a fillet from the top end of the fish)
1 large egg
SAUCE
1 leek
1¾ oz sun-dried tomatoes
6 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk
1¾ oz Red Leicester cheese
cayenne pepper
Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic, then place in a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and half the butter. Pick in the oregano leaves and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the spinach and cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated, still stirring regularly. Remove from the heat, taste, season to perfection and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: wash, trim and finely slice the leek, then place in a large pan on a medium-low heat with 1 tablespoon of oil, the remaining butter, and the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes, or until sweet and tender, stirring regularly. Pour in the wine and let it cook away, then stir in the flour and, splash-by-splash, stir in the milk. Leave it to simmer for 5 minutes, then liquidize in a blender until silky smooth. Grate in the cheese, add a pinch of cayenne, and blitz again. Taste and season to perfection, then leave to cool completely.
On a large sheet of flour-dusted parchment paper, roll out the pastry so it’s 4 inches bigger than your salmon all the way round. Pour away any excess liquid from the cooled spinach mixture, then spoon it onto the middle of the pastry and spread it across the surface, leaving a 1¼-inch border at the edges. Place the salmon in the middle, then roll up the sides of the pastry to create the crust, going right up to the salmon and pinching it at the corners to secure it in pla
ce. Lightly score the top of the salmon in a criss-cross fashion, then pour the cool cheesy sauce over the fish. Brush the exposed pastry with beaten egg, and you’re ready to cook. You can cook it now, or cover and pop it into the fridge overnight if you want to get ahead.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425°F and place a large baking sheet in there to heat up. Carefully lift the parchment and salmon en croûte onto the preheated pan and bake at the bottom of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. This is delicious served with a garden salad and lemon wedges on the side, for squeezing over.
FISH PIE
LUXURIOUS FISH, CREAMY PROSECCO SAUCE, & RED LEICESTER MASH
Christmas in the UK, if the weather’s not too rough for the fishermen to go out, can and normally does bring us the most wonderful bounty of gorgeous fish from cold, clean glorious waters, and this is a classic that celebrates them all.
SERVES 10
2 HOURS 20 MINUTES
1 × 3-lb whole live lobster
2½ cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
1 onion
1 large carrot
1 bulb of fennel
1 leek
olive oil
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons English mustard
2⁄3 cup Prosecco
1¾ oz Lancashire or Cheddar cheese
4¼ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
2½ oz Red Leicester cheese
cayenne pepper
7 oz seasonal greens, such as kale, cavolo nero, chard
2 lbs mixed fish fillets and seafood, such as smoked haddock, scallops, salmon, bass, gurnard, lemon sole, skin off and pin-boned
10 raw peeled king shrimp
Buy your lobster on the day you want to cook it. Ask your fishmonger to kill it for you, or if you’re happy doing it yourself, place the live lobster in the freezer for 30 minutes, so it’s docile. When ready to cook, carefully and swiftly place the lobster in a large pan of boiling water head first, pop the lid on, and cook for 8 minutes. Remove, cool, and carefully halve the lobster, then remove the meat to a bowl—save the claws to decorate, if you like, or, even better, crack, pull out the meat, and add it to the bowl. Put all the shells back into the empty pan you cooked the lobster in and bash with a rolling pin, then pour in the milk and simmer on a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes to impart unbelievable flavor.