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Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 08:14AM
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Ingredients
250g/9oz curly kale
250g/9oz cooking chorizo
50g/2oz skinned whole almonds
a little groundnut or sunflower oil
a clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
sea salt flakes
Method
Wash the kale thoroughly - the leaves can hold grit in their curls. Put several of the leaves on top of one another and shred them coarsely, discarding the really thick ends of the stalks as you go. Repeat this until all of the kale leaves are shredded. Set aside.
Cut the chorizo into thick slices. Warm a non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat, add the slices of chorizo and fry until the pieces are golden. Lift them out with a draining spoon onto a dish lined with kitchen paper. Discard the oil that has come out of the chorizo and wipe the pan clean.
Add the almonds to the same pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until pale golden, then lift out and set aside with the chorizo.
Warm the oil in the same pan, add the crushed garlic and shredded kale and cook for a couple of minutes, turning the kale over as it cooks, until glossy and starting to darken in colour.
Return the chorizo and almonds to the pan, add a little salt and continue cooking until all is sizzling. To serve, tip onto hot plates.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 08:03AM
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Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, finely chopped
small handful kale, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in a wok
Add the leeks and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the leeks are golden-brown.
Add the kale and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, frying for 1-2 minutes, or until the kale has wilted. Keep warm.
Ideal to serve with a meat dish, such as grilled lamb chops!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 01:11PM
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Ingredients
55g/2oz butter, plus extra for greasing
170g/6oz demerara sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 free-range eggs
2 tbsp black treacle
200g/7oz self-raising flour, plus extra for flouring
200g/7oz pitted dates
290ml/10fl oz boiling water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp vanilla extract
110ml/4fl oz double cream
55g/2oz butter, diced
55g/2oz dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup
vanilla ice cream, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease and flour 6 individual pudding moulds.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.
Meanwhile, blend the dates and boiling water in a food processor to a smooth purée. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.
Pour the date mixture into the pudding batter and stir until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.
To make the sauce, heat all of the ingredients in a pan, stirring occasionally, until boiling.
To serve, remove the puddings from the moulds and place onto each of 6 serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 01:05PM
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Ingredients
100g/3½oz butter, softened
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4.5kg/10lb turkey, with giblets removed and cavity wiped clean
3 large onions, halved
Method
The bird should be prepared the night before. Mix the butter with the salt and freshly ground black pepper, then season the cavity of the bird.
Rub the butter mix all over the turkey. Fold a large piece of greaseproof paper to double thickness and lay over the breast to protect it during the cooking.
Leave it in the fridge overnight.
On the day you wish to serve the bird heat the oven to 220C/430F/Gas 7.
Take the turkey out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature while the oven is heating up.
Put the onions in a large roasting tray. Put the turkey on a trivet or wire rack in the tray.
Pour one cup of boiling water into the cavity of the bird and seal with a skewer. Pour two cups of boiling water into the bottom of the tin, then cover the whole thing with two layers of foil, making sure it is well sealed around the edges.
Cook for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
After 1½ hours, remove the foil and greaseproof paper.
Cook for a further 40 minutes and don't open the oven door until the cooking time is up.
To test whether the turkey is cooked, insert a skewer or knife blade into the point where the thigh joins the breast - the juice should run clear.
If it is pink, cook it for another 20 minutes and test again. Leave the turkey to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes before carving.
Strain the juice from the bottom of the tin into a large jug - the fat will rise to the top, leaving the aromatic turkey and onion beneath.
Skim off the fat use the juices to make a gravy or serve as it is.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:57PM
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Ingredients
1 bottle red wine
60g/2oz demerara sugar
1 cinnamon stick
grated nutmeg
1 orange, halved
1 dried bay leaf
60ml/2fl oz sloe or damson gin (optional)
Method
Put the wine in a saucepan with the orange, sugar, bayleaf and the spices.
Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Taste to see if you want the wine sweeter, and add more sugar to taste.
Off the heat, stir in the sloe or damson gin if you are using it.
Strain into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:35PM
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Ingredients
450g/1lb fresh cranberries
300ml/10fl oz ruby port
115g/4oz caster sugar
125ml/4fl oz fresh orange juice
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp English mustard powder
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of ground cloves
75g/3oz sultanas
55g/2oz flaked almonds
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tsp grated lemon rind
salt
Method
Combine the cranberries, port, sugar and orange juice in a pan over a medium heat, for ten minutes, until the fruit bursts.
Combine the corn flour, mustard, lemon juice and cloves with a little water to make a paste and stir into the berry mixture.
Next, add the sultanas, almonds, orange and lemon rind, simmer for five minutes, season and then chill. Serve with your Christmas turkey.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:25PM
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Ingredients
1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes, peeled and placed in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning (for best results use floury potatoes)
3-4 cloves garlic
500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2.
Slice the potatoes into thin slices, about 2mm-3mm/0.13in thick. Place the slices into a bowl as you cut them.
Trim the ends off the garlic cloves but don't peel. Grate the cloves on a grater. The flesh will go through the fine holes and the skins will be left behind. Scrape the grated garlic flesh into the bowl with the potatoes.
Season the potatoes, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour the cream over the potatoes and mix well again.
Place the potato slices into the gratin dish. They should come to just below the top of the dish. Press the potato down with the back of a spoon or your hands so it forms a solid layer. The cream should come to just below the top layer of potato (top up with more double cream if necessary).
Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, then check it. If the cream looks like it's splitting, your oven is too hot, so turn it down a bit. When cooked, the gratin should be golden on top and the potatoes tender. If necessary, give it another 15-20 minutes.
Serve the dauphinoise as a side dish to roasted meat or poultry.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:17PM
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Ingredients
1 day-old loaf unsliced white bread
1 litre/2 pints full-fat milk
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tsp white peppercorns
2 blades fresh mace or heaped ¼ tsp ground mace
2 tsp salt
30g/1oz butter
2 tbsp double cream, optional
1 fresh nutmeg, for grating
Method
Remove the crust from the bread and tear the stripped loaf into a mound of rough chunks or cubes about 2cm/¾in in size. You should end up with 175-200g (6¼-7¼oz) of cubes. If the bread is not slightly stale already, leave the pieces out on a wire rack to dry out.
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Press a clove into each quarter of the onion.
Add the onion quarters, bay leaves, peppercorns and the blades of mace (or sprinkle the ground mace into the pan) along with the salt and bring to the mixture almost to its boiling point.
Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan with a lid and let the ingredients infuse for at least half an hour, though you can leave it for a few hours if that helps with your cooking schedule.
After the mixture has infused, place the pan back on a very low heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves and the blades of mace.
Add the bread to the saucepan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then, by which time the sauce should have become thick and warm.
Just before serving the bread sauce, add the butter to the saucepan and stir until the butter has melted and combined with the sauce and season, to taste, with salt.
Add the cream (if using). Grate over quite a bit of nutmeg, adding more once you have poured the bread sauce into a warmed bowl or gravy boat.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:11PM
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Ingredients
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
80g/3oz fresh white breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
Method
Sweat the onion in the oil, until soft but not coloured
Mix together the onion, sage and breadcrumbs and season well.
Add enough of the beaten egg to bind the mixture together and use to stuff meat or poultry or to roll into individual stuffing balls.
If making stuffing balls, cook in the roasting tin with the meat for 30 minutes.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12:07PM
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Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
450g/1lb red cabbage, shredded
225g/8oz cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
pinch of ground cinnamon or allspice
150ml/¼pt vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, red cabbage and apple and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Add the ginger and cinnamon or allspice and the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender.
Season to taste and serve.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 11:52AM
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Ingredients
30g/1oz butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
275ml/10fl oz double cream
100ml/3½fl oz chicken or turkey stock
450g/1lb mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp tarragon or marjoram, chopped
675g/1lb 5oz cooked turkey and ham, cut into 2cm chunks
1.2kg/2½lb potatoes
knob of butter
1 free-range egg yolk
3 tbsp milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/360F/Gas 4.
In a saucepan large enough to hold all the meat, melt the butter and add the chopped onion. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook, without browning, on a gentle heat for 8-10 minutes, until the onions are completely soft.
Add the cream and stock and bring up to the boil and simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, heat the mushrooms with a knob of butter (you might need to do this in two batches) for 3-4 minutes, or until soft and golden brown.
Add tarragon or majoram to the mushrooms and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the meat and the mushrooms and stir well.
Meanwhile for the mashed potato, place the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water and cook until soft. Drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan. Mash roughly and then add the butter, egg yolk and milk and mash to a thick paste. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour the cream, mushroom and meat mixture into a shallow gratin dish and top with the mashed potato.
Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the potato topping is golden brown and the filling is hot.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 11:40AM
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Ingredients
900g/2lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed
20g/¾oz butter
4 tsp sunflower oil
150g/5oz bacon lardons (or rindless back bacon, cut into short fat strips)
20g/¾oz flaked almonds
400ml/14fl oz double cream
2½ tsp lemon juice
5½ tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Place the sprouts into a saucepan of simmering salted water and cook for 4-5 minutes, until almost, but not quite, cooked. Drain thoroughly, allow to cool slightly, then cut in half.
Place the butter and oil into a wide frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon lardons and almonds and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned.
Add the sprouts and sauté for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the cream and bring the mixture to the boil. Boil for 2-4 minutes, until the cream has reduced to a rich sauce. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and spoon into an ovenproof gratin dish.
Mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese together in a bowl, then sprinkle evenly over the top of the sprout mixture.
Place into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the top is golden-brown and the cream visibly boiling.
Remove from the oven and serve in the gratin dish (when the dish has cooled slightly).