Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year, especially in the kitchen! The list seems never ending. Not only do you have to think about Christmas Dinner, but you can’t forget about everything in between – nibbles, breakfasts, dinners and lunches before and after Christmas Day. Whether you are going to friends or family with a plate of nibbles, or having guests over for a dinner party, you can make these recipes in advance as your go-to for the festive season.
- Meat Stuffing by Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 2 leeks
- 1 bunch of fresh sage (30g)
- olive oil
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 4 rashers of smoked streaky higher-welfare bacon
- 1 whole nutmeg, for grating
- 400 g stale bread
- 200 g vac-packed chestnuts
- 1 kg minced higher-welfare pork shoulder
- 1 x 400 g tin of peaches, in juice
- 1 clementine
Method
GET AHEAD
- Peel the onions, wash and trim the leeks, then finely chop them (saving the green leek tops for soup or stew). Pick the sage leaves, keep 2 nice big ones aside, then finely slice the rest.
- Place a large frying pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter. Finely slice and add the bacon, fry until lightly golden, then stir in the sliced sage, followed by the onions and leeks.
- Finely grate in half the nutmeg, add a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper and cook for 15 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool.
- Toast the bread, then whiz it to crumbs in a food processor with the chestnuts and tip into a large bowl. Add the cooled onion mixture, the minced pork shoulder and drained peaches.
- Using your hands, really squash and squidge everything until well mixed. Put 250g of the stuffing mixture aside to stuff the neck of your turkey then pack the rest into an appropriately sized oiled baking dish.
- Flatten it down and use your hands to almost tuck the stuffing into the dish, so it mounds up in the middle
- Halve the clementine, then push the halves into the top of the stuffing, cut side up, placing 1 reserved sage leaf on each half and drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of oil. Cover and pop in the fridge.
ON THE DAY
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden, gnarly and cooked through.
- Smoked Salmon Pate – by Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
PÂTÉ
- 150 g cooked peeled prawns, from sustainable sources
- 150 g quality smoked salmon, from sustainable sources
- 150 g white crabmeat, from sustainable sources
- 280 g cream cheese
- 25 g salmon caviar, plus extra to serve, from sustainable sources
- 1 lemon
- new season’s extra virgin olive oil
- cayenne pepper
GARNISHES
- 1 small red onion
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 1 celery heart
- ½ a bunch of fresh dill (15g)
- 2 lemons
- 1 loaf of sourdough bread
Method
GET AHEAD
- Finely chop the prawns 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. Deseed and finely slice the chilli. 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. Cover and pop it all in the fridge.
ON THE DAY
- Slice and toast the bread.
- Before serving, use a regular eating knife to lightly score a crisscross 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.
Happy Cooking
Clinton and Fiona