Salter UK

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 8 Recipe

Citrus roast festive turkey recipe

Taken from:

THE GINGER PIG MEAT BOOK by TIM WILSON & FRAN WARDE

ISBN: 9781845335588 Price: £25.00

Take the strain away from the kitchen and prepare the turkey on Christmas Eve, so you simply have to put in the oven on the big day. Work out cooking times in advance, adding the weight of the stuffing as well as the bird.

Serves 12

Takes 6 hours

Ingredients:

6kg (13lb) free-range turkey, with giblets

1 onion, roughly chopped

6 bay leaves

2 celery sticks, chopped

6 black peppercorns

1 leek, chopped

150g (5½oz) fresh breadcrumbs

1kg (2lb 4oz) pork sausagemeat

3 unwaxed lemons, zested and juiced

4 garlic cloves, crushed with the side of a knife, then peeled and diced

2 red onions, diced

200g (7oz) black olives, chopped

6 sprigs of rosemary

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten with 200ml (7fl oz) cold water

18 rashers streaky bacon, rind removed

50g (1¾oz) plain flour

100ml (3½fl oz) red wine

1. Place the giblets in a saucepan with 1 litre (1¾ pints) of water, the onion, 2 bay leaves, the celery, peppercorns and leek. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Strain.

2. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Place the breadcrumbs, sausagemeat, lemon juice and zest in a bowl. Dice the remaining bay leaves and add them, the garlic, red onions and olives. Remove the rosemary needles from the sprigs and finely chop. Add them to the bowl with the seasoning and egg. Mix well with your hands.

3. Stuff the turkey, placing two-thirds in the large cavity and the rest in the neck end. Secure both ends by overlapping excess skin and securing with skewers. Weigh the stuffed bird and calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 minutes per kilo (2lb 4oz).

4. Place the turkey on a roasting cradle over a large tin. Weave the bacon over the breast, cover with foil and place in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes, reduce the heat to 170°C/340°F/gas mark 3½ and cook for 3 hours 40 minutes. Increase the heat to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4, uncover and cook for 40 minutes, basting. Insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg; the juices should run clear.

5. Remove the turkey from the roasting pan, keep warm and allow to rest. Skim off excess fat from the roasting tin, add the flour and whisk until blended and smooth, then slowly pour in the stock and wine, and bring to a boil, stirring. Adjust the seasoning and pour in any extra juices that have run out of the turkey.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 7 Recipe

Perfect Roast Potatoes

From Leon 4: Family & Friends, Octopus Publishing

Crisp on the outside, fluffy within, this is just the best way to roast a potato. (And who says they’re just for Christmas? These tatties will brighten up any day you like!)

Ingredients:

As many floury potatoes as you need (we use King Edward)

3 tablespoons goose or duck fat per tin

Sea salt

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into about 5cm pieces. Pop them into salted water and parboil them for 10–15 minutes, or until soft but not completely cooked through. Drain them in a colander. If they don’t look fluffed up on the outside, pour them back and forth between the colander and the pan a few times, just to break up the outside. Allow them to dry and cool. (You can do this step quite a way in advance, if you like.)

2. When you’re ready to cook them, heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

3. Heat the fat in a large roasting tin. When it’s hot, carefully put in the potatoes. Make sure not to overcrowd the tin – if you’re feeding a lot of people, do 2 tins and baste the potatoes with the hot fat. Season with salt, then pop them into the oven. Roast the potatoes for 1 hour, turning them every 20 minutes or so, until they’re crispy and golden brown.

* Generally speaking, roast potatoes like a hot oven (up to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7). But if you’ve only got one oven and the turkey’s in it, you have to make do initially with the temperature the turkey needs. Don’t worry. Pop them in anyway, then turn up the heat to 200°C or 220°C (depending on what you need for your stuffings) when you pull out the turkey to let it rest.

* To get the proper crispiness, you must use a floury variety of tatty such as King Edward, maris piper or desirée. Otherwise you’re doomed to disappointment.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 6 Recipe

Last-minute Christmas pudding

Taken from:

Hamlyn All Colour 200 Christmas Recipes

ISBN: 9780600619383

Price: £4.99

Serves 8

Preparation time

30 minutes, plus standing

Cooking time 6–7 hours

Ingredients:

1⁄2 cup packed dark sugar

41⁄2 cups fresh white bread crumbs

1⁄2 cup lard

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ground allspice

11⁄4 cups golden raisins

11⁄4 cups seedless raisins

3⁄4 cup currants

1⁄4 cup chopped candied peel

3 tablespoons finely chopped blanched almonds

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored, and finely

chopped

finely grated zest and juice of 1⁄2 lemon

1 egg, beaten

2⁄3 cup Guinness or milk stout

about 1⁄3 cup milk

confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

2 tablespoons brandy, to serve

Put the dry ingredients, dried fruit, candied peel, and almonds into a large bowl and stir well to mix. Add the apple with the lemon zest and juice, egg, and Guinness or milk stout and stir well. Add enough milk to make a soft dropping consistency.

Turn into a greased 11⁄4 quart heatproof bowl. Cover the top of the pudding with a circle of greased wax paper, then with aluminium foil. Fold a pleat in the center and tie twine around the rim. Let stand overnight.

Place the bowl in the top of a steamer or double boiler, or in a large pan of gently bubbling water, and steam for 4–5 hours, adding extra boiling water as necessary. Remove the bowl carefully from the pan and let cool completely. Discard the foil and wax paper. Replace with fresh wax paper and foil if you intend to store the pudding, but it doesn’t need to mature and can be made just before Christmas.

Steam again for 2 hours before serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and decorate with a holly leaf, if liked. Warm the brandy, pour over the pudding, and set alight. Serve with crème anglaise or brandy butter, rum butter, or brandy cream.

For individual Christmas puddings, make the pudding mixture as described above and use to fill 8 individual 2⁄3 cup heatproof bowls. Cover as above, then steam for just 2 hours. Steam again for about 1 hour before ser

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 5 Recipe

Hot spiced berry punch

From The Complete Slow Cooker, Octopus Publishing

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking temperature high and low

Cooking time 3–4 hours

Serves 6

1 litre (13/4­ pints) cranberry and raspberry drink

250 g (8 oz) frozen berry fruits

50 g (2 oz) caster sugar

4 tablespoons crème de cassis (optional)

4 small star anise

1 cinnamon stick, halved lengthways

Fresh raspberries, to decorate (optional)

Preheat the slow cooker if necessary; see the manufacturer’s handbook. Pour the cranberry and raspberry drink into the slow cooker pot, add the frozen fruits, the sugar and crème de cassis (if used). Stir together, then add the star anise and halved cinnamon stick. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 1 hour.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2–3 hours. Strain if liked, then take out the star anise and cinnamon and add these to serving tumblers. Pour the hot punch into small heatproof glasses and add a few fresh raspberries, if liked.

This is an adaptable drink for parties. For a non-alcoholic, driver-friendly version, omit the cassis. You can also omit the cassis and purée the drink until smooth for a warming toddy for children or you could make a cider-, fruit juice- or tea-based punch instead.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 4 Recipe

Stained-glass Christmas cookies

From Australian Women’s Weekly : The Cake Stall, Octopus Publishing

Prep + cook time 50 minutes (+ refrigeration) 

Makes 32

1 vanilla bean

250g (8 ounces) butter, softened

¾ cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

2¼ cups (335g) plain (all-purpose) flour

90g (3 ounces) individually wrapped sugar-free fruit drops, assorted colours

1. Split vanilla bean in half lengthways; scrape seeds into medium bowl with butter, sugar, egg and the water. Beat with electric mixer until combined. Stir in sifted flour, in two batches. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line oven trays with baking paper.

3. Using a rolling pin, gently tap the wrapped lollies to crush them slightly. Unwrap lollies; separate by colour into small bowls.

4. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper to 5mm (¼-inch) thickness. Cut shapes from dough using 8cm (3¼-inch) long Christmas tree cutter; place cookies on oven trays. Using a 4cm (1½-inch) long Christmas tree or 1.5cm (¾-inch) star cutter, cut out the centre of each tree to make windows. Use a skewer to make a small hole in top of each tree for threading through ribbon, if you like.

5. Bake trees 7 minutes. Remove trays from oven; fill each window with a few of the same-coloured lollies. Bake a further 5 minutes or until browned lightly. Cool trees on trays.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 3 Recipe

Jossy’s Orange Mince Pies

From Leon 3: Baking & Puddings, Octopus Publishing

Josceline Dimbleby wrote the first supermarket cookery book about Christmas.

It sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Makes: 24

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

500g plain flour or spelt flour

125–175g icing sugar or caster sugar

375g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

finely grated zest and juice of

1 large orange

Vegetable oil, for greasing

250g cream cheese

50g caster sugar

500–625g good-quality mincemeat

Milk, to glaze

Caster or icing sugar, to decorate

The addition of cream cheese is optional, but by mixing it with the spicy mincemeat you can give them a really luxurious texture.

1. Sift the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2. Stir in the orange zest, then the juice using a knife, until the pastry just begins to stick together. Gather up the pastry and pat it into a ball with lightly floured hands. Wrap it in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Grease two 12-hole bun tins.

4. Put the cream cheese and caster sugar into a bowl, and beat together until smooth.

5. Remove the pastry from the fridge. Knead it lightly, then divide it in half and roll out one half rather more thickly than usual. Using an 8cm pastry cutter, cut out 24 rounds, re-rolling the pastry as necessary.

6. Line the muffin tins with the pastry rounds. Fill to half their depth with mincemeat, then put a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture on top and smooth it level.

7. Roll out the remaining pastry, using a 5cm pastry cutter (or star-shaped cutter like we did), and cut another 24 rounds. Moisten the underside of the rounds with milk, water or beaten egg, and place them on top of the filled pies. Press the edges together lightly and make a small slit in the top of each pie.

8. Brush the tops with milk and bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, until golden.

9. Allow the mince pies to cool slightly before removing them from the tins, then sprinkle with icing or caster sugar. Serve warm or cold.

To make the pastry even more crumbly, use two-thirds butter and one-third lard or vegetable fat.

Mincemeat can be hugely improved by adding lemon juice and some finely chopped sharp apple.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 2 Recipe

Turkey, cranberry meatloaf

From The Complete Slow Cooker, Octopus Publishing

115 g (33/4 oz) pack dried orange and cranberry stuffing mix

25 g (1 oz) dried cranberries

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 onion, finely chopped

500 g (1 lb) skinless turkey breast steaks

200 g (7 oz) smoked streaky bacon

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper

TO SERVE

 Salad

Cranberry sauce (optional)

Beetroot Chutney (optional)

Put the stuffing mix in a bowl, add the cranberries and mix with boiling water as the instructions on the stuffing pack direct.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened. Set aside. Finely chop the turkey slices in a food processor or pass through a coarse mincer.

Meanwhile, preheat the slow cooker if necessary; see the manufacturer’s handbook. Take a soufflé dish that is 14 cm (51/2 inches) in diameter and 9 cm (31/2 inches) high and line the base with greaseproof or nonstick baking paper. Stretch each rasher of bacon with the flat of a large cook’s knife until half as long again, and use about three-quarters of the rashers to line the base and sides of the dish, trimming to fit as necessary.

Mix the stuffing with the fried onion, chopped turkey and egg. Season well and spoon into the bacon-lined dish. Press flat and cover with the remaining rashers of bacon.

Cover the dish with foil and lower into the slow cooker pot. Pour boiling water into the pot to come halfway up the sides of the dish, then add the lid and cook on high for 5–6 hours or until the juices run clear when the centre of the meatloaf is pierced with a small knife.

Lift the dish out of the slow cooker with oven gloves. Leave the meatloaf to cool in the dish, then chill in the refrigerator overnight until firm. Loosen the edge with a round-bladed knife, turn out and peel off the lining paper. Cut into thick slices and serve with salad and spoonfuls of cranberry sauce or Beetroot Chutney (see The Complete Slow Cooker  book pages 218–219), if liked.

Salter Christmas Countdown: DAY 1 Recipe

WINTER VEGETABLE HERB POT ROAST

From Leon 2: Naturally Fast Food

A great way to use up ungainly winter vegetables. The trick is the flash of raw garlic and parsley at the end which lifts everything.

For the pot:

2 onions

4 parsnips

1 butternut squash

3 carrots

A large handful of fresh sage

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 glass of white wine

1 x 400g tin of flageolet beans

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish:

3 cloves of garlic

A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley

A dash of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6.

2. Peel and slice the onions. Peel the parsnips and quarter them lengthways. Deseed the butternut squash and cut it into large chunks (leaving the skin on). Peel the carrots and slice them diagonally. Roughly chop the sage.

3. Put all the vegetables, except the beans, into a casserole dish with the olive oil, white wine and sage. Cook in the oven for 1 hour with the lid on.

4. Add the drained beans and cook for another 30 minutes with the lid off. You may want to add a little water if it gets too dry.

5. Just before serving, blitz the garlic with the parsley and a little olive oil. Season and stir into the casserole.

·      You can use any combination of winter vegetables – celeriac, pumpkin, potatoes, shallots, celery, turnips, swede, beetroot, all work well.

·      Don’t be afraid to mix in a few greens – kale, cabbage, winter and spring greens will all be happy in the pot.

·      Try popping in a few chestnuts.