FESTIVE FOOD RECIPES YOU NEED TO TRY

Ingredients

• white bloomer bread 4 slices
• mayonnaise 4 tbsp
• cranberry sauce 6 tbsp
• cooked turkey a few slices
• cooked stuffing a few slices
• brie 8 slices
• spicy pickled beetroots 3, sliced (we used Waitrose sweet and spicy beetroots)
• coleslaw 4 tbsp

For the bubble and squeak

• roast potatoes 6, finely chopped
• cooked brussels sprouts 25g, finely chopped
• roast parsnips 50g, finely chopped
• roast carrots 50g, finely chopped
• pigs in blankets 2, finely chopped
• Branson Original Pickle 1½ tbsp
• vegetable oil 2 tsp

Method

1. Start by making the bubble and squeak. Put the roast potatoes, sprouts, parsnips, carrots and pigs in blankets in a bowl with the pickle and lots of seasoning. Mash with a potato masher until it starts to combine and the mixture holds together when squeezed. Form into two 10cm x 7cm patties. Heat ½ the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the patties for 2 minutes on each side until golden and crisp.
2. Put the bloomer slices onto a large chopping board and spread the outsides with mayonnaise. Spread 1 tbsp of cranberry sauce on the inside of each slice and divide the turkey and stuffing between 2 of the slices. Spoon the remaining cranberry sauce over the top of the bubble and squeak patties, followed by the brie slices. Put onto the sandwiches, followed by the beetroot and coleslaw, and top with the remaining 2 bloomer slices.
3. Wipe the frying pan clean with kitchen paper and heat the remaining tsp of oil, then wipe with kitchen paper. Fry the sandwiches, weighing them down with a clean pan, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until really golden and crisp. Cut in half and serve.

Ingredients

• cooked stuffing 200g, crumbled
• plain flour 50g, seasoned
• eggs 2, beaten
• panko breadcrumbs 100g
• cranberry sauce 2 tbsp
• chilli jam 2 tbsp
• vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the bread sauce

• onion 1, peeled
• cloves 6
• bay leaves 2
• black peppercorns 6
• nutmeg a good grating
• garlic 2 cloves, peeled
• whole milk 400ml
• double cream 100ml
• white breadcrumbs 150g
• butter 2 tbsp

Method

1. To make the bread sauce, stud the onion with the cloves and put in a pan with the bay, peppercorns, nutmeg, garlic, milk and cream. Bring very slowly to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 1 hour. Strain the milk into a new pan and add the breadcrumbs, butter and lots of seasoning. Simmer very gently, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes until very thick. Pour into a container, cover and cool. Stir through the crumbled stuffing, then chill completely.
2. Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls. Take a heaped tbsp of the bread sauce and, using slightly wet hands, shape into the size of a golf ball. Roll in the seasoned flour, then into the beaten egg, then coat well in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
3. Mix together the cranberry sauce and chilli jam in a bowl to make a dipping sauce.
4. Fill a pan no more than ⅓ full with the oil and heat to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Fry the balls for 2-3 minutes, in batches, until golden and crisp, then drain well on kitchen paper, season with flaky sea salt and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the rest. Serve with the sauce.

Ingredients

• plain flour for dusting
• puff pastry block 400g
• sausagemeat 300g
• caramelised red onion chutney 4 tbsp
• nutmeg a good grating
• thyme leaves a handful, plus extra to decorate
• camembert 1 (approximately 300g)
• egg 1, beaten
• cranberry sauce 1 tbsp

Method

1. On a lightly floured worksurface, roll the pastry out to a 20cm x 30cm rectangle. Cut in half, to make two 10cm x 30cm rectangles.
2. In a bowl, mix together the sausagemeat with the chutney, nutmeg, thyme leaves and lots of seasoning. Halve the mixture, then shape each half into a long sausage and put along the long edges of the rectangles. Roll the pastry over onto itself, completely enclosing the sausagemeat, then crimp to seal the edges.
3. Put the Camembert onto the middle of a baking-paper-lined baking sheet and use one of the sausage rolls to wrap halfway around the cheese. Take the other roll, join it to the end of the first and wrap this around too, creating a circle. Crimp together the ends of the sausage meat and pastry to create one piece. If the second sausage is a little too long, just trim it and bake the excess as an individual sausage roll. Use a sharp knife to slit the sausage roll half way in and all the way through, every 4cm, to create a fan effect. Brush the sausage roll really well with egg then chill for 20 minutes (or until you are ready to cook it).
4. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Brush the sausage roll with egg again, then sprinkle over some thyme leaves. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Once out of the oven, carefully transfer to a serving board and spoon the cranberry sauce into the cheese, swirling to create a ripple.

Ingredients

BBQ SAUCE

• rapeseed or olive oil 2 tbsp
• onion 1, finely chopped
• garlic 2 cloves, crushed
• ground cumin ½ tsp
• sriracha 1 tbsp
• dark soy sauce 2 tbsp
• liquid smoke 1 tsp, (*see notes below)
• tomato ketchup 100ml
• soft dark brown sugar 1 tbsp
• maple syrup 1 tbsp
• balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp
• cherry tomatoes 400g tin

For the mustard slaw

• kale 60g, very finely sliced
• carrots 2, grated
• red cabbage 60g, finely sliced
• spring onions 4, finely sliced
• vegan mayonnaise 100ml
• apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp
• Dijon mustard 4 tbsp

To serve

• rapeseed or olive oil 2 tbsp
• green jackfruit 2 x 410g tins, drained and squeezed to release some moisture, (see notes below)
• vegan slider buns or small burger buns 12, halved and toasted
• vegan mayonnaise 4 tbsp

Method

1. To make the BBQ sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then fry the onion for a few minutes until it begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic and fry for a minute more. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes or until all the tomatoes have burst and the sauce has reduced. Remove from the heat and allow to cool fully before blending in a food processor to a smooth, glossy sauce.
2. For the mustard slaw, mix together all the ingredients with a pinch of salt and good grind of black pepper in a large bowl.
3. To prepare the jackfruit, heat the oil in a medium pan over a high heat and fry the chunks of jackfruit for 5 minutes or until they start to char on the outsides. Reduce the heat to low and, using two forks, pull apart the jackfruit – it should look fibrous and meaty. Add ¹/2 the BBQ sauce and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce is simmering and the jackfruit is well coated. Remove from the heat and, using the back of a fork, gently mash the jackfruit until most of the large chunks are gone and it resembles pulled pork.
4. Halve the buns and spread 1 tsp of vegan mayo on each. Add a heaped spoon of the pulled jackfruit, topped with the BBQ sauce and some slaw.

Ingredients

• gammon joint 1.5kg
• carrot 1, quartered
• celery 1 stick, halved
• onion 1, quartered
• black peppercorns 1 tbsp
• dry cider 400ml

For the glaze

• wholegrain mustard 2 tbsp
• runny honey 1 tbsp

Method

1. Heat the slow cooker to low. Put in the gammon joint and tuck the veg around it. Scatter over the peppercorns and pour over the cider.
2. Put on the lid and cook for 4 hours. Remove the gammon and cool a little. Discard the veg and cooking liquid.
3. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. When the skin is cool enough to handle carefully cut it away, leaving a layer of fat. Score the fat and sit the gammon in a foil-lined baking tray. Mix together the mustard and honey and spread all over the fat. Bake for 30 minutes until sticky and glazed.

Ingredients

• cod or other firm white fish 500g
• left-over mashed potato 500g, chilled (or boil then mash 500g peeled floury potatoes then cool and chill)
• garlic 4 cloves, crushed
• spring onion a bunch, thinly sliced
• flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, finely chopped
• dill a small bunch, finely chopped
• lime 1, zested plus wedges to serve
• ground turmeric 1 tsp
• eggs 3 large
• plain flour 4 heaped tbsp
• baking powder 1 tsp
• vegetable oil for frying

For the dipping sauce

• rose harissa 2 tbsp
• honey 4 tbsp

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Roast the cod on a non-stick baking tray for about 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet, and once cooked remove from the oven. Discard the skin and any bones, and mash the fish in a bowl with a fork, as fine as possible, then allow to cool.
2. Mix all the remaining ingredients, except the oil, with the fish in a large mixing bowl, with a generous amount of salt and pepper, and then cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill the mixture for an hour to cool and solidify it.
3. Heat 1cm oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and allow it to get hot, but not smoking. Take a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture at a time and drop it into the oil. Don’t worry about uneven shapes. Fry the fritters for about 2-3 minutes, turning them over and frying them for about a minute on the reverse side, then remove using a slotted spoon and drain on to a kitchen paper-lined plate. Repeat until all the fritters are done.
4. Mix the sauce ingredients together with a little cold water, to slacken the mixture to a dipping-sauce consistency. Check the flavour and consistency and serve alongside the fritters, with lime wedges on the side.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• chestnut mushrooms 250g, quartered
• leeks 2, trimmed and chopped
• butter 25g
• plain flour 2 tsp
• strong chicken stock 300ml
• crème fraîche 4 tbsp
• cooked chicken 500g, cut into large chunks
• flat-leaf parsley chopped to make 1 tbsp
• ready-rolled puff pastry 320g sheet

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Cook the mushrooms over a fairly high heat, stirring, until cooked and golden – this will really concentrate their flavour when they go into the pie later, so don’t skimp this step.
2. Scoop the mushrooms out of the pan and add the leeks and butter. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes or until really soft, then sprinkle with the flour. Stir the leeks over the heat for 2 minutes then gradually stir in the chicken stock. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until thickened.
3. Add the crème fraîche, mushrooms, chicken and parsley. Tip everything into a baking dish.
4. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Cover the baking dish with the pastry, crimp the edges with a fork, then make a steam hole in the centre. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Ingredients

• caster sugar 300g
• golden syrup 150g
• cream of tartar a pinch
• bicarbonate of soda 1 1/2 tsp
• white chocolate 50g, broken into pieces
• milk chocolate 50g, broken into pieces
• dark chocolate 50g, broken into pieces

Method

1. Cover a 20cm square baking tray with baking paper. Put the sugar and golden syrup and cream of tartar into a deep, heavy-based pan and heat over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Stop stirring, turn up the heat a little and cook until the mixture is golden. Add the bicarb, take off the heat and stir really well. The mixture will bubble up. Quickly, pour this into the prepared baking tray and leave to cool.
3. Once the honeycomb is cool, break into bite-sized pieces.
4. Melt the chocolates separately, in bursts, in the microwave or in bowls over simmering water, and dip the honeycomb pieces – ¹/3 into milk, ¹/3 dark and ¹/3 white – don’t cover the whole thing, just dip halfway.
5. Put the chocolate-dipped honeycomb on baking paper and leave to set. Once set, package in little bags to give as gifts.

Ingredients

• sunflower or vegetable oil
• bourbon 2 tbsp
• pecans 50g, roughly chopped
• mincemeat 550g
• egg whites 3
• caster sugar 150g
• cornflour 1 tsp
• vanilla extract 1/2 tsp

For the gluten free pastry

• rice flour 250g, plus extra for rolling
• tapioca flour 50g
• potato flour 50g
• icing sugar 25g
• cold salted butter 225g, cut into small cubes
• ground cinnamon 2 tsp
• xanthum gum 1 tbsp
• egg yolk 1

Method

1. Put the flours, icing sugar and butter cubes into a food processor and pulse until you can’t see any lumps of butter.
2. Pulse in the cinnamon and xanthum gum, then add the egg yolk plus 1 tbsp of water. Pulse again until the pastry starts to clump together into a ball – if it’s still too dry to do this, pulse in another tsp of cold water at a time.
3. Tip the dough out and shape into a disc, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Lightly brush 15 holes of regular muffin tins with oil (you can make it in two batches if you just have one 12-hole tin). Use as little extra flour as you can to roll out the pastry. Knead the pastry a little first so it can roll – it’s much more forgiving that way. Roll out
   the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin, then use a 9-10cm round cutter to cut out 15 circles in total – you can re-roll the trimmings as much as you like as there’s no gluten to toughen the pastry.
5. Push each circle into a hole to line the base and sides, then pop back in the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes.

For the filling

1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Mix the bourbon and pecans into the mincemeat, then divide between the pastry cases. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is the colour of sand and the mincemeat is bubbling.

For the meringue tops

1. Put the egg whites in a large, clean mixing bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add half the caster sugar, whisk back to shiny,
   stiff peaks, then repeat once more with the remaining sugar, cornflour and vanilla – again whisking until you have really shiny and thick meringue.
2. Spoon or pipe big dollops of the meringue onto each pie and lower the oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼ if you can – if not, the next lowest temperature. Bake for 45 minutes, until the meringue is crisp and set.

Ingredients

• unsalted butter 175g, softened, plus extra
• plain flour 275g
• cornflour 50g
• dessicated coconut 50g
• baking powder 1 tbsp
• light coconut milk 200ml, (whisk it first)
• egg whites 200ml, (about 5 large, or use a carton)
• milk 100ml
• coconut extract 1 tbsp
• white caster sugar 400g
• coconut chips or flakes 125g
• Raffaello or white chocolate a few, (optional)

For the frosting

• egg whites 4
• white caster sugar 275g
• unsalted butter 350g, softened

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter 3 x 18cm cake tins and line with baking paper.
2. Mix the flours, desiccated coconut and baking powder in a bowl with ¹/8 tsp salt. Whisk the coconut milk, egg whites, milk and coconut extract in another bowl. 
3. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the dry and wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
4. Divide the mixture between the tins, level, then bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn onto wire racks to cool completely.

For the frosting

1. Put the egg whites in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or a big, clean bowl with an electric whisk. Mix 200g sugar and 4 tbsp of water in a small pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup.
2. Whisk the whites until firm, add the remaining 75g caster sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.
3. Boil the syrup until it reaches 120C on a sugar thermometer. While whisking the meringue on the highest speed, slowly pour in the syrup so it hits the meringue, not the bowl. Keep whisking until the meringue is room temperature.
4. Whisk in a spoonful of butter at a time, slowly but steadily, till you have a shiny, smooth meringue icing. It’ll probably be a little thin, and at this stage it might look greasy and split. If this happens, put it in the fridge to firm for 15-20 minutes, then whisk again and it’ll come back together to a smooth, thick buttercream.

To decorate

1. Use the buttercream to fill and cover the cake. Press the coconut chips onto the icing and decorate with truffles, if using.