The New Nut Roast
If you are vegetarian or cooking for anyone who is vegetarian this Christmas – fear not, there is more to the Christmas Dinner than the dreaded Nut Roast. This recipe is a great one for everyone to enjoy too, so give it a go.
BUTTERNUT, PORCINI AND BUTTERBEAN CAKE
Serves 4-8, depending on whether you serve it as a vegetarian main course or a side dish.
1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the tin
25g dried porcini mushrooms
50g breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten
400g tin of butterbeans, drained
50g toasted pinenuts
75g ready-to-eat apricots, chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
2 stalks of rosemary, leaves chopped
a good grating of nutmeg
sprigs of rosemary and 3 dried apricots, cut in half, to garnish
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan ovens/gas mark 6
Brush the base and sides of an 18cm non-stick loose-bottomed cake tin with olive oil.
Place the butternut squash, garlic and onion in a roasting tray, season with salt and pepper and toss in the olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, turning occasionally, until the squash is tender and becoming golden.
While the vegetables are roasting, put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for about 30 minutes to soak and become plump. Once soaked, drain and roughly chop. Keep to one side.
When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a food processor. Add the breadcrumbs, egg and butterbeans. Blitz to a rough paste and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the porcini mushrooms, pinenuts, apricots, celery, rosemary, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon into the cake tin and smooth over the top. Decorate with the rosemary and apricots and brush over the top with a little olive oil.
Sit on a baking tray, and bake in the oven for about 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until it begins to feel firm. Once cooked, allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes before removing from the tin. Serve cut into wedges.
PS…
When you have prepared the stuffing cake, it ca be kept in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. You will need to add on about 10 more minutes of cooking time if it is cooked from chilled.
Festive Mince Pies
I am feeling very festive today as I have just made a load of mince pies. This is my favourite recipe at the moment. The crumble topping makes them just delicious and they are so easy and quik to throw together. Give them a try….
EASY MINCE PIES WITH ORANGE AND CINNAMON CRUMBLE TOPPING
Makes approx.12
approx. 375g shortcrust pastry
250g good quality mincemeat
50g plain flour
4 tbsp demerara sugar
40g butter
finely grated zest of ½ orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon
you will also need 1 or 2 x 12 hole patty tins.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC fan oven/gas 6.
Thinly roll out the pastry and using a 7.5-9cm pastry cutter, cut out as many disks as you can, re-rolling the trimmings as you go. Press the disks into the holes of one or two 12 hole patty tins.
Spoon a couple of teaspoons of mincemeat into each pastry case and set aside.
To make the crumble topping, rub together the flour, demerara sugar, butter, orange zest and cinnamon until you have a chunky crumble mixture. Scatter over the top of the mincemeat and place in the oven for around 15 minutes or until the mince pies are golden and the tops are crisp.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before taking out of the tins. Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar to serve.
PS…
For those who aren’t lovers of mincemeat, a delicious alternative is to replace it with some apple pie filling, and make as above with the crumble topping.
Christmas Pudding
I am currently working on my laptop in the kitchen, with the delicious aroma of Christmas pudding steaming happily on the hob behind me. The recipe I use, has made three good-sized puddings. One of which I steamed yesterday and packed it up in a hamper along with other homemade goodies ready for last nights Dyslexia Action Awards Dinner and Auction. I am yet to find out what the final bid was, but hopefully it was quite high.
Anyway, back to the pudding, so the recipe I use is one that my Grandma used to do. I have added some chopped pecans to her recipe because I quite like the chunky texture, but it is just as delicious without them. Don’t let the long list of ingredients put you into a panic, this really is exceptionally simple to prepare, and well worth it. I feel great knowing that at least we I have one thing organised for Christmas day. As for the rest of the food and pressie shopping, they will no doubt be last minute madness purchases.
RICH CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Makes 3 x 900g or 2 x 1.5kg puds
50g self raising flour
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
50g ground almonds
250g shredded suet
225g dark muscavado sugar
100g white breadcrumbs – from a dry loaf
1.5kg mixed currants, raisins and sultanas
1 tbsp black treacle
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
finely grated zest 1 orange
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated
1 medium cooking apple, peeled and grated
200g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsp brandy or rum
150ml Dark ale or stout
4 large eggs, beaten
flour and butter for preparing the pudding basins
Sift together the flours and spices into a large bowl. Stir in the almonds, suet, sugar and breadcrumbs – mixing well. Add all of the remaining ingredients, stirring well after each addition. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge or a really cool place for 24 hours or up to 1 week if possible, stirring a few times.
Grease and lightly flour either 3 x 900ml or 2 x 1.2 litre basins and pack in the pudding mixture. Top the surface of the puddings with a circle of greaseproof paper, and then cover with baking parchment or aluminium foil.
Fold around the edges of the basin and tie to secure with string, or tightly scrunch the foil under the lip of the basin. Place in a steamer, over boiling water for about 6 hours, topping up with water every so often, making sure it doesn’t boil dry.
Leave to cool and remove the parchment/foil and greaseproof paper, and replace with a new lot. The pudding/s can now be stored in a cool dry place. On the big day the pudding can be steamed for about 1 and a half – 2 hours, or covered loosely and heated in your microwave for about 6 minutes on high power, checking every so often by inserting a skewer into the centre, leaving for a couple of seconds. If feels piping hot then the pudding is ready to eat after standing for 1 minute. For more accurate timings, it is best to check your manufacturers instructions.
For a ‘flaming pudding’, half fill a metal ladle with brandy (or as much as you want) and carefully heat over a gas flame or lit candle. When the brandy is hot enough, the brandy will light. Pour the flaming brandy over the pudding. Make sure the lights are out when taking to the table for a grand entrance. A word of advice, if you have a piece of holly on top, watch it doesn’t catch alight – I’m talking from experience!
RUM SAUCE
Serve your Christmas pudding with this rum sauce as it is really delicious. Once made, again it will freeze well – just bring it to a simmer before you serve it.
Makes plenty to serve 8
4 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp caster sugar
500ml milk
3 tbsp rum
100ml single cream
Mix together the cornflour, caster sugar and a little milk to form a paste. Place the milk in a non-stick saucepan and then stir in the cornflour paste.
Stir over a medium heat until it thickens and starts to simmer. Stir in the rum and cream.
Pour into a jug and serve piping hot with the Christmas pudding.
