Parsnip, Leek and Goat's Cheese Strudel

These delicious pastries are great served as a starter with cranberry sauce or chutney.

Ingredients:
1 large leek, thinly sliced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced
150ml vegetable or chicken stock
4 large sheets filo pastry
olive oil for brushing on pastry
85g soft rinded goat's cheese
sesame seeds to garnish

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Put the leeks and parsnips in a large pan with the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until starting to soften. Remove the lid and cook until the juices have evaporated. Tip onto a large plate to cool.
For each strudel, lightly brush half of each filo sheet with olive oil. Fold the un-brushed side over to form a smaller sheet, 2 layers thick. Brush the edges with a little more oil, then spoon a quarter of the vegetable mix along one edge. Crumble over a quarter of the cheese, fold over the pastry edges, then roll up to seal in the filling.
Put the strudels on a baking tray, brush with any remaining oil ans sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Parsnips - Parsnip Fritters

Parsnips are one of my favourite winter vegetable. Their sweet taste is satisfying without being high in calories. The parsnip is a root vegetable related to the carrot, although they are paler than most carrots and have a stronger and sweeter flavour. Like carrots, parsnips are native to Eurasia and have been eaten since ancient times. They are a source of antioxidants, minerals, natural sugars and fibre.

.

Parsnips are high in soluble fibre, the type that is great for digestion and aid the prevention of constipation. They help lower cholesterol and keep blood sugar on an even keel. They're a surprising source of folic acid, that B vitamin essential for women who are planning a family. Folic acid also plays a role in reducing heart disease and may help prevent dementia and osteoporosis bone fractures. Potassium, an aid to blood pressure, is present in ample quantities. Unlike their carrot cousins, however, parsnips lack beta carotene. Parsnips posses a high sugar content and are rich in Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Other vitamins include Niacin and Thiamine. Apart from their potassium content, they also provide the body with other minerals like copper, magnesium and manganese.

.

Parsnips contain natural sugars which impart a sweet taste to the vegetable. The Elizabethans used parsnips as a sweetmeat with honey and spices as well as serving the root as a vegetable. The carbohydrate in the parsnip is stored in the form of natural sugars, as opposed to starches. Parsnips are considered sweeter than carrots. With almost three quarters of the sugar in parsnips as sucrose, the sugar we extract from sugar cane. Sucrose, though considered a no-no in the diet, is not at all damaging to health when consumed in its natural form from a plant source.

.

The high level of soluble fibre contained in parsnips makes them a great inclusion in a cholesterol lowering, heart healthy diet and the folic acid content is of great benefit to expectant mothers and is also thought to help combat heart disease, dementia and osteoporosis. Interestingly, parsnips are also thought to improve bronchial function, so may be of particular help to asthma sufferers. The rich vitamin and mineral content of this humble root are also thought to give it diuretic and antioxidant properties and in natural medicine it has been used to treat kidney disease and for reducing obesity and cellulite and has been recommended to those suffering from anaemia.

.

When choosing parsnips at the market go for crisp and firm, evenly coloured roots and store them in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Use them within 4 to 5 days.

.

Parsnip Fritters:

These are great with cold leftover turkey or ham from the Christmas dinner, or as a starter or an accompaniment to a meal. If served as a starter, serve them with a dipping sauce of Greek yoghurt mixed with mustard and chives.

.

Ingredients:

750g parsnips

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme

1 egg

15ml butter

30ml flour

Grating of nutmeg

Oil for shallow frying

.

Method:

Peel the parsnips and cut the flesh into rough 1cm cubes. Blanch them in a pan of salted boiling water for about 10 minutes until soft enough to mash with a fork. Drain and return to the pan for a minute, heating to steam off more moisture.

.

Mash thoroughly and season with salt and black pepper. Stir in the garlic, thyme, egg and butter. Sprinkle with flour and a good grating of nutmeg. Beat together until smooth.

.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan. Make rough balls of the parsnip mixture between two spoons and drop into the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes each side, turning when the first side is crusted gold. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

Mother-in-law's Christmas Fruit Mincemeat

My Mother-in-law uses a different fruit mince for Christmas pies than I do,

so I nicked her recipe.

This recipe needs to be made up about a week before it is needed.

Ingredients:
500g raisins
500g saltanas
250g currants
250g butter
1ml nutmeg
375g brown sugar
150ml brandy
zest and juice of 1/2 orange
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
500g grated apples
15ml mixed spice

Method:
Mince all the fruit. Add all the other ingredients and mix well.
Place in a large sterilised jar and stir ecvery day for a week.

.

Spiced Pecans In Chocolate

This makes a lovely home made gift.

Gift box it for a festive present.

.

Ingredients:
For the chocolate:
200g milk chocolate
200g dark chocolate
200g white chocolate
75g butter

For the spiced Pecans:
100g butter
125ml Muscovado sugar
2.5ml cayenne pepper
2.5ml ground clove
5ml cinnamon
200g pecan nuts
Fruit such as dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, glace cherries or crystallised ginger.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Melt the chocolate in three separate bowls over hot water. To each bowl of chocolate, add 25g butter and mix into the chocolate.
Melt 100g butter in a pan and add the Muscovado sugar. Add the spices and simmer gently until a caramel forms. Add the pecan nuts and mix into the caramel.
Prepare a baking tray, lined with baking paper. Spread the nut caramel in a flat layer on the pan.
Bake for 6 minutes in the oven, 180C, to dry the nuts.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Pour each of the chocolate melts over the tray of nuts randomly. When the chocolate is all poured on, spread so that the tray is all covered and the nuts are evenly spread out. The chocolate will be a little marbled. Try not to mix the different chocolates too much.
Sprinkle over fruits such as dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, glace cherries or crystallised ginger.
Allow to set before removing from the tray. Break into pieces.

Cranberry Chicken Salad

Although salads are not such great fare during the festive season,

or not in the northern hemisphere at anyrate,

this salad makes a great detoxing luncheon after the festive indulgence.

.

Ingredients:
2 skinless chicken breasts
20ml olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
200g mixed salad leaves
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and sliced
25g dried cranberries
85g cranberry sauce
juice of 1 lime
30ml water

.

Method:

Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to give 4 thin breasts.

rub each breast with about 10ml of olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan and fry the chicken for 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes.

Slice the chicken and layer with the onions, cucumber and dried cranberries on the salad leaves.

Mix the cranberry sauce, lime juice and any remaining chicken juices with about 30ml water and drizzle over the salad.

Cranberry Orange Scones

This makes quite a large batch of scones.

Once the dough is made, it can be frozen for later use.

.

Ingredients:
For the Scones:
1L flour
60ml sugar
30ml baking powder
10ml salt
zest of 2 oranges
185g butter
4 eggs, at room temperature
250ml double cream
60ml dried cranberries
60ml flour to coat the berries before adding to the dough
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
Caster sugar to sprinkle on scones before baking

For the Orange Glaze:
60ml icing sugar
Juice of 1 orange

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, zest and butter in a bowl by hand, rubbing the butter into the other ingredients to give a crumbly mixtre with the crumbs being about the size of a lentil or baby pea.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, adding the double cream.
Add the egg mixture to the crumb mix to form a wet dough.
Dredge the cranberries in 60ml flour before adding them to the dough.
If so desired, the dough can be frozen at this point for later use.

Roll the dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out with a circular scone cutter. Put the rounds on a baking tray prepared with baking paper. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash and sprinkle with caster sugar.
Bake in a moderate to hot oven, 200C, for 20-25 minutes

Remove from the oven and transfer the scones to a cooling wrack.
To make the glaze, mix the icing sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Drizzle this over the scones while they are still warm.

Cranberry Preserve

This preserve is great served with turkey,

gammon or lamb

or spread as jam on scones, pancakes

or sweet breads.

.

Ingredients:
500g cranberries, fresh or frozen
340ml sugar
250ml water
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped in fine dice
zest and of 1 orange
zest and juice of 1 lemon
125ml chopped walnuts
125ml raisins

.

Method:
Put the cranberries, sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the berries pop.
Add the apple, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Ad the walnuts and raisins and mix into the cranberry mixture. Cook a further 5 minutes.
Store in sterilised jars until required.

.

Apple and Cranberry Torte

Ingredients:
Dry Mixture:
250ml flour
2ml salt
7.5ml baking powder
5ml cinnamon
zest of 1 orange

.

Wet Mixture:

125g unsalted butter, melted

80ml sugar

5ml vanilla extract

4 eggs at rook temperature

.

250g frozen cranberries

50ml Grand Marnier Liqueur

2 Granny Smith (or other apples of choice), peeled and chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

100g walnuts

.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients, whisking together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, a little at a time.

Soak the cranberries in warmed Grand Marnier Liqueur. Allow them to absorb as much of the liqueur as possible.

Soak the chopped apples in lemon juice to stop them oxidising and going brown.

Drain the fruits and add them to the batter along with the walnuts. Fold into the mixture to spread the fruit and nuts evenly.

Pour the mixture into a buttered 8 inch square baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 180C.

Serve hot with whipped cream.

Cranberry and Almond Pudding

By now, you may have registered that I rather enjoy cranberries.

In fact I regularly consume these wonderful health-giving fruits,

whether in juice, or sauce,

or the fruit themselves in pies or puddings.

Cranberries contain a high level of oligomeric proanthocyanidins,

Which are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory,

anti-carcinogenic and antimicrobial properties.

Here's a few of the health benefits:

.

Urinary tract infections:

The acidic nature of the fruit changes the PH of urine, thus preventing bacteria form adhering to the bladder walls where they multiply, causing infection.

.

Stomach ulcers and cancer:

This fruit's acidity has the ability to destroy Helicobacter pulori bacteria, which have been found to cause stomach ulcers, and in severe infections, lead to stomach cancer.

.

Respiratory infections:

Cranberry helps fight strains of Haemophilus Influenzae bacteria found in the nose and throat of many healthy people, which is responsible for causing many throat and ear infections.

.

Cardiovascular disease:

The polyphenols present in cranberry appear to increase the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and decrease the levels of Bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

.

Oral health:

Cranberry juice is effective in reducing harmful bacteria in the mouth.

.

Other benefits:

Prevention of kidney stones

Slows the aging process

Aid in weight loss by emulsifying fat deposits in the body

These fruit are a good source of calcium

..

.

Cranberry and Almond Pudding

.

Ingredients:

250g frozen cranberries

50g butter

50ml sugar

125g melted butter

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange

175g self raising flour

175g sugar

2.5ml baking powder

50-60g flaked almonds

30-40ml demerara sugar

.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Put the cranberries, 50g butter and 50ml sugar in a pan and cook gently until the fruit begin to pop and ooze their juices.

In a bowl, add the eggs and orange zest to the melted butter and whip together. (wet ingredients)

In a second bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder. (dry ingredients)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients to make a batter.

Grease a pie pan or a spring form round cake tin. Put half the batter mixture on the bottom of the pie pan. Pour the cranberries over this and top with the second half of the batter mixture. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and demerara sugar.

Bake in a relatively low oven, about 160C, for about 60 minutes.

Serve hot with whipped cream, custard or ice cream.

.

Garlic, Lemon and Cranberry Lamb

Every year, just before Christmas,

a chap my husband works with brings us half a lamb,

or if we are lucky, half a hogget.

A hogget is a lamb more than a year old,

but not as old as a sheep, which it becomes at three years old.

They are much more rich in flavour than their younger siblings.

We had the leg for our Christmas dinner.

Usually we do it with garlic and rosemary,

but this year we tried something new that turned out absolutely fabulous.

Try it and I'm sure you will agree.

.

Merry Christmas one and all.

Ingredients:

Leg of Lamb or Hogget

For the Marinade:

peel and juice of a large lemon

6 cloves of garlic, sliced

250ml cranberry juice

250ml red wine

60ml olive oil

15ml dried oregano

a handful of fresh basil leaves chopped

10ml sea salt

For the Gravy

Juice from the marinade

50ml Cranberry jelly

15ml cornflour, slaked in a little water

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

Score the surface of the lamb or hogget about 1/4 inch deep. place it in a large plastic bag in a container you can put in your fridge. Mix the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the lamb or hogget. Seal the bag, expelling all the air as you do so. Marinade over night in the fridge, massaging the meat once or twice.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Remove the meat from the bag and place in a roasting pan. Set the marinade aside.

Roast 18-20 minutes per 500g for rare,

20-25minutes per 500g for medium,

25-30 minutes per 500g for well done.

While the roast is cooking, pass the marinade through a sieve or muslin cloth to remove the solids. Reduce the liquid in a pan to less than half of the original volume.

Once the roast is done, place the joint on a wooden board to rest for 15 minutes, covered in foil.

Use the reduced marinade to deglaze the roasting pan. Add the cranberry jelly and seasoning and blend in before adding the slaked cornflour to thicken. The sauce should take on a translucent look.

Serve with festive vegetables and enjoy!

Double Stuffed Goose

Christmas is getting nearer

and the goose is getting fat.

And it will just have to get fatter

because we are going to my mother-in-law

for Christmas Dinner

and she won't eat goose.

She used to keep them as pets

and insists they are inedible.

;-))

Love you Mom,

but I also love eating goose at Christmas......

This is a great traditional way to do goose

for the festive dinner on Christmas day.

Ingredients:
1 goose, about 5kg more or less

For the Neck-end Stuffing;
100g dried cranberries, apricots or raisins (or a mix of dried fruits of your choice)
60ml medium sherry
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 rashers of unsmoked back bacon, cut into strips
50g butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped or mashed through a garlic press
450g good sausage meat
3 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
30ml chopped fresh parsley
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped off the stems.
150g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Bum-end Stuffing:
350g shallots, thinly sliced
60g butter
15g caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
50ml fresh sage, chopped
85g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
5 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

To make the neck-end stuffing, soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter until the onion is tender and the bacon cooked.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so. Cool slightly then mix with the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough of the egg to bind.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

To make the bum-end stuffing, fry the shallots gently in the butter until golden, then add the sugar and the orange juice.

Simmer until the liquid has virtually all evaporated leaving a delicious jammy mass of shallots.

Pour boiling water over the sage, leave for one minute, then drain and squeeze dry. Add to the shallots, along with all the other ingredients.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

To prepare the goose, trim the excess fat from inside the goose. Pack the neck-end stuffing into the neck end of the goose, pressing it firmly and then tucking the flap of skin neatly down around it.

Secure firmly underneath with wooden cocktail sticks or a metal skewer.

Three-quarters fill the stomach cavity with the bum-end stuffing.

Prick the skin of the goose all over with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Lay some of the fat removed from the cavity over the thighs to keep them moist.

Cover with foil and place on a rack in the oven with a tray underneath so that you can empty out the fat regularly.

Roast a 4kg goose for three hours, a 4.5-5kg goose for three-and-a-half hours and a 5.5kg goose for four hours.

Remove the foil for 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that the skin can brown and crisp.

To test it is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer. If the juices run clear then the bird is done.

Rest for 20-30 minutes, oven turned off with the door ajar, before carving.

Gravad Lax

Gravad Lax

(or Gravelax as some erroneously call it)

is a traditional Scandinavian dish served in the festive season.

Basically it is a sweet pickle made with salmon,

but the dill used in the pickling gives it an amazing flavour.

Served as a starter with a special mustard sauce,

it's a dish to impress.

This needs to be made about three days before you want to serve it.

.

Ingredients:
750g salmon fillet
50ml sea salt, the flakes variety is the best to use
50ml Demerara sugar
10ml prepared English mustard
30ml brandy freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped

.

Method:
Place the salmon fillet, skin-side down, into a wide, shallow dish that fits the salmon snugly.
Place the salt, sugar, English mustard and brandy into a clean bowl and mix well until the ingredients have combined to form a smooth yellow mixture.
Spread the mixture over the salmon's pink flesh to cover completely.
Grind over black pepper to taste and sprinkle the dill onto the paste-covered salmon, patting down to press the dill onto the flesh. No pink flesh from the salmon should be visible.
Turn the fish over in the dish so that the skin is facing upwards.
Cover the dish with one layer of cling film. Press the cling film down onto the edges of the fish to exclude as much air as possible before wrapping the film around the sides of the dish. Once this has been completed repeat the process with another layer of cling film.
Apply weights to the top of the fish to press it down into the dish (use a dish or board that sits nicely within the salmon dish, weighed down evenly by tins from your store cupboard or any other suitable weights).
Transfer the fish to the fridge and leave for 2-3 days.
When you are ready to prepare for your meal, unwrap the cling film from the dish and remove the salmon fillet. Brush the dill off the salmon.
Place the salmon fillet on a carving board flesh-side up. With a long, sharp knife, carefully carve very thin diagonal slivers of the pink flesh off the salmon.
Rewrap the fish in cling film and keep in the fridge if it's not all used in one go.
To serve, place on a clean plate and garnish with chopped fresh dill. Serve with buttered rye bread and a separate bowl of Mustard sauce.

.

Mustard Sauce:
Ingredients:
30ml Dijon mustard
20ml sugar
1 egg yolk
100ml olive oil
30ml white wine vinegar
10ml fresh chopped fresh dill
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

.

Method:
Beat the mustard with the sugar and egg yolk until smooth. Whisk together the oil and vinegar, then gradually add to the mustard mixture, whisking thoroughly between each addition. Add the chopped dill and season with salt and black pepper, mixing well to ensure even distribution of the seasoning.

Christmas Mince Pies

Christmas mince pies are sweet fruit pies traditionally served in the Christmas season.

The recipe can be traced back to the 13th century

when the Crusaders returned from the holy land,

bringing with them the idea for a dish sized pie containing

mincemeats, fruit, suet and spices, such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

The pies were originally associated with

the offerings of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

brought to the Christ child by the three kings from the east in the Christmas story.

The pies were oblong, representing the manger in which the Christ child lay.

Even though the pies were banned in puritanical times,

they were brought back in Victorian times

as the small, sweet pies with suet, fruit and spices

that we know today -

no longer containing any mincemeat at all.

.

Ingredients:
Pastry:
125g butter
125ml caster sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla extract
500ml flour
7.5ml baking powder
Christmas fruit mince, which can be bought in the supermarket or homemade.
icing sugar to dust before serving

.

Christmas Fruit Mince:

Although my source recipe for Christmas Mincemeat suggested that this should be made about a month in advance and should not be kept for longer than 6 weeks, I usually make this up as much as a year or more in advance.

The longer it is kept, the more mature and boosie it is.

The traditional recipe contains currants, which I find a little to potent,

so I use blueberries or dried cranberries instead.

.

250g cooking apples, peeled and cored

250g blueberries or dried cranberries, or a mix of both

250g raisins

250g sultanas

250g prunes

250g dried apricots

125g glace cherries

125g chopped mixed peel

125g chopped walnuts, hazel nuts, Brazil nuts or a mix of all three

250g suet, minced

500g Muscovado sugar

10ml mixed spice

125ml brandy or rum

.

Method:

Clean and mince the dried fruit.

Mix in a large bowl with the nuts and the chopped apples.

Fold in the suet, sugar and spice.

Add the brandy or rum and mix into the fruit. Make sure the liquor is enough to cover all the fruit.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 48 hours to allow the fruit to absorb the liquor and swell.

Stir well and store in sterilised jars. Seal well and put away until required for the pies.

Method:
Pies:
Cream the butter and the sugar until it takes on a creamy smoothness.
Add the egg and vanilla extract; beat well.
Fold in the flour and baking powder, a little at a time to make a stiff dough.
Form the dough, which will have quite a sticky constituency, into a ball and transfer it to a flowered board to knead.
Knead the dough until it takes on a more firm constituency.
Cover in cling film and place in the fridge to firm up for about half an hour to an hour.
Prepare a 12 holed tart baking tray but buttering it and dusting with flour.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out circles of dough with a biscuit cutter. Fill the depressions in the tray with the circles of pastry.
Put about a teaspoonful of fruit mince in each tart and cover each with a smaller circle of pastry than the bases or with a star of pastry. The tarts do not have to be sealed if you use the star shape.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until the pastry starts to take on a bit of colour.
Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool.
These can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Before serving, warm them up by putting them in the oven again for 5-8 minutes.
To serve, dust them with a little icing sugar.

Boiled Christmas Cake

Oops, I almost forgot the Christmas Cake.

Christmas isn't Christmas without Christmas cake!

Traditionally, Christmas cake is filled with fruit and liquor,

and it should be made in September, or there abouts.

As a child, I remember my mother and my aunt

getting together to make the family Christmas cake at Michaelmas,

which if my memory serves me correctly is in September.

Once baked, it was stored away in the pantry and

once a week my mother would 'bless it' with brandy.

We ended up with a fabulously moist, drunken cake.

Mmm mm mmmm mm m.

However, if you didn't make the cake in September,

here's a rush job that you can make

shortly before the day of celebration that is just as good,

almost...

.

Ingredients:
350g dried soft prunes chopped
250g raisins
125g sultanas
175g unsalted butter, softened
175g dark muscovado sugar
175g honey
125ml coffee liqueur
zest and juice of 2 oranges
5ml mixed spice
3 large eggs, beaten
150g cake flour
100g ground almonds
2.5ml baking powder
2.5ml bicarbonate of soda

Method:
Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm, 9cm deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the parchment into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself. The height of the strips protects the cake, which will rise above the side of the tin, from catching on the outside of the cake tin.

.

Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange juice, orange zest and mixed spice into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it comes to a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer gently for ten minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

.

Preheat the oven to 150C

.

After 30 minutes and the mixture has cooled a little, add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate soda, and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon until the ingredients have combined.

.

Pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour 45 minute to 2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a metal skewer into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.

.

Place the cake on a cooling rack, and once the cake has cooled, remove it from the baking tin.

.

Store in an airtight container until the day of serving. Although it is traditional to decorate the Christmas cake with marzipan and glucose icing, this cake is more suitable for royal icing, or just decorating with pre-made or bought edible decorations.

Spiced Cashews

On festive occasions it's great to have nuts for a snack.

We used to get spiced or Peri peri cashew nuts from Mozambique;

now we buy the un-salted, un-roasted nuts and make our own.

If you like these sweeter,

add more sugar and use ground cinnamon and ground clove

instead of paprika, cumin and coriander.

Ingredients:
125ml sugar
5ml paprika
2ml ground cumin
2ml ground coriander
2ml ground chilli - or peri peri spice if you can get it.
5ml salt
1 egg white, whipped
250g cashews

Method:
Put the nuts into the whipped egg whites and make sure they are well coated.
Put all the other ingredients into a shallow bowl and drop the nuts into this mixture, moving them around to coat the buts well.
Spread the nuts out on a baking tray and bake for 15-16 minutes at 180C.

Christmas Icecream Bomb

For most of my life I lived in the southern hemisphere were

December was hot and icecream was so enjoyable.

Now that we are living in the UK, as a family,

we still enjoy having an icecream pud for Christmas,

instead of the filling fruit and stodge variety

of the traditional Christmas Pudding.

Of course, it has to have some alcohol in it.....

Ingredients:
125ml cherries, cut in half
125ml raisins
100ml brandy or rum
125ml Christmas pudding, crumbled up
60ml chopped walnuts
500ml icecream
a sprig of holly to decorate

Method:
Soak the cherries and raisins in your alcohol of choice for a couple of hours or overnight.
Mix all the ingredients together roughly.
Line a 2L bowl (freezer proof) with cling film and fill with icecream mix.
Put it in the freezer until required.
Remove from the freezer and turn out on a serving dish.
Remove the cling film and top the bomb with a sprig of holly to decorate.

Christmas Turkey Paté

My family are not very fond of turkey,

so I had to find a way to include it in our Christmas dinner.

This is my way of having turkey without all the fuss of having to cook a whole bird.

This meat mixture can be used to make great turkey burgers.

.

Ingredients:

175g chopped chicken livers

125ml milk

100g raisins

125ml sherry

thigh meat from a turkey, skin removed, cut from the bone and chopped into small dice

350g belly pork, cut in small dice

175 g un-smoked bacon, cut in small dice

100g pure pork fat, cut in small dice

1 onion, finely chopped

sea salt and white pepper to season

100g white bread crumbs

5ml mixed spice

5ml french herb mix

30ml chopped fresh parsley

75ml brandy or whiskey

1 egg

24 rashers of streaky bacon

.

Method:

Soak the chicken livers in milk for an hour or two, or overnight. The calcium in the milk helps to remove the toxins and bitterness from the livers.

Soak the raisins in sherry for an hour or two, or put them in the microwave for 30 seconds on high and leave for a few minutes for the raisins to plump up and the mix to cool.

Drain the sherry from the raisins if there is any left into the onions and sweat the onions in a dry pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the turkey meat, belly pork, un-smoked bacon, pork fat and chicken livers.

Put the meats through a mincer or pulse them in a kitchen blender. Do not make the mix too smooth.

Season liberally with sea salt and ground white pepper.

Add the onions, raisins, bread crumbs, spice, herbs, brandy and egg and mix well, using your hands to macerate the mixture. Once mixed, fold with a wooden spoon. The mixture should take on a firm texture. Put the mixture in the fridge for about half an hour to firm up well.

Line an 8 inch round cake tin with stretched streaky bacon in a radial pattern, almost half of the length hanging over the side of the tin. Fill the centre with meat mixture and fold in the ends of the bacon rashers over the top.

Put a fitting circle of baking paper (a cartouche) over the top, and place a small plate that fits inside the baking tin over the paper. Cover the baking tin with foil and make a rolled seal in the foil.

Bake in a hot oven for about 90 minutes.

Just before serving, turn out on a baking tray and put under the grill to crisp the top of the bacon covering.

Serve in wedges as a substitute for stuffing.

.

Spiced Festive Ham

Christmas isn't Christmas without a festive ham for our family.

We'll even do without a turkey in favour of a ham.

Try this festive way of preparing it,

It's deliciously different.

Although you could use any white wine or cider here,

I rather like the flavour that "Pinot Grigio" gives to the meat.

.

Ingredients:
2.5 kg boneless gammon or ham
1 bottle of Pinot Grigio, Italian white wine.
2.5L water
1 large onion, halved
2 cloves of garlic
1 head of fennel, halved
2-3 star anise
15ml coriander seed
15ml fennel seed
15ml mixed peppercorns
2-3 clementines, halved through the middle
so the segments are cut in half and
each half studded with a whole clove.

.

For the Glaze:
12-16 whole cloves
60ml smooth orange marmalade
2ml cinnamon
2ml smoked paprika
5ml white wine vinegar

.

Method:
Place the gammon in a large saucepan.
Add all the ingredients for the ham to the pan, adding some more water if the ham isn't covered.Bring to the boil, before reducing the heat to a simmer and partially covering the pan. Cook for about two and a half to three hours - approximately one hour a kilo simmering time, plus an extra 15 minutes.
When you are ready to glaze the ham, preheat the oven to 230C.
Remove the ham from the liquid and sit the ham on a board. Strip off the rind, and a little of the fat layer if it's very thick, and cut a diamond pattern into the remaining fat with a sharp knife in lines of about 2cm apart.
Stud the cloves into each diamond. Put the marmalade, cinnamon, paprika and white wine vinegar into a saucepan and stir over high heat, bringing it to the boil. Let the pan bubble away so that the glaze reduces to a syrup-like consistency.
Place a layer of foil over a roasting tray big enough to hold the ham. Place the ham on top of the foil. (This saves on washing up later as the foil can be discarded and there is little, if any, sticky residue to clean up.)
Pour the glaze over the clove-studded ham and then transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the glazed fat is burnished.
Allow the meat to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes before carving it.

Apple and Cranberry Chutney

Cranberries always remind me of Christmas.

With them being available fresh and dried at this time of year,

I'm always looking for new ways to use them.

This festive chutney rather took my fance.

Ingredients:
750g Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
250g dried or fresh cranberries
1 onion finely chopped
350ml apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
200g sugar
5ml ground ginger
5ml ground turmeric
5ml ground cumin
5ml ground coriander
10ml salt

Method:
Chop the apples up into slightly smaller than 1 cm cubes.
Place them into a saucepan with all the other ingredients.
Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring to ensure a good mix.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes,
or until the chutney has thickened and the fruit has become soft.
Store in sterilized jars, ready for serving with any festive meal.

Festive Lamb Shanks

Lamb shanks used to be quite an inexpensive meal.

Perhaps not so now as they have grown in popularity.

Here's a nice way to make shanks into

a warming dish for the festive season.

I have used ginger, cinnamon and cloves

as these are festive spices.

If you don't like it too chilli hot

you can reduce the amount of chilli,

or even leave it out.

Ingredients:
30-50ml vegetable oil for frying
4 lamb shanks
2 white onions, finely chopped
10ml turmeric
5ml ground ginger
5ml ground cinnamon
10ml ground chillis or chilli flakes
6 whole cloves
2ml grated nutmeg
125ml raisins
100ml sherry
30ml honey
20ml light soy sauce
125ml red lentils
toasted almond flakes to garnish

Method:
Brown the shanks all over in a pan deep enough to cook them in. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
In the same pan, braise the chopped onions until they are translucent.
Add the spices and mix with the braised onions. Cook on medium heat until the spices begin to release their aroma.
Soak the raisins in the sherry, warming them in the microwave for a minute to help them absorb the liquor.
Add the sherry and raisins, honey and soy sauce to the onion and spices and return the shanks to the pan. Baste them with the liquid in the pan, cooking for a minute or two.
Add enough boiling water to cover the shanks and return pan to the boil.
Reduce the heat, put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for about 90 minutes.
Test for seasoning and add salt if required.
Add the lentils and simmer without the lid on the pan until the lentils break down.
Serve with couscous and garnish with toasted almond flakes.

Chestnut and Chocolate Macaroons

Now we are into December, I'ts time to get into the festive mood.

This time of year invokes sweets and nuts, biscuits and cakes,

and it's always nice to have something on hand ready

for those unexpected visitors who pop in for coffee.

Here's a great idea for just such an occasion.

.

.

Ingredients:

125g ground almonds

250g icing sugar

3 egg whites

30g caster sugar

10g cocoa powder

Filling:

200ml double cream

50ml chestnut puree

50g plain chocolate, melted

Topping:

icing sugar to dust.

.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

First make the plain macaroons by sieving half the ground almonds and half the icing sugar together in a clean dry bowl.

Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Add the caster sugar and whisk until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

Gently fold half the mixture into the ground almonds and icing sugar until evenly mixed keeping as much air in as possible.

In a different bowl, repeat step 1 with the remaining ground almonds and icing sugar but this time sieve in the cocoa powder.

Fold in the rest of the egg mixture.

Line 2-3 baking trays with baking paper.

Place the macaroon mixture into 2 separate disposable piping bags and snip off the end to make a hole about 1 cm (½ in) wide.

Pipe 4 cm (1½ in) circles of mixture onto the paper, spaced well apart.

Leave to set for 15 minutes to allow a crust to form.

Bake the macaroons in the oven for 5 minutes, then gently lift the baking paper over to turn them upside down.

Return to the oven for 6-8 minutes then leave to cool completely.

For the fillings, lightly whip the cream, then split into 2 bowls.

Stir the chestnut puree into one and the melted chocolate into the other.

An hour before serving, sandwich the plain macaroons with chestnut cream and the chocolate ones with chocolate cream.

Dust with icing sugar.

.

Blueberry Coffee Muffins

Whether served as a desert,

a breakfast muffin or to girlfriends on a coffee morning,

these muffins are a favourite treat.

Ingredients:
180g butter
325ml sugar
3 eggs
7.5ml vanilla extract
250g sour cream
60ml milk
625ml flour
10ml Baking powder
5ml bicarbonate of soda
2ml salt
5ml instant coffee granules
2 punnets of blueberries

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then while beating add the eggs one at a time.
Add the vanilla, sour cream and milk and fold in to create a batter.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and coffee.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, a little at a time, until all combined. Don't over mix.
Add the blueberries and fold into the mixture.
Spoon into muffin pans with muffin papers and bake in a moderate oven for 25-30 minutes. Makes about 15-16 muffins. I like my muffins large, so I make 12 from this mixture.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce

Gnocchi are usually made with potato,

but making them with sweet potato,

especially if it is with the orange variety,

known as the kumara,

gives them a lovely pink gold colour.

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes
5ml cinnamon
180ml ricotta
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
250 - 325ml flour

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Bake the sweet potatoes in their skins for about 45 minutes.
Cut them in half and scoop out the flesh.
Put the flesh through a potato rices or mash with a potato masher.
Add the cinnamon, ricotta, seasoning and the flour, in batches, until you have a dough like pastry dough.
Dust aboard with flour and knead the dough to a ball.
Cut the ball in half and then each half into 3 segments.
Take a segment and roll it into a rope about 3/4 inch thick.
Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces.
With the back of a fork, roll each piece to make an edge decorated curl.
Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until they float, when they are then done.

To Make the Sage Butter Sauce:
Ingredients:
125g unsalted butter
20 sage leaves
5ml cinnamon
30ml maple syrup
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:
Melt the butter in a pan and shred the sage leaves into it, snipping them with a scissors.
Heat till the butter browns a little.
Add the cinnamon, maple syrup and seasoning and mix into the butter.

Serve the gnocchi with the sauce poured over them.

Crispy Rack of Lamb with Mascarponi Sauce

One of the things I love about living in Wales is sheep in the fields.

In the Spring they are joined by frisky little lambs.

Some people see them as cute and cuddly,

but having come from farming stock,

I see them as food - delicious food!

Perhaps the queen of delicious is

"Rack of Lamb".

.

Many years ago in Durban, Natal,

there was a 'French' restaurant called,

"La Popote".

They made the most fantastic rack of lamb.

I have tried my best to emulate their dish,

but I saw the sauce on an Italian food program -

I thought it would go very well with succulent lamb.

Ingredients:
2 racks of lamb
Olive oil to drizzle over and rub
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
"French Herb Mix" - to be found in my e-book, "Herbs and Spices", coming soon.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Drizzle the racks with olive oil on both sides, rubbing the oil over the meat to ensure it is all covered. Season all over with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a good covering of "French Herb Mix".
Put the meat on a very hot grill, curved side down first and brown. Turn the meat over and brown on the underside as well.
Transfer to a baking tray with the curved side up and bake in a hot oven for about 25 minutes.

To Make the Sauce:
Ingredients:
125ml creme fraiche
handful of fresh mint, chopped
Sea salt to season
50ml honey
10ml ground cumin
125ml Mascarponi

Method:
In a glass bowl, whisk together the creme fraiche, mint, salt, and honey.
Add the cumin and mascarponi and mix well to a smooth paste.

Serve chops accompanied by the sauce, French fries and vegetables of choice.