It’s Christmas, and although we are a little far from the north of Europe, it’s still possible to source all those great ingredients that produce feel-good flavours and thought-provoking scents. We asked Chef Patron Jonnie Pratt from Bistro des Z’Artes in Almancil to share with our readers his foolproof Christmas lunch. He said “This is my perfect Christmas dinner, as my mum and granny taught me – but you can easily make up your own variations and family favourites.” This week he brings you a tasty main course. Don’t miss next week’s edition for a festive starter and dessert to accompany this. Bon Appétit!
Turkey & Ham with two stuffings, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, Brussels sprouts & giblet gravy
(serves six people)
Ham
1.5Kg ham (very well tied, preferably with elastic netting)
300g breadcrumbs
150ml honey
150g brown sugar
18 cloves
Turkey
4kg turkey (see note 1 for turkey method)
2 carrots chopped
2 onions chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
3 glasses red wine
1 cup of cold water
Chestnut & Sausage and Sage
250g sausage meat
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
200g chestnuts (cooked, peeled, and chopped if fresh or tinned are fine!)
1 egg
50ml cream
100g breadcrumb
Apricot & Sausage
250g sausage meat
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 egg
50ml cream
60g dried apricots diced
2 Sage leaves chopped
100g breadcrumbs
Veg & Accompaniments
250g cranberries
150g sugar
1.5Kg potatoes
200ml olive oil
500ml milk
1 onion
3 cloves
Bay leaf
200g breadcrumbs (fresh)
500g parsnips
500g Brussels sprouts
Salt and pepper to taste throughout
Method (ham):
– Take the ham and soak overnight in cold water.
– Drain off the water and put in fresh water with a bay leaf, 80g carrot, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 onion.
– Bring to the boil and boil hard for 2 minutes. Add a cup of cold water (this is to help bring all the scum to the surface) and bring back to a slow simmer, removing the scum form the surface occasionally. Simmer for a further 2 hours and then leave to cool in the cooking water. Drain and store in the fridge until Christmas Day.
– On Christmas morning, mix 300g bread crumbs with the brown sugar and honey. Stud the ham with 18 of the cloves and spread over the honey mix. Bake in the oven at 180ºC for 25 minutes, then 140ºC for a further 45 minutes, keep warm to serve.
Method (turkey):
– When purchasing your turkey, ask the butcher to remove the breasts and legs (also boning out the legs) and truss them individually. Get the bones from the carcass chopped (to fit easily in your stock pan) and get the giblets separately.
– Place all the chopped turkey bones in a roasting tray (two if needed) along with 2 chopped onions, 2 cloves garlic, 2 carrots and place in a hot over 200ºC for 90 minutes to brown well.
– When well browned place the bones in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water.
– Deglaze (wash out) the roasting tins with a cup of red wine in each and scrape really well to get all the caramelized and burnt bits out of the roasting tin. Add these to the bones.
– Bring the liquid up to the boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Add a cup of cold water and bring back to a simmer, using the same process as for the ham removing the scum as it comes to the surface (this ensures that your sauce will be clear).
– After four hours simmering, strain the bones and discard them. Place the stock in a fresh pot and reduce down rapidly to approx 750ml. Store this in the fridge for up to one week.
– To finish the gravy, sauté all the giblets with a little onion, garlic and a bay leaf. When well-browned all over, add 2 cups of red wine and reduce by half.
– Add in the turkey stock you have made and reduce down to approx 400ml.
– Blend a little with a soup blender and pass through a very fine sieve (the finer the better to remove all the bits and have a silky smooth sauce). For a variation on this, add some cranberries. If the gravy is too thin, you can dissolve a teaspoon of corn flour in a little cold water and mix it into the simmering gravy, stirring all the time.
– Take your biggest frying pan and heat it as hot as it will go.
– Season the turkey breasts and legs with salt and pepper. Sear them in the pan until golden on all sides (this should be done two pieces at a time).
– When seared, place them in a large roasting dish and place in the oven at 180ºC for 90 minutes (there are two ways to check if the turkey is cooked – first cut it in half and look or buy a meat thermometer. When the centre of the meat has reached 74ºC it is ready).
– It is very important that the meat is covered and left to rest in a warm place for at least 30 minutes (by doing this, less liquid will run out of the meat making it juicier on the plate).
– Carve and serve.
Method (stuffings, vegetables, cranberry sauce and bread sauce):
– We are going to make two stuffings – Chestnut & Sausage and Sage, Apricot & Sausage
– Take two bowls and place half the sausage meat in each. Sauté 2 cloves of garlic and one chopped onion in a little olive oil and place half of the mixture in each bowl.
– In the first bowl, add the chopped (cooked and peeled) chestnut, 1 egg, 50ml cream, a pinch of pepper, 100g breadcrumb and mix very well (this can be done by hand or in a food processor).
– In the second bowl add 1 egg, 50ml cream, a pinch of pepper, the diced dried apricots, the chopped sage and 100g breadcrumb, and mix well as for the last stuffing.
– Lay out on a work surface 2 strips of cling film, 1 over-lapping the other, and place the first stuffing inside. Roll this into a sausage shape, folding under the ends and wrap in more cling film.
– Do the same for the other stuffing. Place the two stuffings in a steamer and steam for 25 minutes until cooked. To serve, remove the cling film and bake in the oven at 180ºC for 15mnutes. Slice and serve.
– Take the cranberries and place them in a pan with the white sugar. Very slowly cook them until all the sugar has dissolved and they are soft but not puréed. This can be served hot or cold as you wish.
– Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks roughly the same size. Boil for 10 minutes in salted water, drain and dry in a tea towel.
– Heat up olive oil (an alternative is beef dripping or lard) in a roasting tray until very hot. Add the dried potatoes and spoon over the oil (get the tray back into the oven as quick as possible before the oil cools down). Place in a hot oven at 200ºC for 10 minutes. Remove the tray and baste the potatoes, turning them at the same time. Return to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes. Remove one potato and check if it is cooked through. Drain the potatoes and serve on kitchen paper to remove as much fat as possible and serve.
– Pour the milk into a pan and add half an onion studded with 3 cloves, plus a bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and bring up to the boil.
– Strain onto freshly-made breadcrumbs and mix well over the heat, removing when the required consistency is reached. This is the easiest bread sauce recipe there is.
– Peel and cut the parsnips into finger size chunks, place in a roasting tray with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast (turning frequently) in a hot oven at 200ºC until golden brown on all sides and soft inside.
– Cut the bases off the Brussels sprouts and remove any damaged leaves. Cut a cross in the base and store in the fridge. To cook, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the sprouts. Cook until they still retain a little crunch in the middle (approx 5minutes). Either serve immediately or chill in iced water to keep their colour.
– Serve!
REMINDERS
Order your turkey and ham well in advance especially to have the turkey boned.
Double and triple check your shopping list – it can be very difficult at Christmas time to get ingredients at the last minute.
Make sure your turkey will fit in your oven (this may sound a little stupid, but it has been known to happen).
Make sure you have enough gas if that is what you use (another Christmas nightmare).
For more information about Bistro des Z’Artes, please visit www.bistroalgarve.com. If there are any ingredients, ideas or techniques that you are not able to fulfil, please email jonnie@bistroalgarve.com
