Great British Food Christmas 2024

Recipes extracted from What’s for Christmas Dinner? by Sarah Rossi, published by HarperNonFiction. Photography by Sam Folan “If you’re all cooked out after the big day, this is the recipe for you” 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/Gas Mark 7. 2. Start by preparing the vegetables, cut the tops and bottom off each onion, remove the outermost later of skin, but leave on as much of the rest of the skin as you can, then cut in half, and each half into quarters. Cut the leeks, carrots and celery into 2cm chunks (you can leave the carrots unpeeled). Cut the top off the garlic bulb. 3. Put all the vegetables on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, and add a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Put in the oven and set a timer for 50 minutes. 4. When the timer goes off, remove the tray from the oven, give everything a good shake and add the tomato purée and thyme. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, until the vegetables have turned very brown, then transfer them to a large saucepan. Carefully squeeze the garlic out of its skin into the vegetables, add the bay leaves, stock cubes, water and white wine, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour (it should be bubbling). 5. Using a large sieve, strain the mixture into a large bowl, discarding the vegetables. Pour the gravy back into the saucepan. 6. Put the cornflour in a small dish and add just enough of the gravy to make a smooth paste (making this cornflour paste helps avoid lumps). Pour the paste back into the saucepan of gravy and mix well. Add the soy sauce and redcurrant jelly and cook over a low heat for a further 5–10 minutes until thickened, whisking often to avoid any lumps. Tomakeahead When the gravy is cold pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze in one batch or separate into a couple. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight and reheat over a medium heat in a saucepan on the hob until hot through. One-pot BoxingDayPie If you’re all cooked out after the big day, this is the recipe for you. It uses an instant sauce that cooks and thickens in the oven, there’s no stirring and it’s ready in 30minutes. Relax and enjoy Boxing Day comfort food! Serves: 6 Prepare: 10minutes Cook: 25minutes 500–600g cooked turkey, pigs in blankets or ham in bite-sized pieces 500–600g cooked vegetables and/or stuffing, cut into bite-sized pieces 320g ready-rolled puff pastry sheet 1 egg, beaten For the Sauce 50g cornflour 250ml hot chicken stock (made froma cube is fine) 300ml single cream 1 tspwholegrainmustard sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas Mark 6. 2. Make the sauce first. Put the cornflour in a small bowl, add a spoon or two of the stock and stir until it forms a smooth paste (it’s important to make this cornflour ‘paste’ so that the sauce doesn’t go lumpy). Add the paste to the rest of the stock and combine with the cream, mustard and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well. 3. Put all the chopped meat and vegetables in the roasting or pie dish and pour over the sauce. Carefully top with the pastry. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, prick a few holes in the top and bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is golden on top and the meats inside are hot through. 4. Remove from the oven and serve. RECI PES | SARAH ROSS I 63 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com