20 December 2009

CHRISTMAS FEASTING

I have been thinking about Christmas food all week, but don’t have too many worries as my sister has let me off the hook this year and will be doing the family feast at her place. But I have had calls from three different people this week wanting to buy copies of my book “The Confident Cook” as there are two recipes they absolutely need for their Christmas feast. I want ot share these two all time stars with you.

There’s nothing like a ham, gleaming with a sticky glaze, moist and pink and still warm from the oven. There’s always far too much to eat at one sitting so over the days after Christmas meals and snacks become easy as the ham sits in the fridge. At our place you can observe many of those Nigella moments when various family members sneak to the fridge and slyly slice a sliver or two of ham when they’re hungry. And here’s a tip to get the most out of your ham: Wrap the ham in a tea towel or special cloth ham bag that is kept moist by dipping the cloth in a solution of water and white wine vinegar. Keep refrigerated at all times. And Salade Rouge is a vegetable salad I dreamed up for a Christmas feature about four years ago. I wish I had a dollar for every reader and fan who has stopped me to tell me how much they love that recipe. It’s easy to prepare ahead, looks remarkably festive with the contrasting shades of red and is really delicious. Carrots, beetroot, roast red peppers, tomatoes, red onions and basil are bathed in a lovely dressing made with orange juice and honey. I can guarantee this will become part of your festive recipe repertoire.

Here are these two all time favourites: Enjoy!

Salad Rouge

My most requested recipe of all time. Properly cooked vegetables are the best part of a meal for me. This bright fresh vegetable salad with contrasting crunch and flavour adds a real hit of colour to the festive table. Prepare everything ahead, refrigerate but bring back to room temperature before serving.

• 5 small red peppers, de-seeded, stalks and membranes removed and cut into wedges
• 3 small red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 4 medium beetroot
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into neat diagonal slices
• 2 large acid free tomatoes

For the dressing:

• 1 orange, juice and zest cut in thin strips and blanched
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a few fresh basil leaves for garnish

Heat the oven to 180ºC and roast the pepper and onion wedges until soft and mellow (about 25 minutes.) Keep aside To prepare the beetroot, boil in water for about 40 minutes until tender, cool and remove the skins. Cut into rough chunks. To prepare the carrots, cook in salted water with a pinch of sugar for about 10 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Keep aside. Wash the tomatoes well and cut into neat chunks. Make the dressing by mixing everything together in a small screew top jar. Place the vegetables on a large white platter, and drizzle over the dressing. Garnish with a few torn basil leaves and serve at rooms temperature. Serves 10-12.

Traditional Glazed Ham with fresh orange slices

Cooked hams are improved by very slowly heating them in the oven and glazing with juice, sugar and spice to give extra sweetness. Choose a ham on the bone, or, for really easy carving, a “champagne” ham with almost all the bones removed is far chunkier and rounder than the traditional ham on the bone.

• 1 whole cooked ham on the bone (6kg to 9kg) For the glaze:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cardamom
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice

For the garnish:

• Sugar syrup made with 2 cups water and 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 oranges
• 3 tablespoons cloves

Carefully cut around the skin at the shank end of the ham, leaving about 6cm on the bone. Remove the skin from the ham by sliding your fingers under the skin to loosen it, leaving a good coating of fat on the ham. With a sharp knife score the surface of the fat into small even diamonds. Place the ham in a large baking dish and pour over one cup of the orange juice. Put the ham in an oven pre-heated to 160°C and cook for about 15 minutes per kilogram. (Hams are generally between 6kg and 9kg.) About 15 minutes before the total cooking time, remove the ham from the oven and turn the heat up to 200°C. Mix the sugar, cardamom and mustard together with the remaining orange juice and spread this over the ham. Place in the oven and cook for the final 10-15 minutes so the skin is nicely glazed. Remove and decorate with the oranges and cloves. To make the orange garnish, bring the sugar and water to a simmer, making absolutely certain all the sugar is dissolved before the syrup boils. Allow the syrup to boil for 20 minutes to reduce and thicken. Cut the oranges into thin slices with the skin on, and drop them carefully into the syrup. Poach for 5 minutes and leave in the syrup to cool. The ham can be done well ahead, but keep refrigerated until serving.