Comfort and joy
Above: Phil Vickery’s Moroccan turkey and harissa stew
As much a part of Christmas as the roast turkey itself, are the turkey leftovers which seem to last for days. Make them something to look forward to with this recipe from turkey specialist Phil Vickery
Phil Vickery’s Moroccan turkey and harissa stew
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp harissa paste
1 cinnamon stick
900ml turkey stock
450g peeled and diced butternut squash
150g baby corn
400g leftover cooked British turkey, cut into bite size pieces
150g sugarsnap peas
225g cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp cornflour
Handful chopped mint
Handful chopped coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1) Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, canned tomatoes, harissa, cinnamon and stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2) Add the butternut squash and baby corn and simmer for 20 minutes.
3) Add the cooked turkey, sugarsnap peas and cherry tomatoes and cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and the turkey heats right through.
4) Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp of water. Stir this paste into the stew and simmer until thickened. Stir in the mint and coriander and season to taste.
5) Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Phil Vickery appears regularly on ITV’s This Morning
Sausage rolls are perfect for festive entertaining, but rather than buying dubious quality produce in supermarkets, try making your own. It’s so easy!
Kate Hemphill’s chorizo and sage sausage rolls
Make sure you use quality sausages from your butcher and play around with different varieties, such as Toulouse, pork and fennel or merguez. You don't really need a dipping sauce either as there's so much flavour already in the sausages
Ingredients:
4 chorizo sausages
2 plain pork sausages
6 large sage leaves, finely chopped
1-2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Sesame seeds
Method:
1) Push the sausage meat out of the casings into a bowl, add sage and mix well. The easiest way is to just get your (clean) hands in there.
2) Lay the pastry out and place a strip of sausage meat vertically down the pastry about 7cm from the edge. Brush the right hand side of the pastry next to the meat with beaten egg and roll the pastry over to seal. Cut long roll off and then cut into individual pieces and place on a baking tray. Repeat with remaining mixture and chill rolls until pastry is firm (about 15 mins) – sausage rolls will freeze well at this point.
3) Pre-heat oven to 200C and brush pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
4) Bake for 20 minutes until golden and then serve immediately!
For more information on Kate Hemphill’s cooking classes go to www.lovetocook.co.uk
A Bloody Mary is a traditional Christmas cocktail, but why not try putting some of those festive tastes in something different
Ainsley Harriott’s hot Bloody Mary soup
Ingredients:
1kg/2¼lb ripe tomatoes, halved
2 red chillies, halved and seeded
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
750ml/1¼ pint vegetable stock
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp horseradish sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
4 tbsp vodka
4 small celery stalks, with leaves
celery, salt, or salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 thin lemon slices, to garnish
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 4. Place the tomatoes cut-side up in a large roasting tin with the chillies and sprinkle over the sugar and some salt and pepper. Drizzle over the oil and roast for 30 minutes until softened and nicely browned.
2) Purée the roasted tomatoes in a blender with a little stock until smooth. For a really smooth soup, pass the purée through a sieve into a large pan, otherwise, transfer straight to the pan. Stir in the remaining stock and the tomato purée and heat gently through, without boiling.
3) Stir in the horseradish, sherry and vodka and check the seasoning. Place a celery stalk in each of four bowls and ladle over the soup. Grind over black pepper, float a slice of lemon on each and serve.
Ainsley Harriott’s Gourmet Express 2, by Ainsley Harriott, is published by BBC Books, £9.99
To many, smoked salmon and champagne is synonymous with Christmas morning. Here’s what’s served in the Ramsay household.
Tana Ramsay’s smoked salmon, cream cheese and scrambled egg bagels
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 bagels
4 slices good smoked salmon
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Black pepper
Soft cheese
For the scrambled eggs:
6 eggs
Good pinch of Maldon sea salt
Good grinding of black pepper
60 ml/2 fl oz milk (and a splash of cream for indulgence…)
Knob of butter
Method:
1) Slice the bagels and put them in the toaster, ready to toast.
2) Crack all the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the salt and pepper and the milk, and whisk together thoroughly.
3) In a large non-stick saucepan , elt the butter over a moderate heat. Add the egg mixture and stir continuously, stirring in any bits that catch on the side or at the bottom of the pan.
4) Pop the bagels down in the toaster to toast lightly. Remove and set aside.
5) Meanwhile, keep stirring the eggs for approximately 10 minutes until the mixture forms lumps and becomes scrambled. Remove from the heat slightly before it is ready and allow to stand for a minute or two. This stops it from overcooking which can happen very suddenly – you don’t want dry scrambled eggs!
6) Spread each bagel half with soft cheese – be generous.
7) On four of the bagel halves place a slice of smoked salmon, squeeze over some lemon juice then top with scrambled egg and another good grinding of black pepper. Sandwich together with the bagel halves and serve immediately.
Tana Ramsay’s real family food is on sale now published by Harper Collins
Another foodstuff that finds itself amongst the pile of festive leftovers is the humble Christmas cake. Here country cook, Annie Bell finds a creative way of reserving it.
Annie Bell’s Honey-fired fruitcake with ice cream
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Knob of unsalted butter
1 tbsp runny honey
4 slices fruit cake (or Christmas cake minus the marzipan layer)
Vanilla ice cream to serve
Method:
1) Heat the butter with the honey in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the fruitcake slices for a minute or two on either side, turning them carefully with a spatula, until surrounded by a glossy caramel.
2) Serve the syrupy pan juices spooned over the cake, with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Annie Bell’s The Country Cook is on sale now published by Collins & Brown
If vodka’s not your thing then try this alternative to the traditional Bloody Mary:
Beefeater’s Red Snapper
Ingredients:
50ml Beefeater Gin
100ml Tomato juice
10ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pinch Black pepper
1 pinch Celery salt
2 drops Tabasco
Method:
Mix all ingredients together and gently stir with ice. Fine strain into glass and garnish with small lemon slice