Rosemary Shrager's got a Christmas feast lined up for everyone to tuck into!
Ingredients
- 1x 5 -7 kg whole turkey
For the sausage meat and cranberry stuffing:
- 150 g5¼ oz onion, finely chopped
- 100 g3½ oz minced bacon
- 500 g17¾ oz sausage meat
- 120 g4¼ oz breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 2 tbsp curly parsley, finely chopped
- Good pinch of cloves
- 1 egg yolk
- 80 ml2¾ fl oz milk
- 120 g4¼ oz cranberries
- 80 g2¾ oz butter
- Salt and black pepper
For the Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and orange:
- 1 kg2¼ lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed
- 450 g15¾ oz vacuum packed chestnuts
- 2 oranges, peeled and julienned with the white pith cut off
- 60 g2 oz butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and black pepper
- Slivered toasted almonds
For the roast potatoes:
- 8 large Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes, peeled and cut in 4
- 100 ml3½ fl oz vegetable oil
- Salt
- Sea salt to serve
For the braised red cabbage:
- 1 medium red cabbage
- 7 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, chopped very small
- 4 slices bacon, chopped very small
- 2 apples peeled and diced
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
For the roasted batons of parsnips:
- 4 Parsnips peeled and cut into batons
- Olive Oil
- Salt and pepper
- Caster sugar
For the cranberry sauce:
- 250 g8¾ oz pack of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 75 g2¾ oz caster sugar
- Zest of an orange
- 1 /2 tsp old spice
For the bread sauce:
- 300 ml10½ fl oz milk
- 25 g1 oz butter
- ½ onion , chopped
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 50 g1¾ oz white breadcrumbs
- A pinch of nutmeg , freshly grated
For the gravy:
- 25 g1 oz butter
- Turkey giblets (neck, heart and liver), rinsed
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 150 ml5¼ fl oz dry white wine
For the pigs in blankets:
- 6 pork sausages
- 12 rashers smoked streaky bacon
Method: How to make Traditional Christmas dinner
Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.
To prepare the turkey:
Remove the wish bone, put the stuffing under the skin then rub butter all over it. Place it in a large roasting tin.
Cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes then turn the temperature down to 180C for the remainder of the cooking. The time of the cooking will be 15 minutes per 450g plus an extra 30 minutes. Baste every 25 minutes and if you feel it is going a little brown put some tin foil over it.
To make the sausage meat and cranberry stuffing:
First soften the onion in 30g of oil then put it into a large bowl. Add the bacon, sausage meat, breadcrumbs, sage, parsley, cloves, egg yolk and milk and mix well. Season very well and add the cranberries, mix gently again, remove a third of the stuffing and add 70g of soft butter, mix very well. This will go under the skin of the turkey. The rest will be cooked separately.
To make the Brussel sprouts with chestnuts and orange peel:
Cook the sprouts in boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes until tender, then drain.
Heat the butter and sugar in a pan and add the brussel sprouts, chestnuts and orange peel. Heat through and season with salt and black pepper. Garnish with toasted slivered almonds.
To make the roast potatoes:
Put the potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water. Cover and bring to the boil on a high heat, turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes until they are nearly cooked but still firm, and drain well.
Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Put the oil in a roasting tin and heat it in the oven until hot, remove and carefully place the potatoes into the very hot oil, season with salt and mix so the potatoes are covered in oil.
Put the roasting tin back in the oven and roast for 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes and sprinkle with salt half way through. Remove and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
To make the braised red cabbage:
Over a low heat melt the butter and add the onions. After a minute or two, add the bacon, followed by the cabbage, apples, honey, wine, and vinegar. Set it over a low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.
To make the roasted batons of parsnips:
In a non stick roasting pan, toss the batons in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, turning over halfway through. Add a sprinkle of sugar 5 minutes before the end.
To make the cranberry sauce:
Blanch the cranberries in a little water, stir in the sugar, orange zest and old spice, then simmer until tender but still holding their shape - this will take about 5 minutes if using frozen cranberries or 8-10 minutes if using fresh. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
To make the bread sauce:
Simmer the milk, butter, onion, clove, peppercorns, garlic and herbs in a pan for 20 minutes. Strain and return the liquid to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add nutmeg, season and serve.
To make the gravy for the turkey:
Remove the turkey from the pan, deglaze the pan with white wine, reduce and add the flour.
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the giblets and vegetables and fry for 8 minutes, until golden. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and 1.5 litres of good stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Strain the stock into a jug - you should have around 600ml. Set aside to cool slightly, then discard the fat from the surface.
To make the pigs in blankets:
Prick the sausages then wrap them in bacon. Place the sausages under the grill for about 15 minutes, turning frequently (and carefully) until the sausages and bacon are cooked through. Serve warm.
