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This festive roast meal is perfect for a mid-winter Christmas or solstice celebration
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Menu
Pork & Pistachio Terrine with Sweet Mustard Pears
Saffron Chicken with Chestnut Stuffing
Garlic & Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes
Lemon & Caraway Brussels Sprouts
Lemon & Lime Meringue Pie
Chocolate Liqueur Fruit Log |
Saffron Chicken with Chestnut Stuffing
Chestnuts add a touch of glamour and British festive tradition to this golden roast chook. The nuts are available in cans or vacuum-packed from gourmet food stores.
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Stuffing:
30g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 cup chestnuts, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
Chicken:
8-10 large baby carrots, peeled
2 red onions, peeled
30g butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
10 threads saffron or ½ teaspoon
saffron powder
1 large free-range chicken |
Stuffing: Heat butter in a frying pan and sauté onion and thyme until softened, 3-4 minutes. Combine breadcrumbs, zest, chestnuts and egg in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, add onion mixture and bring together. (If making ahead, wrap and chill overnight and stuff the chicken just before cooking.)
Chicken: Preheat oven to 170°C. Halve carrots and quarter onions. Place in a large roasting dish. Combine butter, salt and saffron and rub over chicken. Stuff with chestnut stuffing and secure legs with string.
Place chicken on vegetables and roast 1-1½ hours until cooked through – check by piercing flesh in the thickest part to see if juices run clear. (Cover chicken with foil if browning too quickly.) Rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with your favourite gravy. Serves 6
Pork and Pistachio Terrine with Sweet Mustard Pears
The easiest way to combine all the ingredients for this fancy meatloaf is to don disposable gloves and get your hands into the bowl.
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Terrine:
6 rashers streaky bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
450g sausage meat
500g pork mince
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
70g pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
Mustard pears:
1 cup water
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup golden syrup
½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
6 juniper berries
4 pears, peeled, cored and quartered |
Preheat oven to 175°C. Line a 5-cup (13cm x 23cm) loaf or terrine tin with bacon, leaving the strips overhanging the sides. Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onion, sage and pear until softened and fragrant, 4-5 minutes.
In a large bowl combine sausage meat and pork mince, breadcrumbs and pistachios. Add onion mixture and egg and mix together thoroughly, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Firmly pack into bacon-lined tin and fold excess bacon over top. Cover with foil and place in a deep baking dish.
Fill dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the terrine. Bake 30 minutes, remove foil and cook a further 30-40 minutes until juices run clear when the centre is pierced. Terrine will keep in the fridge for up to a week (the flavour will keep improving). Take it out half an hour before serving.
Mustard pears: Place water, vinegar, golden syrup, cardamom and mustard seeds and juniper berries in a pot and bring to the boil. Add pears and simmer until tender and juice is syrupy. Serve warm with terrine. Serves 8
Lemon and Caraway Brussels Sprouts
Sprouts are an essential part of the traditional English Christmas menu.
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500g Brussels sprouts
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 lemon, juice and finely grated zest |
Wash sprouts and trim ends. Cut small ones in half and larger ones into quarters, separating outer leaves to create petals.
Heat a large frying pan and add stock and sprouts. Simmer until just tender, 3-4 minutes. When stock has almost evaporated, add oil, caraway seeds, lemon juice and zest and season well with salt and pepper. Sauté sprouts until just coloured and serve immediately. Serves 6
Garlic and Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes
This tasty way of baking potatoes is based on the Swedish dish that takes its name from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant where it was first served.
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12 medium potatoes, peeled
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
12 small bay leaves
¼ cup finely grated parmesan |
Preheat oven to 175°C. Cut potatoes finely across the top, creating a fan. Combine oil, garlic and salt and rub generously over potatoes. Place in a lined baking dish and garnish each with a bay leaf, sprinkle with parmesan and roast for 40-60 minutes until potatoes are tender. Serves 6-8
| “A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight…”
– Felix Bernard (Winter Wonderland) |
Chocolate Liqueur Fruit Log
To make this delicious after-dinner treat look like a Christmas bûche de noël, we coated our log with dark chocolate and garnished it with chocolate leaves.
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½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup glacé mixed peel
4 dried figs, diced
1 cup mixed red and green glacé cherries
2 tablespoons brandy, rum or your favourite liqueur
100g butter
100g dark chocolate
½ tin sweetened condensed milk
1 x 250g packet plain biscuits, crushed
70g macadamia nuts, toasted |
Combine dried fruits and liqueur and leave to macerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
In a saucepan or microwave-proof bowl, combine butter, chocolate and condensed milk and heat gently until melted and smooth. Cool slightly then mix in biscuit crumbs, nuts and marinated fruits. Roll into 1-2 logs and wrap in baking paper. Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing. Log will keep in the fridge for at least a week. Serves many
Lemon and Lime Meringue Pie
Using a mix of citrus juices creates a luscious pie with just the right balance of tang and sweetness.
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2 sheets sweet short pastry
750ml water
250g sugar
80g cornflour mixed with 150ml water
6 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
50g butter
1 tablespoon each: finely grated lemon and lime zest
150ml mixed lemon and lime juice
Meringue:
6 egg whites
1½ cups caster sugar |
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line base and sides of a deep 26cm tart tin with pastry, joining and trimming to fit and taking care not to stretch it. Chill 10 minutes.
Line pastry with baking paper and beans and bake blind for 10-12 minutes. Remove paper and beans and bake a further 3-5 minutes to dry base.
Heat water and sugar in a large pot, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and stir in cornflour paste. Simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring until thick and bubbling. Remove from heat, cool 1 minute then whisk in yolks followed by butter, zest and juice. Cool 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat egg whites to soft peaks then gradually add sugar, continuing beating until mixture is stiff, white and glossy.
Pour citrus mixture into pastry case. Place tart on a baking tray. Spoon meringue over filling, sealing it to the edges first then piling it up in the centre. Bake tart 15-20 minutes until meringue is set and golden. Cool and chill to allow filling to set before serving. Pie will keep in the fridge for 2 days. Serves 8-10
Stockists:
Cutlery, ceramic platters, plates and bowls from Living & Giving, (09) 846 6999
Cakestand and pewter charger, tray and small jug from Acland, (09) 630 6177
Wallpaper from Warwick Fabrics, (09) 309 1114
Paint on panelled wall ‘Baltic Sea’ by Aalto, (09) 522 2019
Champagne glasses from Romantique, (09) 360 9669
Flowers by Kelly Amundsen from Blush, 021 759 175
Patterned fabric on table and all linen fabrics from Martha’s Furnishing Fabrics, (09) 523 3655
Turquoise fabric under chocolate log from James Dunlop, (09) 638 6005
Name cards by Kelley Eady Loveridge from etc. photography & design, (09) 360 4902
All other items stylist’s own.
Story: Jo Wilcox
Photographs: Manja Wachsmuth
Stylist: Claudia Kozub
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