A Merry Christmas with Jamie!

I love Christmas! I don’t try to hide it. I love Christmas and everything that comes with it – including, of course, the feast.

The Best Roast Turkey

Sticky Saucepan Carrots

Roasted Baby Leeks with Thyme

Buttered Peas with Crunchy Bacon

After a morning of relaxing and opening prezzies, it was time to get down to business in the kitchen. The turkey needed to be stuffed and into the oven ASAP. The stuffing was a mixture of butter, sage leaves, pancetta, garlic, red onion, celery, (all lightly pan fried) bread crumbs, pork mince, lemon zest (yes, even at Xmas!), nutmeg, dried apricots, S&P and an egg. But instead of being stuffed into the butt of the bird, Jamie instructs stuffing the stuffing in between the skin and the breast, so that the breasts remain really moist while cooking. I’ve done this before with a chicken, but it does require some delicacy, so one doesn’t tear the skin. It also requires a kitchen hand to chat to you whilst stuffing, to distract you from the fact that you’ve got your hands in all manner of places.

I also created some little garnish-y things by rolling a slice of garlic and sprig of rosemary up in a strip of pancetta. Jamie wanted these (12 of them) stabbed into the thighs of the bird, but to be honest I tried and failed. They were actually quite chunky and there just wasn’t an easy way to create holes big enough to poke them into without murdering the bird. I got four in position, with much struggling and few profanities and frankly I thought four was enough to create the look, the rest I just sat in the butt (which had a whole orange stuffed in there as well). Rubbed with oil and covered with foil (for half the cooking time) the bird went into the oven for a little under 3 hours.

The vegies were all relatively simple, which made the rest of the preparations a breeze. The carrots, snugly sat side-by-side, with bay leaves slipped between them, a chunk of butter sat on top and some water half way up, simmered for 40 minutes and then served up with sticky, buttery bottoms.

It seems you can’t get baby leeks in Oz, so after much discussion with Mum about the flavour of leeks (giant in size, but sweeter) versus the flavour of shallots (size-wise a much better match to baby leeks, but more bitter and oniony), we decided to use normal-sized giant leeks. Outer leaves peeled away, blanched in boiling water for a few minutes, tossed in red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh thyme and garlic slivers and baked for 15 minutes. They were absolutely delicious, but we perhaps didn’t need one whole giant-sized leek each, if you know what I mean.

And lastly the peas. What a sensation. Frozen peas, boiled til cooked, tossed with butter, lemon juice and S&P, then served with the crispy bacon scattered on top. So simple, but SO tasty. I love peas – they are mini parcels of green happiness. What more could you want on Xmas day?!!!

And so our Xmas lunch was served, along with a perfectly crackled pork fillet, Janson’s Temptation (a Swedish potato bake), Pete’s sage and onion stuffing and Mum’s mustard béarnaise sauce, it was an absolute over indulgence. A typical Christmas. And even though we sat and groaned and rubbed our full stomachs for hours afterwards, I wouldn’t have Xmas any other way. And let’s face it, no matter how much you eat at lunch, there’s always room for dessert (a rum-soaked fruit & ice-cream loaf with chocolate shell) and plenty of chocolate money.

What did I say? Yes, I LOVE Xmas. But I’m also damn pleased it’s only once a year…

Xx