Tag: Christmas
Christmassy Mini Pavlovas
The festive season is now well and truly on us and with the holidays comes a different style of eating, apart from the big day – I have heard it recently described as a more “relaxed” way of eating! I take this to mean more informal eating times to fit in with other leisure activities and a bit of socialising – maybe the odd glass of wine or an unscheduled break for coffee. So there are the usual savoury offerings ; pate, veggie dips, quiche, sausage rolls (either meat or veggie) but not much finger food that is sweet (apart from the ubiquitous mince pies!). So………..these are SWEET! The citrussy tang of kumquat really complements the sweetness tho and gives it the true taste of Christmas.
Makes 24
Mini Christmas Pavlovas
Ingredients
2 egg whites
115g castor sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
25g raisins
25g sultans
25g dried sweetened cranberries
75ml medium sweet sherry
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 Tablespoon water
½ teaspoon mixed spice
3 kumquats
paper cake cases
Put the raisins, sultanas, cranberries and sherry in a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Leave to infuse at least overnight, 24 hours is better, 48 is great!
Shake occasionally to make sure the fruit is immersed.
To cook the meringues, set the oven to 120°C.
Beat the egg whites in a bowl until stiff with a handheld electric whisk if you have one.
When the egg whites are forming soft peaks, add half the sugar and whisk again until glossy. Add half the remaining sugar and whisk again. Add the cornflour to the rest of the sugar, add to the meringue and whisk again.
Fold in the cider vinegar.
Put the paper cases in a bun tin.
Using 2 spoons put a dessert spoon size dollop of the mixture in each case.
Flatten the meringue with the back of a spoon dipped in cold water.
Place in the oven to bake. After 45 minutes take them out and gently push the centre flat if it has risen. You may need to swap the shelves that the meringues are on around to ensure even cooking. When they are cooked, about 1 hour 20 minutes approximately, turn the oven off and prop the door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon. Leave the meringues in the oven to cool.
For the topping, set a sieve over a small bowl and drain the dried fruit, reserving the sherried juices. Make up to 75ml with water and mix well.
Mix the cornflour with 1 Tablespoon of this in a small bowl.
Turn the fruit out onto a plate and run a knife through it several times to cut it into small pieces.
Put the sugar and the rest of the juice in a small pan over a low heat, add the mixed spice and stir until the sugar has melted.
Pour in the cornflour mix and continue to heat stirring continuously until the liquid has thickened.
Add the soaked dried fruit and heat through.
Set aside to cool.
At this point, the cooled meringues can be stored in an airtight container for a few days and the topping can be stored in a screw topped container in the fridge until needed. You can then serve a portion of them when required and save the rest for another occasion.
When ready to serve, cut the kumquats into very thin slices and cut each slice to form a twist.
Check the meringues come free easily from the paper cases, so that the cases can be used as mini plates in the hand.
Top the meringues with a little of the fruit mixture and place the kumquat twists on top.
Moorish Red Cabbage
A braised red cabbage dish is a staple of the festive season and this version with dates, orange, sherry and the spicing has definite north African/southern Spain vibes hence the “Moors” in the title. It would go really well with duck or goose (think duck a l’orange!) or equally well with a nice chestnut roast. It’s “beefed” up a bit with the addition of beetroot – this just deepens the colour, flavour and overall texture.
Its a great make-ahead recipe, easy to freeze and just reheat on the day. This quantity will serve 6 people but will go round more depending on how many other veg you are serving and/or willing hands to do the prep!
Moorish Red Cabbage
Ingredients
500g red cabbage
120g red onion
120g (100g prepped) beetroot
4 medjool dates, stoned and chopped
1 orange
125 ml sherry
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
water to cover
5 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
60g butter
salt and black pepper
1 pomegranate (optional)
Peel and thinly slice the beetroot. Place the slices on top of each other and slice through them to form julienne strips. Slice the cabbage as thinly as possible, discarding any tough stems and rough outside leaves. Peel and thinly slice the onion. Cut the orange in half. Take one half and grate the zest, then extract the juice, reserving until the final stage. Take the other half and stick the cloves in it, about half way up from the cut side.
Put about 2/3 of the butter in a heavy bottomed casserole type pan with a lid. Melt over a medium slow heat and toss in the onions. When they begin to go transparent, add the cabbage and the beetroot and stir everything around for a few minutes. Add the chopped dates, orange zest and cinnamon stick and mix in. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and place the orange cut side down in the centre. Turn the heat to very low and add the sherry, vinegar and scant water to barely cover. Cook for approx. 45 minutes, keeping an eye on it every 5 mins, stirring and topping up the water if it is drying out too much. Alternatively place in a low oven for an hour.
Whilst the cabbage is cooking, take the pomegranate and roll it with your hand on the work surface to loosen the seeds. Make a small slit halfway and save any juice that runs out. Cut completely in half and scoop the seeds out, removing any hard pithy type bits.
When the cabbage mixture is all soft, cooked through and most of the liquid has evaporated, taste it and correct the seasoning.
When you are ready to serve, add the remaining butter and stir in until its melted and the vegetables are shiny. Add the reserved orange juice and turn onto a warmed serving plate. Pour the pomegranate juice over and scatter the seeds on top (if using). So pretty!
Christmas Muffins
These muffins are full of Christmas flavours – fruit, spice, and orange but are lighter than the traditional Christmas pudding and a lot quicker to cook! They can be served instead of the pudding or cake or can be eaten for breakfast on Christmas morning. The fruit really does benefit from at least 24 hours soaking but you can speed things up a bit by mixing all the ingredients and wazzing in the microwave for 30 seconds. This does help to plump the fruit up and absorb the flavours of the spices. I quite often soak double the quantity as it will keep over the Christmas period in a closed container in the fridge and a spoonful will perk up all sorts of things – left over red cabbage, sliced brussel sprouts, glazed carrots in the veg line and of course, its handy for making more muffins!
Ingredients
- zest of ½ an orange
- 80g raisins
- 25g cranberries (I used the ones pre-soaked in apple juice)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 Tablespoons brandy
- 30g dark brown sugar
- 250g SR flour
- 5 teaspoons doves baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarb powder
- 100g castor sugar
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- juice of an orange
- 150ml milk (approx)
- 75 g melted butter
- 1 large egg
Directions
The day before cooking the muffins (see note above), place the raisins, cranberries, spices and the brandy in a small bowl. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and add the orange zest. Simmer for 5 minutes, drain and refresh with cold water. This removes any bitterness in the rind. Drain thoroughly and cut into the most narrow strips you can. Add to the bowl and cover, shaking from time to time to mix all the lovely flavours and to make sure all the spirit is absorbed by the fruit.
When you are ready to cook preset the oven to 210°C and line a muffin tin with paper cases. Mix the dark brown sugar into the spiced fruit.
Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb, spice and castor sugar in a large bowl. Mix the milk and orange juice in a measuring jug, topping up to the 200ml mark with milk. Beat the egg lightly and add to the jug. Pour in the melted butter, give it a quick stir and pour into the dry ingredients, lightly mixing everything together. I find a large fork best for this as the mixture is quite stiff and the fork helps to smooth the lumps out without beating it too much.
When everything is mixed, put into the paper cases with two teaspoons – the cases should be about ¾ full. Put a heaped teaspoon of the fruit mixture in the centre of each and place in the hot oven. After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 200°C and cook for a further 8 – 10 minutes when they should be risen and golden brown. Test they are cooked with a toothpick, which should come out clean when inserted into the spongy part. Serve with cream or brandy butter if you like.
