Food is synonymous with Christmas.
Whether you like them or loathe them, mince pies, Christmas cake, trifle, and turkey will have pride of place on many tables over the holidays.
The great news is that splashing out on a festive feast using local ingredients can help support our farmers as well as providing essential nutrients to keep us physically and mentally well so what we are essentially saying is ‘eat up folks’ – Christmas is a guilt-free zone.
Jenny Jeffries
If you’re looking for some inspiration this winter – you’re in the right place… We’ve called upon our friend and award-winning food writer, Jenny Jeffries, to provide two mouth-watering recipes from her best-selling books to help you out.
So, tuck into a juicy Beef Wellington, full of essential vitamins, iron, zinc and protein, or serve up a show-stopping Salmon en Croute to boost your selenium and omega 3 and enjoy every mouthful and all the benefits that come with it.
HERBY BEEF WELLINGTON WITH CHIMICHURRI BUTTER
by Tim Mead of Yeo Valley Organic
Taken from For The Love Of The Land II by Jenny Jefferies, Meze Publishing
“There’s no better way to celebrate a delicious piece of beef than in a Wellington, and we’ve given this one a twist. It’s worth getting the best meat you can; we love to know where our meat is from and we’re lucky to have our own organic grass-fed mob grazed beef cattle.”
PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES, PLUS AT LEAST 1 HOUR CHILLING | COOKING TIME: 35 MINUTES | SERVES 8
Ingredients:
For the Wellington
Olive oil
1kg fillet of beef
Yeo Valley Organic unsalted butter
1 pack of ready-rolled puff pastry
8 slices of Parma ham
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 free-range egg
1 tbsp Yeo Valley Organic milk
For the chimichurri butter
1 block of Yeo Valley Organic unsalted
butter, at room temperature
½ small bunch each of fresh coriander,
parsley and thyme
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp chilli flakes
Salt, to taste
Method:
For the Wellington
Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan on a high heat and sear the beef all over. Add a large knob of butter and baste the beef once melted. Leave the seared beef fillet in the fridge to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Place the ready-rolled pastry on a floured surface and gently roll it slightly bigger. Lay the slices of Parma ham on the pastry with the edges slightly overlapping, leaving a border around the edge. Sprinkle the herbs on top, then lay the beef fillet in the centre.
Beat the egg with the milk in a small bowl and use this to brush the uncovered pastry. Fold the pastry over the beef and then roll it over until you get a seam at the base of the Wellington. Tuck the sides under and then brush the pastry with more egg wash to coat all over. Chill the Wellington in the fridge for at least an hour, or even overnight.
For the chimichurri butter
Combine all the ingredients in a blender, adding more or less chilli depending on your heat preference! Roll the butter into a sausage shape using a sheet of cling film, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
To cook the Wellington, preheat the oven to 200°c and transfer it straight from the fridge to a baking tray, then place in the hot oven to cook for 30-35 minutes. Leave the Wellington to rest for at least 15 minutes once done, then serve with slices of the chimichurri butter, your favourite salad and roasted beetroots.
SPICED SALMON EN CROUTE
by Louise Coulbeck of JCS Fish Ltd, Grimsby
Taken from For The Love Of The Sea by Jenny Jefferies, Meze Publishing
“The Romans enjoyed serving fish with spices and sweet fruits, which sounds odd but works surprisingly well with salmon. This richly flavoured dish takes a little preparation, but is perfect for a special occasion, even an alternative Sunday lunch! Any leftovers are delicious served cold the next day.”
PREPARATION TIME: 25 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES | SERVES 4
Ingredients:
35g butter, softened
55g dates, stoned and chopped
5 whole cloves, crushed
1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp honey
1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
1⁄4 tsp ground ginger no
1⁄4 tsp ground cumin
Handful of fresh mint,
finely chopped 320g pack of ready-made puff pastry
4 BigFishTM salmon fillets, defrosted
Black pepper
A little milk, for glazing
Hollandaise sauce, to serve (ready-made is fine)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220°c/200oc fan/Gas Mark 7. Put the softened butter into a bowl then mix in the dates, cloves, raisins, honey, mustard, ginger, cumin and mint to make a thick paste.
Roll out the ready-made puff pastry into a long rectangle. Put two of the salmon fillets end to end on the pastry at one end, leaving room to fold the pastry over.
Spoon the spicy date paste on top of the salmon fillets and spread it out to cover them evenly. Season with some pepper and then pop the remaining fillets on top, making a ‘sandwich’ with the filling in the middle.
Use a pastry brush to spread a little milk around the edge of the pastry, then fold the pastry over and seal well to make your parcel. Cut shapes from any spare pastry to decorate the top as you wish, then brush a little more milk over to glaze.
Put the salmon parcel on a baking tray and cover lightly with foil. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, taking the foil off for the last 10 minutes so the pastry becomes a lovely golden brown.
Serve in slices, with a selection of fresh steamed green vegetables, new potatoes and a little hollandaise sauce on the side.
Tips: You can make this a day in advance if you wish; just wrap the uncooked salmon parcel in cling film and leave in the fridge, then take it out half an hour before you want to cook so it comes to room temperature. For a larger gathering, you can make a bigger version of this recipe to serve 8 using 1.5kg of fresh salmon (in two large fillets) and doubling the quantities of all the other ingredients.
With thanks to cookery writer Anne Williams for the inspiration.
