- 6 hours ago
Jamie's Cook-Ahead Christmas - Season 1 Episode 1
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00A year can feel a little bit daunting, but not this year.
00:03We're going to cook ahead of time so it takes all of the kitchen chaos out of the big day.
00:11From what we can do well in advance to how to prep in the days and night before,
00:17we're talking delicious starters, epic desserts, incredible veggies and a genius way to cook the turkey.
00:27You'll be so far ahead, there won't be much left to do on the day and I'm going to be with you every step of the way.
00:35So grab your apron, roll up your sleeves and join me on this journey
00:40and make sure this Christmas is all about great food, great company and no last minute stress.
00:56In early December, we can get stuff done way in advance using the freezer as our best friend.
01:03A perfect cook ahead veggie centrepiece, gravy that's good for everyone, sensational stuffing, festive veg
01:11and a winning Christmas dessert already ahead of time so we can all relax on the big day.
01:18I'm going to kick things off by sharing with you the most delicious gratin.
01:27It's a great recipe because you can do it weeks in advance and I'm going to give you not one,
01:32but two ways of serving it so you've got all bases covered.
01:35This special cook ahead vegetable dish adds the perfect oozy cheesiness to your festive feast.
01:43A stunning combo of sliced potatoes and seasonal veg smothered in a herb infused cheesy garlic sauce.
01:52Frozen ahead of time, it's ready to be a potato and fennel gratin or transformed into a superstar centrepiece pie.
01:59I think learning how to do a delicious gratin is a really good principle recipe.
02:05It's going to start off with some milk and some cream and I'm just going to get a pan on to like a medium heat
02:14and put 300 ml of milk into the pan and 200 ml of lovely double cream.
02:22As that temperature comes up, we can get some herbs in there, a couple of bay leaves, get some rosemary in there,
02:29also a classic Christmas spice, nutmeg.
02:35Grate about half of it into this cream and milk with a pinch of salt and pepper.
02:44And then I'm going to take a couple of garlic cloves and just finely slice it.
02:49So this is going to infuse the milk in the most beautiful, garlicky, herbal, spiced way.
02:57It's going to be fantastic.
03:00So look, beautiful potatoes, 800 grams.
03:03I'm going to peel these and all those layers of sliced up potatoes and veggies with creamy, cheesy, herby gorgeousness.
03:12That for me is absolute heaven.
03:16So now that's come to the boil, let's turn it off.
03:19And that smells absolutely incredible.
03:21So I'll leave that for the moment.
03:23To go with these sliced potatoes, we're going to get some onion and finely slice them again.
03:29Now I'm going to use fennel.
03:31It's really fresh.
03:32It cooks super sweet.
03:34And these stalks you can just finely slice as well.
03:37They'll be utterly delicious.
03:39The best thing about this recipe is you can do it before Christmas.
03:44And once we've made it and cooked it, we can pop it in the freezer, no compromise, right?
03:50So we have this beautiful milk and cream, which is fantastically scented.
03:55Remove the herbs and the bay.
03:58They have done their job.
04:00I want to add some cheese.
04:01I'm going a little bit Italian with some parmesan, but then some great British farmhouse cheeses.
04:08So I've got some fantastic cheddar here, but you can pick the cheeses that you love.
04:13And I want about 100 grams.
04:17I'm just mixing the cheese and the residual heat from the milk and cream will just slowly melt that into a kind of rustic cheese sauce.
04:26That is the basis of our flavour.
04:29So, take a little dish, about kind of like 10 inches wide.
04:34I'm going to get some greaseproof paper, scrumple it up, and I'll give it a little season now with salt and pepper.
04:42So just fan that around like that.
04:45Any old hell, frankly.
04:48And another bit, shuffle in, pat it down.
04:52Then we can take our amazing cheese-scented sauce and just pour that over.
04:59Oh, yes.
05:02I love it.
05:04And as it cooks, all the veggies will soften up.
05:07And then the sauce will bubble up in and around everything.
05:11We're going to cook it now, cool it, and put it in the freezer.
05:14When I want it, I can take it out the day before, and then I can turn it into a fantastic side dish.
05:20Or you can turn it into the most amazing showstopper of a pie.
05:24This is about getting things done in advance, but giving you options.
05:28So, one great dish, two ways, giving you loads of choices.
05:32Happy days.
05:32Beautiful.
05:34That goes in the oven for one and a half hours at 180 degrees Celsius, which is 350 Fahrenheit.
05:46While that gratin is cooking, I want to show you how to make homemade pastry.
05:50Now, you can buy short-cross pastry, phyllo pastry, and puff pastry, but the texture is much more optimal when you make it yourself.
05:58It's a very simple recipe.
06:00Half fat to flour.
06:02Okay.
06:02So, we've got 500 grams of plain flour.
06:05And then half the amount in weight of butter.
06:09So, 250 grams.
06:11Get a nice pinch of salt.
06:13Then rub the flour into the butter.
06:16Almost into like little cornflake pieces.
06:20What I love about these get-ahead recipes is this idea that we can build up an arsenal of deliciousness in our fridge and freezers
06:30to make Christmas Day the easiest one ever.
06:34Now, the exciting thing about making your own pastry is you can flavour it.
06:39And I want to use walnuts.
06:41I've just got 50 grams here.
06:43If you grate them, you create a walnut flour.
06:47And then I'm going to take one lovely egg.
06:52Give it a little whisk up.
06:56I'm not over-mixing it or kneading it because I want it to remain short.
07:01Short means crumbly, like that.
07:03And you might need just a little splash of water.
07:09Just kind of almost hug it together.
07:13And cut this in half.
07:16And press it out into two, sort of, two centimetre discs.
07:20They'll defrost much, much quicker.
07:22Grab some greaseproof paper.
07:28So wrap it up for Christmas.
07:30Literally for Christmas.
07:31So there you go, homemade pastry, ready and raring to go.
07:36And this can simply go in the freezer until you need it.
07:42So this has been cooking for an hour and a half.
07:52Just carefully take the lid off.
07:55It'll be steamy, so watch out.
07:58Oh, goodness gracious.
08:02Let this cool down.
08:03I'll put the tinfoil back on top.
08:05We can put it in the freezer.
08:06One week, two weeks, even months.
08:08Okay?
08:09No compromise.
08:10Then, when you want it, the day before, we take it out of the freezer.
08:14Okay?
08:14And we can turn it out.
08:16Now, if you want it as a gratin, you simply take that frozen gratin back into this dish.
08:21Bit of cheese on top.
08:22And then the next day, into the oven.
08:24180, 40 minutes.
08:26Golden, blipping, perfection.
08:28Fantastic.
08:28Or, we can use it for the most amazingly insane vegetarian pie.
08:35So if we've made this and frozen it a few weeks before Christmas,
08:39I'm going to show you what to do on Christmas Eve
08:42to turn this delicious side dish into a show-stopping centerpiece.
08:48Whenever you want to use it, just get it out the day before and put it in the fridge.
08:52So, I want to get our pastry.
08:54I did it into two pieces, remember?
08:56Once that's defrosted, take the greaseproof paper, like that.
09:01We put the pastry on top.
09:02Some more greaseproof paper.
09:04So the double greaseproof paper method guarantees you have no cracking or breaking.
09:11That is what we like at Christmas.
09:15So this is looking really good.
09:19Cut it into a little circle like that.
09:22Put a little bit of flour on there.
09:23Now, go over with our gratin.
09:29Take this greaseproof off.
09:31I want about an inch around the outside.
09:35This is the base.
09:37Very flipping, exciting.
09:40Then we'll go back to our pastry.
09:41And I'll do exactly the same.
09:45But this time, of course, we've got to go over the top and down the sides.
09:49So we need it to be slightly bigger.
09:51So a little flour here.
09:54Rolling pin.
09:56And then I'm going to get that pastry and roll it up over the rolling pin.
10:01Super simple, right?
10:02Put the pastry to one side.
10:04I'm going to get myself two eggs, two bowls, egg whites into one.
10:11What we can do is use the yolks for the outside to create the most incredible golden egg wash
10:19that will make it look so, so special.
10:22Then here with the whites, I can use to really stick the pastry to the pastry.
10:30So we don't waste anything.
10:33Then we simply take the pastry and we just casually roll it over like that.
10:40Then we press it on the top.
10:42Gently.
10:44And down onto the pastry.
10:46It's really easy.
10:49Then we'll trim it off.
10:50It's roughly an inch away from the pie.
10:56And then let me show you how we can do the edges here.
11:00I'm going to take my thumb and forefinger and use my finger to push it in between.
11:05And then we go to the next one.
11:06So we're sealing it and we're giving it a nice Christmassy flourish.
11:13Use the egg yolks on the top like that.
11:19And give it a nice little coat.
11:21What you can do is take a little knife, get down on your knees.
11:26Just go from the centre and using just the weight of the knife, don't push it down at all.
11:32Just score it down in a little curve.
11:35Because as that cooks, that little score is going to just open up and part slightly.
11:43Just get your knife in now in a little crisscross.
11:46That lets the steam out.
11:48And look at that.
11:49That is a beautiful pie.
11:50That is a centrepiece.
11:51And what I do now is just get it carefully onto a tray.
11:56So in theory, if you're doing the whole get ahead thing, we would put that in the fridge nice and safe.
12:01You could do it Christmas Eve or even the day before that.
12:03But I want to cook it for you now so you know what you're going to get.
12:06Simply put it at the bottom of the oven so you get a nice crispy bum.
12:09And we cook it for one hour at 180 degrees Celsius, which is 350 Fahrenheit.
12:13I want to cook it for one hour at the bottom of the oven.
12:15I want to cook it for one hour at the bottom of the oven.
12:19I want to cook it for one hour at the bottom of the oven.
12:21Come on.
12:23Look.
12:24At that.
12:26I love the scores.
12:27I love the cracks where the juices are just spilling out.
12:32Let's get a nice little slice.
12:33That is like opening up a beautiful little edible Christmas present.
12:42Perfectly cooked pastry.
12:43Look at the layers.
12:45Right, let's have a try.
12:46We're waiting too far.
12:56Mmm.
12:57Oh, that is delicious.
12:59I mean, double carb.
13:02We're a flouncing of fennel.
13:04And beautiful, oozy, creamy, cheesy gorgeousness.
13:09The nutmeg here is just phenomenal.
13:12That is so, so delicious.
13:14That in the middle of the table with all the Christmas trimmings, it's going to be amazing.
13:18Two recipes in one.
13:20Give yourself options.
13:23Happy blooming Christmas.
13:23Behind every great roast dinner is an incredible gravy.
13:49And I want to show you a fantastic get-ahead gravy
13:52that is not only going to please the meat-eaters,
13:54but the veggies and the vegans and the gluten-free.
13:57Yes, I've got you covered.
14:00This Christmas gravy is an absolute game-changer.
14:04With a dried mushroom and herb stock,
14:06blackberry jam and festive port,
14:09it's rich, comforting and really is good for everyone.
14:13Perfect to get all wrapped up well ahead of Christmas.
14:16Now, for meat-eaters, like having gravy made out of stock
14:20and bones and all the kind of meat drippings and stuff like that,
14:23that is easy big flavour achieved.
14:26But if we wind back to veggie and vegan world,
14:28you need a few bits of technique and ingredients
14:31to make it utterly, undeniably delicious.
14:34And I've written this recipe so we can actually look after everyone.
14:37We're starting with two onions.
14:40Just roughly chop those.
14:42Nice big pan on a medium heat.
14:45In here we go with some olive oil.
14:47We're going to go in with our onions
14:48and we'll start to fry these off.
14:52Then I've got some lovely carrots here.
14:54So the carrots have had a nice little wash.
14:56Don't peel them.
14:57There's a lot of flavour in the skin.
14:59And we'll simply just split these in half
15:01and then roughly chop these as well.
15:06So, onions in, carrots in.
15:10Now, instead of just kind of putting liquid on there
15:12and boiling straight away,
15:13what I want to do is invest time
15:15into concentrating and caramelising
15:18all the natural sugars in the onion and the carrots.
15:21Right, that's going to give us colour.
15:22We want gravy to be dark, right,
15:24and it's going to give us massive flavour.
15:26So, season a little bit with salt and pepper.
15:30Now, celery is fantastic.
15:33It's fragrant.
15:34And we're just going to roughly chop that up.
15:36And as that fries away,
15:38I want to start thinking about a nice, beautiful stock.
15:43I'm going to use dried mushrooms.
15:44Now, look at these.
15:45Dried mushrooms are amazing.
15:47You can get them from the supermarkets
15:50and when you dry mushrooms,
15:52it's really hearty flavours
15:54that you're going to get from this.
15:55And just a small amount will make all the difference.
15:58Put in here, like, a litre, litre and a half of boiling water.
16:02We're going to rehydrate the mushrooms
16:05and they'll start giving off incredible colour.
16:09So, what else can we do?
16:11Things like rosemary.
16:12You can put that also into this lovely homemade stock.
16:17We're going to go in with some bay leaves
16:19and some lovely thyme as well.
16:22It's all flavour.
16:24I'll add now your typical veggie stock cube into here.
16:27Now, there's all kinds of different yeast extracts that you can get.
16:30This is a fantastic way to give your veggie vegan gravy more colour,
16:34more depth of flavour and a nice base of seasoning.
16:38So, let that infuse.
16:40Now, let's have a little look at the pan.
16:41It's getting dark now.
16:43Don't be afraid of that.
16:44Add fresh herbs to this as well.
16:46So, some rosemary goes in, bay leaf.
16:50We take a little bit of thyme.
16:53Now, I'm going to use a couple of nice teaspoons of blackcurrant or blackberry jam.
16:59This sweetness balances your beautiful gravy.
17:02So, I'm going to stir that in with a nice lug of port.
17:07The jam and the port makes this an amazing Christmas gravy.
17:12And then, a little tomato puree.
17:15So, a couple of tablespoons.
17:18And then, two tablespoons of gluten-free flour.
17:22And, of course, if no one coming to your party is gluten-free,
17:26just use regular plain flour.
17:29And then, just a couple of tablespoons of vinegar will transform this.
17:32Like, you have to trust me.
17:34We want your taste buds to be firing on all cylinders,
17:38like bass, mid and treble, right?
17:41Surround sound flavours.
17:42Now, this goes in.
17:45Let it sizzle up.
17:46It's all good.
17:47So, bring that to the boil and let that simmer for about 10 minutes.
17:51It smells incredible.
18:02Pull out the herbs, like the rosemary.
18:05They have done their job.
18:07So, we can get rid of those.
18:09And, ladle this into this liquidiser.
18:13The colour looks phenomenal.
18:17We're going to put this on top like that.
18:18We don't want any mishaps.
18:20And, we'll start on the lowest setting.
18:22Super, super low.
18:23Slowly, slowly.
18:28Then, we can increase that speed.
18:35So, that's it.
18:37I'll push this through the core sieve.
18:38Just look at that blip in a way.
18:42Beautiful.
18:43Right, let's have a little try.
18:45This is your opportunity to check the seasoning.
18:51Big, bold, delicious, elegant.
18:54That is an epic gravy.
18:57That is probably, in my opinion, one of the best veggie vegan gravies I've ever had.
19:01Right?
19:01And, I like that consistency.
19:03The colour's amazing.
19:04We have now got epic gravy done.
19:07Right?
19:08Weeks before Christmas.
19:09The stress has gone.
19:09We're never going to run out.
19:11But, also, on Christmas day when you're resting the turkey.
19:14Right?
19:14We just take that fat off the tray with all the sticky bits in the bottom.
19:17And, we put that in there.
19:18Simmer it away.
19:19And, you're going to get the best turkey gravy as well.
19:21This is a win-win scenario.
19:23So, you can put it in Tupperware.
19:25You can put it in these little bags.
19:26But, it's just a brilliant thing that gives you choices.
19:29And, that's going to free up time.
19:30And, hopefully, make this the best Christmas ever.
19:43If you can make a really good stuffing at Christmas, people seem to go wild for it.
19:47And, I've got an amazing recipe that you can do well ahead of the game.
19:50Which means you can devote more time to flavours and textures.
19:53We can make it up.
19:54Get it in the freezer.
19:55And, then, before Christmas day, we can defrost it.
19:58This is going to be good.
20:00My festive get-ahead stuffing is brilliantly veggie.
20:03Packed with scrumptious squash, herbs, spices, fruit and nuts.
20:08Prep and freeze in advance as the perfect little present to yourself this Christmas.
20:12So, there's many, many ways you can do a stuffing.
20:15And, obviously, the history of stuffing was all about stretching the meat further.
20:20But, we're going to make this vegetarian.
20:22I want to introduce a few new flavours that I think are really Christmassy and really delicious.
20:26So, at the base of this is a button-up squash.
20:29So, get the tip of the knife, put it in nice and safely here.
20:32And, then, just bring it down like that.
20:34Then, pick it up.
20:36Move it around.
20:37The tip is still in.
20:38We're going to go down.
20:40It's nice and easy, okay?
20:42Remove the seeds.
20:44You don't have to remove the peel because it's really delicate, really thin and sweet and nutty.
20:49Go down the length of the squash again, nice and carefully.
20:54Some nice red onions.
20:56And, then, cut them into quarters.
20:59Add a little bit of sea salt.
21:02We want some pepper.
21:03And, also, best friends with squash, by the way, is ground coriander.
21:09So, a teaspoon.
21:11And, a nice little pinch of cinnamon in there, as well.
21:14And, then, a classic spice that's often underloved.
21:20Nutmeg.
21:24Half a nutmeg goes in.
21:27And, then, just a little olive oil.
21:29So, get your hands in there.
21:31Toss it all up.
21:32So, this goes in the oven for about 40 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius, which is 350 Fahrenheit.
21:38And, this will be the base of the best stuffing ever.
21:42So, the squash is nearly done and I've got some lovely sage here.
21:51And, I want to show you a little tip that will transform this herb into something very special.
21:56Just a little olive oil and just massage it.
21:58And, then, if I sprinkle this over the squash, just for five, ten minutes in the oven, they will go crispy crisp.
22:05So, if you have a little look at this, you can see it's already shrunk.
22:10And, that shrinking is concentration of flavour.
22:13Then, sprinkle this over the top, right?
22:15And, putting that back in the oven now for five, ten minutes, these will go really crisp.
22:19So, a typical stuffing would often have, nearly always, bread.
22:28All right, breadcrumbs.
22:29500 grams I've got there.
22:31Remove the crust first.
22:34And, traditionally, you would always make stuffing with stale bread.
22:38So, what I'm going to do is rehydrate it with milk.
22:43And, we're just going to pour some milk in.
22:46Let's say, a couple of hundred mils.
22:48And, it will just soften it up.
22:51Squeeze it out.
22:53So, this excess milk here, we can just lose that.
22:57So, look, you can see, now, this is light and spongy.
23:02Let me just stop my hands.
23:05Now, currently, this stuffing is vegetarian.
23:07If I swap the milk for water, which is still very traditional, it will be vegan.
23:12And, if you wanted to, you could take a little batch of this beautiful stuffing
23:17and mix it with some sausage meat and have a meat version as well.
23:21They're all incredible.
23:22So, look.
23:24Oh, the colours and the smells.
23:28And, you can see how crisp this has gone.
23:33Unbelievable.
23:35Amazing flavour.
23:36So, now, what we can do is bejewel this beautiful stuffing.
23:43I've got some cranberries.
23:44A nice little handful.
23:46Sweet and sour.
23:47Secondly, like a little handful of pistachios.
23:51And just cut through some of these.
23:55I'm going to use some of these vat-packed chestnuts.
24:00That is the flavour of Christmas.
24:02Come on.
24:03So, we can leave some whole.
24:05Some halved, like that.
24:06And then some we can literally break up like a little powder.
24:11And sprinkle that on top.
24:13Now, in with the bread.
24:16I use the back of the spoon to kind of squash it.
24:18So, this is done now, right?
24:22You can put it in the fridge for like two or three days.
24:24Easy peasy.
24:25Or get it in the freezer like weeks before if you want to be super in advance.
24:28It's a great job done and dusted.
24:31So, what I would do if it was frozen is just take it out on Christmas Eve, let it defrost.
24:35And then once that's defrosted, I like to do two things with the stuffing.
24:39The first thing is I take a third and I'll stuff that into the turkey.
24:42And that way it'll absorb all the cooking juices.
24:45It'll be soft and gorgeous.
24:46But then I take the other two thirds and I love to put it into a bowl or a tin.
24:52And then that way we can roast it in here and get crispy edges.
24:55A completely different experience.
24:57And I promise you people will be screaming about your stuffing.
25:00So, this is non-stick.
25:03So, I just like to double make sure it's non-stick by rubbing it with some olive oil.
25:07Then I'm going to take two thirds of this lovely mix and pop it in here.
25:12Think of it almost like the most delicious Christmassy edible sandcastle.
25:20This goes into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius, which is 350 Fahrenheit,
25:23for about an hour until golden, crisp and delicious.
25:33Look at that.
25:37Come on.
25:38So, simply get your mould and then hope for a turnout that works.
25:46I'm feeling good about it.
25:47Look at the sage as well.
25:51That is exactly what I wanted.
25:58Get in there.
26:00Look at that.
26:01Crispy on the outside.
26:03Soft in the middle.
26:05And obviously I've just cooked this to show you.
26:08But I have to taste as well to give you my professional opinion.
26:12It's really soft and light on the inside.
26:19On the outside, it's crunchy.
26:23And those little kind of bejeweling of lovely cranberries
26:26and the lovely pistachios and the chestnuts.
26:28It's absolutely blooming delicious.
26:30That's another really important job done and dusted.
26:34So, it's going to make your Christmas a little bit easier this year.
26:36Love it.
26:57Flavoured butters, I think, are an amazing principle
27:00that will serve you and your family really, really well.
27:03And especially at Christmas, this is like a little bank,
27:06a little library of flavours in the form of butter
27:09that can go into so many dishes, leftovers, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and beyond.
27:16My flavoured butters are the easiest way to get ahead with big flavour this Christmas.
27:22I'm making one with fresh parsley, watercress and hot horse reddish
27:25to go with a gorgeous platter of greens.
27:28And a mouth-tingling prosecco, orange and cumin butter that's perfect with carrots.
27:34Super simple and done in advance to add big flavour to veggies on Christmas Day.
27:41So, in here, pestle and mortar, get some lovely parsley stalks and all.
27:46I've also got some watercress. It's nice and mustardy and beautiful.
27:50So, just pound it up.
27:52A little seasoning of salt helps create a little bit of abrasion.
27:57Just give it a bash for 20 seconds hardcore.
28:01And look at it. It's green, rustic.
28:04Now, this is a fresh horseradish.
28:07You just give it a little peel and then you can grate it.
28:10And of course, it's hot and spicy.
28:12You can buy the jarred stuff, creamed or not, it doesn't matter.
28:16So, we've got parsley, watercress and horseradish. Nice.
28:21And then something that works really, really well with this is lemon.
28:25We'll use the zest because it's our best friend.
28:28And the juice.
28:29So, make up your own combos.
28:31Look, there's no real right or wrong.
28:33And a little bit of lemon juice goes in here.
28:37Salt and pepper to season it.
28:39And then we'll go in with a pack of butter.
28:44Now, if you think about having three or four of these in your freezer at Christmas time,
28:48then you can dedicate one combo to Brussels sprouts.
28:51And then one combo to some lovely carrots.
28:55And for me, when you look at the Christmas table,
28:57when each thing has got its own single-mindedness and unique flavour profile,
29:02that is when you've got a feast of all feasts.
29:06Now, I want to show you how to store this flavoured butter.
29:09Let me just wash my hands.
29:11Cut two sheets of greaseproof into quarters, like this.
29:17Get this butter divided into four.
29:22Put this on top, like that.
29:24And press it down.
29:26Because it's nice and thin, when it's frozen,
29:28it's going to be a nice little envelope.
29:30And I can just put it over a plate of something,
29:32and it just goes, ah, and melts straight away.
29:35And each one of these little envelopes is like a little love letter
29:39to a piece of fish or a little bit of greens.
29:42And that's the way I look at it.
29:43So, in the freezer we go.
29:45Let me show you, because I've got one I made earlier.
29:48If I just peel this off, what we have is a lovely little disc.
29:52And they melt really, really quickly.
29:56Right, classic combo.
29:57We're going to go orange and cumin.
30:00And that, with veggies, particularly carrots, is absolutely amazing.
30:05So, in a pestle and mortar again, I'll go in with some salt, some pepper, some thyme.
30:10You could use any woody herb, but I think thyme and carrots is really, really nice.
30:14So, I'm just going to pick off the leaves like that.
30:18We'll get into a pan here.
30:19Just like a couple of teaspoons of cumin seeds and just toast it up.
30:24By toasting it, you'll just reawaken those natural oils and the flavours.
30:29And it'll just make a massive difference.
30:34Couple of little bashes.
30:37And we're done.
30:38Back to our little zester.
30:41Orange, cumin, thyme and garlic.
30:44An amazing combination.
30:45So, again, using that pestle and mortar.
30:48Or it could be a food processor.
30:51Or a lot of chopping and scrunching.
30:53So, I'm going to go in now with two cloves of garlic.
30:58And we've got the toasted cumin there.
31:02Just kind of crack them.
31:04Oh, the smells.
31:06And then in with the butter.
31:07Let me show you a different format to store this flavoured butter.
31:19I just get a bit of greaseproof, like that.
31:21And get the butter in there like that.
31:24And then roll it up.
31:25Twist up the ends like a Christmas cracker.
31:28Get it nice and tight.
31:29And then if you put that in the freezer for like five minutes, it will firm up a bit.
31:32Then you can slice it into little pre-portioned discs.
31:35And then later on, weeks, months later, take a little disc and put that on something delicious to make it extra, extra special.
31:42Right.
31:43Let's get this in the freezer.
31:44So, if you've got ahead and frozen your butters a few weeks before Christmas,
31:49I'm going to show you exactly what to do on Christmas Day to give your veggies a big hit of festive flavour.
31:55I'm going to give you two recipes to celebrate these gorgeous butters this Christmas.
32:01The first recipe I just love because it's a little bit bonkers.
32:05It's a little bit eccentric.
32:07It's very Christmas.
32:08So, it's carrots in the bag.
32:11Simply get a wide piece of tinfoil.
32:14On the bottom, I'll have two pieces.
32:17Like that.
32:18And then grab a little plate.
32:21Press the tinfoil down into the shape of the plate.
32:23Then I've got some lovely carrots here.
32:27Look at these.
32:28These have been washed.
32:29Cut them into little angled pieces like this.
32:34Cooking in the bag is primarily about steaming, right?
32:38The moisture goes to the top of the bag and then evaporates down again and goes to the bottom and boils up again.
32:42You're just kind of basting whatever you're cooking in that bag with that flavour.
32:47So, it's clever.
32:48Let's get our beautiful butter out of the freezer.
32:52And a little bottle of something nice.
32:54Because it's Christmas time.
32:57So, in this recipe, you've got that incredible marriage and combination of butter.
33:02And then liquid, which is in the form of some nice bubbles, right?
33:06Because it's Christmas time.
33:07But it could be white wine.
33:09It could even be red wine.
33:10It could be cider.
33:10It could be orange juice.
33:12It could be water.
33:15Merry Christmas.
33:16So, look, just put a little splodge of the good stuff in there.
33:21And I'll have a little splodge of stuff in there as well.
33:27If you want to put some herb in, time tips, I'll take a bit of that.
33:32So, two pieces of tin foil in the bottom, just to keep it nice and solid.
33:35One piece on the top.
33:37If you egg wash the side of this little envelope when you seal it, no steam will get out.
33:44And all of that flavour and that liquid will stay in that little foil envelope.
33:49And then it will puff up like something crazy out of a cartoon.
33:53So, just put that over the carrots like that.
33:57Fold it up and pinch.
33:58And you can see, this is quite a robust thing now.
34:00This can go in the fridge.
34:01You can do it the day before Christmas, two days before Christmas.
34:04And then on the big day, you can do this on the hob, which is really convenient.
34:08And as this starts puffing up a little bit and you'll hear the tin foil just going kink, kink, kink, kink, kink,
34:14then turn it down to medium.
34:15Give it about 20 minutes and you'll have the most delicious carrots ever.
34:20Right, let me show you how to take simple humble greens and make them spectacular.
34:25At Christmas time, oven space and hob space is at a premium.
34:29So, when you can't go out, you go up.
34:31So, what we're going to do is have boiling and steaming.
34:35So, Brussels sprouts go in and then when it comes to your layers,
34:39what I love about this is you just get another little steamer insert
34:43and you can add another veg, right?
34:44Like a cabbage-y leaf, just kind of have fun with it, whatever your family loves.
34:48And then if you wanted to add some peas, you absolutely can.
34:53And then with five minutes to go before you want to eat your Christmas dinner,
34:57kettle boiled, Brussels come up to the boil.
35:00Then we'll go on with our steamer, all very chill, all very nice.
35:05They'll literally only need like four, five minutes max.
35:08And then it's butter time.
35:11So, we can take our fantastic frozen get-ahead butter and I'll lay that on the top here.
35:24Lid back on top.
35:27And that butter's just going to over the peas, broccoli, chard, through the holes,
35:33onto the lovely cabbages.
35:34And the last bits, going through the holes, will go onto the Brussels down the bottom.
35:39Happy days.
35:44Let's get a nice little platter.
35:47We can lay out the different veggies, the lovely peas.
35:53Caballonera and kale.
35:55And then with the last empty steamer, we can use that as a colander.
35:59And if you need any liquid for your gravy, you can use that.
36:05And look at that.
36:06A lovely little platter of quickly cooked greens.
36:09Let's have a little try.
36:13Delicious.
36:14Horseradish, watercress.
36:16It's an amazing combination.
36:18Let's do the carrots, come on.
36:20Look at that.
36:21It is brilliant.
36:22Get our platter.
36:24It's hot, so use a pair of tongs just to pick it up.
36:27Imagine that going to the Christmas table.
36:29The turkey platter.
36:31The gravy semen away.
36:32You've got the veg.
36:33But then at the table, all confident.
36:37And that is the coolest thing ever.
36:40I think this is the quickest, easiest way to big flavour on Christmas day.
36:57I've got a delicious festive dessert that is the perfect get-ahead recipe.
37:07This is my Christmas arctic roll.
37:10A fantastic principal recipe for any time of the year, but I want to show you how you can make it incredibly Christmassy.
37:16My get-ahead chocolate arctic roll is the perfect combination of festive flavours.
37:23And the best bit, it can all be done well in advance.
37:27With a clementine flavoured no-churn ice cream and cranberries wrapped in a decadent chocolate sponge,
37:33this is the ultimate treat to add a bit of sparkle to your Christmas table.
37:37It is so, so simple.
37:41First up, let's choose the flavour.
37:43Clementines, the flavour of Christmas.
37:46Remove just the beautiful orange zest.
37:49This is full of flavour.
37:51So, get a pan on the heat.
37:53By squeezing this juice into the pan,
37:56right, we'll reduce it down and it will give this beautiful ice cream the most amazing flavour.
38:01I'm going to use five nice juicy clementines.
38:06Now, in the bowl here, we're going to go in with 600 millilitres of double cream.
38:12And start to whisk it up, get the air into it.
38:15You want it to be soft peaks, which is thickened and definitely not thick.
38:19Don't over whisk it.
38:23So that is how I want it.
38:24Nice and soft, nice and delicate.
38:26So, into here, I'm going to get a tin of condensed milk.
38:31This is normally about sort of 400 grams.
38:33So think of this almost like your basic vanilla ice cream.
38:37We've got the syrup here.
38:39You can see the juice has gone down by a quarter.
38:43If you want to cool it down quickly, literally just get the pan
38:46and I just hold it into a little bowl of cold water.
38:51This is Christmas intensified.
38:54Then we back it up with the zest and then we just fold it through.
39:00And put it into a little tray like this.
39:04Flatten it out a little bit.
39:06That tiny little bit of zest leftover.
39:10Beautiful.
39:11And you can do this a week, two weeks, three weeks in advance.
39:14But I want to show you how you can turn this
39:16into an epic classic Christmas dessert.
39:20Whack that in the freezer for three or four hours
39:22and then it will be ready and raring to go.
39:28Right, let me show you how to make the simplest chocolate sponge.
39:30Get yourself three lovely large organic eggs into our mixer.
39:35And in with 100 grams of golden caster sugar.
39:50I think that is looking pretty good.
39:52So the way to tell if it's ready is you can see that it's like almost tripled in volume.
40:00Then I'm going to take 75 grams of plain flour, put it through a sieve,
40:06and I'm going to flavour it with cocoa powder.
40:0925 grams, pretty much a heaped tablespoon.
40:14And then we're just going to fold it through.
40:15So what I've got here is a typical baking tray.
40:23This is 38 centimetres by 25.
40:26I've rubbed it with butter, bit of greaseproof paper.
40:29And then in we go with our lovely chocolate sponge.
40:34Get it to those corners.
40:38So this goes in the oven for just 10 minutes at 180 degrees celsius,
40:42which is 350 fahrenheit, nice and gently.
40:52The sponge has had just under 10 minutes.
40:57I've got a damp clean cloth here which I'll lay out.
41:00And then I'll get some greaseproof paper.
41:05And then I want a little bit of golden caster sugar just to sprinkle on top.
41:09This just gives the sponge a little finish, super old school.
41:12Love it.
41:13Okay, let's get our sponge.
41:16And I'm just going to turn it out super confident.
41:19One, two, three.
41:22And then while it's warm, just start getting that bit of greaseproof paper.
41:29It's very satisfying.
41:32What I'm going to do is fold over the greaseproof paper
41:35and start to loosely fold it up.
41:38By rolling this up while the sponge is still warm, it's flexible.
41:43If I let that flat sponge cool down and then I went to roll it up,
41:47it would most likely crack multiple times, which isn't as cool.
41:51So let that cool down.
41:52Let the ice cream freeze.
41:54And when that's ready to go, then I'll show you how to put this all together.
42:04The ice cream has just frozen beautifully.
42:12And then whenever I want to use it, I just place it in the fridge for like 15, 20 minutes.
42:18And it's scoopable pretty quick.
42:20Here is the sponge part, which has cooled down, and I'll just unfold this.
42:26I'm going to take this beautiful cranberry sauce and I'll give it a nice thick layer.
42:32Then I've got some chocolate orange here.
42:38Take a little wadge and then break it up over the top like that.
42:42But do whatever chocolate you like.
42:44Right, push this to one side.
42:46Then we've got our beautiful no churn ice cream.
42:50So this is a fun bit.
42:52I'm going to take a bit of the greaseproof paper.
42:56And I'm going to take this ice cream.
43:01Then I'm going to grab the greaseproof.
43:05Don't worry about it getting messy.
43:07Roll it up and use your hands just to push it into a kind of cigar shape.
43:12Squeeze the sides and we can just roll that like that.
43:15Don't worry about the mess.
43:17Get your sponge and then basically we can unravel it.
43:21Just put it on like that.
43:24Then we roll it up as tight as possible.
43:28Then get yourself some foil.
43:31Roll it up and really put pressure on it as you do it.
43:36Then you can go to the outside like a Christmas cracker and squeeze it and roll it up.
43:41And then you get that fantastic shape, right?
43:43So that now goes in the freezer.
43:45You can do this a week before, two weeks before.
43:47It is the most brilliant get ahead dessert.
43:50Whack it in there and then you're ready and rocking.
43:54So if we've made this and frozen it a few weeks before Christmas,
43:58I'm going to show you exactly what to do on Christmas day
44:00to serve up this deliciously decadent get ahead dessert.
44:06So once it's frozen up, it's really robust and when you're ready and raring to go,
44:10I'm going to wrap it like a Christmas present.
44:13Actually, this is a nice Christmas present.
44:15Now, I quite like the idea of giving it a dusting of cocoa powder.
44:23Right, just to give it that nice finish.
44:24After like a couple of minutes out of the freezer and you can slice through.
44:33Hallelujah, hallelujah.
44:35It's just beautiful.
44:36Go for another one.
44:38Look at it.
44:42Guys.
44:44Retro.
44:46Arctic roll.
44:51Merry Christmas.
44:52Honestly, Santa's going to be so proud of you.
44:57To start kind of like taking holly and all that kind of melarchs.
45:00Come on, let's make it look nice.
45:02I want something for the top.
45:04Take a little bar of chocolate.
45:06Right, and we're just going to slowly but surely drag this towards you.
45:14And that's what you get.
45:16Put it on the top.
45:17Let me show you on the white chocolate.
45:18Let's get Rudolph in on the act.
45:25You can take little sparklers.
45:29Come on.
45:30Merry Christmas.
45:32And if I just try a little bit here.
45:42Oh, come on.
45:44The sourness of the cranberry with that beautiful
45:48clementine ice cream is a thing of joy.
45:51And wrapped in that chocolate sponge is just so good.
45:55That is what it's all about.
45:56This really could be the best Christmas ever.
46:01Next time, I'll show you how we can get ahead in the days before Christmas.
46:06With a stunning starter.
46:07The most incredible way to cook turkey.
46:11And a batter for an epic Yorkshire pudding.
46:14All done and dusted ahead of time.
46:16Merry Christmas, everyone.
46:18That's being served up next Monday night at eight or right now.
46:27If you just can't wait and have a few quid in your pocket, stream the whole series on Channel 4 Plus.
46:31Go on.
46:32Call it an early Christmas present to yourself.
46:34Next tonight, minute by minute, a brand new troubling case comes under investigation in 24 hours in police custody.
46:40Here's what's
46:49about how it's lured.
46:49There's the fire There.
46:49So very soon, though,
46:50let's free.
46:50Put it on an early Christmas present我覺得.
46:51All right, let's go away.
46:51You can't believe it.
46:52People.
46:53If we think of all that matter of nature
46:54people are as love as a home.
46:55We're just I could tend the riddle of Aufgabe.
46:56We've never left on your right now.
46:57Can we see all this country.
46:59Then with a few.
47:00That's doing this country.
47:00We've ever left her own rightful business.
47:01And when we're left here free.
47:02Our life's running the lottery.
47:02That's going on.
47:04To be with theτικ搬ies.
47:05He's going to be open드�ừ day.
47:06We're come over today.
Be the first to comment