Slow cooked treacle gammon and Braised red cabbage

A gammon on Christmas Eve is a tradition in this household. This was a new one and will be repeated (hence typing it up!). It is based on Nigella's recipe, but in less than a day, with a 2kg gammon joint and temperatures adjusted to include cooking of braised red cabbage. Braised red cabbage is based on Delia's recipe. 

This year it was accompanied by mashed potato (using 'ricer') and broccoli. Moisture was from some of the juices from the gammon and a redcurrant and raspberry sauce.

Timings were something like:

- 10am get gammon prepared and in oven

- 10:30am turn oven down to 80C

- 5:30pm prepare red cabbage and put into turned up oven at 150C

- 6pm stir red cabbage

- 6:30pm stir red cabbage. Take gammon out to cool slightly prior to removing rind and adding glaze. 

- 7pm take out red cabbage. Turn up oven to 180 and put gammon in for a last blast.

- 7:30pm Eat!

Heat oven to 230C. Take two very large pieces of foil and arrange one lengthways and the other widthways over a large roasting tin. Place the gammon joint (2+kg unsmoked, rind on). Put 100g black treacle along the top. Bring the widthways piece of foil up and seal the two ends ensuring that there is room for air to circulate. Then bring the lengthways pieces up at each end and pinch with the widthways piece to create a good seal. Cover with another piece of foil (ensuring you don't flatten the inner parcel) and seal to the rim of the roasting tin. 

Cook in the over for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 80C. 

2 and a bit hours before eating is time to prepare the braised red cabbage:

Total quantities of veg and fruit is 900g shredded red cabbage (hard stalk removed), 450g chopped onions and 450g cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped small. I use food processor with slicer attachment for the red cabbage and onions. 

In a small bowl mix together a quarter of a whole nutmeg grated, quarter tsp of ground cinnamon, quarter tsp of ground cloves with 3 tbsp dark soft brown sugar and salt and pepper.

Mix the veg, apples, spice and sugar mixture along with a chopped / crushed clove of garlic and put into a large casserole. I did this in two batches, as in mix half of each prior to putting in casserole.

Pour over 3 tbsp wine vinegar.

Turn the oven up to 150C, put lid on casserole dish and put into the oven alongside the gammon. 

Back to the gammon:

Remove the rind from the gammon. Score a diamond pattern in the fat. Stud each diamond with a clove.Take it out at least an hour before time to eat. In a small bowl, combine 3tbsp black treacle, 3 tbsp Demerara sugar and 1tbsp dijon mustard.  Spread the mixture over the gammon. Raise temperature of oven to 180C. Cook the gammon for a further 20 minutes. Take it out and rest for 10 minutes. 

Carving is for when cold. It fell wonderfully apart on the day

Hasselback Aubergine with tapenade topping

 

My variant on Simon Rimmer recipe. The below is for two. Leave out the mozzarella to make it vegan.

Toast 70g of hazelnuts in a frying pan and then 20g of pine nuts. Heat oven to 180C.  

In an oven proof dish large enough for two aubergine halves, put a layer of tomato slices (one beef tomato or a number of large tomatoes).  Cut an aubergine in half lengthways. Put cut face down and make widthways cuts at 1cm intervals, three quarters of the way through (use the two wooden spoon method - one on each side of the aubergine - to ensure you don't cut all the way through!). Put on top of the tomatoes. Stuff the aubergine cuts with slices of garlic, slices of mozzarella and any bits of tomato left over from lining the dish. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Season and bake for 35-45 minutes (until the aubergine is soft).

In a small blender put the nuts, quarter tsp chilli flakes, 5 sun dried tomatoes and 50ml of the oil they came in, 30g basil leaves, 1 tsp sherry vinegar, 4 pitted green olives. Blitz until you have a rough paste.

Spoon over the cooked aubergine. Drizzle with a bit more extra virgin olive oil and enjoy!

Winifred’s chutney

Chopping and stirring is all that is required for this chutney, as in no cooking. The quantities are also easy: typically it’s work out the weight of the prepared cooking apples and match with the weight to other ingredients. Winifred was my great aunt Moira’s cook and part of our extended family throughout her life. She made all wedding, christening and Christmas cakes. A fabulous lady. 

In theory the chutney will keep for a couple of years. It gets eaten way before then in this household.

In a large bowl combine equal quantities by weight of peeled, cored and finely chopped cooking apples, finely chopped onions, roughly chopped sultanas, stoned and chopped dates (don’t use the preprepared ones out of a bag as they have added sugar), soft brown sugar with cayenne pepper to taste.

Add malt vinegar - millilitres of which match the number of grammes of the other ingredients for example 500ml if using 500g of apples.

Cover the bowl. Stir the contents each time you are passing it over the next 24 hours. 
Pot into sterilised jars. 
Leave to mature for a month before eating.

Orange Drizzle Traybake

I was needing to find a tray bake or similar for a fundraising event. Lemon drizzle is my favourite type of cake and as I had an orange this recipe caught my eye. It went down very well at the event! 

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment and heat oven to 180C.

Zest and juice an orange. 

Cream together 135g soft margarine and 135g caster sugar until light and fluffy.

Add 2 eggs - one at a time - beating well in between each.

Fold in 135g self raising flour. Add the orange zest and half of the juice and combine. Pour into the cake tin.

Wrap a foil collar around the tin - this helps get an even flat bake. Bake for 20 minutes or until springy to the touch, pale golden brown and well risen. 

Whilst it is baking in a small bowl stir together 55g granulated sugar with the rest of the orange juice.

When the cake has cooked, remove from oven and its foil collar but keep in tin. Brush the sugar and orange juice mix over the cake (a pastry brush is good for this). The orange juice will moisten the sponge whilst the sugar will sit on the top and cool and dry to a crunchy glaze.

When cool lift from the tin and cut into evenly sized slices. The recipe I based this on suggested a brief 15 minute spell in the freezer prior to removing from the tin to firm the cake up.

Sheelagh’s chicken - aka Guildford chicken

My mother’s recipe (which she originally got from someone who lived in Guildford). Serves 8-10 so good for large gatherings especially if you ask each of your children, of which she has four - to make one each. If making ahead of time then the base freezes well. I have also successfully frozen it with the topping on, as in prior to the last step of cooking in the oven. 

If you cook the chicken by poaching them then you also get a good stock for soups and other recipes!

4lb cooked chicken (2x4lb chickens or 3x3lb chickens = 4lb cooked meat) chopped into bite size pieces
4oz butter
Small onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
0.5lb sliced mushrooms
4oz flour
1pint milk warm
1 rounded teaspoon of celery salt
1 level tsp salt
Cayenne pepper
0.5 teaspoon dry English mustard
4oz mature cheddar grated
1 cup dry cider
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Topping:
9oz grated cheese

2oz butter melted

4 cups white breadcrumbs

Cook onion in butter until soft. Add mushrooms, garlic and flour. Cook for a few minutes stirring to avoid sticking and browning. Gradually blend in the warm milk and then the cider. Simmer for 5 minutes until creamy consistency. Add grated cheese and seasoning (salts, mustard and cayenne pepper to taste) and combine with the chicken. Put in a shallow dish.

For the topping, toss breadcrumbs in the melted butter. Add the grated cheese. Mix well and spread over the chicken. Cook at 180C for about an hour.

Left over Chicken - 70s style Chicken Curry

 Based on recipe from Saturday Kitchen

Melt 30g/1oz unsalted butter and add one finely chopped onion and one finely chopped green eating apple. Cook over a medium heat until soft. 

Add 2–3 tsp curry powder. Cook for a minute then add 1 tbsp plain flour. Pour in 350ml chicken stock and stir to combine.

Add ½ leftover roast chicken, torn into pieces [I need to work out what kind of weight this is - as in are we talking a medium chicken, large or even extra large] and cook until chicken is warmed through.

Add a tablespoon of yoghurt (original recipe is for a splash of double cream and a squeeze of lemon juice)

Taste and season if required

Serve with rice, sultanas and toasted almonds .... and sliced bananas to give full 70s style feel!

One pot pasta - chicken, mushroom and broccoli

Can see this recipe being used again, varying the vegetables or even just with vegetables. No need for a white sauce - cooking the pasta in milk gives a creamy texture. I might par boil the vegetable(s) prior to adding next time so I can control more accurately when everything is cooked perfectly (the broccoli was a tad crunchy).

Serves 4

Cut 2 chicken breasts into bite size pieces. In a large/deep frying pan sauté the chicken in 1tbsp olive oil for about 3 minutes - you don't want it cooked through at this point.  Season with salt and pepper. Add one chopped onion and 4 minced cloves garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes until the onions are beginning to soften. Add 225g dried pasta (any shape) and 450ml milk and bring to boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally until the pasta cooks through. Add more liquid if required. Don't worry if the milk splits - it all gets absorbed. 

Add 325g broccoli florets and a couple of handfuls of mushrooms sliced when the pasta is getting close to al dente and simmer until pasta is fully cooked.

Stir in quarter tsp nutmeg, a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard and grated cheddar (recipe I based this on said two cups - I'm guessing that's 225g. Will weigh it out next time). Season further to taste.

Serve!