Christmas Feast 2020

Roast the sweet peppers

Set your oven to grill, place the peppers under the element and roast for about 10 minutes turning regularly, until black all over. Place in a bowl and cover with a plate, allow to steam and cool.

Remove the feta from the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Peel and mince the garlic.

Once cool (after about 10 minutes), peel the peppers and remove the seeds. Thinly slice, place in a bowl with the minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic and feta. Discard the feta oil.

Once prepared, the peppers can be refrigerated for a day or two. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving.

Sea salt chocolate-dipped strawberries and cherries

First. you’ll need to set up a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Here’s a short video to show the process:

You’ll need a heatproof bowl and a pot that the bowl fits into without touching the bottom of the pot.

Break the chocolate into the bowl.

Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a gentle simmer in the pot, then place the bowl of chocolate over the simmering water, stirring regularly, until the chocolate is melted.

While the chocolate is melting, sort through the cherries removing any without stems (these can be a delicious chef snack!).

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Once melted, remove the bowl of chocolate from the pot and place it on the bench. Pick up each strawberry and cherry individually by the stem or leaves. Carefully roll each one in the chocolate, then place them on the lined baking tray.

Repeat until all the strawberries and cherries are coated in chocolate. Place the cherries and strawberries in the fridge. Any leftover chocolate can be poured into a container and used later.

Christmas Day furkey and potato prep

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Roughly chop the apple, onion and carrot. Place in a tight pile in a roasting dish or iron fry pan. Remove the furkey from its packet and place on top of the bed of vegetables and apple, ready to go in the oven.

Wash the new potatoes. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until fully cooked. You should be able to pierce them with a knife. Strain and set aside.

Once the potatoes are cooking, place the furkey in the oven.

The furkey will take about 30 minutes to cook. After about 5 minutes, baste the furkey well. Repeat every 10 minutes, until it’s ready.

Prep the peas and the salad

Pinch the top off the snowpeas  and pull the side down to remove the fibrous threads.

Dice the stone fruit, avocados and tomatoes. Gently place in a bowl. Pour over with a little of the cherry vinaigrette to prevent them from browning.

Warm the gravy, roast the endive, cook the peas

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil.

Gently warm the gravy.

Once the furkey is out of the oven, switch it to grill. Cut the endive in half and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place under the grill and cook for 2 minutes, until just starting to blacken.

Slice the endive and add to the stone fruit tomato salad with a pinch of salt and half of the cherry vinaigrette. Taste and add more salt, or dressing as needed.

Place the frozen peas in the boiling water and cook for a minute before adding the prepped snowpeas. Cook for 10 seconds, then strain and toss with the sumac butter.

To serve

Bring the roast red peppers to room temperature (if made ahead).

Serve the new potatoes tossed with the verde and smoked aioli on the side.

Serve the stone fruit salad.

Carve the furkey and serve with gravy on the side.

Finish the peas by sprinkling with the crushed hazelnuts.

For dessert

Serve chocolate-dipped strawberries and cherries.