Take some of the stress out of planning Christmas Dinner this year with these fantastic Christmas recipes from Head Chef Ger Dunne of Butler House and Garden. With enough sumptuous dishes to take you from starter to dessert, with all the festive sides and trimmings.
Prawn and Crab Cocktail Lettuce Cups
Prep – 30 mins
Cook time – None
Serves 8
Ingredients:
For the Marie Rose sauce:
4 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
pinch of cayenne
For the tomato salsa:
4 tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
1.f tbsp tabasco
To serve:
8 little gem lettuces, leaves separated
300g cooked and peeled prawns
200g white crab meat
½ bunch chives
lemon wedges, to serve
Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the Marie Rose sauce and set aside in the fridge. Do the same with the tomato salsa ingredients. These can be chilled for up to 24 hours.
Arrange the lettuce leaves, prawns, crab and chives in separate bowls. Put everything on the table with a pile of lemon wedges
At the table, add some prawns and crab to the lettuce leaves. Spoon over some tomato salsa and Marie Rose sauce. Scatter over a few chives and add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Spiced Roast Christmas Goose with a Rich Port Gravy
Cook time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 x 4kg whole goose
olive oil
1 clementine
½ a bunch of rosemary
2 onions
3 carrots
3 sticks of celery
1 handful of fresh bay leaves
2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
1lt organic chicken stock
1 pomegranate
Spice mix:
90g star anise
90g fennel seeds
75g coriander seeds
30g Sichuan pepper
15g cloves
60g cinnamon sticks
1 large pinch of saffron
90g soft brown sugar
60g sea salt
30g whole black peppercorns
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
To make the spice mix, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor to a fine powder. Pour through a coarse sieve into an airtight jar, then discard any woody bits left behind in the sieve.
With a fork or the tip of a sharp knife, prick the fatty lump under the goose’s wing to help the fat melt out.
Rub the goose all over with a little olive oil and 2 heaped tablespoons of the spice mix, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies. Keep the remaining spice mix for another day – it’s incredible on all roasted or grilled meats.
Prick the clementine all over with a sharp knife, then place into the goose's cavity with a few rosemary sprigs.
Peel and quarter the onions, then chop the carrots and celery into large chunks. Place into a large roasting tray with the remaining rosemary, the bay and goose giblets. Toss well, add 150ml of cold water, and then place the tray on the bottom shelf of the oven.
Pop the goose directly on the bars above, so the juices from the goose drip into the tray, leaving you with crisp, beautifully succulent meat. Cook for around 3 hours, or until cooked through, golden and crisp. To check, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh – if the juices run clear, it’s done.
When the goose has been roasting for 2 hours, remove the veg tray from the oven and replace it with another tray. Skim away the fat from the veg tray (reserve it in a jar with a few extra bay leaves to make amazing roast potatoes, place the tray on the hob over a high heat.
Add the port and cook for around 3 minutes, or until reduced. Stir in the flour for a minute, then pour in the stock. Reduce to a simmer for around 10 minutes, or until thickened to a nice gravy consistency. Sieve into a medium pan, then set aside.
When the time's up on the goose, remove it from the oven, cover with a double layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave to rest for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven, skim away and reserve the fat, then pour any juices into the gravy. Warm up the gravy on a medium heat.
Once rested, place the goose on a board and remove the skin. Pop this into the oven for another 10 minutes to crisp it up nicely (keep an eye on it!).
Carve away the legs, then shred the meat with two forks, discarding the bones. Carefully slice away the breasts, then slice up and place on a platter with the remaining shredded meat.
Halve the pomegranate, then holding it in the palm of your hand cut-side down over the platter, bash the back with a wooden spoon so the seeds come tumbling out. Snap the crispy skin over the top, then serve with your hot gravy and all the trimmings.
Cranberry and Marmalade Sauce
Prep: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves 8
Ingredients:
300g pack fresh or frozen cranberries
juice of one orange
50g light muscovado sugar
100g orange shred marmalade
Method:
Tip the cranberries into a medium pan over a low heat with the orange juice, sugar and marmalade, and stir until the sugar and marmalade melt and the mixture starts to bubble. Cook for 3-5 mins, depending on whether the cranberries are fresh or frozen, as the frozen ones will soften more quickly. The cranberries need to be tender but still hold their shape, so try to squash one to see if it is soft enough. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Will keep for one week in the fridge.
Sizzled Sprouts with Pistachios and Pomegranate
Prep: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves 8
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
500g brussels sprouts halved
50g pistachios, roughly chopped
100g pomegranate seeds
pomegranate molasses, to drizzle (optional)
Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Put the sprouts in the pan, cut side down, and leave them to fry for 10-15 mins, tossing occasionally. If they’re just lightly brown, carry on cooking for a further 5 mins until blistered.
Scatter over the pistachios and stir-fry until toasted. Remove from the heat and stir through the pomegranate seeds. Season with salt and tip onto a serving dish. Drizzle with a little pomegranate molasses, if you like.
Cheesy Celeriac, Leek and Rosemary Gratin
Prep: 25 mins
Cook time: 1 hr 35 mins
Served 8
Ingredients:
25g butter
2 leeks, outer layer removed, washed and sliced into rings
small handful rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
300ml double cream
300ml milk
1 celeriac (about 500g) peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
100 cheddar, or gruyere, coarsely grated
Method:
Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the leeks, rosemary and bay leaf, then cover and cook very gently over a medium-low heat for 15-20 mins until the leeks are soft. Pour over the milk and almost all of the cream, then season and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little, then scoop out the bay leaf.
Pour a little of the leek mixture into an ovenproof gratin dish. Arrange a layer of celeriac in the dish, then season. Spoon over some more of the leek mixture and scatter with a little cheese. Repeat the process, alternating between layers of the leek mixture, cheese and celeriac slices, then finish with a drizzle of cream and the last of the cheese.
Heat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4. Bake the gratin for 1 hr – 1 hr 15mins, until the top is golden and the celeriac is tender when poked with a knife. If the gratin is browning a little too much, cover the dish in foil.
Golden Goose Fat Potatoes and Parsnips
Prep: 25 mins
Cook time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1.5kg Maris Piper potatoes, cut into large chunks
600g parsnips peeled and cut into large chunks
100g goose fat
handful rosemary sprigs
Method:
Tip the potatoes into a large pan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down slightly and keep the water bubbling gently for 3 mins, then add the parsnips and continue to simmer for 3 mins more. Drain everything and leave until cool enough to handle, then separate the parsnips and the potatoes
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a large roasting tin containing the goose fat inside. When the goose fat is hot, remove the tin from the oven. Carefully tip in the potatoes and turn them so they’re completely coated in fat. Place the tin back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 1 hr. Remove the tin from the oven, add the parsnips and gently turn everything together.
Increase oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 8. Roast everything for 20 mins, then turn the parsnips and potatoes again with the rosemary, if using, and roast for about another 15 minutes until everything is golden and crisp. Sprinkle with sea salt and scoop into a warm serving dish.
Classic Boozy Christmas Trifle
Prep: 45 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Serves 10
Ingredients:
750g frozen summer fruit (raspberries, blackberries, red and blackcurrants)
250g caster sugar
9 sheets leaf gelatin
75g custard powder
1.2l milk
1.5-2 Madeira cakes
4 tbsp sherry or cassis
300-450ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp icing sugar
2 crushed amaretti biscuits, to serve
Whole, fresh strawberries for garnish
Method:
Put 750g frozen summer fruit in a pan with 200g caster sugar and 1 litre of water and bring to a gentle simmer.
Cook for 2 mins, then scoop out 6 tbsp fruit and 150ml juice and carry on cooking the remaining fruit in the pan for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak 9 sheets leaf gelatine in cold water to soften it. Blitz the cooked fruit with a hand blender or mash with a potato masher, then strain through a sieve into a large bowl leaving just the skins and seeds behind.
Squeeze any excess water from the gelatine, add to the hot fruit syrup and stir to dissolve. Cool, then chill ‘til it is almost set.
Make the custard according to pack instructions with 75g custard powder, 1.2l milk and 50g caster sugar to create a thick custard. Cover the surface with baking paper while it cools a little.
Pile 1½ - 2 cubed Madeira cakes into a trifle bowl, spoon over the reserved juice and berries, then 4 tbsp. sherry or cassis.
Pour over a thick layer of custard, pushing it against the side of the dish to seal in the cake below. Leave to cool and set with a skin – this makes a barrier for the jelly.
When the custard is cold and set, and the jelly is on the point of setting, spoon the jelly over the custard and chill until ready to complete.
Whip 300 - 450ml double cream with 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tbsp icing sugar until just holding its shape, then spoon round the bowl over the set jelly. Scatter with 2 crushed amaretti biscuits, strawberries and chill until ready to serve.