By Caroline Gardiner
Christmas and More
Pre Christmas parties seem to occur earlier & earlier these days. It used to be no one celebrated until December now however, we seem to start almost earlier than the American Thanksgiving.
Rather than talk about the usual pre Christmas drinks party with devils on horseback, turkey twizzlers and mince pies, I thought we could think about how the Spanish entertain and the food they eat.
Christmas Eve is the time for celebrating in Spain when families & friends gather to feast on delicious food including tapas. It is known as“ La Noche Buena”, which translated means“ The Good Night”
Typical tapas style food would include:
Gambas with a spicy marie rose sauce or a romesco
Mini chorizo sausages with aioli
Toasted croutes topped with parma ham and tomatoes
Tortillas Ham croquettes
Galician style octopus with sweet paprika
Padron peppers
Sautéed mushrooms with garlic & sherry
Iberian ham
And to finish …. some delicious bites of classic Turron( nougat) and dunking Churros in hot chocolate
All that food couldn’ t be served without some delicious drinks. The Spanish love Sangria, Cava & Fino Sherry all year round but a couple of typical winter cocktails are: Queimada which is Orujo liquor infused with lemon, sugar & coffee beans, then set alight for a while and then served in a little cup with a twist of lemon peel. Agua de Valencia which is cava mixed with a shot of gin & vodka and topped up with freshly squeezed orange juice.
And then let’ s come back home for Boxing Day Celebrations which is unique to the British Commonwealth and it’ s all about continuing the celebrations … however not many people really know why it’ s called Boxing Day. It certainly has nothing to do with boxing but could be one of the following.
• A Christmas box is a name for a Christmas present
• Boxing day was typically a day off for servants and they received a
“ Christmas Box” from the master.
• A box to collect money for the poor which was placed in churches on Christmas Day and opened the day after
So Christmas day has come and gone in a blur, all that preparation, shopping, cooking, entertaining and in twelve hours it’ s all done, the presents have been opened and everyone is full & content.
BUT … you might have the house full with everyone expecting to be looked after, fed & watered … and you are exhausted.
You need to keep it simple yet creative. You don’ t want to be up at the crack of dawn getting everything ready, so I have written a really easy Boxing Day menu which, with a bit of planning, can be ready a couple of days before. All you have to do is finish it off with minimal fuss.
M E N U
Cranberry & marmalade baked gammon, cranberry & orange relish
Rosemary & garlic studded camembert with baked french stick fingers
Wild mushroom, thyme & truffle tart
Home cured salmon with pickled cucumber & poppy seeds
Boxing dash hash( made with the left over potatoes & vegetables from Christmas Day)
Mesclum salad with avocado, chives & a classic french vinaigrette
Roasted red cabbage slaw
Chocolate and griottine cherry roll with cherry compote & pouring cream
Warm orange mincemeat pies with brandy butter & platters of Christmas cake
Three days before or longer:
Ham baked, wrapped and into the fridge
Tart made & frozen Chocolate roll & mince pies frozen
Cure the salmon, wrap and leave in the fridge
On the day: Place camembert in the oven
Make the slaw with left over roasted red cabbage
Make the salad & pickled cucumber
Make the hash with all left over vegetables & potatoes
ENJOY!
A Recipe from ALAN LUCAS
Chocolate and Griottine Cherry Roll with Cherry Compote
INGREDIENTS:
For the sponge: Caster sugar 175g Dark chocolate 175g Eggs 6 whole Cocoa 30g
For the Cream: Double Cream 300ml
Method:
Pre heat oven to 190 º c.
Line and grease a baking tray approximately 26cm x 35cm.
Melt your dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, don’ t let the bowl touch the water.
Separate your eggs, and whip the whites until stiff peaks have formed.
Whip the yolks with sugar until thick and pale.
Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly and pour into the egg and sugar mix. Fold in the chocolate gently until it is all combined.
Add two spoons of your whipped egg whites to the chocolate mix and fold in to loosen the mixture. Then add the remainder of the whites and fold in using a metal spoon and being careful not to loose any of the air.
Sift in the cocoa and mix one final time, until all combined.
Pour the mixture into your baking tin and bake for about 20 mins until the sponge is firm to the touch, remove from the oven an allow to cool completely. Don’ t worry about any cracks in the sponge, its all
For the compote: Frozen cherries 500g Sugar 100g
For Decoration: Edible flowers Baby mint Freeze dried berries
part of the charm!
Put your frozen cherries and sugar into a heavy bottomed pan and allow to simmer until the cherries have softened and some have popped.
Whip your cream until it has reached the soft peaks stage. You can add some booze or vanilla at this stage if you like.
Once your sponge has cooled, place a tea towel onto a clean surface and turn out the sponge onto the tea towel. Get your cream and spread all over the sponge leaving a 2 cm border. Keep some of the cream back to be used for decoration. Strain the juice from the cherries and scatter them over the cream. With the shortest edge facing you gently roll the roulade into shape, using the tea towel to keep the sponge tight.
Once it has all been rolled into a roulade shape, ensure the join is on the underside and pipe some cream onto the top on the sponge. This will hide any cracks! Decorate with some freeze dried berries, baby mint and edible flowers or any other decorations of your choice.
Caroline Gardiner & Alan Lucas have many years of experience in the catering and organisation of events. From the kitchens in The Dorchester, the dining rooms of Asprey’ s and product launches on Strawberry Hill, Jamaica to private fields in Oxford, they both know how to cater for an equisite party for 10 guests to a huge Summer thank you party for 3000 staff. Lucas Gardiner are committed to detail, creativity & listening to their clients.
Tel: 020 8516 5156 Visit: lucasgardiner. co. uk
Visit The London & UK DatebooK on www. thedatebook. co. uk
THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK 13