Feasts15/12/2006
All this week Phil Vickery has been delighting us with his "Festive Feasts". So far we've had the turkey, trimmings, puddings and left overs and today what better way to end than with a party! And no party is complete without lots of festive nibbles!
MULLED WINE JELLY & CRANBERRY JELLY WITH GINGERBREAD CREAM
8 persons
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
1 Bottle dry red wine
100g unrefined castor sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
4 green cardamoms, crushed
5 juniper berries, crushed
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
12 black peppercorns, roasted in a hot dry frying pan
juice and halves of 2 clementines
juice and halves of 2 large lemons
4 leaves of gelatine, soaked until soft
175g semi dried cranberries
For the cream
264mls double cream very lightly whipped
115g finely crushed gingerbread
2 tbsp granulated light brown sugar
- Place the red wine, cinnamon, cloves, juniper, vanilla pod plus seeds and castor sugar into a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to the boil slowly.
- Once the wine and spices have just boiled remove from the stove, add the juice from the clementines and lemons.
- Cover and leave to infuse for 30 minutes, so all the spices release their flavours.
- The slight bitterness from the skins of 2 fruit, gives the finished jelly a very nice edge. Place the softened gelatine into the hot wine and stir until dissolved.
- Strain all the bits and pieces out and taste, adjust with a little more sugar if it's not sweet enough for you.
- Place the semi dried cranberries evenly into 8 shot or small glasses. Cool the mulled wine, then pour onto the cranberries, leaving a 2cm gap form the top, then chill well, best overnight.
- For the cream mix together the gingerbread and sugar, then carefully fold into the cream.
- Top the cooled mulled wine jellies, serve with a cinnamon stick placed in the top and a dusting of nutmeg.
HAM, HONEYED FIGS & STILTON WRAPS
4 wraps
Preparation time:- 10 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
4 large wraps
4 large slices cooked ham, sliced thinly into long strips
2 handfuls watercress, roughly chopped
8 large ripe figs, sliced thinly
4 tbsp runny honey
200g creamy Cropwell Bishop Stilton, crumbled
ground white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 spring onions, sliced diagonally
- Place the watercress, Stilton, spring onions into a large bowl. Season well with pepper, 2 tbsp each of olive oil & runny honey and mix well.
- Sprinkle the ham over the wraps and lay over the ripe sliced figs.
- Next, sprinkle over the watercress, cheese and spring onion mixture.
- Wrap in the normal way and slice diagonally.
PICKLED BEET, CREAM CHEESE AND SMOKED SALMON TARTLETS
6-8 persons
Preparation time:- 10 minutes
Cooking time:- none
24 baby canapé tartlets
200g cream cheese
200g smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
12 baby pickled beetroots, chopped into very small pieces
dash milk to let the cream cheese down
4 tbsp chopped chives
couple of pinches of black pepper
- Beat the cream cheese, black pepper and chives together, add a little milk to soften the mixture.
- Spoon, but better to pipe the mixture into the canapé tartlets, but only fill up half way.
- Spoon on the beets and top with the sliced smoked salmon.
- Sprinkle with cracked black pepper.
BITTER CHOCOLATE & CRÈME FRAICHE TARTS
16 baby tarts
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
125g grams bitter chocolate (70%) chopped into small pieces
125mls whipping cream
1½ heaped tablespoons glucose syrup (15g)
225mls crème fraiche
roughly chopped white and bitter chocolate
dusting of cocoa powder
- Bring the cream and the glucose together to the boil and then whisk onto the chopped chocolate.
- Whisk well until melted and incorporated.
- Cool slightly, and carefully pour into the tartlets, no more than ¾ full. Then chill well until set.
- When cooled, top with the crème fraiche and chocolates and dust with icing sugar and cocoa powder.
BABY ONION BHAJI'S WITH EASY MANGO MINT AND YOGHOURT DIP
12 bhajis
Preparation time:- 15 minutes
Cooking time:- 4-5 minutes
2 small onions, peeled and sliced very thinly, root still on
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
250g self raising flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp black onion seeds
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp ground green cardomoms
For the sauce
1 ripe mango (or 400g can well drained) chopped into small pieces
220g natural yoghourt
2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
pinch sugar
milk to let down if too thick
- Place all the ingredients for the sauce into a liquidiser. Blitz until smooth, and then chill well.
- Heat the vegetable oil and add the spices, cook until they crackle, but do not burn. Once browned, remove and cool.
- Add the spices to the flour, along with the onions and coriander. Add enough cold water to make a thick, wet paste.
- Break off the mixture into small pieces, and deep fry (185°C) for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Drain well, and dust with salt. Serve hot with the dressing.
DEEP FRIED CHICKEN WITH CHINESE PLUM DIPPING SAUCE
4 persons
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
2 medium chicken breasts, sliced horizontally, then cut into ½ cm long slices
2 tsp of Chinese five spice
4 tbsp Chinese yellow bean sauce
1 tsp garlic crushed, then chopped finely
500mls vegetable oil
200g cornflour, approximately
salt and freshly milled black pepper
castor sugar
1 jar of Chinese plum sauce (crispy duck sauce)
- Heat the oil in a wok or deep saucepan to 190°c.
- Toss the chicken in the five spice powder and yellow bean sauce.
- Add the garlic and mix well, season well with a touch of salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- Toss the chicken in the cornflour in small amounts, dust off well, then straight into the hot oil, do not over fill the wok or pan, as the temperature of the oil lowers very quickly then the chicken remains soggy.
- Fry the chicken until crisp but not crunchy, remove from the hot oil and sprinkle with a little castor sugar, and salt and pepper.
- Serve in shot glasses wrapped in napkins with the dipping sauce separately.
This is great party food, or even cooked and eaten cold.