Family Friendly Recipes To Make During The Festive Season
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Turkey Tetrazzini
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Begin by making the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, then add the flour. Mix together into a smooth paste and cook for a few minutes until it begins to smell a bit nutty. Pour in the stock, a little at a time, whisking well in between to get rid of any lumps, then add the cream and whisk in. Season to taste and simmer for around 5 minutes or until thickened.
Heat a large skillet or frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Tip in the mushrooms and fry until soft and starting to brown. Pour in the white wine and cook until most of the wine has been absorbed.
While the mushrooms are cooking, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti until just before al dente, then drain. Add the turkey and frozen peas to the mushrooms in the frying pan then pour over the sauce. Mix to combine then add the cooked spaghetti and use tongs to toss into the sauce.
Tip the mixture into a large ovenproof dish. Mix together the breadcrumbs, semi-fresh oregano and Parmesan, then sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Bake for 25 minutes or until the breadcrumb top is golden.
Tuscan Chicken
Place the chicken thighs in a bowl. Add the flour and the paprika and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss together to coat.
Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned and crisp. Set aside on a plate.
Add the onion and pepper to the unwashed pan and fry for 4-5 minutes over a medium heat, until soft. You may need a little more oil. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds.
Stir in the purée, tomatoes, wine and stock and bring up to the boil. Return the chicken to the pan with any resting juices, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until tender.
Add the cream and spinach to the pan and stir until wilted. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the cheese and serve piping hot.
Pork Ragù With Pappardelle
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Sprinkle the pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
In a large cast-iron cocotte, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the pork on all sides for 6 to 8 minutes, working in batches if needed and removing the pork to a bowl as it is browned. Carefully remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the onion, carrots, celery, fennel, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until softened.
Add the fennel seeds, sage, and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Deglaze the cocotte with the wine, then add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Return the pork to the cocotte, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and braise in the oven for 2½ hours, or until the pork is fork-tender. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced slightly.
Meanwhile, bring a large cocotte of water to a boil, salt it and cook the pappardelle according to the package instructions for al dente. Drain.
Remove the pork from the braising liquid and shred it with two forks. Return the pork to the cocotte, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Toss the pasta with the pork ragù and serve immediately, topped with cheese.
JOANN PAI
Big Lasagne
Make the ragù. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and sear the meat for 10 minutes. Set aside. In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion for 5 minutes.
Add the celery and the carrot and continue cooking for 8 minutes. Add the browned meat and mix well. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated. Add the passata and season with salt and pepper.
Add the rosemary sprigs and sage leaves and simmer over a low heat for 2 hours. Remove the rosemary and sage.
Make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat for 5 minutes and add the flour. Mix well to a smooth paste or roux. Add the milk and nutmeg and continue to cook for 15 minutes over a low heat, stirring continuously. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 150ºC/Gas Mark 2. Take the pasta dough out of the refrigerator. Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a 1mm thickness and cut into rectangular sheets the size of the ovenproof dish to be used.
Cover the bottom of the ovenproof dish with a pasta layer, a ragù layer and a béchamel sauce layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat the process five more times. Set aside 8 tablespoons of béchamel for the plating. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Serve on four individual plates, garnishing each with tablespoons of béchamel sauce and 2 bay leaves.
Chicken Pot Pie
Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a medium cast-iron cocotte, melt 125g of the butter over a medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk well. Add the madeira and stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the mixture slightly, until it coats the back of a spoon. Add the onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, bay leaf and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and add the chicken and peas. Remove from the heat.
In a small fry pan, melt the remaining butter over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat.
Spread the pastry onto a clean surface. Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter over the filo. Top with another piece of filo, placing it slightly off-centre to create the start of a star shape. This will make it easier to place on top of the cocotte. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo.
Carefully pick up the pastry and transfer it to the cocotte. Press the pastry into the cocotte, keeping an overhang on the sides of the pot. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and carefully slice a slit in the top of the filo. Bake the chicken pot pie for 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Let the chicken pot pie rest for 10 minutes and serve warm.
Fish Gratin
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Add a bay leaf, a few black and pink peppercorns, English mustard and fish pie mix. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer.
Chop the leeks finely and add to a dry frying pan – keep stirring to avoid catching on the pan.
Once the leeks have softened, add the butter and mix until it has fully melted. Add the flour and mix.
Keeping the fish in the saucepan, slowly add the milk to the leeks, while stirring, to form a sauce.
Add the double cream, chopped spring onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep stirring as you add the fish and then the prawns.
Transfer the mix into an oven safe dish, then top with the grated butter, Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Pop under the grill on a high setting until crispy and golden on top.
Remove from the oven, top with some chopped parsley and serve alongside a crisp salad and some new potatoes.
One-Pot Roast Chicken With Barley, White Wine & Peas
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/130°C Fan/Gas 2.
Pour the oil into a flameproof casserole dish and place over a high heat. Add the chicken, skin side up, and fry for 4 minutes. Season the skin with a large pinch of salt and pepper and turn the thighs over. Fry for a further 4 minutes until golden. Remove the thighs and place skin side up on a plate.
Put the carrots and onion in the casserole, sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper and fry for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Stir in the pearl barley for 1 minute, then pour in the wine. Stir and allow the alcohol to evaporate for about 1 minute. Add the rosemary and pour over the hot stock. Stir, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the dish from the heat and stir the barley. Place the chicken thighs on top of the barley, skin side up, and cook in the middle of the oven, uncovered, for 55 minutes.
Take the dish out of the oven, remove the chicken thighs and place on a plate. Remove and discard the rosemary. Pour the lemon juice and peas into the barley mixture and stir well. Check for seasoning.
Place the chicken back on top of the barley and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.
Sprinkle over the parsley and serve in the middle of the table for everyone to tuck in. A perfect one-pot dish, with vegetables, pulses and protein.
And For Something Sweet...
Chocolate Orange Bread & Butter Pudding
Start by warming your milk, cream, vanilla paste and sugar until warm but not boiling. Add the segments of the chocolate orange and stir until melted.
Add your eggs one by one, whisking thoroughly between each.
Zest the tangerines into the cream and then the juice of one.
Roughly chop or tear your bread into similar chunky sized pieces and place in your baking dish.
Pour over the cream mixture and leave to sit for around 30 minutes.
Sprinkle lightly with sugar and place in an oven preheated to 170ºC for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and eat immediately. Serve with more cream, if you like.
Toffee Blondie
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 10-inch cast-iron frying pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the toffee, pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth into an even layer.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how gooey you want the middle of the blondie to be.
Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving warm with scoops of vanilla ice-cream.
Gingerbread Traybake Cake
Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan.
In the mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the treacle and eggs, followed by the flour, ginger and milk, mixing after each addition until a thick, smooth batter is formed.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Allow to cool completely.
Make the icing by combining the 40g of butter, cream cheese and icing sugar until no lumps remain. Using a palette knife or the back of a spoon, spread evenly on top of the ginger sponge and sprinkle with crushed gingerbread men.
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