If I asked you whether you could remember specific Christmas Day meals, I bet not many would come to mind. Because they never change, successive years tend to become a blur. (I doremember one when we had a power cut, and my mother’s juicy reply when my father suggested we could just do everything on the barbecue.)
I don’t want to play down the pleasure of the food on the Big Day, but we tend to focus on that when actually, for both the cook and the eater, Christmas is made up of lots of smaller meals: a plate of gravlaxand a glass of ice-cold aquavit with friends the week before, warm mince pies and brandy-infused cream after a carol concert.
The Christmas Day meal always takes organisation and a lot of work. I think that’s why it is the other bits of cooking – the extras, the small things – that bring me the most pleasure.
The 'extras’ aren’t made while you watch the clock and consult your timetable, but while you listen to Christmas music anddrink rather too much mulled wine. The pleasure is as much about creating them as it is about the eating.
Chutneys need time to mature, so it’s too late for them, but a jar of sweet pickled fruits can be made now: they’ll mature well over the next few months, but will still be worth eating on26 December.
I always intend to do more Christmas baking (beyond the cake and the mince pies) and, after thinking for years about Christmas crumble bars – less sweet than mince pies, as they’re full of tart Bramleys – I finally made some. I’ve stashed away a Danish honey cake (brilliant with cheese) and some French pain d’épices too.
It’s not crucial to do everything yourself – I don’t want to add to the pressure – but I’ve always wanted to try my own crackers. There’s nothing wrong with buying them, but I gaze at those gorgeous nut-studded 'biscuits for cheese’ in delis, then end up leaving them on the shelf: they’re not cheap.
So this year, I’ve made some. The sight of them – golden-brown and full of sweet chunks of fig – has given me more pleasure than making the Christmas pudding, and I’m pleased to report they’re both easy and relativelyinexpensive. This last-minute preparation has made the house feel festive.
Most of the time my kids couldn’t care less what I’m cooking, but in the last few days, lured by the smells, they’ve hung around in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate, peering into pans and tasting. The days before Christmas are definitely the best.
Christmascrumble bars
MAKES
About 20
INGREDIENTS
For the pastry
- 200g plain flour
- 100g butter, plus morefor greasing
- 75g caster sugar
- zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- drop of milk, if needed
For the filling
- 125g dried cranberries
- juice of 1 orange and zest of ½ orange, finely grated
- 2 tbsp Calvados (or usemore orange juice)
- 300g Bramley apples
- 250g top-quality mincemeat
- 5 tbsp bitter orange marmalade
For the crumble
- 50g plain flour
- 35g ground almonds
- 70g cold butter, cutinto pieces
- 50g soft, light brown sugar
- icing sugar, for dusting
METHOD
Whizz the flour and butter for the pastry in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, zest and a pinch of salt, and mix again just to combine. Add the yolk and vanilla.
Whizz again to form a ball of dough, adding a drop of cold milk if necessary to help bring it together. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes.
For the filling, put the cranberries into a saucepan with the orange juice, zest and Calvados. Bring to the boil, then immediately pull off the heat and leave to plump up for an hour.
Peel the apples and cut into small dice. Mix with the mincemeat, the cranberries (drained of any liquid if your mincemeat is already moist) and marmalade.
Roll the pastry out and press into a 20 × 30cm, lightly buttered baking tin, covering the base and pressing the pastry about a centimetreup the sides, making sureto get into the corners.Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to180C/gas mark 4 and put a metal baking sheet into it.
To make the crumble, mix the flour and almonds, and rub in the butter until itlooks like breadcrumbs.Rub in the sugar.Spread out the mincemeat mixture on top of the pastry. Sprinkle the crumble on top and flatten it so it’s quite neat. Bake for 35 minutes,or until pale gold.
When you take it out of the oven, run a knife aroundthe edge of the tin, then leave to cool completely. Mark out the bars with a knife, then cut right through. Ease out a bar from one corner, then run a knife under each one and lever them out on to a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar.
Fig and hazelnut crackers
This is a great 'blueprint’ recipe – use other nuts or dried fruit, leave out the rosemary, add spices, whatever you like.
MAKES
About 40
INGREDIENTS
- Butter, for greasing the tins
- 150g plain flour
- 150g malted brown flour (or just plain wholemeal is fine)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp roughly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 165g mixed seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, flax, whatever you want)
- leaves from 1 sprig rosemary, roughly chopped
- 130g hazelnuts (I prefer them unblanched)
- 175g dried figs, roughly chopped
- 55g soft light brown sugar
- 400ml buttermilk
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Butter two 10x20cm loaf tins.
Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk until well combined. Spoon into the prepared tins and bake for 35 minutes. The tops will brown. When you turn them out and tap underneath the loaves should sound hollow. Leave to cool completely before slicing.
Using a really good sharp knife, cut each loaf into slices about ½-¾cm thick. It does get harder to do this towards the end of the loaf – don’t worry if you have to jettison a few slices. Slicing is easier if the loaf is really cold.
Set the slices onto a metal baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the slices over and cook on the other side for another 15 minutes. The slices should be dark brown and crisp, like crackers. Store in an airtight container.
Spiced pickled orange slices
Pickled oranges are gorgeous with ham on Boxing Day (though they’re also very good with roast pork at any time). This is actually the first preserve I ever made, from a Katie Stewart recipe, when I was about 14. I’ve long since lost the recipe, but this is as I remember it. You can change the spices – star anise is also good (not everyone likes cloves) and so is cardamom. You can omit the allspice if you want, or you don’t have any to hand. If you can’t get unwaxed oranges, you’ll have to scrub them – hard – to remove the wax.
FILLS
One 750ml jar
INGREDIENTS
- 6 small-mediumunwaxed oranges
- 525ml cider vinegar
- 650g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ½ cinnamon stick, brokenin half
METHOD
Cut the oranges into slices½cm thick, discarding the slices at the top and bottom of each orange. Take care: cut too thick and they won’t be good to eat, too thin and the flesh might disintegrate.
Put the slices in a big saucepan and add enough water to cover (about 1 litre). Cook very gently until the rind is soft, about 45 minutes.
Lift the orange slices out with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander set over a bowl. Boil the cooking water until it has reduced by a third.Add the vinegar, sugar and spices to the cooking water and bring to the boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Add any water that has come out of the draining oranges. Boil for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid is slightly syrupy.
Turn the heat right down and put the orange slices back into the liquid. Poach gently until the slices are glossy and the rinds look translucent, about 25 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift the slices into a warm, sterilised 750ml jar.
Reduce the liquid once more by boiling, until it appears thicker. Pour the warm liquid over the oranges, adding the spices as well. If you have leftover liquid keep it – the oranges absorb the liquid they’re in, so you’ll probably find you can add moresix hours later.
Seal and label the jar. Don’t eat till Boxing Day. The longer you leave them the better they’ll be, though no longer than three months.
