Christmas Recipes

Step away from the traditional festivities of a belly full to the brim, heavy and rich. Why don’t you try my wholesome Christmas recipes to keep everyone satisfied at the table.

ROAST GOOSE

GF – DF – NF

Effort: 2hrs 40mins

Serves 4

In the UK, geese are produced principally for the Christmas market. A simple step-by-step guide to cook the perfect roast goose. (1)

Goose is an excellent source of riboflavin and vitamin B-6. These vitamins help our bodies use energy from foods, backed by the energy being boosted by its strong iron source of iron. B vitamins are important for growth and healthy skin, hair, nerves and muscles. (2)

TIP: Roast for 30 mins per kg

INGREDIENTS

1 Whole Goose

Pinch of Salt

METHOD

1. 2-3 hours before cooking, lightly prick the skin over the breast, season generously, and return to the fridge. 30 mins before cooking, remove and leave out of the fridge. Remove the giblets from the cavity (keep to make a stock or gravy).
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C, rub the salt into the goose skin and then cover the goose with foil and roast for 30 mins.
3. Remove the foil, baste with the goose fat, put the goose on a wire rack in a roasting tin, and reduce the heat to 180°C. Roast for 2 – 2.30 hrs (30 mins per kg), basting halfway through. If the skin looks like it is starting to burn, cover with foil towards the end of cooking.
4. Check the bird is cooked, insert a knife into the thickest part of each leg where it joins the breast. The juices should run clear.
5. Leave to rest for 20 mins before carving.

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THE ULTIMATE PLANT-BASED STUFFING

GF, DF, V, Ve, NF

Serves: 4

Time to create: 50 mins

Serves: 4

Time to create: 50 mins

A feast of all things festive, designed to fit snuggly alongside your Christmas veg. 

The base is a straightforward sage and onion stuffing, but has been enriched with nutritional mushrooms, full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, chestnuts (3), which are low in fat, strong antioxidant holders and high in vitamin C, cranberries (4) which are strongly known as common cold defenders and flecks of, seasonal kale (5), which is swamped with antioxidants to evade the oxidants from your bodies that are known to inflict many diseases, including cancer.

Feel free to play around with the ingredients, just keep the weight the same. Ideal for so much more than just soaking up the gravy.

EQUIPMENT

Oven dish (15cm x 20cm)

INGREDIENTS

100g Green lentils

1 tbsp Rapeseed 

1 Red onion, finely diced

2 Celery stalks, finely diced

100g Mushrooms, finely diced

125g Cooked chestnuts

40g Dried cranberries

125g Crustless sourdough bread

2 Large black kale leaves

1 Lemon, finely zested

1 Garlic clove

2 tbsp Sage leaves

Crack of Black pepper

½ tsp Nutmeg, grated to taste

METHOD

1. Start by rinsing, and simmering your lentils. This will take 15 mins.
2. Warm 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion, celery, mushrooms, add to the pan, and a pinch of salt. Fry them gently for 15 minutes, until soft.
3. Loosely chop the chestnuts and cranberries and add to a large mixing bowl. Drain the cooked lentils, rinse them, and add them to the bowl for a light mash.
4. Finely shred the bread, or rip into and blend in a food processor. 
5. Strip the kale leaves away from the tough stalks. Discard the stalks and finely chop them in the food processor. Add a small pinch of salt and a dash more of the rapeseed oil. Blitz in the blender or mix by hand or until the bread and kale are finely chopped and flecked green. Tip into the main mixing bowl.
6. When the onions are soft, zest the lemon, finely chop the garlic and add to the pan, alongside and sage, and cook gently for a final 2 minutes before tipping into the mixing bowl too.
7. Season with a pinch of pepper, a light grating of the nutmeg and squeeze half of the lemon juice to the bowl. Mix well with your hands. Taste and tweak the seasoning with more salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon to your liking.
8. Transfer to the snug-fitting oven dish. Press it gently into the dish and furrow the top with a fork. Bake at 190˚C for 25 minutes, until piping hot and nicely coloured on the surface. 
9. If needed, sneak the oven to a grill for the last 2-5 minutes if the crust hasn’t crisped.

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SLOW BRAISED RED CABBAGE, BEETROOT & PEAR

GF, DF, NF

Serves: 4

Time to create: 1hr 25mins

There are countless braised red cabbage recipes, but the common thread is plenty of spice, some gentle heat and some generous time. 

Unlike most brassicas, red cabbage doesn’t suffer when cooked for a long time; it softens and deepens its fantastic colour. 

The beetroot adds to the earthiness and compounds the colour, along with highly nutritious and packed with essential vitamins, minerals, while the pear adds sweetness. (6)

INGREDIENTS

¼ red cabbage

1 medium beetroot

1 unripe pear

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

METHOD

1. Slice the cabbage as finely as you can. Peel the beetroot and cut it into fine matchsticks (or you can coarsely grate it to save time). Do the same with the pear – you needn’t peel it though. Finely slice the onion.
2. Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan. Throw everything in apart from the sugar. Pop a lid on and cook over a very gentle heat for 1 hour. Give it a stir every so often and make sure it isn’t drying out; add a dash of water if it does.
3. Taste the cabbage and tweak the seasoning with salt to your liking. If you’d like it sweeter, add a bit of sugar at this stage, to your taste. Pop the lid back on and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until completely soft and tender. You can serve it straightaway, but it’s arguably better reheated after a couple of days in the fridge.

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RECIPES CONTRIBUTED TO WHOLESOME WORLD BY RIVERFORD FARMERS.

So much has happened this year for Wholesome World, I’ve connected with some incredible folks and can’t wait to see what happens in the future. One of those is with Riverford Organics. They are pioneers of sustainable AND organic farming, whom I’ve been getting my seasonal fruit and veg from, for some time now. Check out my other post all about our friends over at Riverford farm. 

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