Nigel Slater?s recipes for salmon and sprouts, and chocolate ginger sundae
The house is bathed in the glow from the Christmas tree. There are scented parcels tied with ribbon, a majestic panettone on a cake stand in the larder and the rough puff pastry is rolled, folded and wrapped in baking parchment in the fridge. I?ve been playing carols for a fortnight or more.
We are so close now to the principal meals of Christmas, most of which are probably sorted and partially shopped for. It is those last-minute dishes I feel are most useful. The quick toss-up of greens and smoked fish; a dessert that can be made in minutes and, perhaps, the odd homemade edible gift. Christmas is, of course, about more than one meal.
I have already made that quick fry-up of sprouts and salmon. Twice, in fact. The bacon fat, hot and sizzling, coats the greens and works brilliantly with the smoked fish. Whether it?s in a thick, smoked-haddock chowder or wrapped around a scallop, bacon is a fine partner for seafood and for green leaves, too.
As much as I love the traditional puddings of yuletide, the stick-to-your ribs plum pudding and many-layered trifle in its shimmering glass bowl, they are not loved by all. (I speak as someone who will soon be found wolfing plum pudding for breakfast.) There are quicker, less complex offerings that can feel just as festive. This year I am reinventing a childhood favourite that involved leaving biscuits and whipped cream to soften together in the fridge. Mine is a rather bells-and-whistle version with crushed dark chocolate gingers and praline, but then it is Christmas.
There is probably no better time to be in the kitchen than over the next few days. The smells, at once so rich and sweet, entice us in; there are birds to roast; tiny pies to make and dust with sparkling sugar. There are nuts to toast, (the traditional vegetarian nut roast, freckled with thyme and golden onions, also makes a fantastic stuffing, baked in a shallow tray so the top goes crisp) and I doubt I will be alone in soaking golden sponge cake in sherry and layering it with custard and cream and toasted nuts.
My favourite fruit for a trifle is blackcurrants, from the freezer, cooked with enough sugar and water to make a sweet-tart syrup, but I also have a deeply nostalgic love of tinned pears and their juice for such moments. Whatever you are eating this year, I wish you the best of times. Happy Christmas.
Salmon and sprouts
I like sprouts best when they are kept away from water. Fried in bacon fat, tossed with hot olive oil or sliced and simmered in miso broth are a few of the ways in which they seem to come to life. They also make a first-class supper cooked with snippets of spring onions, smoked bacon and hot-smoked salmon.
Serves 2. Ready in 25 minutes
spring onions 10, thin
olive oil 2 tbsp
smoked back bacon 5 rashers
brussels sprouts 300g
hot-smoked salmon 350g
parsley a small bunch
Remove and discard the roots and dark green tips of the spring onions, then finely slice. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, add the spring onions and let them cook over a moderate heat for 10 minutes or so, until soft and sweet.
Cut the bacon into small pieces about the size of a stamp, then stir into the onions and let them carry on cooking until the fat turns pale gold. Thickly slice the brussels sprouts, wash them thoroughly and shake them dry.
Stir the sliced sprouts into the spring onions and bacon and leave them to cook, with the occasional stir, for 5 minutes or until they have brightened in colour and are soft and tender. Break the salmon into large pieces and tuck among the sprouts.
Remove and roughly chop the parsley leaves, add to the pan and season generously with black pepper. Divide between shallow bowls to serve.
Chocolate ginger sundae
View image in fullscreen ?A more delicious version of those instant desserts made by crumbling digestive biscuits into whipped cream?: chocolate ginger sundae. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer
This dessert is, I suppose, a contemporary version of those instant desserts made by crumbling digestive biscuits into whipped cream. Except that this is a lot more delicious, with its hints of dark chocolate and ginger and the crunch of almond praline. It is best given a good hour in the fridge ? longer if you have time. Serves 4. Ready in 40 minutes, plus chilling time
double cream 250ml
plain yoghurt 125g
chocolate-coated ginger biscuits (or chocolate lebkuchen) 200g
blanched almonds 40g
skinned hazelnuts 40g
caster sugar 100g
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream until it will sit in soft folds (but don?t whisk until stiff enough to stand in peaks). Carefully fold in the yoghurt without overmixing. Chop or crush the biscuits into pieces roughly the size of a hazelnut, scatter them into the cream and yoghurt and stir in gently. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Lightly oil a nonstick baking sheet. That may seem like belt and braces, but I find it does the trick
Lightly oil a nonstick baking sheet. (That may seem like belt and braces, but I find it does the trick.) Put the blanched almonds and hazelnuts in a shallow pan over a moderate heat. Shake the pan occasionally to move the nuts around so they brown more evenly.
When the nuts are a toasty golden brown, sprinkle the sugar over them and leave to melt. Let this happen slowly, watching the progress carefully, and without stirring. Once most of the sugar has melted and is turning a pale gold, tilt the pan from side to side, so the melted and unmelted sugars merge together. Once it?s turned a deep golden colour, pour it on to the oiled baking sheet and leave to set.
When the praline is cold, break off a few clusters and set aside, then reduce the rest to coarse crumbs. This is done in seconds in a food processor, or you can do it by hand. I prefer the crumbs to be different sizes rather than uniform. Gently fold most of the crushed praline into the cream and biscuits, then spoon into glasses or small dishes. Scatter over the remaining crushed praline, then the reserved clusters of nuts to finish.
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