Stress free recipes for Christmas

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Stress free recipes for Christmas No matter how much you love cooking for your family, serving the ultimate festive spread isn’t always a merry affair, because more often than not, getting the roast turkey and all the trimmings on the table on time feels like a logistical nightmare that ends with a kitchen meltdown. But it is possible to still enjoy cooking on Christmas Day – it just takes some organisation. Follow these simple recipes and get it right for a stress-free dining table. Best-Ever Roast Potatoes INGREDIENTS: (Serves 8) 3kg potatoes Sunflower oil Sea salt DIRECTIONS: A day or two before roasting, prepare the potatoes. You need chunks or whole potatoes the size of a clementine, so peel and leave whole, halve or quarter. Place the potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water – salting is important, don’t skip it. Bring the water to the boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked but not on the brink of collapse. Gently drain the potatoes but do not shake them – just leave them to drain and cool. Once there is no more steam coming off them, place on a tray in a single layer and put them in the fridge, uncovered, until ready to roast. Heat oven to 200C (or put them in when you turn it up for the turkey). Pour oil into a deep roasting tin to give an even layer of about 0.5cm. Place the tin in the oven for five minutes to heat the oil, then take out again. One at a time and starting at one corner of the roasting tin and lining them up place each potato in the oil and use a spoon to turn it until completely coated. Once all the potatoes are in the tin, not touching, place the tin in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn each potato. Return to the oven for 20 minutes, then repeat the potato-turning process. If, at this stage, your other side dishes allow you to, turn the oven up to 220C and give the potatoes a final 20 minutes. You should have potatoes that are deep, golden and crunchy on the outside, with an extra-fluffy middle. Sprinkle with a little sea salt to serve. Crispy Basted Turkey INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6-8) 5kg-6kg oven-ready turkey (neck and giblets removed) 2 thyme sprigs; 1 onion, halved; 1 lemon, halved; 2 bay leaves; 1 garlic bulb, halved For the salt mix: 85g flaky sea salt; 2tbsp fresh thyme leaves; 1tsp crushed black pepper For the crispy butter: 6 thin beef strips, chopped into small pieces; 140g butter, softened; 1tbsp maple syrup DIRECTIONS: Salt the turkey the day before. Make the salt mix by grinding the salt with the thyme leaves and pepper in a spice grinder. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin and season all over. Leave the turkey in the tin, breast-side up, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for up to 24 hours. For the beef bacon butter, gently cook the beef in a pan for about 10 minutes, until the fat has seeped into the pan and sizzling gently. Take off the heat, leave to cool slightly. Scrape the beef and fat into a food processor with the butter and maple syrup. Blitz to combine. Roll up the butter in cling film and place in the fridge. (Can be made a few days ahead or frozen for a month.) Remove the turkey from the fridge an hour or so before you want to cook it. Remove the bacon butter from the fridge to soften up. Heat oven to 180C. Calculate your cooking time based on 40 minutes per kg for the first four kg of the turkey, plus 45 minutes for every kg after that. Gently push your fingers under the skin of the turkey, starting from the neck, until you can push your whole hand in and down the length of the breast. Spread the beef bacon butter under the skin so it covers the entire breast area, and there is butter between the thigh and main body. Pop a sprig of thyme under the skin of each breast, then smooth the skin over. Place the onion, lemon, bay leaves and garlic in the cavity. Cover the tin loosely with foil and roast for the calculated cooking time. 30 minutes before the end of cooking, increase the oven temperature to 200C remove the foil, baste the turkey and return to the oven. When the turkey is brown and cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to rest on a warm platter covered in foil for up to one hour. Pour the fat away from the roasting tin, leaving just the juices. Serve the remaining salt mix as a seasoning alongside the rest of the meal. Ginger And Orange-Glazed Baby Carrots INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6-8) 900g baby carrots, washed and scrubbed 50g butter 25g piece ginger, peeled and finely grated 2tbsp clear honey Zest 1 orange Salt and pepper DIRECTIONS: Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the carrots. Simmer for five minutes until slightly tender, then drain. In a wide pan, heat the butter until melting, add the carrots, ginger, honey and orange zest. Cook over a medium heat for 25-30 minutes, turning them gently every now and then, until the carrots start to go golden and sticky. Keep turning every now and again until all sides are browning. Season well before serving. Read the original story at: Stress free recipes for Christmas