Prepare your own Festive Feast

One of the best things about the Festive Season is most certainly the food. It’s the one time of the year when you’re allowed to indulge to your heart’s content without feeling guilty. We’ve compiled a few recipes to help you prepare a festive feast. Here they are!

Roast Pork with Cashew Stuffing

Ingredients

• 1 loin of pork boned

Stuffing

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp course salt
• grated rind 1 orange
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 4 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 cup cashews roughly chopped

Make the stuffing by melting butter in a frying pan. Then add shallots, cashews and ginger and cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes stirring. Put into a large bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients except the coarse salt. Spoon the stuffing mixture onto the loin of pork and roll up and tie together with kitchen string. Place the pork on a rack set in a baking dish and rub rind all over with the coarse salt. Bake in a preheated very hot oven (250° C) for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 180° C and cook for a further 2 hours or until cooked.


To test if it is cooked run a skewer into the thickest part of pork and see if the juices run clear and the flesh should have no tinge of pink. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving. While the pork is resting make the gravy from the pan drippings if desired. To serve the Roast Pork with Cashew Stuffing remove the string and carve the pork crosswise into slices so each slice contains some of the stuffing.

Duck with Orange Sauce

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg duck
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper
• few stalks parsley
• 1 orange and 1 lemon
• 1 small onion chopped
• neck and giblets from duck

Orange Sauce

• 1 orange
• 2 tsp butter
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup port
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp arrowroot
• 2 tbsp Grand Marnier
• 1 cup reserved duck stock
• orange slices and watercress to garnish

Remove excess fat from inside of duck cavity and dry with paper towels, then cut orange and lemon into quarters and place inside cavity. Season duck with salt and pepper and then bind up. Place the duck in a deep casserole dish with onion, parsley, roughly chopped neck, giblets and water. Cover the casserole and cook duck in a moderate oven (180° C) for 1 hour turning once or twice. Remove duck reserving liquid and place breast side up on a rack in a baking dish then return to oven and increase heat to moderately hot (190° C). Roast duck uncovered for 10 minutes, turn breast side down, and then roast another 10 minutes. Finally turn breast side up and roast another 10 minutes or until the duck is golden brown.

Meanwhile make the sauce by straining the liquid from the casserole dish and skim as much fat as possible from the surface and reserve one cup. Put sugar and the vinegar in a saucepan and boil for 1 or 2 minutes until thick and syrupy then stir in the reserved cup of stock. Carefully remove the rind from an orange with a vegetable peeler and cut into fine strips then add to saucepan and bring to the simmer. Squeeze juice from the orange and mix with arrowroot then add to the sauce and stir until smooth and thickened. Stir in the port and Grand Marnier and heat through, but do not boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. At this stage take the sauce off the heat. When ready to serve gently reheat the sauce and stir in the butter. To serve the Duck with Orange Sauce remove the binding strings from the duck and place on a heated platter then spoon a little sauce over to glaze and serve the rest separately in a heated sauce dish. Garnish platter with orange slices and watercress.

Mince Pies

Ingredients

Fruit Mince

• 1/3 cup brandy
• 125g mixed peel
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 250g suet finely grated
• 90g almonds finely chopped
• 1 cup drained crushed pineapple
• juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
• juice and grated rind of 1 large orange
• 1 large Granny Smith apple peeled and grated
• 125g each currants, sultanas and chopped raisins

Pastry

• 60g egg
• 125g butter
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 egg white lightly beaten
• sifted icing sugar to garnish

Combine all the ingredients for the fruit mince and spoon into jars with well fitting lids and store in the refrigerator for at least a week before using (the flavour of the fruit mince develops and grows richer with time). For the pastry: cream the butter and sugar then add egg and beat in, add sifted flours and fold in. Knead lightly and then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Roll out onto a floured surface and cut out 8cm rounds with a floured cutter.

Fit rounds into well greased tartlet cases and spoon the fruit mince into cases. From the remaining pastry cut lids into star shapes with a biscuit cutter and put on top of pies. Brush lids with egg white and bake Mince Pies in a moderate oven (180° C) for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool in the tins for a minute before removing to wire racks. Serve the Mince Pies warm dusted with sifted icing sugar. If baking ahead and freezing allow pies to thaw at room temperature then heat for 3 to 4 minutes in a moderate oven.

Iced Festive Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup chocolate bits
• 1/2 cup toasted flaked almonds
• 1 litre vanilla ice cream softened
• 1/4 cup chopped glazed pineapple
• 1/2 cup each sultanas,currants and chopped raisins
• 1/4 cup each chopped glazed cherries and mixed peel

In a bowl mix the fruits with brandy and cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight. Place the softened ice cream and cream in a very large bowl and stir in the fruits, almonds and chocolate bits then spoon into a 7 cup pudding basin and cover with freeze wrap. Freeze until required. Serve the Iced Festive Pudding with cold custard.