Xmastidings, folks!

Rallentare spigola al forno

Slow baked seabass with seafood nage

Ingredients

• Sea bass – 260 gm
• Baby potato – 80 gm
• Chopped garlic – 10 gm
• Calamari – 50 gm
• Prawn “B”grade -70 gm
• Red snapper – 80 gm
• Chopped Onion – 30 gm
• Olive oil – 10 ml
• White wine – 50 ml
• Cherry tomato – 10 gm
• Butter unsalted – 60 gm
• Salt – 3 gm
• Micro greens – 5 gm

Method

• Marinate the sea bass with salt, pepper, oil and white wine and keep aside.
• Seafood nage: in a pan, add oil, sautéed with chopped onion, seafood, white wine and potatoes.
• Sauté well.
• Add stock water with the seasoning. Thicken with cream and butter.
• Sear the sea bass on the pan and bake the fish in the oven at 190 °C for 8 minutes.
• Plate the sea bass as per the attached pic.

— Recipe courtesy Chef Thomas Joseph the head chef of Crowne Plaza

X’mas plum Pudding

Ingredients

• Sultanas – 30 gm
• Almonds – 50 gm
• Raisins – 50 gm
• Black currants – 30 gm
• Candid peel /Orange peel– 30 gm
• Dates 50 – gm
• Figs – 50 gm
• Cashewnuts – 30 gm
• Glazed cherries – 30 gm
• Dark Rum – 50 ml
• Brandy 50 – ml
• Port Wine 60 – ml
• Whiskey 50 – ml
• Brown sugar – 70 gm
• Ginger powder – 5 gm
• Star anise – 5 gm
• Cinnamon powder – 5 gm
• Mace – 2 gm
• Cloves – 5 gm
• Nutmeg – 2 gm
• Pepper – 2 gm
• Bread crumbs – 100 gm
• Lemon juice – 10 ml
• Apple green (grated) – 100 gm
• Eggs – 4
• Butter – 30 gm
• Flour – 100 gm

Method

• For the brandy sauce: Mix the Egg 4 yolks, Milk 300 ml, Sugar 100 gm, Cooking cream 200 ml, Brandy/Cognac 60 ml
• To prepare the pudding mixture: Pre-heat the oven to 150°C. De-seed raisins, sultanas and dates. Finely chop dry fruits and mix spices separately. Mix bread crumbs, lemon juice, grated apple, butter, flour, eggs and remaining liquors with spices into the fruit mixture. Keep covered or refrigerate. Mix from time to time. Let it steep for 3-4 days. With approximately 1,200 gm mixture, grease 3 medium-sized pudding moulds or 5-6 small dariole moulds. Fill molds ¾th and wrap the opening with a silver foil. Place them in a water bath. Bake for an hour for medium sized molds or 40 minutes for smaller ones.
• To prepare the brandy sauce:
• Cook egg yolks, milk and sugar on a double boiler till light and fluffy. Let the custard cool. Whip cream till semi-soft peaks are formed and fold it into cooled custard. Heat a pan till hot, flame brandy/cognac, let it cool and fold into the sauce. Chill before serving.

To serve: Warm the pudding and before serving, flame some brandy in a hot pan and pour it over the pudding. Garnish with a holly, if available. Serve with the chilled brandy sauce.

Rosemary potatoes

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes – 250 gm
• Rock Salt to taste
• Rosemary, chopped – 1 tsp
• Sour cream – 150 gm
• Olive Oil to drizzle
• Pepper –  ½ tsp
• Chopped chives/Parsley – 1 tsp
• Garlic crushed – 4-5 pods
• Bacon diced – 2 tbsp

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 170° C. Wash the potatoes and scrub thoroughly to remove excess dirt and a little skin. Rub with sea salt; sprinkle coarsely ground pepper, chopped rosemary crushed garlic, diced bacon and generous amount of olive oil. Toss them and arrange them in a silver foil lined baking tray.  Bake them for 25-30 minutes or till done. Stir in chopped chives/parsley into the sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve hot with sour cream and some more generous drizzle of Olive Oil.
• Cherry tomatoes are an excellent additive to the roasted potatoes.

— Recipes courtesy Executive Chef Manu Chandra, Olive Beach

Christmas stollen

Ingredients

• White flour – 150 gm
• Fresh milk – 100 gm
• Fresh yeast – 20 gm  
• White cake flour – 200 gm
• Unsalted butter – 100 gm
• Sugar – 40 gm   
• Yeast –10 gm
• Salt – 3 gm
• Stolen spice – 50 gm
• Marzipan – 35 gm
• Almonds (ground) – 50 gm
• Raisins – 15 gm
• Mixed fruits – 30 gm
• Lemon juice – 5 ml
• Egg wash – 50 gm
• Milk powder – 20 gm
• Hazelnut powder – 15 gm

Method

• Knead all items at room temperature. Mix slowly for 3 minutes at speed 1.
• Mix faster for 2 minutes speed 2 and then for 1 minute at speed 3.
• Add fruits.
• Mix slowly for 1 minute
• Take out mixture, cover in plastic and rest for 1 ½ hours.
• Bake at 220° C for about 1 hour, reduce temp to 180° C for 30 minutes.
• When baked dip in warm butter.
• Fold the mixture in sugar.
• When cool cover with icing sugar.
• Wrap whole so that it does not dry out.

Christmas pudding Marination

Ingredients

• Currants – 225 gm
• Raisins and sultanas
• Mixed peel – 120 gm
• Mixed spice – 120 gm
• Self-raising flour – 170 gm
• Bread crumbs – 250 gm
• Brown sugar – 250 gm
• Butter – 250 gm
• Eggs – 3
• Spoon black treacle – 10 gm
• Gold label  – 300 gm
• Brandy and Dark Rum – 300 gm

Method

• In a large bowl mix the ingredients in the order that they are listed above.
• After the flour, add some liquid and stir well.
• Add the eggs and the remaining liquids.
• Should the mix be too heavy, add a few extra drops of Rum.
• Cover the bowl and leave for 24 hours.
• Divide the mix into two inch moulds.
• Using baking paper, cut a circle and place on top of the mix.
• Cover well with tin foil and place in the steamer for 7 hours.
• Carefully take from the steamer, remove the foil and baking paper and turn out onto a serving plate.

Serve with Brandy sauce