A chef’s guide to a delectable Christmas

From a recipe for the ultimate roast chicken to a monkfish wellington for that picky pescetarian, a resourceful pudding using leftover panettone and a Christmas twist on a negroni, three chefs and one mixologist share their favourite recipes to dazzle your guests in this festive season.

A perfect Roast Chicken from Romain Bourrillon, Chef-Founder of Cocotte

This recipe gives you the juiciest, tastiest chicken – once you start making it this way you won’t go back.

Ingredients

1 large whole chicken
3 teaspoons of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Paprika
Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Make a marinade by mixing olive oil with paprika, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken and leave it to marinate – ideally overnight, but for at least two hours – in the fridge 

2. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees. The lower temperature and slow-cooking helps make the chicken juicier and retain the moisture

3. Put the chicken into the oven for 3-4 hours, depending on the size of the chicken. If you have a meat thermometer, the core temperature needs to reach 60 degrees celsius

4. When the chicken is cooked through or the core temperature is reached, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 45 minutes on a cooling rack. This means that the juices will be redistributed throughout the chicken and makes all the meat tender

5. When the chicken has cooled to room temperature, turn the grill on to a high heat. 

6. Rub oil and salt on the chicken skin then when the grill is hot put under the grill – around 6cm from the top of the chicken to the grill – facing forwards

7. Keep it here for 4 minutes, then turn around to face backwards for another 4 minutes, until the skin is crispy

Monkfish Wellington from Ben Boeynaems, Executive Chef at The Beaumont Hotel

Monkfish is a great alternative to turkey. It’s a good, meaty fish, and an ideal option for pescatarians. A Wellington is also a real show-stopper of a dish and would make a fine centrepiece for any Christmas table.

The Monkfish

This is quite a time-consuming dish, but the results are well worth the effort. You will need to buy:

Good quality, all-butter puff pastry
2 x 120g Portions taken from a 2kg Monkfish Tail (ask your fishmonger to portion and skin this for you)

It is important to purchase portions from a monkfish of this weight to ensure that the wellingtons are the correct size and are not too skinny.

1. Brine the monkfish portions in a solution of water with 5% salt – we also add 5% kombu as this adds a depth of flavour and meatiness to the monkfish (like you would find in a dashi)

2. Leave to brine for 12 hours

3. After 12 hours, pat dry and roll in a muslin cloth (or tea towel) and leave overnight to dry – this will prevent you getting soggy pastry in the wellington

4. In the meantime we will make a prawn and seaweed mousse for the wellington, alongside a herb pancake which will protect the monkfish and keep the pastry crisp

Prawn Mousse

100g Peeled raw prawns
5g chopped dried seaweed (wakame is perfect but you could use nori)
50g egg white
100g double cream
5g Maldon salt

1. Blend the prawns, egg white and salt together to make a fine puree

2. Slowly fold in the double cream and season with the seaweed powder

3. Place in the fridge to chill

Herb Pancake

1 egg
70g Flour
140g Milk
1g Maldon Salt
20g Soft herbs (chervil, dill, parsley)

1. Blend all the ingredients together

2. Cook the crepes like you would with a normal crepe – in a hot pan with butter and a thin layer of the pancake mix

The Wellington

1. Spread some of the prawn mousse on to the pancake, place a fillet of monkfish on top, roll the pancake around the monkfish to create a cylinder, tucking in the ends. Allow to set in the fridge

2. In the meantime roll out your puff pastry (you can also buy pre-rolled pastry), cut a rectangle large enough to encase the wellington, brush with egg yolk and wrap around monkfish

3. Egg wash and allow to rest in the fridge

4. Cook in a very high oven set at 200°C for 13 minutes until the pastry is golden, allow to rest for 5 minutes and carve.

5. At the colony we serve this with roasted root vegetables and red wine fish sauce
   

Leftover Panettone Bread & Butter Pudding from Jun Tanaka, Chef-Patron from Michelin-starred restaurant The Ninth

This is the festive version of our popular, customer favourite pain perdu dessert. This is the best way to use up any leftover Panettone from Christmas.

Ingredients

Leftover Panettone
500ml milk
500ml double cream
100g sugar
3 eggs
25g Vanilla essence

Method

1. For the Anglaise, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl 

2. Take an oven proof dish and add a layer of panettone. Ladle some of the Anglaise over the panettone. Then add another layer of panettone and some more Anglaise. Repeat this process until all the panettone is used up

3. Bake in the oven at 110C for 45mins

4. Take out of the oven and allow the dish to cool to room temperature 

5. Sprinkle some caster sugar over the top and blow torch until caramelised. Serve with ice cream

The Wintergroni from Matt Ottley, Head Bartender at Luca

This cocktail is a seasonal twist on Italy’s iconic aperitif, perfect for Christmas hosting.

Ingredients

25ml Malfy Blood Orange Gin 
25ml Amaro Montenegro
20ml Sweet Vermouth (we use Cocchi di Torino but any good sweet vermouth will do)
5ml Pino Mugo Liqueur (Italian pine liqueur, or a sprig of pine from your Christmas tree)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice and stir for 5 seconds or a little longer to dilute 

2. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit and a sprig of pine or rosemary for a little festive aroma