FABULOUS FESTIVE DISHES FROM FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY BY NICKY STUBBS

This season, treat your loved ones to an impressive array of delicious dishes from For Friends & Family by Nicky Stubbs

LEMONY MUSTARD GREEN BEANS
SERVES 6-8 AS A SIDE DISH

600g fine green beans
50g (1/2 cup) hazelnuts
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh cream
10ml (2 tsp) Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

METHOD

Trim the beans and boil briefly in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain immediately in a sieve or colander and run cold water over them to halt the cooking process. Keep aside until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and place in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the skins have blackened. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using a tea towel, rub off the skins. Store in an airtight container until used.
Mix the cream, mustard and lemon juice together, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Store, covered, in the fridge until needed.
Drizzle the cream dressing over the beans, sprinkle with the chopped, toasted hazelnuts and serve immediately. Serve as a starter with crusty bread or as a side dish with roasts.

SLOW-COOKED PORK NECK ON A BED OF APPLES & ONIONS
SERVES 6-8
Pork belly is easier to find than neck, but it can be very fatty and because of the slow, covered cooking process, you may end up with too much fat. Look for the neck or ask your supermarket or butcher to prepare it for you. It has an excellent flavour and responds well to slow cooking.

INGREDIENTS

1 rolled pork neck (around 2kg)
30ml (2 Tbsp) olive oil
6 apples (Granny Smith gives good flavour), cored and quartered but not peeled
2 onions, sliced
1 handful of fresh sage leaves
500ml (2 cups) dry white wine or dry cider (apple cider is delicious if you can get it)
30ml (2 Tbsp) English mustard
Salt and white pepper
Mashed potatoes and sautéed cabbage, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 140°C.
In a heavy-bottomed stovetop-to-oven casserole dish with a lid, brown the pork on all sides in the olive oil.
Remove from the heat and remove the pork from the dish.
Place the apples, onions and sage leaves in the bottom of the casserole dish and put the pork back on top. Pour over the wine or cider, rub the pork with mustard and season the whole dish with salt and pepper.
Place a piece of wet, wrungout baking paper or old butter wrapper on the pork and tuck it down loosely. This helps keep the meat juicy. Cover the dish with the lid.
Roast for 21/2-3 hours until very soft and flavourful.
Serve with mashed potatoes and sautéed cabbage, Savoy if you can find it.

“Pork neck has an excellent flavour and responds well to slow cooking.”

RATATOUILLE
SERVES 8 AS A SIDE DISH
As a side dish with any roast, as a starter sprinkled with Parmesan, or simply eaten on its own, ratatouille is versatile and can be served hot, cold or at room temperature. Ratatouille shouldn’t be a lumpy vegetable stew, but rather a carefully made layering of complementary vegetables. The wonderful Disney movie Ratatouille takes this wholesome, nourishing dish to new heights. It also brilliantly shows how food and eating can evoke childhood memories and call up the nostalgia of home better than anything else.

INGREDIENTS

3 peppers (red, yellow and orange), cored and thickly sliced
1 large aubergine (brinjal), thickly sliced
Small punnet courgettes (baby marrows), cut into chunks
125ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 onions (red if available), sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tins (410g each) chopped Italian tomatoes
5ml (1 tsp) brown sugar
1 punnet fresh basil

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Place the peppers, aubergine and courgettes in a roomy baking dish, pour in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, rub the vegetables all over to make sure they are covered in oil.
Roast for 20 minutes.
Add the onions and garlic in a layer and mix in gently. Roast for another 20 minutes.
Pour over the chopped tomatoes evenly, sprinkle with sugar, season with salt and pepper and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
If serving hot, mix in the basil leaves and serve immediately. The heat will blacken the basil leaves. If serving at room temperature or cold, add the basil leaves just before serving, scattered on top.

POTATO SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE
SERVES 8-10

INGREDIENTS

700g potatoes (baby Mediterranean or Nicola potatoes work well)
Pinch of salt
3 boiled extra-large eggs
(9 minutes), chopped
30ml (2 Tbsp) capers, drained (optional)
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) pitted black olives (optional)
60ml (1/4 cup) chopped fresh parsley
60ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar
60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
15ml (1 Tbsp) Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

METHOD

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender right through when pricked.
Drain and allow to cool a little, then cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Add the eggs, capers, spring onions and olives.
Mix the remaining ingredients together with a wire whisk until well blended and season to taste. Pour the mixture over the potatoes while they are still warm and mix gently.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Store, covered, in the fridge for up to four days.

Related article: Festive family treats

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS PUDDING
SERVES 12
I love Christmas pudding but I don’t love the overly sweet, raisin-heavy version available commercially. This recipe is easy to make, has almost no flour and delivers a light and flavourful end to a Christmas meal. Serve with brandy butter. The pudding mixture needs to stand overnight, so start the day before. It is important to have a heatproof mixing bowl (1,5 litres) with a lip or an old-fashioned pudding bowl to steam the pudding.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PUDDING

100g butter (or suet if you can get it), at room temperature
50g self-raising flour
100g fresh breadcrumbs (make by whizzing bread in a food processor)
5ml (1 tsp) ground mixed spice
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cinnamon
250g treacle sugar
100g sultanas
100g raisins
100g currants
25g mixed candied peel
100g slivered almonds
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and grated
Grated rind of 1 orange
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 extra-large eggs
75ml (5 Tbsp) brandy
100ml stout

FOR THE BRANDY BUTTER

125g (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
250g icing sugar, sifted
45ml (3 Tbsp) brandy

METHOD

Mix together the butter, flour, breadcrumbs, spices, sugar, dried fruit, candied peel, almonds, grated apple and rinds in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, brandy and stout with a fork. Mix this into the fruit mixture, combining well.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a cool place or in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 140°C. Grease a mixing bowl or a pudding basin. Boil the kettle.
Fill the prepared mixing bowl or pudding basin with the pudding mixture, smoothing the surface. Cover with a double layer of baking paper, tied with string. Make a handle with extra string so that it is easy to lift the pudding in and out of the boiling water.
Place the bowl or basin in a roasting pan and fill to at least halfway with the boiling water. Cover the roasting pan and pudding with a sheet of foil, tucking it in to stay in place.
Place the roasting pan and pudding in the oven and leave to steam for 5-6 hours. Check from time to time (not more than twice) that there is still sufficient water to steam the pudding. If necessary, top up with boiling water from the kettle.
Serve warm with brandy butter. If the pudding has cooled, warm through briefly in the microwave oven.
To make the brandy butter, beat all the ingredients together with a wire whisk or a hand beater.
Store, covered, in the fridge until needed. Heat before serving.