A selection of mouth-watering mains and sides for your holiday table.
Curried Whole Roast Chicken
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, giblets removed
- 500g baby potatoes, halved
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Handful fresh micro herbs, for serving
To prepare the curry marinade, you’ll need:
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/4 cup chilli oil
- 1 tbsp grated garlic
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp masala mix
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
Method
1. Tie the chicken legs together and the wings close to the body, using kitchen twine, and place the chicken in a large roasting tray or dish.
2. Add the potatoes around the chicken, then season it all.
3. Mix the marinade ingredients together and rub into the chicken and potatoes.
4. Leave to marinate for at least an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cover the roasting tray with foil.
6. Roast for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and roast uncovered for a further 40 minutes, until golden.
Serve garnished with fresh micro herbs.
Whole Braaied Pumpkin With Honeyed Brussels Sprouts
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 medium pumpkin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 3/4 cup brown rice
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup pecan nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 kg Brussels sprouts, halved
- 3 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For serving, you’ll need:
- 1/4 cup micro herbs
- 1 disc feta, crumbled
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- 4 pieces lemon peel
To prepare the pumpkin
1. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds, hollowing it out slightly.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the thyme, chilli flakes and mixed spice and fry for another minute.
3. Add the rice, raisins, pecans and vegetable stock to the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon the rice mixture into the pumpkin and pop the top back on. Wrap the pumpkin in a double layer of foil.
6. Place the pumpkin parcel straight into a mound of medium-hot coals and cook for 1–1 ½ hours, replenishing the coals regularly to keep a consistent heat.
To prepare the Brussels sprouts
1. Place the sprouts in a foil package and top with honey, butter, lemon zest and a sprinkling of salt.
2. Close the foil tightly and place on a braai grid over medium-hot coals. Cook for 15-20 minutes, shaking the package gently every 5 minutes, until the sprouts are tender on the inside and slightly crispy and charred on the outside.
To serve, place the pumpkin on a serving platter and spoon the Brussels sprouts around it. Top with micro herbs, feta, radish slices and lemon peel. This recipe also works perfectly for hollowed-out butternut halves.
Glazed Gammon With Roasted Apple, Grapes and Bay Leaves
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 2kg boneless gammon
- 3 onions, halved
- 4 carrots, roughly chopped
- 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 L apple juice
- 1 tbsp cloves
For the glaze, you’ll need
- 1/2 cup maple-flavoured syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup treacle sugar or brown sugar
- 3 tbsp English mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the trimmings
- 6 apples
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2-3 bunches grapes
- 2 fresh bay leaves (optional)
To cook the gammon
1. Add the gammon, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns into a large pot
2. Pour over the apple juice and top up with water so that the gammon is covered.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil over a high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook gammon for 1 hour 45 minutes.
4. Remove the gammon from the liquid and set aside to cool slightly.
To glaze and roast the gammon
1. Whisk all the glaze ingredients together in a bowl, season and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C and line the bottom and sides of a large, deep baking tray with foil. 3. Remove the netting from the gammon (if applicable) and using a sharp knife, peel away the skin, leaving as much fat as possible.
3. Score a criss-cross pattern in the fat using the knife, making sure to not cut all the way through. It should make diamond shapes.
4. Place a clove in the middle of each diamond until the top of the gammon is completely studded with cloves
5. Place the gammon onto the prepared baking tray and brush generously with half of the glaze.
6. Roast for 10-15 minutes, until golden and crispy, basting with the remaining glaze every 3-4 minutes.
For the trimmings
1. Halve some of the apples and cut the others into wedges.
2. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the apple in batches, flesh-side down, for 2-3 minutes until golden.
3. Arrange apple and grapes on a lined baking tray. Brush with remaining glaze.
4. Roast for 10-15 minutes.
To serve, place gammon on a large platter and decorate with the roasted apple, grapes and bay leaves.
Honey & Mustard Glazed Carrots
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1kg baby rainbow carrots, washed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups fresh watercress
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. In a large bowl, toss carrots with all the ingredients, except watercress, and transfer to an oven tray.
3. Roast for 25 minutes until golden.
4. Serve garnished with watercress.
You can also add parsnips, turnips or beets to the carrots if you like.
Photography: Courtesy of My Kitchen
