Cook a show-stopping but stress-free Christmas dinner with Evoke Kitchens.
Presented by Chef John Whelan of The Devil’s Menu in association with Siemens studioLine.
Enjoy this free online Christmas Cookery Evening which you can enjoy and cook-along with from the comfort and safety of your own home.
On the night, Evoke’s Ambassador Chef John Whelan of The Devil’s Menu in Graiguenamanagh will cooked up a festive feast in his Evoke Kitchen using Siemens studioLine appliances, showed us how to re-create the mouth-watering Christmas dishes at home, regardless of what appliances you use. He also showed us some fabulous wine pairings from the experts in World Wide Wines.
Whether you’re cooking Christmas dinner for the first time this year or you’ve done it every year since you can remember, you’re guaranteed to pick up some top tips to help you prep a Christmas dinner to remember!
Christmas Dinner Recipes
FIRST COURSE
Sweet Potato Velouté Soup
Traditionally velouté is made with a roux base, but for this velouté soup, the roux isn’t necessary as the sweet potato gives the soup a very creamy, smooth texture. This also means the dish is gluten free as well as being incredibly delicious.
Ingredients:
Sweet Potatoes (1 medium potato per person)
1 Medium Onion
Light Olive Oil
200ml Double Cream
500ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
Sea Salt, White Pepper, Nutmeg or Mixed Spice to taste
Method:
Peel and roughly chop the sweet potato.
Peel and roughly chop the onion.
Heat a medium sized saucepan on the hob for a minute mid to high heat.
Add a tbsp of olive oil, wait 20 seconds then add the onions. Stir, cover, with a lid and sweat down for 5 mins or until translucent. Stir occasionally without browning the onions.
Add the sweet potatoes, stir, add your stock, cover and bring to boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Add cream and seasoning.
Blitz with a hand or jug blender until smooth. Do a taste test and add more seasoning if desired.
Chill until needed.
Reheat in a pan or microwave until hot.
Parmesan Crisp
This one is super simple and changes the taste & texture of the parmesan to something more akin to crispy roast chicken skin which adds great depth of flavour to the dish.
Ingredients:
1 large wedge of fresh Parmesan.
Method:
Finely grate half the Parmesan wedge onto a metal tray lined with baking paper.
Evenly spread out the parmesan into 6 rounds (using a cookie cutter or clean food tin with top and bottom removed).
Cook in the oven at 180C for 8-10 mins or until it is golden brown, remove and cool.
Store in an airtight container for up to seven days.
SECOND COURSE
Goats cheese cream puff pastry, served with strawberries poached in red wine.
Goats Cheese Cream
Ingredients:
Good quality honey (local if possible)
Double Cream
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Method:
Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender.
Blitz together
Taste and add more black pepper or honey if necessary.
Chill until needed (in a piping bag if you have one).
Red Wine Strawberries
Ingredients:
6 large firm fresh strawberries (hulled, removing the core)
Half a bottle of red wine.
80g brown or white sugar
Star Anise
Method:
Add the wine, sugar and a pinch of star anise to a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add hulled strawberries to simmering wine.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, remove from heat.
When cool, carefully remove the berries and store in fridge in a plastic container with a drizzle of wine over them.
Boil the remaining wine down to half its volume and chill. (We’ll use this as the syrup for the dressing)
Puff Pastry
Life is too short to make puff pastry from scratch, so buy a good quality puff pastry and save yourself the stress and hassle onChristmasDay!
Ingredients:
1 pack pre-rolled puff pastry (rested, out of the fridge for 30 minutes before use).
1 egg, 2 tbsp milk. Beaten
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C
Unroll the pastry (take out of fridge 30 mins before use) and cut in half from top to bottom.
Brush with water one side of the pastry and lay the other half on top. Gently press together.
Cut into rounds or squares (minimum of two more than you intend to serve so you have backups in case they crumble before you serve them)
Place onto a lined baking tray and brush with egg wash.
Bake for 20 minutes or until rich golden brown.
Cool and store in an airtight container until needed.
How to serve:
Cut the lid off the pastry carefully and reserve. Remove as much of the inner pastry as you can with a small knife without breaking the shell.
Fill the puff with the goat’s cheese cream.
Put the pastry lid back on. Top with poached strawberry.
Spoon over the red wine syrup.
Finish it with a small fresh basil leaf and serve.
MAIN COURSE
A traditional Christmas dinner with brined turkey breast and stuffed turkey leg wrapped in Prosciutto, served with caramelised roasted onions, pickled carrots and olive oil roast potatoes.
Brined Turkey Breast
Brining the turkey breast keeps it moist and imparts a delicious flavour enhancement.
Brine Ingredients:
Red Wine Vinegar 300ml
Water 1.5lt
Brown Sugar 60g
Salt 80g
Honey 1tbsp
Method:
Boil the water, add the ingredients.
Boil for 1 minute and then chill.
Once chilled immerse the turkey breast in the brine for 24hrs.
Place turkey breast into a large Dutch oven or casserole dish and pour over the brine.
Place in a preheated oven (180C) with the lid on.
Cook for 1-1.5 hr. Check temp with a temperature probe. Once it has reached 75C it's ready to rest.
Remove and wrap in parchment paper to rest until you’re ready to carve. Or chill and slice into portions, then cover in cling film until needed.
Steamed and roasted stuffed turkey leg wrapped in Prosciutto
Moist brown meat filled with a spiced pork stuffing, wrapped in thin slices of salty prosciutto. This one creates a scuffle for second helpings at the table.
Ingredients:
Medium size turkey legs. Get your butcher to bone out your turkey legs and remove the skin, tendons and sinew. Keeping the thigh & leg as one.
2 packs of sliced prosciutto.
Good quality sausage meat or a 50/50 of pork shoulder/belly minced.
100g of bread crumbs
1tsp sea salt, 1 tsp white pepper, 1/2tsp mixed spice for flavour.
1 medium onion finely chopped
10-15 sage leaves.
Method:
Mix your stuffing together and chill.
Lay 2 pieces of cling onto your counter, overlapping by 5cm. North/South direction. Then 1 piece from west to east across the cling film starting near the bottom. We’ll use this to roll the turkey leg and stuffing.
Lay overlapping slices of Prosciutto (about 1cm) in a north to south direction on the lower middle section of the cling film. Use 6 slices.
Place your turkey leg onto the Prosciutto. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the turkey with half the stuffing.
Carefully roll the top of the turkey leg over to create a sausage shape.
(Refer to Evoke Kitchens video for technique).
You can now steam the leg or poach it in water until cooked. 75C with a temp probe.
Remove cling film and place in a roasting tray. Brush with butter and roast for 25-35 mins in a hot oven (200C) until the outside is golden brown and caramelised.
Rest, covered with parchment paper for 10 mins before slicing and serving.
Sage & Onion Stuffing
Slightly crispy stuffing that is worth making extra of as it is incredible teamed with any leftover meat in sandwiches later on!
Ingredients:
300g rough chunky breadcrumbs. (We recommend Seagull sourdough if possible)
2 large onions roughly diced.
15-20 fresh sage leaves finely chopped.
100g butter.
Sea salt & black pepper.
Olive oil 100ml.
Method:
Sweat off the onions in a large saucepan or frying pan. Until they are softened.
Add the finely chopped sage leaves.
Add the butter and melt.
In a large bowl mix the breadcrumbs and onion/sage together. Season with salt and pepper and pour out onto a lined baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil.
Cook in a preheated oven 180C for 30-40 mins stirring the mix occasionally to let it brown evenly.
Once golden brown, cool and check the seasoning.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Pickled Carrots
These are incredible on their own, never mind alongside a show-stoppingChristmasdinner!
Ingredients:
6 large carrots.
Half a star anise
30g sea salt
30g of brown sugar
250ml water
200ml cider vinegar
Method:
Peel and slice the carrots in half, lengthways.
Put the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan large enough for the carrots to fit in.
Boil, then add the carrots.
Cook for 10 mins on a fast simmer.
Remove from heat and leave cool in the pickle solution.
Reheat in a microwave or oven to serve.
Roast Onions
These are delicious and so easy to prepare in advance. You can use lager, cider or wine with this dish.
Ingredients:
3 medium onions skin on.
1 glass of white wine (or cider or beer)
Tbsp olive oil
5g sea salt
Large knob of butter.
Method:
Cut the onions in half, slicing through the core this will hold the onion together. Keep the skin on (This is key to their success!)
Preheat oven to 180C
Over medium to high, heat a frying pan that is suitable to go in to the oven safely. (Alternatively, have a small roasting dish heated in the oven, ready to transfer the onions into once they are finished on the hob). Add olive oil and sea salt to the pan.
Add the butter. As it starts to melt, add the onions face down.
Fry over a medium heat for 8-10 mins until they are golden brown.
Add wine and cover.
Put in the oven and roast for 25-35 mins.
Remove and let cool then remove the skin and first layer of flesh before serving.
If not serving immediately, reheat in an oven at 180C until hot to serve.
Steamed & Roasted Olive Oil Potatoes
A simple and fool proof way to enjoy crispy potatoes all year round.
Ingredients:
6 large Rooster potatoes peeled and halved.
150-200ml Olive Oil
Maldon Sea Salt
Method:
Steam potatoes for 35-40 mins
Put onto a lined baking tray that had some salt and oil sprinkled on the bottom.
Pour remaining oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast for 1hr at 200C
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Simple, delicious and elegant.
Ingredients:
25g high quality cocoa powder
65ml Boiling Water
1 Tsp high quality Vanilla Extract
75g Self Raising Flour
100g Caster Sugar
Pinch of Sea Salt
2 large eggs beaten.
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C
Make cocoa paste with boiling water. Add vanilla extract, leave to cool.
Mix the oil, eggs, salt and sugar together in a bowl with an electric whisk or use a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until it becomes a pale yellow colour. About 3 mins
Add the cocoa mix.
Then slowly add the flour.
Pour into small trays greased and lined.
Bake for about 15-20mis or until when a skewer comes out clean when testing.
Cool then remove from the tray and store in an airtight container in the fridge for upto 5 days.
Raspberry Sauce
This is a deep intense sauce. Sharp and sweet and a splash of brandy or cointreau will kick it up a gear.
Ingredients:
2 Bags of Frozen Raspberries.
200g Caster Sugar Or Brown Sugar
50ml Water
Method:
Pour the water, raspberries and sugar into a large saucepan. Cover and bring to the boil. (be careful this will boil over if unattended)
Reduce to a fast simmer and cook for 15 mins.
Stir occasionally to stop it burning.
Blitz with a hand blender on a slow speed, This should puree without breaking down the seeds.
Pass through a fine sieve using the back of a ladle to push it through. Discard the seeds.
Chill until needed.
Chocolate Ganache
Silky smooth chocolate sauce…..nothing left to say about that.
Ingredients:
200ml Double Cream
200g 70% Dark Chocolate
Method
Heat Cream to Scalding Point. (just before boiling)
Chop up the chocolate into small pieces. Put in a medium bowl.
Pour over hot cream and shake the bowl to agitate the liquids.
Stir to combine and once smooth and cool or use warm.
About John Whelan and The Devil’s Menu
John Whelan’s cookery school The Devil’s Menu is located in the beautiful town of Graiguenamangh situated on the Carlow/Kilkenny border. When John was planning his cookery school, he came to Evoke Kitchens and asked us to design a state-of-the-art kitchen with top-of-the-range appliances and ample demonstration and entertaining space, while making sure the kitchen still felt that homely and welcoming. We designed the kitchen from our Core Collection, kitted it out with Siemens studioLine appliances and Quooker instant boiling water taps and created a demonstration and entertainment space on a 5m kitchen island topped with Dekton by Cosentino.
While the dishes that John creates look and taste incredible, his approach to cooking is relaxed using seasonal ingredients readily available in most good supermarkets, combining them creatively to serve up unique but simple dishes.
Before settling at home in Kilkenny, John cooked in the legendary Quaglino's in London where he worked under Head Chef John Torode, co-presenter of MasterChef UK. During his time in London, he was commissioned to cook for celebrities, royalty and foreign dignitaries including the Queen Mother and Princess Diana at some of London's most iconic buildings and restaurants. Working at Michelin standards in private restaurants, merchant and Swiss Banks have allowed John to develop a unique style and flair.
John is an incredible cookery teacher but he’s also wildly entertaining which make events in his cookery school a great day (or night!) out. We intend to bring that fun to our webinar on Monday, November 30th!
Siemens studioLine
Evoke Kitchens is a premium partner with Siemens, meaning you can find appliances in Evoke that you won’t find in other appliances or kitchen retailers. Siemens studioLine appliances are more than just highly functional equipment – they form part of an ambitious lifestyle and an expression of individuality, synonymous with Evoke Kitchens and our ethos.
Built-in appliances, designed to perfection.
The inspiring studioLine range combines extraordinary design and a unique style. They are created for people who are not satisfied with the ordinary and want to turn every day into something extraordinary.
The range includes a series of ovens and steam ovens, flexinduction and venting hobs, dishwashers, coffee stations, fridges, freezers and wine fridges. To enquire about any of the appliances in the studioLine range, contact declan@evokekitchens.ie or call 051-580780.