This was published 7 years ago
Prepare these three delicious dishes for a fuss-free Christmas
Chill out this festive season: two of these three fabulous dishes are easily prepped in advance. As for the third – an Aussie twist on a classic – the oven will do the work on the day, says Adam Liaw.
By Adam Liaw
I know you're probably starting to get stressed about it, so let me put you at ease – cooking a Christmas feast is one of the easiest meals you'll ever make. Think about it. You have plenty of hands to help, the prawns are probably already cooked, the oysters you'll be eating raw, everybody is bringing a salad, or something, so all you really need to do is take care of the centrepiece, which usually means just whacking something in the oven.
If it's a turkey, it usually comes with instructions on exactly how to cook it, and if it's a ham, it just needs to be warmed through with a glaze on the outside. Really, the only daunting thing about it is the number of people, but that's taken care of by the size of the turkey or ham you choose.
Glazed ham with bush herbsCredit: William Meppem
Here's a very simple Christmas menu that will take all the fear out of your family feast – a ham that comes hot out of the oven, a dessert you can pull out of the fridge, and a punch that comes straight from the freezer. Just put it all together, sit back, relax and actually enjoy your Christmas Day for a change.
GLAZED HAM WITH BUSH HERBS
Chrissamisu Credit: William Meppem
Serves 8-10 (with leftovers)
What better time to celebrate indigenous ingredients than at Christmas? This simple glaze uses native lemon myrtle and aniseed myrtle for a very Australian Christmas ham.
• 8kg whole leg of ham
• 100g dark brown sugar
Campari Frose Punch Credit: William Meppem
• 75g caster sugar
• ½ cup golden syrup
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup apple juice
• 15g ground lemon myrtle leaf *
• 15g ground aniseed myrtle leaf *
• 3 star anise
• 2 tbsp Australian dark rum
Combine all the ingredients except the ham in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, until thick and glossy. Allow to cool to room temperature, then remove the star anise.
Remove the skin from the ham, making sure to keep as much of the fat as possible attached to the meat. (You can use a sharp knife or just run your fingers under the skin, pushing it away from the fat.)
Score lots of parallel lines over the surface fat of the ham. Heat your oven to 180°C. Brush the ham with the glaze and bake for about 1½ hours, brushing with the glaze every 15 minutes until a thick, caramelised, shiny coating has formed and the ham is warmed through. (You may need to wrap the end of the ham bone in foil to stop it burning.)
*Available from Herbie's Spices (herbies.com.au). Alternatively, substitute the lemon myrtle with 2 stalks of lemon grass, finely chopped, and replace the aniseed myrtle with 4 extra star anise
CHRISSAMISU
Serves 8-10
Part-tiramisu and part-trifle, this simple no-bake Christmas dessert is absolutely foolproof
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 500g mascarpone
• 300ml thickened cream, lightly whipped
• 750g panettone
• 1 cup orange juice
• ½ cup mixed glacé fruits, to serve
• ½ cup shaved dark chocolate, to serve Macerated cherries
• 1½ cups pitted and halved cherries
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• ½ cup water
Beat egg yolks and sugar together until pale and doubled in size. Add mascarpone and cream and combine. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and fold through the cream mixture.
Remove the crusts from panettone and cut into 5mm slices. Place on a tray and scatter liberally with orange juice. For the macerated cherries, combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until ready to use.
Spread a little of the cream mixture over the base of a deep serving dish or trifle mould. Add a layer of the panettone and then another layer of the cream. Repeat until all the ingredients are used, ensuring a cream layer is on top. Smooth the top, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until ready to serve. To serve, scatter the top of the Chrissamisu with macerated cherries, glacé fruits and chocolate shavings.
CAMPARI FROSÉ PUNCH
Makes 8-10
Frosé was America's drink of the summer this year, but it can end up looking a bit like a regrettable 21st birthday party experiment. A splash of Campari gives this frozen punch a little bit of elegance.
• 4 lemons, plus extra for garnish
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 bottles dark, full-bodied rosé
• a bottle of Campari, chilled, to serve
Use a vegetable peeler to peel the rind from lemons. Juice the flesh, and strain to remove any seeds. Combine the peel and juice in a small saucepan with sugar and 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Set aside until it reaches room temperature, then strain the syrup into ice-cube trays and freeze solid.
Transfer the cubes into a plastic container or press-seal bag and store in the freezer until ready to serve. Pour the rosé into a plastic container and leave in a freezer overnight (the alcohol will prevent it from freezing completely).
When your guests arrive, have your blender at the ready and glasses chilling in the freezer. Scoop the frozen rosé into the blender and add a few cubes of the frozen lemon syrup at about a 2:1 ratio – you don't need to be exact. Run the blender until the mixture reaches a slushy consistency. Divide mixture between the glasses, top with a splash of chilled Campari and garnish with a slice of lemon.