Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbo - Jamie Oliver

PIGS IN BLANKETS

GONE CRAZY …

Pigs in blankets are genius, but lots of clever combos, when wrapped in bacon, are equally delicious. Why don’t
you mix it up this year and get people talking? I’ve given you lots of ideas here, so pick your favourites and
have fun with them.

EACH COMBO MAKES 1 Lay 1 rasher of smoked streaky bacon – and it must be smoked – on a
PARCEL board and run the side of your knife along it to flatten it out, meaning
30 MINUTES you can chop it in the middle and use half a rasher for each blanket.
Place your filling on top, then roll and wrap it up, lining them up in an
oiled roasting tray as you go. Cook in a preheated oven at
180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 for around 20 minutes, or until golden and cooked
through, then serve.

TEAM ½ A RASHER OF BACON WITH …

◆ 1 knob of Brie-style cheese – 1 shelled walnut half – 1 fresh thyme
tip

◆ ½ a cleaned chicken liver – 1 fresh sage leaf – ½ a dried apricot

◆ 1 freshly shucked oyster – 1 slice of pickled onion – 1 pinch of
dried red chilli flakes

◆ 1 destoned dried prune – a crumbling of blue cheese – 2 chopped
fresh rosemary leaves

◆ 1 fresh sage leaf – 1 small slice of black pudding

◆ 1 fresh sage leaf – 1 cocktail sausage

◆ 1 cube of crustless bread – 2 fresh rosemary leaves

◆ 1 destoned date – 2 crumbled blanched hazelnuts – 1 drizzle of
runny honey

◆ 1 piece of torn ricotta or firm goat’s cheese – slices of fresh red
chilli

◆ 1 wedge of ripe pear – a few dried cranberries – 1 fresh thyme tip

◆ ½ a torn ripe fig stuffed with pine nuts – 1 drizzle of runny honey

◆ 1 little quenelle or ball of stuffing – 2 scrapings of nutmeg





MEAT STUFFING

SWEET ONIONS, LEEKS, SAGE, SMOKY BACON, CHESTNUTS &
PORK SHOULDER

Everyone loves a good stuffing. The flavour from free-range pork shoulder is far more delicious than
sausagemeat – any good butcher will be able to mince this up for you, and with the slow-cooked onions and

leeks, it’s a total joy to eat.

SERVES 10 Peel the onions, wash and trim the leeks, then finely chop them (saving
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES PLUS the green leek tops for soup or stew). Pick the sage leaves, keep 2 nice
COOLING big ones aside, then finely slice the rest. Place a large frying pan on a
medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter. Finely slice and
2 onions add the bacon, fry until lightly golden, then stir in the sliced sage,
2 leeks followed by the onions and leeks. Finely grate in half the nutmeg, add a
1 bunch of fresh sage (30g) good pinch of sea salt and black pepper and cook for 15 minutes, or
olive oil until soft, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool.
50g unsalted butter
4 rashers of smoked streaky Toast the bread, then whiz it to crumbs in a food processor with the
bacon chestnuts and tip into a large bowl. Add the cooled onion mixture, the
1 whole nutmeg, for grating minced pork shoulder and drained peaches. Using your hands, really
400g stale bread squash and squidge everything until well mixed. Put 250g of the stuffing
200g vac-packed chestnuts mixture aside to stuff the neck of your turkey (see here), then pack the
1kg minced pork shoulder rest into an appropriately sized oiled baking dish. Flatten it down and
1 x 400g tin of peaches, in juice use your hands to almost tuck the stuffing into the dish, so it mounds up
1 clementine in the middle. Halve the clementine, then push the halves into the top of
the stuffing, cut side up, placing 1 reserved sage leaf on each half.
Drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of oil and, when needed, bake in a
preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 for 50 minutes, or until golden,
gnarly and cooked through.

MIX IT UP

Feel free to add some minced game to this story, or even a handful of
chopped chicken livers, for a nice variation.

LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS

Use them in my epic Toad in the hole (see here), or slice almost like a
terrine and serve with cheese, bread and pickles.





VEGGIE STUFFING

CARAMELIZED SQUASH, RED ONIONS, SAGE, CRANBERRIES &
PISTACHIOS

I love baking this beautiful veggie stuffing in a pudding bowl – it looks amazing and will get everyone really
excited when you bring it to the table. It’s open to the introduction of different nuts and dried fruits, so feel

free to mix it up.

SERVES 8 Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Wash the squash, then carefully
2 HOURS PLUS COOLING quarter it lengthways and remove the seeds, placing the squash in a
roasting tray, skin side down. Peel, quarter and scatter over the onions,
1 small butternut squash (1kg) drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil, add the cinnamon, ground coriander
2 red onions and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, finely grate over half the
olive oil nutmeg, then toss together. Roast for 40 minutes, then remove from the
1 pinch of ground cinnamon oven. Pick and roughly chop the sage leaves with the cranberries and
1 teaspoon ground coriander pistachios, toss with a light drizzle of oil, then scatter over the squash
1 whole nutmeg, for grating and onions. Roast for another 5 minutes, then remove and leave to cool.
1 bunch of fresh sage (30g)
50g dried cranberries Tear the bread into a bowl, pour over the milk and leave to soak for a
50g shelled pistachios few minutes. Squeeze out any excess milk, then pich and tear the bread
500g stale bread into the tray of cooled veg. Using your hands, really squash and squidge
300ml semi-skimmed milk everything together with another pinch of sea salt and black pepper until
well mixed.

Line a 1.5 litre pudding bowl with a scrunched-up sheet of wet, oiled
greaseproof paper (or you can use a baking dish to give you a greater
surface area for a crispy top, if you prefer). Pack in the stuffing and
drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of oil, then cover with greaseproof
paper, tying it in place with string. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes,
or until golden and gnarly. Use the greaseproof paper to help you lift it
out of the bowl, then confidently flip it on to a plate and serve.

GET AHEAD

Make this in advance up to the stage where it’s ready to bake. You can use
250g of this stuffing in your turkey, should you so wish.





YORKSHIRE PUDS

LIGHT, CRISPY, FLUFFY, AIRY PILLOWS OF JOY

I love making Yorkshire puddings – they’re fantastic with any roast dinner, especially good stuffed with smoked
salmon, watercress and horseradish sauce, and you can even serve them with jam as a fun breakfast element or a

naughty treat.

MAKES 12 Put the flour into a large bowl with a good pinch of sea salt. Crack and
30 MINUTES PLUS beat in the eggs, then gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. I find
RESTING Yorkshire puds work well if you let the batter sit a little before cooking,
so pour the mixture into a jug to make your life easier later, and put
100g plain flour aside for up to 2 hours. You can even leave the batter covered in the
3 large eggs fridge overnight – just whisk it up well before you use it.
250ml semi-skimmed milk
sunflower oil Preheat the oven to full whack (240°C/475°F/gas 9). Pour just under
1cm of sunflower oil into each compartment of a 12-hole muffin tin –
this may seem like a lot of oil, but you’ll leave most of it behind after
cooking; this volume is essential to ensure you get a good rise. Pop the
tin on a tray to catch any overspill later, then place in the oven for 10
minutes to heat up.

Carefully pull the tray out of the oven with one oven-gloved hand, then,
quickly and confidently, pour the batter into the muffin tin compartments
– try to avoid dribbling batter between the compartments, as this will
only hinder the rise. Slide the tray back into the oven and cook for 16
minutes, or until the puds are dark golden and beautifully risen.
Whatever you do, do not open the oven door. Once cooked, drain on
kitchen paper for a moment, then serve right away.

GET AHEAD

Cook these in advance and they’ll sit really well. If it’s the big-day meal,
just after your turkey comes out and before your spuds go in is the best
time to cook them, then simply pop the whole tray back into the oven for a

couple of minutes to reheat just before serving.