Marco Pierre White’s Christmas classics … try the celebrity chef’s festive favorites

Marco Pierre White continues our delicious series and shares his ultimate festive classics.

There’s a hearty venison and beetroot roast lunch, smoked haddock with buttered potatoes, a delicious roast duck, soothing rice pudding – and a champagne cocktail named after his uncle to whet your appetite …

ROAST VENISON WITH BEET ROOTS

This is a perfect combination with currant flames, flavorful black pepper, and sweet beetroot.

ROAST VENISON WITH BEET ROOTS

Served 6

• 24 small beetroot
• 85 g currants
• 4 teaspoons of black peppercorns, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
• 3 pieces of venison, French cut, approx. 300 g each
• 3 tbsp clarified butter (or supermarket ghee) or olive oil
• 500 ml (18 fl oz) My best sauce so far (see recipe in extract on Saturday or online)
• 1 dsp currant jelly
• 50 ml (2 fl oz) double cream (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A piece of butter
• A shot of brandy

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C / 160 ° C / gas. 4. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the beetroot and cook until tender for about 30 minutes (check by inserting a knife into the largest).

Drain, save and peel the cooking liquor. In the meantime, put the currants in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Freshen up under cold water and pat dry.

Mix the ground peppercorns and cornmeal and dab over the venison. Heat butter or oil in a frying pan. Add the venison and caramelize everywhere. Place in the oven for ten minutes until the meat releases its juices. If you have a meat probe it will reach 55 ° C.

Let sit for five minutes or until the probe reaches 58c. Put the beetroot in the tin. Bring the sauce to a boil in a pan and add beetroot schnapps, jelly and cream if necessary. Taste and season. Pour into the can.

Throw a piece of butter in a pan over high heat and add the currants when it sizzles. When they explode like balloons, deglaze with a dash of brandy and sprinkle over the meat.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

Cauliflower cheese often has a gloopy sauce. You can avoid this by sprinkling the cheese in the bowl instead of adding it to the sauce.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

Served 4

• salt
• 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
• 200 g parmesan or cheddar – or your favorite cheese

For the bechamel sauce

• 50 g unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
• 60 g plain flour
• 500 ml of milk
• 50 ml cream (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C / fan 160 ° C / gas. 4th

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, season the water with salt and add the cauliflower florets.

Cook the cauliflower florets until tender, but face some resistance when testing them by inserting a small knife.

Drain and set aside until the florets stop steaming. To make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over low to medium heat.

Add the flour and stir for 4-5 minutes. Pour milk and cream, if used, and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring with a whisk.

Add the cauliflower florets to the sauce and mix them so that they are dipped in or well coated with sauce. Brush an appropriately large baking dish with butter. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the bottom of the bowl.

Place half of the bechamel-coated florets in the bowl and sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese. Add the rest of the cauliflower and then the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned to your liking.

Roast duck with peas

I love duck – it cooks quickly and any leftovers can be used to make a delicious salad.

Roast duck with peas

Served 4

• 1 duck, approximately 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz)
• 3 pieces of unsalted butter, softened
• 3 slices of bacon strips, finely cut into thin lard
• 3 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into matches
• sea-salt
• 500 g peas

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C / fan 160 ° C / gas. 4th

Place the duck in a roasting dish, pin it with a piece of butter and brown it on the stove for ten minutes. Turn it so it’s brown all over.

Roast in the oven for 50-60 minutes until the juices are clear. Cover loosely with kitchen foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

In a large frying pan or heavy pan, melt the remaining two pieces of butter and fry the bacon.

Transfer it to a plate, put the pan back on the heat, and sauté the carrot matches with a pinch of sea salt until they are light golden. Remember to try and test, and add a little water to the pan if you want to soften the carrot matches to your liking.

Cook the peas in a saucepan with boiling salted water until soft. Drain the peas and mix with the bacon and carrot matches.

Place the bacon, carrots and peas on a platter and place the duck on top. Serve and season the duck slices with sea salt as you carve.

ONIONSOUP

It’s fun and fills the house with a wonderfully soothing aroma.

The pile of sliced ​​onions seems like a lot, but they melt and reduce as they cook.

ONIONSOUP

Served 4

• 8 medium-sized onions, approx. 800 g total weight, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 100 g butter
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 600 ml (1 pt) ale
• 1.5 L (2¾ pt) chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 large croutons
• 200 g Gruyère cheese, grated

Put the onions, garlic, butter and thyme in a large saucepan over low heat. Put the lid on and cook slowly for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn. Pour in the ale and continue cooking until the ale is reduced in volume by half.

Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for ten minutes. Taste and season accordingly. Preheat the grill too high – if the grill is too low the cheese will dry out, which you certainly don’t want. Divide the soup into four bowls, cover with the croutons and sprinkle with the grated Gruyère. Grill until the cheese is melted and golden. Serve immediately.

CAMBRIDGE BURNT CREAM

Many call it creme brulee. I’m one of those who think this silky dessert was made at Trinity College Cambridge.

There, before serving, they crack the top of the caramel and throw whole raspberries on top, creating a delicious texture and taste.

CAMBRIDGE BURNT CREAM

Served 8

• 900 ml (1½ pt) double cream
• 100 ml whole milk
• 170 g powdered sugar plus extra for the topping
• 3 vanilla pods, halved lengthways
• 9 egg yolks
• 400 g-500 g raspberries

Preheat the oven to 120 ° C / fan 100 ° C / gas ½.

Mix the cream, milk, 50 g sugar and the split vanilla pods in a saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining 120 g sugar.

When the cream-milk mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, remove the vanilla pods and pour over the egg and sugar, whisking constantly to avoid a mess.

Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods and stir the mixture into the bowl. Pour into a 25 cm x 15 cm baking dish or eight individual baking dishes on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

It should have a slight wobble when it’s done. Let cool and store in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

When you’re ready to serve, you’re preheating the grill too high. Place the large bowl or casserole dishes on a baking sheet and sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

Grill until the sugar is brown. (You can use a blowtorch on the topping instead: fry the sugar from the outside of the baking dish towards the center.)

Let the topping cool and harden, then sprinkle another layer of powdered sugar over it and repeat the browning process.

This makes it extra crispy. Take the Cambridge Burnt Cream to the table, break the top and sprinkle with the fresh raspberries.

Smoked haddock with buttered potatoes

This is a delightful lunch of poached haddock on buttered potatoes, served at the table from a large bowl.

It’s a dish that requires an investment of thought – and some time and love.

Smoked haddock with buttered potatoes

Served 4

For the potatoes

• 12 Charlotte potatoes (700 g – 800 g), peeled lengthways and halved
• sea-salt
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2-3 large pieces of unsalted butter or more if you want, at room temperature

For the haddock and poached eggs

• 4 smoked haddock fillets
• 1 l (1¾ pts) whole milk
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 eggs
• Chopped fresh herbs for garnish

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.

Add salt, stir, and season to taste to make sure it’s salty enough – don’t assume the water is salted. Stir in lemon juice.

Put a lid on the pan to quickly bring the water to a boil, then remove the lid for the remaining cooking time. After 20 minutes, test the potatoes by inserting the tip of the knife and removing them from the heat when they are almost done.

Drain 90 percent of the water and then add the butter – you can watch me do this at BBC Maestro.

Put the pan back on the stove and shake it. Bring the water and butter mixture to a boil for a few minutes before removing the pan from the heat. Cover the pan tightly with a double layer of cling film and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Place the haddock dock in a deep frying pan or skillet, cover it with the milk, and then add cold water so that the fillets are submerged. Bring the milk and water mixture to a boil – don’t let it boil – and poach the haddock dock for 5 minutes, or until you can insert a skewer without resistance.

When the liquid begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds. Take the fish out of the pan and discard the skin. In the meantime, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the vinegar.

Crack the eggs into separate cups, tilt the cups close to the surface of the water, and let the eggs roll into the water. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until cooked to your liking, then transfer to kitchen paper with a slotted spoon.

Remove the cling film and place the potatoes on a serving platter. Pour the butter from the pot over with a spoon and season each potato individually with a few flakes of sea salt. Place the haddock dock on top of the potatoes. Place a poached egg on each fillet and garnish with chopped herbs.

RICE PUDDING WITH ARMAGNAC PRUNES

Armagnac Prunes finish this pud perfectly.

RICE PUDDING WITH ARMAGNAC PRUNES

Served 6

• 50 g unsalted butter
• 200 g pudding rice
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 800 ml (1½ pt) double cream
• 400 ml whole milk
• 2 vanilla pods, halved lengthways

For the Armagnac plums

• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) prunes (I like Agen plums)
• 170 g powdered sugar
• 500 ml Armagnac or Cognac

To make the plums, place them in an airtight container. Bring the sugar and Armagnac to the boil in a pan and pour over the plums. Cap and store in a cool place.

Preheat the oven to 150 ° C / fan 130 ° C / gas. 2. Melt the butter in an ovenproof pan. Add the rice. Add the sugar; stir until dissolved. Add the cream, milk and vanilla pods. Bring slowly to a boil. Remove the pods, scrape out the seeds and stir the seeds into the rice. Bake for an hour or until the rice is soft to your liking. Serve in the pan, with a large spoon of prunes and additional prunes on the side.

UNCLE ROY’S COCKTAIL

As a child, I went to the silver-service restaurant in Debenhams, Leeds with my father, a cook. It was a pretty fancy place and my uncle Roy was the manager of the restaurant.

He was one of those kind uncles and he always gave me a few coins when he saw me. He went into the restaurant with us to talk and we sat at a table by the door so that he could say goodbye to the guests when the guests left: “It’s good to have you in the house.”

UNCLE ROY’S COCKTAIL

It’s a phrase I’ve said to guests thousands of times since then when they leave my own restaurants after a good meal. It seems appropriate to name this cocktail after my uncle, a wonderful man. For information on how to make the Armagnac plums, see the recipe for rice pudding above.

Power 6

Put an Armagnac plum in each of the six glasses. Pour 1 teaspoon of plum syrup into each glass and top up with champagne.

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