How to cook well this Christmas
HOW to Cook Well at Christmas with Rory O’Connell is a two part show which begins on RTE One this Thursday, December 19 th at 7pm.
In this two-part Christmas special, Rory uses his unique cooking style and ingenuity to create some interesting Christmas recipes.
Christmas can be a challenging time for a cook, but it’s also an opportunity to add a new twist to traditional festive flavours. In both programmes Rory shares new and delicious dishes to add colour and variety to the Christmas table.
PROGRAMME ONE is called Christmas flavours with a twist.
Rory’s first Christmas dish is a Red Onion, Bacon and Kale (or cabbage) Broth with Grilled Bread Crouton, which is robust, nourishing and almost a meal in a bowl.
He also shares a more informal recipe - Turkey and Romanesco Pilaf with Chilli and Coriander, which is ideal for the worn out Christmas cook and perfect for using up leftover turkey. (Carefully reheated, the leftover parts of a turkey can be the tastiest of all).
It’s always useful to have a salad recipe handy, especially at Christmas when we indulge in rich, heavy food.
Rory’s next recipe is a Shaved Fennel and Kumquat Salad with Ardsallagh Goats Milk “Feta”, which is refreshing, healthy, and great as a starter or to accompany grilled meat or fish.
Rory’s Christmas dessert is a mouthwatering Grilled Panettone Chocolate Pudding, using the rich, sweet Italian bread which has become increasingly popular in Ireland.
Part two airs on Monday December 23rd on RTÉ One at 7.30pm. In his second Christmas special Rory’s focuses on festive snacks.
He starts with one of his perennial favourites, the granita. This year Rory has devised a recipe for Blood Orange and Campari Granita (the Campari is optional but doesn’t go amiss at Christmas).
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a turkey sandwich. Rory transforms this seasonal snack by frying it and serving warm with chutney in his recipe for Turkey and Mozzarella en Carozza.
Rory’s next recipe is Rustic Potatoes with Burnt Onion Dip and Gubbeen Chorizo. Deliberately burning food might seem like a strange thing to do, but the burnt onions add a delicious bitter-sweet flavour, particularly when combined with crème fraîche or sour cream.
It’s always useful to have food to hand for when guests arrive unexpectedly. Rory’s recipe for Polenta Fries with Cashel Blue Cheese Fonduta is a dish which keeps for a couple of days making it perfect for surprise visitors.
For his final snack recipe Rory uses chestnuts, a Christmas favourite. Rather than “roasting on an open fire” he makes them into a purée and adds them to chocolate-flecked meringues to create Mini Mont Blancs with Chocolate Sauce.
How to Cook Well at Christmas with Rory O’Connell is produced by David Hare of InproductionTV for RTÉ and sponsored by FLOGAS