BOXING DAY HAM WITH CELERIAC REMOULADE

It’s been 21 years since Marco Pierre White hung up his chef’s whites — now he’s back to share his favourite festive recipes with Daily Mail readers. In saturday’s Weekend magazine he gave you his fuss-free Christmas lunch, and today he dishes up a Boxing Day feast...

HAM hock is an incredibly flavoursome piece of meat on the bone. Plus, it’s not expensive. It’s ideal with a remoulade of finely sliced celeriac and slightly mustardy mayonnaise.

Serves 6

1 ham hock (or 2 small ones)

For the celeriac remoulade

1 celeriac, peeled

½ a lemon

Sea salt flakes

4 tbsp mayonnaise

Grain mustard, to your taste To garnish

About 24 small cornichons

Chopped fresh parsley

Place the ham in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to the boil, remove from the heat and drain. Fill the pan with water to about 5cm above the ham. Return the pan to the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer very, very gently for 2½-3 hours, until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the ham to cool in the liquor.

To make the remoulade, chop the celeriac crossways and then finely slice the pieces into matchstick-sized slivers. Squeeze the lemon over the matchsticks, and season with the sea salt. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Squeeze the celeriac in a tea towel or kitchen paper to remove some of the salt and the excess moisture. Mix the mayonnaise with grain mustard to your taste. Then combine the celeriac with the mayonnaise.

Slice the ham and arrange it on a platter. Spoon over some of the poaching liquor. Dot the cornichons over the top and garnish with parsley. Serve with the celeriac remoulade.

I LEARNT to make this soup at the Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. It’s a very clever soup, because it’s like a consommé but doesn’t require the usual consommé clarification with egg white (a technique that’s very haute cuisine, but means the soup loses flavour). If you like, mix and match the carrot, celery and garlic, but stick to a total weight of about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz). The soy sauce and tomato purée add a distinctive amber colour to the soup, while the soy and stock pots are salty enough that no extra salt is needed.

Serves 6

2 kg (4lb 8oz) raw chicken bones (from your butcher), chopped

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1 celery stick, coarsely chopped

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 leek, white part only, coarsely chopped 1 whole garlic bulb, cut in half 1 tbsp dark soy sauce 1 tbsp tomato purée 20 pieces of dried porcini 1 bay leaf 2 thyme sprigs

l 2 cloves ½ tsp coriander seeds 2 juniper berries (optional) 2 Knorr chicken stock pots (optional) 2.5 ltr (4½ pt) water

For the dumplings

75 g (2¾ oz) Atora suet

150 g (5½ oz) self-raising flour

A couple of pinches of sea salt flakes

7-8 tbsp water

To finish

200 g (7 oz) mushrooms, finely sliced (optional) Fresh herbs of your choice, finely sliced

PLACE the raw chicken bones in a large saucepan or casserole. add the carrot, celery, onion, leek, garlic, soy sauce, tomato purée, porcini, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, coriander seeds and juniper berries (if using). add the stock pots (if using) and pour in the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for four hours. It will become clear like a consommé and amber in colour.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings so they are ready when required. Mix the suet with the flour and a pinch or two of sea salt flakes. Mix with enough water to form a pliable dough. Roll smallish balls of dough, taking into consideration they’ll grow as they cook.

Drain the soup through a colander, return the liquid to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. In a separate saucepan of gently simmering water, poach the dumplings for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

If you are using mushrooms, preheat the grill, place the mushrooms on a baking tray and place the tray on the floor of the grill. Grill for five minutes, turning the mushrooms once or twice.

Ladle the broth and dumplings into soup bowls. add the grilled mushrooms (if using) and herbs of your choice.

THIS is the perfect dish for Boxing Day night, when we all have leftover turkey. It tends to be the brown meat of the thighs, which is perfect here. Turkey tastes better the next day because – like all cold meats – the flavour improves with time, and a turkey cocktail really glamourises the leftovers. It’s a turkey salad, I suppose, but in a pretty glass, although you could make it for a crowd in a large serving bowl. The meat from half a thigh will easily serve two. From two thighs, and adapting this recipe accordingly, accordingly you’ll ge get enough meat for 8-10 starters or 4-6 main courses. For extra style, garnish with a wafer piece of crispy turkey skin.

Serves 2

1 rasher smoked streaky bacon

1 egg

½ a turkey thigh

A little leftover gravy, to taste

2 dsp mayonnaise

¼ of an iceberg lettuce, finely sliced

1 tbsp cranberry sauce

Finely chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Grill or fry the bacon until crispy, remove from pan and set aside to cool. Hard-boil the egg, then cool, peel and finely dice the white (discard the yolk).

remove the skin from the turkey thigh and finely slice the meat. if you’re making the crispy skin to garnish, preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. Slice the skin into strips and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Cover with baking parchment, then place another baking tray on top to weigh it down. Bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp. Cool.

Whisk the gravy into the mayonnaise, tasting as you go, so it’s just right for you. Cut the cooled bacon into crumbs.

layer each serving glass with lettuce, turkey meat and cranberry sauce. Spoon over the mayonnaise mixture. Garnish with the bacon, egg white and parsley. Top with the crisp turkey skin, if using.