Festive supper club

Food / Television / Travel Want something more than a dry old bird for Christmas? Then read on! Anna Barnett has come up with a fabulously festive menu…

WELCOME COCKTAIL SPICED EGGNOG

Serves 6 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes 250ml double cream 550ml full-fat milk ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste 2 cinnamon sticks ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 heaped tsp freshly grated nutmeg 120ml bourbon 4 free-range egg yolks 100g dark brown sugar

1 Combine all the ingredients except for the egg yolks and sugar and bring almost to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

2 Whisk together the egg yolks and brown sugar, then gradually add a small splash of the warm cream mixture, whisking the whole time. Continue doing this until half the cream mix has been added, then transfer back into the rest of cream and cook over low heat until it thickens.

MAIN PORCHETTA WITH F IG, CHE STNUT AND SAGE STUF F ING

Serves 4-6 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 4 hours 2kg good quality shoulder of pork – deboned, skinned and scored (ask your butcher to prepare for ease) Generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes Butcher’s string For the stuffing: 1 white onion – finely diced 100g fresh breadcrumbs Drizzle of rapeseed oil 3 large cloves of garlic Small bunch of fresh sage leaves Small bunch of parsley leaves 5 figs – soaked in boiling water, roughly chopped Handful of chestnuts Generous sprinkle of salt flakes and white pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas mark 7. Gently cook the onions over a medium heat until transparent, then allow to cool.

2 Blitz up your stuffing ingredients and then spread across the pork shoulder. Roll up the pork as tightly as possible using the butcher’s string. Pour a little boiling water over your pork skin before patting it dry and sprinkling with sea salt flakes. Place it in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the skin begins to turn golden.

3 Coat the skin with a drizzle of oil then reduce the heat to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas mark 3. Cover with foil and roast for 3½-4 hours, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes and increasing the heat to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 4. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.