About Jessica and Steve
Jessica Brook and Steve Pearce formed Sage Creative Co. out of their shared love for great food, both on the plate and on the page. Their professional partnership is an extension of the friendship they’ve forged over the years. They each bring something very special and unique to Sage - Jessica crafts recipes and food stories with expertise, while Steve brings the immense beauty and stories behind the food to life on the pages. Just in time for Christmas they have released Festive: Food and Recipe Journal and here they have shared some new takes on traditional festive favourites.
TWICE-COOKED POTATOES WITH MINTED BUTTER
Serves 4-6
8 large floury potatoes, scrubbed 100g ghee, melted nasturtium leaves, to serve MINTED BUTTER
100g unsalted butter, softened 1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped 1 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt flakes
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain and set aside to cool. Peel and roughly chop. Preheat oven to 200˚C (180˚C fan forced).
Pour the ghee into a large oven tray.
Place in the oven and cook for 5 minutes, or until hot. Carefully add the potatoes to the ghee and cook for 30 minutes, turning occasionally, or until golden and crisp. Season with salt. Meanwhile, to make the minted butter, mix the butter, mint, vinegar, sugar and salt together. Top the potatoes with the mint-sauce butter and nasturtium leaves to serve.
NOTE You can boil the potatoes up to two days in advance and then finish the rest of the cooking on the day of your feast. You can make the butter up to four days in advance – just keep it refrigerated.
FESTIVE GREEN BEANS
Serves 4-6
A vibrant platter of crisp, tender green beans is a must-have for your festive table. This luxe version takes things up a notch with a crunchy, nutty topping that’s punchy with texture, spice and colour.
1kg green beans, trimmed
1kg Italian flat beans, trimmed
2 whole dried chillies, crumbled
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp smoked almonds, chopped
¼ cup (35g) dried sour cherries, chopped 1 tbsp toasted panko (Japanese)
breadcrumbs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, to serve
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, to serve
Cook the beans in salted boiling water for 6 minutes or until al dente. Drain and arrange on a large platter. Sprinkle with chilli, pine nuts, almonds, sour cherries, breadcrumbs, oil and vinegar. Toss to serve.
The ritual of cooking and sharing food inspires extraordinary emotion, and there’s no time of year it achieves this more than at Christmas. For our festive collector’s edition, we’ve taken inspiration from childhood traditions close to our hearts, and reimagined them into easy, modern recipes you can adopt to create a sense of comfort and togetherness at your own festive table.
– Jessica and Steve –
“A new take on the classic ham, covered with a golden crust made with candied walnuts, pink peppercorns and spices.”
CANDIED WALNUT AND PINK PEPPERCORN CRUSTED HAM WITH MARSALA GLAZE
Serves 12
½ cup (110g) firmly packed brown sugar 2 cups (200g) walnuts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp sea salt flakes
¼ cup (25g) panko (Japanese)
breadcrumbs
¼ cup (25g) store-bought fried shallots 2 tbsp pink peppercorns, lightly crushed ¼ cup (70g) Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 x 8kg cured leg ham, rind removed + 2 cups (500ml) water
GLAZE
2 cups (500ml) marsala
¼ cup (90g) honey
¼ cup (55g) firmly packed brown sugar 1 sprig bay leaves
6 cloves
1 star anise
½ cup (125ml) water
Preheat oven to 200˚C (180˚C fan forced). Place the sugar, walnuts, oil, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, paprika and salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Place on a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and cook for 10 minutes, or until golden. Set aside to cool. Place in a food processor with breadcrumbs and shallots and process until finely chopped. Add peppercorns and mix to combine. Mix the mustard and honey together and brush over the ham. Press the walnut mixture all over to coat. Place the ham on a wire rack in a large deepsided baking dish and wrap the ham hock in aluminium foil. Pour the water into the base of the baking dish. Cook for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C (160˚C fan forced) and cook for a further 30–40 minutes, or until the crust is dry and lightly caramelised. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until reduced and sticky. Slice the ham and serve with marsala glaze. NOTE You can also make this ham the day before serving and serve cold (warm the glaze to serve). To remove the rind, use a sharp knife to score the rind around the ham hock and use your fingers to gently pull away the skin.
CHEAT’S GINGER AND FRUIT MINCE PIES WITH LEMON THYME SUGAR
Makes 24
Sweet buttery crusts, a fruit-packed filling brimming with raisins, zesty peel and more, and snowy dustings of sugar – mince pies are as festive as desserts come. This recipe uses store-bought cases so they’re even simpler to make and add to your menu.
2 cups (300g) plain flour
¼ cup (40g) icing sugar
150g cold unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp iced water
24 store-bought 7cm tart cases
1 egg white, lightly beaten
½ cup (110g) white (granulated) sugar 1 tbsp lemon thyme leaves
FRUIT MINCE
1 large granny smith apple, peeled
and grated
1 cup (160g) currants
1 cup (150g) golden raisins, chopped ⅓ cup (75g) crystallised ginger, chopped 1 cup (170g) mixed peel
½ cup (110g) firmly packed brown sugar 100g unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup (125ml) ginger wine
⅓ cup (80ml) water
To make the pastry lids, combine flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg yolk and iced water and process until the dough just comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a ball and place between two sheets of non-stick baking paper and roll out to 3mm thick. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the fruit mince, place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the fruit is softened and the liquid is nearly absorbed. Set aside to cool completely. Preheat oven to 180˚C (160˚C fan forced). Using a 7.5cm fluted cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds from the dough, re-rolling the pastry as needed. Divide the fruit mixture between the tart cases and brush the edges of the cases with egg white. Top with the pastry rounds and press the edges to seal. Using a skewer, poke a hole in the centre of each tart and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 20–30 minutes or until golden. Mix the sugar and thyme together and sprinkle with sugar to serve.
NOTE Mince pies will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.