Get ready to celebrate summer and the festive season
Trained as a graphic designer, it was those friends, who were lucky enough over the years to feast at her table, who encouraged Jan Kohler to put down all her favourite recipes into a book and Pink Gin and Fairy Cakes was the result. It was so successful that it led to her second book, Celebrations, the title of which is self-explanatory and covers everything from family Sundays and summer parties to Easter and Christmas and all festivities in between.
Jan Kohler says:
“For me celebrations are synonymous with food. The recipes in my books and that I demonstrate in my cooking classes are familiar, accessible, comforting and downright delicious. They are created for novice cooks, busy people and parents who have their hands full. I always use local (or easy to find) ingredients and cook delicious, simple food (that would work well for family suppers) but also dishes that can go a long way and will impress at a party.”
“Growing up, food was almost always homemade. As a child, restaurants were a luxury we could seldom afford and the store-bought ‘ready meals’ that you get today were not really a thing. This way of life meant that everyone participated in meal preparation, whether it was picking the vegetables from our own garden, peeling potatoes, making salad, laying the table or sitting on the kitchen floor sorting rice by hand. Our family time was centred around the kitchen – this is where we would chat, catch up on the day and be together. So, cooking came naturally and I have always associated cooking with family and togetherness.”
Jan shares three of her favourite festive season recipes.
Spiced Pear Bellini (Serves 6)
A Bellini, made with sparkling wine or usually Prosecco, just screams celebration. This spiced pear one is a slight variation on the typical Peach Bellini, with just the right amount of spice to make it feel like it Christmas!
Here’s what goes in:
- 250ml cloudy apple/pear juice
- 60ml ginger cordial
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice
- 1 cinnamon quill for cooking, and more to garnish
- A bottle Prosecco or sparkling wine (750ml)
- 1 fresh pear, thinly sliced
- A little lemon juice
How to do it:
In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the apple or pear juice, ginger cordial, cinnamon quill and allspice. Gently boil on the stove for about 20 minutes until the flavours are infused and the syrup has reduced. Set aside to cool and then chill in the fridge until needed.
In the meantime, thinly slice the pears. If you’re preparing these cocktails in advance, squeeze some lemon juice over them so that they don’t discolour.
When you’re ready to serve, distribute the pear-ginger concentrate evenly between 6 champagne glasses. Top with chilled Prosecco, drop in a couple of slices of pear with a cinnamon quill for garnish, and serve immediately.
Gingery gammon with maple glaze
Preparing a gammon for Christmas is a relatively easy thing to do these days – so many products are available, partially pre-cooked, so often all you have to do is glaze the top, and warm it up before serving. These hams are a great idea because you’ll have more time to focus on the other Christmas cooking. But if you do want to spend some time on your gammon, this too, is an easy and most rewarding recipe.
Here’s what goes in:
- A gammon/ham of your choice
- 1- 2L ginger ale
- 1 cup white wine
- A cinnamon stick
- ½ an orange, sliced
- 4 cloves
- 2 Star Anise
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- Water, if needed
- Maple syrup, for glazing
- Maldon salt
How to do it:
Place your gammon in a pot with all of the ingredients, ensuring that it is fully immersed in the liquid. The amount that you need will depend on the size of both your gammon, and the pot that you are going to cook it in. Add water if you need to. Cook this following the instructions on the packaging of your selected meat. If you are cooking a raw ham from scratch, you’re probably looking at three hours. It will be less for a pre-cooked gammon.
Once done, set the gammon aside to cool. Remove the rind with a sharp knife, generously brush it with maple syrup and sprinkle it with coarse salt. Grill this in the oven to make a delicious, crispy crackling.
If you’re going to make a gravy, add a few tablespoons of the “gammon water” for robust flavour.
Festive Black Forest Roulade
This is really just a chocolate Swiss roll with all the bells and whistles, making it look fabulously festive! The sponge can be made ahead and kept covered (once rolled) until you’re ready to assemble the cake.
Here’s what goes in:
- 3 eggs, separated
- ¾ cup castor sugar, and extra for dusting
- 50ml water
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- A pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Cherry or strawberry jam for spreading
- Chocolate-nut spread, like Nutella or Lindt Hazelnut spread
- 2 cups whipped cream
- Cherries to garnish
- Chocolate shavings to garnish
How to do it:
Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a flat baking tray or Swiss roll tin (the dimensions should be around 20 x 30cm). Separate the eggs, into two large mixing bowls. Beat the egg yolks with the castor sugar, until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Fold in the flour, salt, cocoa powder, followed by the water and continue to blend.
Using clean beaters, whisk the egg whites until they are thick and stiff and then fold into the chocolate mixture, keeping the batter light and airy. Spoon it out onto the lined baking tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted into the sponge, comes out clean.
After 5 minutes or so, turn the cake out onto a clean piece of baking/parchment paper that you have sprinkled with castor sugar. Peel away the piece of parchment paper that you baked it on, (now on top of the cake), and trim any hard, dry edges off the cake if necessary. Carefully roll the cake up with the new sheet of parchment in place, starting from the short side. You can leave it like this, covered, until you’re ready to assemble the cake and serve. Gently unroll the cake, discarding the paper. Spread a generous amount of Nutella onto the cake, a drizzle of slightly melted jam, (to make spreading easier) and a thin layer of whipped cream. Roll it up again and dust with icing sugar. Garnish with the rest of the whipped cream, chocolate shavings and cherries.
[NOTE: Rolling the Swiss Roll up almost immediately after baking prevents it from drying out and forming cracks]
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