CHEATING with ready-made festive fare is such a cop-out. Anyone wanting to cook up a storm and create a delicious banquet this Xmas should try these right royal recipes.

THE biggest festive feast of the season doesn’t have disintegrate into a horrible hectic rush to get everything on the table, leaving you frazzled and frantic, and hissing Christmas greetings to your guests through gritted teeth. Just take yourself a few deep breaths, pour yourself a huge glass of wine, and sit down and plan ahead with our delicious, tempting recipes, that offer something a little different if you’ve had your fill of Brussel sprouts and Christmas pud—

ROAST LOIN OF PORK WITH CHEESE AND FIG STUFFING

This recipe originates from Denmark where roast loin of pork covered in crackling is a traditional Christmas dish. Ask your butcher to bone the loin and score the rind at close intervals. Don’t have the joint rolled and tied, because, of course, it has to be stuffed.

Prep time:<$> 30 minutes

Cooking time: <$>Two and a half hours

Oven temperature: Preheat to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7

Ingredients - Serves 6<$>

4.5 pounds loin of pork, boned

Half a pint of dry cider

Juice of 1 orange

Stuffing<$>

6oz dried figs

4oz Wensleydale or Caerphilly cheese

1 Dessert/cooking apple, cored

4oz fresh breadcrumbs

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

Method:

Start by making the stuffing. Cut the woody stalks from the figs then chop them into chunks and place in a bowl. Grate the cheese into the bowl and then add the apple (including the peel). Add the breadcrumbs, orange rind, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, then bind with the beaten egg. Put on one side.

Prepare the meat. Place the pork — rind side down — on a chopping board. With a very sharp knife make a horizontal cut between the meat and the outer layer of the joint, cutting to within 1 inch (28mm) of the far edge of the meat so you create a “pocket” for the stuffing to go into. Push the stuffing into the pocket, packing it in as firmly as possible. Roll up the joint lengthways and tie at regular intervals with string. Weigh the meat and calculate the roasting time, allowing around 40 minutes per pound.

Place the joint, rind side down into a flameproof casserole into which it just fits. Pour in the cider and orange juice, then add just enough water to cover the rind of the pork. Cook, uncovered in the pre-heated oven for around 30 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and turn the joint over so that the rind is on top. Sprinkle with one and a half teaspoons of salt. Return the casserole, uncovered, to the oven and roast for 1 hour until the crackling is crisp. Lower the oven temperature to 350F and roast for a further hour, or if the calculated roasting time comes to more than two and a half hours, until the full roasting time is completed. Do not baste at all during the roasting or the crackling will not crisp up. Transfer the joint to a warmed serving dish, cover loosely with kitchen foil and set aside to rest in a warm place. Meanwhile, put the casserole on top of the store and boil the cooking liquid so it reduces slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste, then pour into a warmed jug. Carve the joint, not forgetting to remove the string, and serve with roast potatoes or Danish style new potatoes tossed in melted sugar and butter until glazed, and another vegetable like red cabbage.

GINGER AND STAR ANISE SLOW-COOKED DUCK

Ingredients:

Groundnut oil - 2 tablespoons

Duck pieces on the bone (legs or breasts)

Onions - 2

Garlic - 6 large, juicy cloves

Fresh ginger - about 8 thinnish slices

Spring onions - 6

Palm sugar - 2 teaspoons

Chicken stock - 500 ml

Rice wine - 125 ml

Star anise - 3 whole flowers

Method:

Set oven to 350F. Warm the oil in a heavy lidded casserole and then brown the duck pieces in it lightly. Roughly chop and peel the onions. Set aside the browned duck on a warmed plate. Add the onions to the pan, reduce the heat a little and allow them to cook, stirring occasionally until sweet and soft. Peel the garlic and slice each clove thinly, then stir into the onion as it is cooking. Slice the ginger into matchsticks, then chop the spring onions into short lengths and add them to the pot. Leave everything to soften for a few minutes then stir in the palm sugar, chicken stock, rice wine and star anise. Season with black pepper and salt and bring to the boil.

Let the mixture boil for a good minute then return the meat to the pot, together with any juices that may have escaped. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven, setting the timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the duck for tenderness. It should be soft, but far from falling off the bone. Season the stew with a little salt.

Scoop off as much of the liquid fat from the top as you can — there will be lots — then either lift the pieces of duck onto shallow bowls of rice and spoon over the juices or let everything cool, then refrigerate overnight. If you take the latter option, next day scrape off the white fat that has settled on top, reheat the stew and serve with rice. (This goes especially well with the Gingernut crust lemon ice cream tart).

ROAST TURKEY DELIGHT

Prep time: <$>25 minutes

Cooking time: <$>3 hours 45 minutes

Serves: <$>12

Ingredients:<$>

13-14lb turkey

Butter

1 lemon halved

1 pack fresh rosemary

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425F. Remove the giblets from the turkey. Gently loosen the skin of the bird and spread the butter generously underneath. Melt some of the butter in a small saucepan and pour all over the body of the bird. Season inside and out with salt and pepper. Next stuff the neck end with a large apple and place what is left of the butter, lemon and whole herbs in the cavity. Cook the bird breast-side down for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350F for three-and-a-half hours turning the bird the right side up after two hours. Test the turkey with a skewer in the leg joint. If blood comes out, give it another 20 minutes. If clear juices run out, it’s cooked. Remove from the pan, wrap in foil and rest for 20 minutes while you make your turkey gravy.

PERFECT PAVLOVA

Serves:<$> 4 to 6

Ingredients:<$>

Egg whites - 3 whisked until stiff

Cornflour - 1 teaspoon

White wine vinegar - 1 teaspoon

Caster sugar - 6oz

Fresh whipping cream - half a pint, whipped

Fresh fruit - to decorate

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 275F. Mix the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk into the egg whites with half the sugar. Fold in the remaining sugar. Pile the meringue onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and spread into a round. Hollow out the centre slightly and bake for one and a quarter hours. Switch off the oven and leave the pavlova inside for a further hour. Cool, remove from paper and place on a serving plate. Pile cream into the centre and then decorate with fresh fruit.

GINGERNUT CRUST LEMON ICE CREAM TART

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:<$>

Butter - 120g

Ginger biscuits - 400g

For the filling:<$>

White wine - 150 ml

Brandy or Marsala - 2 tablespoons

Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

Grated zest of an orange

Caster sugar - 4 tablespoons

Double cream - 500 ml

You will also need a loose-bottomed tart tin with a diameter of about 21cm.

Method:

Line the base of the loose-bottomed tart tin with a single sheet of greaseproof paper. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Crush the biscuits either in a food processor or in a plastic bag (they need to be reduced to a coarse powder. Stir this into the butter. Line the base of the tin with the buttered biscuit crumbs just as you would if making a cheesecake. Push some as far up the sides of the tin as you can go, it doesn’t matter if the edges aren’t smooth. Place in the freezer. Pour the wine into the bowl of a food mixer. Add the brandy or Marsala and the grated zest of the lemons and the orange. Squeeze the lemons and add the juice (reserve the orange juice of another occasion). Add the sugar and cream to the wine and zest mixture, then beat slowly until it is thick. The consistency needs to be soft and thick, so that it lies in voluptuous folds rather than standing in stiff peaks. Scrape mixture into the crumb-lined tin and freeze for four hours. Remove from the freezer 15 to 20 minutes before you intend to serve it. It’s easier to remove the tart from the tin while still frozen, running a palette knife around the edge first.