Some suggestions for delicious festive fare:

Christmas Parma Ham Salad Jewelled with Pomegranate, Mint, Toasted almonds and White Stilton

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main

2 large handfuls mixed green leaves

120g White Stilton

20g toasted almond flakes

1 handful mint leaves, torn

Seeds from 1 pomegranate 

4 slices Prosciutto di Parma

Dressing:

Zest and juice of 1 lime

½ tsp runny honey

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and cracked black pepper

  • Whisk together dressing ingredients and season to taste
  • Arrange the salad leaves on serving plates with chunks of White Stilton, toasted almonds, mint leaves and pomegranate seeds
  • Drizzle with a little dressing and then serve with slices of Parma Ham

Smashed Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto di Parma Crumbs

Serves 6-8, as a side

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 slices Prosciutto di Parma
  • 800g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  • 2 small red onions, peeled
  • 150g ready cooked and peeled chestnuts, broken in half
  • 3 sprigs rosemary, leaves roughly chopped (optional)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

METHOD

Heat oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Lay the slices of Prosciutto di Parma on a large non-stick roasting tray so that they are in a single layer. 

Bake for 8-10 mins, until crisp (it will crisp more as it cools), then remove from the tray and set aside on a plate. Once it has cooled, use your hands to crumble.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the sprouts for 8-10 mins. Depending on size, this will be until just soft enough to crush a little. Drain and tip the sprouts into the roasting tray, gently squashing using a potato masher. 

Quarter the onions and pull apart into petals, then add them to the roasting dish along with the chestnuts and rosemary. Drizzle with the oil and season, but don’t over salt as the Prosciutto di Parma will add saltiness. Toss well and roast for 25 mins, stirring halfway, until starting to caramelise a little.

Drizzle over the balsamic and maple syrup, stir well, and roast for 5 mins more. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle over the Prosciutto di Parma crumbs.

Cheese & Walnut Palmiers with Pickled Walnut Sauce

Makes: 18 – 20 palmiers

Prep time: 60 minutes (plus chilling)

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Allergens: Gluten, dairy, walnuts, egg, (check chutney for allergens)

Ingredients:

For the palmiers:

• 320g sheet ready-rolled Puff Pastry
• 200g mixed Hard Cheese, grated (we used Red Leicester and Cheddar)
• 2 Opies Pickled Walnuts, finely chopped
• 50g Red Onion Chutney
• 1 Egg, beaten

For the pickled walnut sauce

  • A jar of Opies Pickled Walnuts, pickling liquor reserved
  • 50g light Brown Sugar
  • 50g Muscovado Sugar
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Picked fresh Thyme Leaves, to garnish 

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C /180°C Fan/Gas 6. 
  2. Add the grated cheese and pickled walnuts to a bowl and mix together well.
  3. Unravel the puff pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface, then spread with an even layer of the red onion chutney. Top with the walnut and cheese mixture, spreading over the pastry in an even layer.
  4. Tightly roll the pastry up from the longest side, stopping in the middle. Repeat on the opposite side so it meets the first roll. Moisten the two rolls with the egg then lightly press together so they stick. Place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from the freezer, slice into 0.5cm slices and place onto a lined baking tray, swirl side up. Brush with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and puffed up. Leave to cool completely on the baking tray.  
  6. Meanwhile to make the pickled walnut sauce put all the pickled walnuts, 2 tsp of the pickling liquor and sugars into a saucepan and gently simmer until all sugar has dissolved, breaking the pickled walnuts up with a spoon as you go.  Set aside and leave to cool.
  7. Once cooled, add to a food blender and blitz until smooth. Push through a sieve for an extra smooth sauce and serve in a dipping pot alongside the palmiers. Sprinkle with some fresh thyme before serving. 

Hints and Tip: This is a wonderful recipe, especially for parties and can be made a day in advance of eating. 

Where to Buy: 

Opies Pickled Walnuts 390g available from Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Booths, Ocado and Sainsbury’s from £3.60.

 

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese sable biscuits with mortadella and pistachio mousse

Serves 8

Difficulty: easy

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 12-15 minutes

Rest time: 1 hour in the fridge

Ingredients:

200g type “00” flour
120g cold butter
70g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon cold water
black pepper as needed
a pinch of salt

for the mortadella mousse:

300g mortadella

100g ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

1 tablespoon fresh cream

in addition:

50g chopped pistachios

Cut the cold butter from the fridge into small dice and beat it in the mixer on low speed, together with the flour, grated Parmigiano cheese, pepper and salt. Add the egg yolks and continue to mix until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Wrap it in cling film and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5mm and cut out the biscuits with a 5cm round cutter. 

Place the biscuits on a tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly golden. Let them cool.

In the meantime prepare the mortadella mousse: in the mixer blend the cubed mortadella, the ricotta cheese and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese  until you obtain a homogeneous mixture free of lumps. Add the cream and continue mixing until you obtain a mousse.

Transfer it to a pastry bag with a 15mm plain piping tip and use it to sandwich the biscuits together. Press them into the chopped pistachios and put them in the fridge until ready to serve.