Delectable Christmas Day dishes

Here’s our third and final week offering festive recipes from the island’s chefs. 

This week The Waterlot stepped up to the mark with two delightful dishes including the famous sticky toffee pudding loved by all who will permit themselves the indulgence.

Their cauliflower blue cheese gives a nice kick to a traditional recipe. 

Island Restaurant Group gave us this delectable beef shortrib recipe that is sure to  bring a festive flavour to the Christmas dinner plate, especially with the orange glazed beets.

We hope you’ve been inspired by the dishes we have gathered and that you will cut them out and save them for years to come. Happy holidays!  

Waterlot’s Cauliflower Blue Cheese 

Ingredients

• 2 large heads of cauliflower, cut into rosettes

• 4 oz Shropshire blue cheese

• 3 oz bacon bits

• 6 tbsp crispy bread crumbs

Mornay sauce

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (heaping)

• 1/2 tsp Freshly shaved nutmeg

• 1/2 tbsp garlic puree

• 2 oz unsalted butter

• 750 ml heavy cream

• 500 ml 2 per cent milk

• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

• Dash of salt

Preparation

• Melt butter in saucepan.  n Add flour to make a thick paste/roux.  Cook on low for 5 minutes.

• Gradually add the milk and cream, making sure that the liquid is fully incorporated before adding more.

• When all liquid is incorporated, add the garlic puree, salt, and nutmeg.

• Simmer mixture on low heat for about 20 minutes.

• Let sauce cool.

• Blanch cauliflower in salted water, shock in ice water.

• Place cauliflower in large baking dish and top with sauce and bake in oven until hot.

• Add Shropshire blue cheese on top and gratin under boiler until golden brown.

• Sprinkle with bacon bits and crispy bread crumbs.
 

Ingredients

Pudding Ingredients

• 1 & 3/4 cups water

• 1 cup dates (dry)

• 1 & 1/2 tbsp baking soda

• 6 tbsp butter

• 1 & 1/4 cups sugar

• 2 cups flour

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 3 eggs, at room temperature

• Toffee Sauce Ingredients

• 3 sticks butter

• 2 1/2 cups brown sugar

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Sticky Pudding Preparation

• Bring dates and water to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

• Remove dates and water from heat and add baking soda.

• As the mix will foam up, let stand and ferment for 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar together.

• Add the eggs one by one into the butter, and sugar mixture.

• Sift remaining dry ingredients together and fold into the butter egg mixture.

• When ready, fold butter egg mixture in the date mixture and mix until well blended together. The mix will be quite runny. Then add all the remaining dry ingredients

• Line a 9”x 9” cake pan with parchment paper, spray the paper slightly with a cooking spray and fill with the mixture.

• Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and bake in a water bath for about 1 hour, or until the middle of the pudding is set, at 350F.

• Toffee Sauce Preparation

• Place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan on low heat.

• Heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

• Add the cream and vanilla and bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes.  

Ingredients

Short ribs 

Short rib (pre heat oven to 325F)

• 2 lbs beef shortrib bone in

• 2 litres good beef stock

• 1 carrot, rough chopped

• 1 onion, rough chopped

• 2 garlic pc, rough chopped

• 2 tbsp oil

• 2 sprigs rosemary, bruised

• 1 cup horseradish

• 1 cup red wine

• Salt and pepper

Beets 

• 1 lb whole beets

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp butter

Pomme Robuchon

• 2 lbs russet potatoes

• 1 lb butter

Preparation

Short ribs

• Heat oil in a heavy pan  with lid (or foil) until smoking hot

• Sear the shortribs until dark brown and then take out of pan

• Add vegetables and saute for 2 mins

• Add wine, horseradish and stock, bring to simmer

• Add short ribs cover and cook in oven for 4 hours

• When finished allow to cool in broth, remove ribs and reduce broth to half

*to served bring 1 cup of broth to a boil and add shortribs, simmer 3-4 mins or until hot

Pomme Robuchon

• Peel and boil potatoes and mash very well or put through a potato ricer

• Warm butter and whip into hot potatoes

• Season with salt and pepper

*this can be done ahead of time then warmed in a pan or microwave later

Glazed Beets 

• Roast beets in oven for 1 hour skin on, on a baking sheet

• Let cool and peel, chop into cubes

• Bring maple syrup and orange juice to a boil and simmer until it becomes a syrup consistency

• When ready to serve add beets and simmer for 2 mins, then add butter, season with salt and pepper.