LINDSAY ORD
Who wouldn’t want to be a guest at MasterChef SA winner Roxi Wardman’s Christmas table, tucking in to tender, lemony chicken, succulent gammon, heaps of tasty vegetables and a trifle to die for?
Durbanite Roxi, 26, will be entertaining family and friends at home on Christmas Day – and of course she will be cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Roxi is already in Christmas mode, decorating her festive table and tweaking her menu.
She lives with her boyfriend, Byron Maclou, and will rope in his foodie brother, Nick, to help in the kitchen on Christmas Day.
“Lunch will be traditional, with the table decorated in red, green, silver and gold, and if the weather is good, we’ll eat outside,” she says.
On the menu is chicken (Roxi is not a fan of turkey) with a lemon, herb and bacon stuffing and roast potatoes cooked in duck fat (that makes them crispy, she says).
She has a quirky take on preparing gammon.
“I cook it in Coke for a long time on top of the stove,” she says. “It sounds weird but it is delicious – it’s something I learnt from Nick.”
Colourful vegetables will accompany the meat – butternut roasted with honey and cinnamon, fluffy rice, green beans, cauliflower with cheesy white sauce, and, of course, delicious home-made gravy.
Dessert will be a trifle that draws on Roxi’s Portuguese heritage. It’s a spiced, lemony black cake, called Bolo Preta, that forms the base of the trifle, with lemon curd and strawberry jelly (made from scratch with real strawberries), topped with Chantilly cream and macerated strawberries.
“It’s a dessert that is not overly sweet and I can make it in advance.”
Roxi’s parents, Brian and Zaa, are enthusiastic cooks and she has gathered recipes over the years.
“As I child I was encouraged to be creative in the kitchen – even if I made a mess. I love cooking for people – when they come to visit, I feel I have to feed them.”
Planning and preparation are the secrets to a smooth and successful Christmas Day, says Roxi.
“Start well in advance. Make as much as you can the day before – a lot of the meats can be reheated. Vegetables need to be cooked on the day.
“You don’t want to spend all your time cooking and have no time for socialising, so be organised. And, after the meal, if everyone wants to go for a nap, that is the best compliment you can get!”
In the new year, Roxi plans to open a café and patisserie.
“I want to find staff who share the vision and passion that I have. I am going to take my time, finding the right place and people. I’m excited about the future.”
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ROAST CHICKEN WITH STUFFING
1 whole chicken with giblets
15ml olive oil
30ml soft butter
1 clove garlic chopped
15ml dried thyme
STUFFING
250ml soft white breadcrumbs
giblets from chicken
3 rashers bacon chopped
1 onion finely chopped
20ml dried thyme
50ml dry white wine
5ml salt
Seasoning to taste
Combine olive oil, thyme, garlic and butter.
Put under the skin of the breast.
Combine all the stuffing ingredients and stuff bird’s cavity.
Roast for about 40-45 mins at 1800C until skin is crispy and brown.
Keep pan juices for gravy.
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ROAST POTATOES
250g duck fat
10ml garlic flakes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
500g potatoes
Salt and pepper
Peel potatoes and par cook in boiling water. Drain.
Put potatoes in a roasting dish.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, chopped rosemary and garlic flakes.
Put duck fat in pan. Roast at 2000C.
Keep turning potatoes until cooked.
To crisp up turn on grill towards the end of cooking time.
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LEMON AND STRAWBERRY TRIFLE
1 loaf bolo preta
250ml lemon curd
strawberry jelly
100ml rum
250g macerated strawberries
250ml Chantilly cream
BOLO PRETA
225g butter
1¼ cups sugar
grated lemon zest
3 eggs
2¼ cups flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ cup red wine
1 cup milk
Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest; add eggs one at a time beating after each one. Add dry ingredients alternating with wine and milk.
Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
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LEMON CURD
6 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
200ml lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
Mix all ingredients together.
Whisk on medium heat until mixture thickens.
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STRAWBERRY JELLY
100g strawberries puréed and passed through sieve
50g sugar
250ml water
4 gelatine leaves
Combine puréed strawberries with sugar and water on the stove until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat.
Soften gelatine leaves in water, squeeze out excess water and add to strawberry mixture, mix until leaves are dissolved.
Put in fridge until set.
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MACERATED STRAWBERRIES
250g strawberries
100g sugar
5ml vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients and let it stand for 30 minutes
Chantilly cream
250ml cream
50ml sugar
5ml vanilla extract
Whip cream until soft peaks form; add sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff.
To assemble trifle, slice bolo preta and layer at bottom of dish, sprinkle with rum. Put a layer of macerated strawberries, a layer of lemon curd, then a layer of Chantilly cream, and lastly some of the strawberry jelly. Repeat the layers and finish off with the cream, and some strawberries for decoration.
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MasterChef SA runner-up Siphokazi Mdlankomo, 39, will be cooking a delicious festive meal on Christmas Eve at the home of her employer, Liz Andreasen, in Cape Town.
“We always have a traditional Christmas meal and I will be doing stuffed turkey, wrapped in bacon, with gravy, served with beautiful Brussels sprouts, other veggies and a salad. For dessert, I am making a trifle with a difference, with fresh plum jelly.”
She is also excited that on Christmas Day, she will be going to friends of the Andreasens where someone else will be cooking and she can sit back and relax.
Her tips for a stress-free Christmas dinner?
“Make sure you prepare as much as possible the day before. I check that I have all the ingredients I need and know the exact number of people coming so that I have enough for everyone.
“I also make different kinds of cookies, fruit mince pies and home-made apricot jam so I can give a little gift to everyone who comes.
“Food has always been an important part of my family’s life, even now I’m with another family. At my home in Tsolo, Eastern Cape, we always cook traditional food and have people coming to enjoy it with us.
“My mother always makes traditional Xhosa beer and for those who don’t drink she makes her favourite home-made ginger beer.
“I will be going to Tsolo at New Year where there will be celebrations. I am looking forward to that.”
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MINCE PIES
Granny Maureen (my employer Liz’s mother-in-law) taught me how to make these mince pies
3 cups flour
5ml baking powder
3ml salt
350g butter
1 medium egg beaten
2 tbsp lemon juice
450g store-bought fruit mince – if you have the time, make your own
Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Cut butter into blocks.
Gently rub butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Don’t overwork the dough.
Make a well in the centre and add an egg, lemon juice to make the dough more pliable. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Once the dough is chilled, unwrap.
Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and gently roll the dough.
Make sure you don’t press too much when you roll as it will become warm and butter will start to melt – you still want little chunks of butter in your dough.
Roll as quickly as possible.
Cut rounds with a cookie cutter.
Take a muffin tray and place the pastry in each hole. Put a teaspoonful of fruit mince in each.
Cut toppings from leftover pastry, in whatever shape you want.
Brush with an egg wash. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.