Create a festive spread this 2016 Thanksgiving with Thanksgiving recipes by popular celebrity chefs, Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, and Jamie Oliver. Whether it is dishing out generations-old turkey recipes, or traditional pumpkin pie, you can cook delicious Thanksgiving recipes by following these super chefs’ recipes.
Nigella Lawson shared a delicious-looking pic on Instagram, “Slow-Cooked Black Treacle/Molasses Ham,” and you can find the recipe on her web site nigella.com.
If you are struggling with festive food ideas, then super chefs Ramsay, Lawson, and Oliver, have a tempting range of food ideas. Get started with some of these recipes.
Super Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Roast Turkey With Lemon, Parsley & Garlic
You will need (Serves 8 to 10):
1 free-range turkey (preferably Norfolk Black or Bronze) about 5 to 5.5kg
2 onions (peeled and halved)
1 lemon, halved
1 head of garlic (halved horizontally)
6 bay leaves
8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil (to drizzle)
Lemon, Parsley and Garlic Butter:
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
375g of butter (at room temperature)
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 small lemons
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley (leaves only, chopped)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 220°C (428°F).
Prepare the herb butter. Add the butter into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic, and chopped parsley. Mix well.
Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity. Use salt and pepper to season the cavity, then stuff with the onions, lemon, garlic halves, and two bay leaves.
Loosen the skin on the breast from both ends of the bird and stuff the flavored butter underneath it (making sure the skin is intact). Repeat with the skin on the legs: from the lower side of the breast feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosening the gap.
Now, in the opened spaces under the skin, stuff half the butter mix. And, from the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered. Finally, insert the rest of the bay leaves under the skin of the breasts.
Take a large roasting tray and place the bird breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin. Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist.
Baste again. Lower the setting to 180°C (356°F) and cook for about two and half hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.
Insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg (to test whether your turkey is cooked). Check your turkey about 30 minutes before the calculated roasting time. If the juices are pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat as necessary until the turkey is cooked.
Take a warmed platter, transfer the turkey and remove the parson’s nose, wings and tips of the drumsticks (reserve these for the gravy). Rest the turkey in a warm place for at least 45 minutes. Make the gravy in the meantime. Remove the bay leaves from under the skin before carving. Serve the turkey with the hot gravy, stuffing and accompaniments.
Super Chef Jamie Oliver’s Pumpkin Pie
You will need:
1 large butternut squash, quartered and seeds reserved
500g ready-made dessert pastry
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
6 tbsp. caster sugar
4 tbsp. maple syrup
3 large free-range eggs, beaten
200ml double cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
Roll the pastry to the thickness of a coin. Get a 22-centimeter loose-bottomed tart tin. Next, line with the pastry and bake blind for 20 minutes. Set aside.
Lay the squash in a baking tray and sprinkle with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and drizzle with the maple syrup. Cover the tray tightly with a double layer of tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes until soft. Reduce the oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
Next, allow the squash pieces to cool and scoop out the flesh. You will need 600 grams of cooked squash flesh. Scrape out the bits in the tray and the maple syrup. Put in a food processor, whiz until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and the eggs. Mix well and stir in the cream.
Use the mix and fill the cooled tart case and bake for 45 minutes. Also, wash the stringy bits of squash off the seeds, dry them and lay them flat on a tray. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and place in the oven with the pie for the last 10 minutes until it is crispy.
Remove the tart from the oven and sprinkle with the seeds when cool. Serve with cream or ice cream.
Enjoy this holiday season by preparing these scrumptious Thanksgiving recipes. Follow these super chefs on their food web sites and social media for more festive food ideas.
Sources:
Oliver, J., “Thanksgiving Recipes,” Jamie Oliver web site; http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/occasion/thanksgiving/, last accessed November 21, 2016.
Oliver, J., “Festive turkey croque-monsieur,” Jamie Oliver web site; http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/turkey-recipes/festive-turkey-croque-monsieur/, last accessed November 21, 2016.
