In Good Taste: Have a cracker Christmas
It must be Christmas; there are as many sightings of Santa on a simple trip to town as there are of Elvis around Memphis on any given day. If you're feeling a little exhausted by the thought of it all, help is in hand. The three recipes below all freeze well (in log form) and can be brought out on the day required. Just thaw them in the fridge and slice into rounds 5mm thick. Place on a baking paper-lined tray and all you have to do is bake at 180ºC for 10-15 minutes until golden. The smell that comes wafting from the oven will put you at ease, and all you need to serve with the biscuits is a bowl of olives or some toasted almonds.
This recipe is one I have adapted myself. It is loved even by those who are still developing a relationship with olives.
Olive and Cheese Biscuits
230g flour
2 tablespoons of cornflour
175g butter
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
120g grated cheese (use parmesan or a tasty cheese)
½ cup of drained, chopped olives (pat them dry on a paper towel)
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of white wine
Place all ingredients in a kitchen wizz until mixture just comes together. Knead gently to form a log shape about 4 cm in diameter. Wrap in gladwrap and freeze until required. Bake as above.
Even vegetarians enjoy the next lot...until you mention that they have anchovies in them! They come from Tamasin Day-Lewis's book, and she adds chilli, but that's up to you.
Parmesan and Anchovy Biscuits
220g plain flour
220g butter
100g of anchovies drained and chopped finely
220g Parmesan grated, (could use tasty cheese instead)
Place all ingredients in the kitchen wizz and process as in above recipe.
This recipe is from Stephanie Alexander and is fantastic when made using Averill Turnbull's "Provence" cheese.
Flaky Goat Cheese Biscuits
1 x 215g punnet of Meadowcroft "Provence" goat cheese (leave any herbs on the cheese there)
3 tablespoons of finely grated Parmesan
300g butter
Good pinch of ground pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
350g plain flour, sifted
Blend together the butter, cheeses, pepper and cayenne in a kitchen wizz until smooth. Pulse in the flour until just incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture out onto some baking paper and roll into a log shape. This makes enough to use half on the day and freeze the rest. Refrigerate the half you will use for several hours until firm. Slice thinly and bake at 180ºC for about 10 minutes.
Baked Olives
2 cups of olives, drained (I use Kalamata)
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup of olive oil
The juice of 1 lemon
The rind of 1 orange
1 sprig of rosemary, broken into pieces
Place all the ingredients together in a baking dish and toss to mix well. Place into a pre-heated 180ºC oven and bake for 10 minutes until the olives have plumped. Cool and serve the olives, with the bits, in a bowl and place the biscuits on the side.
Wishing you all a happy, safe and stress-free Christmas
Fiona Feasey
