Roasted Chicken
Butternut Squash
Crispy Stuffing
Festive Nutty Bulgar Wheat Salad
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Cranberry Vinaigrette
Other
For the Chicken:
Well if you have a turkey, then go for it. But we’ve made this salad with roasted chicken.
Take a whole chicken, pat it dry with paper towels, season generously with good sea salt, both inside and outside the cavity. Stick half a lemon and a few sprigs of thyme inside the bird and let it sit for as long as you can. 30 mins should allow the salt to set into the chicken.
Pre-heat the oven to 190*C.
Rub olive oil gently over the chicken, covering every part.
Roast for 45 mins, or as long as recommended for the size of the bird, then remove from the oven and let rest for 30 mins.
Pick the chicken breast and thighs off the bone. Save the carcass for your stock.
For the Butternut Squash
The squash brings a lovely natural sweetness to the salad, I like to leave the skin on for extra texture.
Cut squash into 4cm wedges, dress in olive oil, dried oregano, minced garlic and season generously with salt. Roast in the oven at 200*c for 25 mins until caramelised edges and tender.
For the Crispy stuffing
Let it be known, stuffing is the best part of xmas. If you have some left over, throw it in the salad.
But if you are starting from scratch, pulse the sourdough into crumbs.
Combine the breadcrumbs, mince garlic, picked thyme, diced onion, salt and pepper and olive oil.
Give it a mix and spread on a flat roasting tin. Bake in the oven for 20 mins giving it a stir 2 – 3 times during the cooking process to ensure an even cook. Remove when golden brown and crispy.
For the dressing
Fresh cranberries are super tart and juicy. Normally cooked with sugar to balance the tartness, but for the vinaigrette they work great as they are, super fresh.
With a hand blender or food processor, combine the fresh cranberry, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper and pulse. Add the olive oil slowly to emulsify the dressing.
It should be sweet, tart and sharp. The kind that cuts through the BS during the holidays.
Festive Nutty Bulgar Wheat Salad
Nothing says Christmas like bulgar wheat salad (lol), but we’ve packed this with all the good stuff, trust us. Cook the bulgar to the packet instructions, we use stock in place of water for extra flavour.
Roast the pecans and walnuts for 5 mins. Be careful as they can burn easily! Combine the cooled bulgar, parsley, chopped pecans and walnuts, dried cranberry, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
For the Brussels Sprouts
We are on a mission to help people fall in love with sprouts this year, no frills, just keeping it simple, a hot oven, a little salt and good glug of olive oil. When they go crispy, they go well.
With a sharp knife slice the sprouts into 3’s from top to bottom.
Mix with the sliced onion, dress with plenty of olive oil to ensure all sprouts are covered, this will help them get hotter faster, ensuring an even caramelisation and better flavour.
Roast in the oven at 200*C for 15 – 20 mins
Assemble the salad
Combine the shredded kale, the picked chicken, butternut squash, pomegranates, festive nutty grain, Brussel sprouts and give it a good toss with the cranberry vinaigrette
Then let it snow heavily with crispy stuffing
Serve with a glass of port and finish with a chunk of blue cheese. Happy Christmas.
