Julie Biuso Photo: supplied
Growing up, Julie Biuso's family always had ham on the bone at Christmastime.
This year, the Auckland chef going for a "very outdoorsy, summery vibe" with a salad of Australian prawns (cooked on the barbecue with chilli and garlic) Australian mangoes and avocado.
- Find more recipes and tips on Julie and Ilaria Biuso's blog Shared Kitchen.
Turkey time
Photo: Andrew Crowley
If you're cooking a turkey, brining is "quite a lot of fiddle", Biuso says, cause the bird needs to be completely submerged in brine and takes up lots of space in the fridge.
It's also hard to keep it at a low temperature with everyone opening and closing the fridge door.
A dry brine - in which flakey sea salt is massaged over the turkey - is easier and gives the same effect, Biuso says.
Recipe ideas:
- Classic Roast Turkey
- Roast Turkey with Orange Macadamia Nut Stuffing
- Roast Turkey with Herbed Veal Stuffing & Spicy Fruit Stuffing
Hamming it up
Negroni-glazed ham Photo: Jess Daniell \ Jess' Underground Kitchen
If you're going with a pre-cooked ham, it's better to do the glaze a day ahead, Biuso says.
"Christmas day, your oven is pretty busy, you've got people calling round, you may be having a glass or two of bubbly, and that is really a recipe for disaster taking that hot pan with the glaze out of the oven, 'cause it's very heavy."
Once the ham is cooked, a chilly bin packed with lots of ice is a good place to store it if you don't have room in the fridge.
Note - Your oven may not heat up as quickly as usual on Christmas Day because there's a lot of power being used all over the country.
Recipe ideas:
Festive vegetables
Warm Salad of Asparagus with New Season Potatoes, Hazelnuts and Poached Egg Photo: Abel and Cole
Potatoes, kumara and pumpkin dishes are good on Christmas day, Biuso says.
Some special ones - such as her Baked Kumara with Coconut Cream - can also work as a vegan main course.
Roast potatoes work in the Northern Hemisphere, but they aren't especially suited to a Kiwi Christmas meal - even the Agria potatoes available now don't roast well, Biuso says.
Instead, go for steamed new potatoes or a rich potato dish like a gratin (with plenty of added cream so it won't dry out).
Green beans are also good with a Christmas meal. Biuso tosses hers with hazelnuts that have been sizzled in crushed garlic, butter and lemon zest.
A platter of blanched seasonal greens - such as asparagus, green beans, snow peas - can be good, too. After blanching, drain the veges and lay them out on paper towels. Before serving, toss through some oil in a pan.
Peas are a popular choice on the day. If you're using frozen, go with baby peas that aren't 'minted'. If you like the mint flavour, fresh mint added at serving will taste much much better, Biuso says.
Recipe ideas:
- Buttery New Potatoes & Asparagus
- Potato and Parmesan Gratin
- Creamy Potato Gratin
- Warm Salad of Asparagus with New Season Potatoes, Hazelnuts and Poached Egg
- New Potato Salad, Green Beans & Crisp Bacon with Rocket & Almond Pesto
- Salad of Green Peas, Broad Beans, Feta, Chilli and Mint with Tzatziki Dressing
- Beans, Mint, Feta and Potatoes
- Green Vegetable Toss
Pavlova
Photo: Unsplash
When it comes to pavlova, Biuso is a self-confessed "fuss bum" who requires a crunchy outer shell and a marshmallowy centre.
If going bought, buy from Dunedin-based pav-makers Cowell's.
If you're making it yourself, she recommends using fresh room-temperature eggs, castor sugar and an electric mixer to keep it light and airy.
Biuso likes to cook pavlova at 120C - bake, not fan bake - in the centre of the oven, as you would a cake.
Note - to get the pavlova placed in the centre of the oven, put your oven rack slightly below centre.
To top the pavlova, look for double cream which stays thick - regular whipped cream will go watery.
You can also make a less-sweet mixture of half double cream and half greek yoghurt.
Atop the cream, she serves fresh raspberries that have been run through a sieve to make them juicy and a little bit of limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur).
The decorated pavlova can be frozen then defrosted for an hour in the fridge before serving, Biuso says.
Recipe ideas:
