THE GLOSS HAS collated THE FIVE MOST SCRUMPTIOUS RECIPES from irish businesses for those Stephen’s day sangers…
1. THE WOODEN SPOON’S CHRISTMAS CIABATTA
If you want to shake up your Christmas sandwich, why not pop it in a deliciously crunchy ciabatta? The wonderful chefs Kate Dillon and Grainne O’Higgens at The Wooden Spoon Café located in Blackrock village have created this delicious Christmas combo. This epic sandwich is one worth trying again…and again…and again!
Ingredients
Roast turkey crown
Honey-glazed ham
Homemade herb stuffing
Creamy brie
Cranberry mayonnaise
Ciabatta loaf
Irish butter
Method
Turkey: Heat oven to 190 degrees. Weigh your turkey and calculate cooking time. Put a large sheet of foil on your roasting tin and sit turkey on top. Rub butter under the skin and on top of the turkey. Cover breast with bacon in addition to chopped onion, carrots, celery and fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and salt & pepper. Place some water in the base of the cooking tray along with some white cooking wine. Cook according to your calculated cooking time and when ready leave to rest in foil.
Ham: Prepare your glaze; honey, dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard and brown sugar. Again weigh the meat to calculate cooking time. Put ham in a large pot of cold water and bring to the boil. When cooked, remove from liquid and leave to cool. Discard the skin and score the fat with a criss cross pattern. Heat oven to 200 degrees, put the ham in a roasting tray lined with tin foil. Generously brush glaze over the ham and roast in the oven for 25/30 minutes.
Homemade Herb Stuffing: Blend up breadcrumbs, fry off diced onions with lots of butter in a pot, add sage, parsley, salt and pepper and stir in the breadcrumbs. Put into a baking tray well mixed and cook for 10 minutes in the oven at 210 degrees. Stir well then cook for another 10 minutes in the oven.
1. Cut the ciabatta loaf in half, butter the bread, and be generous with the cranberry mayo on both sides.
2. Put the delicious homemade stuffing on both sides of the bread.
3. Brie: We use a delicious French creamy brie. Cut three big slices and put on top of your stuffing.
4. Add two thick slices of turkey and ham.
5. Grill your ciabatta open for 3-4 minutes until the brie is melted. Stick it together and enjoy!
2. SOUTHBANK’S CHRISTMAS SANDWICH
Southbank Café at Harolds Cross Bridge has conjured up a perfectly jammy, cheesy sandwich that is bursting with flavour. If you love herb stuffing and sweet cranberry, this is one is for you. Delicious!
Ingredients (makes one sandwich)
2 slices roast turkey
2 slices roasted home-cooked ham
4 tbsp herb stuffing
2 thick slices of Tartine sourdough
3 tbsp braised red cabbage
4 slices cheddar cheese
2 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp homemade cranberry sauce
Herb Stuffing (makes approximately five sandwiches)
300g ham trimmings (we use loin of bacon)
6 slices of Sourdough bread
2 large white onions – finely diced
5 tbsp dried sage
100g butter
Salt and pepper to season
Melt the butter in a pan. Add the ham trimmings and cook until golden brown. Add the finely chopped onions and sage and cook until the onions are soft. Add the breadcrumbs and cook for another 5 minutes on a low heat. Finally season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cranberry Sauce
1 kg of frozen cranberries
200g caster sugar
200ml orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
One star anise
One Bay leaf
Stew for 25-30 mins until jammy
Method
1. Combine mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl. Spread approximately 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture over 1 side of the bread slice and spread the homemade cranberry sauce over the other slice.
2. Top mayonnaise slice with the stuffing, turkey slices, ham slices, red cabbage and cheddar cheese. Finally, top with the cranberry sauce bread slice.
3. Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat with knob butter. Add sandwiches to pan; cook for 4 minutes or until lightly browned, then carefully flip over and repeat until cheese melts. Cut in half and serve.
3. AVOCA’S CHRISTMAS SANDWICH
Combining all the rich flavours of Christmas dinner, between two slices of Avoca’s Granary Bloomer Bread, this sandwich will make the perfect post-nap snack on Christmas Day. The sweetness from the stuffing combined with the crispy onions and tartness of cranberry sauce, topped off with peppery notes from Avoca’s sage mayo and rocket makes it a crowd-pleaser this festive season.
Ingredients
8 slices of Avoca Granary Bloomer
4 slices of sliced turkey
4 slices of ham
4 slices of brie
100ml mayonnaise
25g sage
60g crispy onions, you can make your own or buy them ready to go
120g Avoca Cranberry and Apricot Stuffing
80g Avoca Cranberry and Clementine Sauce
40g rocket
Method
1.Blend the sage and mayonnaise together
2. Layer the cranberry sauce on bread and add the turkey slices, ham, brie and top with stuffing and crispy onions
3. On the other slice of bread coat in the sage mayonnaise
4. Layer on top of your other dressed layer and enjoy!
4. BALLYMALOE’S CHRISTMAS SANDWICH
Perfect for any day of the year, this sandwich is an absolute cracker and a great way to use leftover Christmas turkey and ham on St Stephen’s Day.
Ingredients
2 slices chunky bread (of your choice)
3 slices roast turkey
2 slices ham / glazed bacon
1 heaped tbsp cooked herb stuffing
3 slices mild cheddar
2 leaves butterhead lettuce
Sea salt
1 tbsp Ballymaloe Original Relish
1 tbsp Ballymaloe Mayo
Method
1. Take your sliced bread and slather one side with Ballymaloe Mayo and the opposite side with Ballymaloe Original Relish.
2. Start to layer by placing the roast turkey slices on the base (sprinkle a little sea salt to enhance the flavour), then top with the lettuce, followed by the sliced ham.
3. Pop an extra teaspoon of Ballymaloe Original Relish on top of the ham, then place the stuffing on top, followed by the cheddar and pop on your sandwich lid. Enjoy every bite – ‘Yule’ love it!
5. THE HAPPY PEAR’S EPIC FESTIVE SANDWICH
One of the most popular sandwiches the brothers Stephen and David Flynn serve at their café in Greystones is this plant-based Epic Festive Sandwich. This is a great one for vegetarians, or if you find that you may have officially had too much turkey!
Ingredients
8 slices of sourdough or your favourite wholemeal bread
70g cranberry sauce
4 tbsp of vegan mayo
Stuffing slices;
250g of old sourdough loaf or baguette chopped into chunks
350ml veg stock
3 tbsp oil – 1 for onions, 2 in with stock
1 large onion – approx 250g
½ tsp salt (in with onions)
½ tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp black pepper
Roasted tempeh; approx 16 slices or 32 smaller
200g tempeh
5 tbsp Tamari mixed with 3 tbsp water (so it mixes more evenly on the slices and goes further)
½ tbsp oil
¼ tsp dried sage
½ tsp dried thyme
Carrot parsnip & apple slaw
30g grated carrot
80g white cabbage shredded
40g grated raw parsnip
30g Granny Smith apple
1 tbsp lemon juice (for apples and parsnip to stop them discolouring)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
30g mayo
Method
Stuffing
1. Preheat oven to 180 C fan
2. If you don’t have any old loaf bread, simply chop up a baguette or sourdough style loaf into large bite size chunks and bake on a tray in the oven for 10-15 mins until they have dried out.
3. Finely dice the onions and in a large flat pan or pot cook over medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil and salt for 10 mins until translucent and soft, remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. In a mixing bowl add the old sourdough chunks, cooked onions with the rest of the ingredients and mix well
5. Transfer the mixture to an approx 22 x 22cm baking dish or a 2lb loaf tin approx and bake for 25 mins.
6. Remove and allow to cool fully before slicing.
Tempeh;
7. Preheat the oven to 180 C fan
8. Slice the tempeh – crossways into approx 16 slices. No more than ½ cm each.
9. Mix the tamari, water, oil, dried sage and dried thyme together.
10. Toss the slices in the tamari mixture making sure the slices are evenly coated
11. Put the slices in an even layer on a parchment lined baking tray and roast for 20 mins or while the stuffing is baking, taking care not to over cook or darken them too much.
Slaw;
12. Thinly slice the cabbage
13. Grate the carrot and parsnip
14. Slice the apple
15. Toss the parsnip and apple in the lemon juice to stop them discolouring
16. Mix all together with the mayo and seasoning
To Layer your Sandwich;
17. For each sandwich split a generous tbsp of vegan mayo to your bottom and top slice of bread. Then split a tbsp of cranberry sauce between both slices of bread.
18. Layer 4 slices (or 8 half slices) of tempeh diagonally onto your base slice of bread
19. Add a thick slice of stuffing – see pic
20. Add approx 60g of slaw to cover the stuffing evenly
21. Top with second slice of bread
22. Cut in half and devour!
