Christmas recipes: Goose with all the trimmings (2024)

By Jo Pratt for MailOnline
Updated: 00:24 GMT, 12 December 2009

Fancy a change from turkey this year? Try serving your family this juicy honey-roast goose - with a twist on the traditional trimmings.

I am a huge fan of the traditional Christmas dinner, but there's no denying that it isn't the easiest meal to cook.

Keeping the turkey moist and getting all its trimmings ready at the same time can require careful timing.

Fuss-free feast: Jo Pratt's Christmas menu allows you more time to enjoy the day

Although a Christmas pudding is seen as essential, lots of people don't really like the taste. And, at the end of the meal, there's a mountain of washing up to tackle.

So, if you feel as though you're gearing up for a culinary obstacle course, or if you'd just like to try something else this year, then it's time to ring the changes.

This alternative Christmas dinner not only tastes wonderfully festive, it should take some of the stress out of cooking the most daunting meal of the year, since you can do a lot in advance.

To kick off, there's a light and elegant smoked salmon, radish and cucumber salad with caper and dill cream.

The centrepiece of the meal, a honey-roast goose, is a show-stopper to look at, decorated in an old-fashioned style with bay leaves and orange slices.

The sweet and spicy honey and orange sauce, which can be made ahead of time, enhances and cuts through the rich flavour of the meat.

Served with some crunchy golden potatoes, roasted in the goose fat, this turns a meal into a banquet. As an accompaniment, three easily prepared and tasty fresh veggies can be cooked together in one easy-to-wash-up pan.

And, finally, instead of having to worry about preparing stuffing as well as a vegetarian option, why not combine the two in one delicious dish of butternut squash, porcini and butterbean stuffing cake. Much more enjoyable than a nut roast, it has a complex richness, which lets it stand alone as a main dish; but it also works as an accompaniment to the goose. Best of all, it can be prepared 24 hours ahead.

Finally, I'm serving a pecan pie with cranberries, which add a festive twist to a traditional favourite.

This can also be made in advance and warmed through on the day. Rich, crunchy and glorious to look at, as well as eat, it deserves to be adopted as a Christmas tradition in its own right.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

• Approx 3.5kg (7lb 10oz) goose
• 1 heaped tsp flaked sea salt
• 2tbsp runny honey
• 3-4 thin slices of orange
• 3 bay leaves
  

FOR THE SAUCE

• 3tbsp caster sugar
• 2tbsp cider or white wine vinegar
• 150ml (5fl oz) hot chicken stock
• Peeled zest and juice of 2 large oranges
• 4tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier
• 4-6 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 heaped tsp arrowroot
• Segments of 2 oranges
  

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 240C/gas 9. Before you cook the goose, calculate your cooking times by following my helpful guide below. Remove the giblets from the goose, if there are any, and then, using the tip of a sharp knife, lightly score the breast and leg skin every 2cm (3/4in) or so. Sit the goose on a wire rack/trivet in a large roasting tray, and then rub the salt all over the skin, making sure it goes in between the score lines. Drizzle the honey all over and then sit the orange slices and bay leaves on top. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C/ gas 5 and continue to roast the goose for the calculated time. After about 1 hour of roasting, the orange and bay leaves can be removed before they become too dark in colour, and you can also pour out some fat piepiepieto roast your potatoes, if you are serving them. If the goose is becoming too dark, cover with tinfoil.
3. Once cooked, remove the goose from the oven, cover loosely with foil (if you haven't already done so) and leave to rest and tenderise for 30 minutes.
4. To prepare the sauce, place the sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and allow the liquid to boil and become lightly golden, swirling it around in the pan, rather than stirring. Add the stock, orange zest and juice, Cointreau or Grand Marnier, cloves, star anise and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. The orange zest and spices can either be left in or removed at this point; it's up to you. Mix the arrowroot with a little water and then stir into the saucepan until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange segments. The goose can now be carved and served with the sauce.