Marco Pierre White’s Boxing Day Feast

It’s been 21 years since Marco Pierre White hung up his chef’s whites — now he’s back to share his favourite festive recipes with Daily Mail readers. 

In Saturday’s Weekend magazine he gave you his fuss-free Christmas lunch, and today he dishes up a Boxing Day feast…

Boxing Day ham with celeraic remoulade 

Ham hock is an incredibly flavoursome piece of meat on the bone. Plus, it’s not expensive. It’s ideal with a remoulade of finely sliced celeriac and slightly mustardy mayonnaise.

Serves 6

• 1 ham hock (or 2 small ones)

For the celeriac remoulade

• 1 celeriac, peeled
• ½ a lemon
• Sea salt flakes
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• Grain mustard, to your taste 

To garnish

• About 24 small cornichons
• Chopped fresh parsley

Place the ham in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to the boil, remove from the heat and drain. 

Fill the pan with water to about 5cm above the ham. Return the pan to the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. 

Simmer very, very gently for 2½-3 hours, until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the ham to cool in the liquor.

To make the remoulade, chop the celeriac crossways and then finely slice the pieces into matchstick-sized slivers. 

Squeeze the lemon over the matchsticks, and season with the sea salt. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Squeeze the celeriac in a tea towel or kitchen paper to remove some of the salt and the excess moisture. 

Mix the mayonnaise with grain mustard to your taste. Then combine the celeriac with the mayonnaise.

Slice the ham and arrange it on a platter. Spoon over some of the poaching liquor. Dot the cornichons over the top and garnish with parsley. Serve with the celeriac remoulade.

Chicken broth with dumplings

I learnt to make this soup at the Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. 

It’s a very clever soup, because it’s like a consommé but doesn’t require the usual consommé clarification with egg white (a technique that’s very haute cuisine, but means the soup loses flavour). 

If you like, mix and match the carrot, celery and garlic, but stick to a total weight of about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz). 

The soy sauce and tomato purée add a distinctive amber colour to the soup, while the soy and stock pots are salty enough that no extra salt is needed.

Serves 6

• 2 kg (4lb 8oz) raw chicken bones (from your butcher), chopped
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stick, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 leek, white part only, coarsely chopped
• 1 whole garlic bulb, cut in half
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 20 pieces of dried porcini
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 cloves
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• 2 juniper berries (optional)
• 2 Knorr chicken stock pots (optional)
• 2.5 ltr (4½ pt) water

For the dumplings

• 75 g (2¾ oz) Atora suet
• 150 g (5½ oz) self-raising flour
• A couple of pinches of sea salt flakes
• 7-8 tbsp water

To finish

• 200 g (7 oz) mushrooms, finely sliced (optional)
• Fresh herbs of your choice, finely sliced

Place the raw chicken bones in a large saucepan or casserole. Add the carrot, celery, onion, leek, garlic, soy sauce, tomato purée, porcini, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, coriander seeds and juniper berries (if using). 

Add the stock pots (if using) and pour in the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for four hours. It will become clear like a consommé and amber in colour.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings so they are ready when required. Mix the suet with the flour and a pinch or two of sea salt flakes. Mix with enough water to form a pliable dough. Roll smallish balls of dough, taking into consideration they’ll grow as they cook.

Drain the soup through a colander, return the liquid to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. In a separate saucepan of gently simmering water, poach the dumplings for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

If you are using mushrooms, preheat the grill, place the mushrooms on a baking tray and place the tray on the floor of the grill. Grill for five minutes, turning the mushrooms once or twice.

Ladle the broth and dumplings into soup bowls. Add the grilled mushrooms (if using) and herbs of your choice.

Beetroot and goat’s cheese salad

A very simple salad, and a classic combination.

Serves 6-8

• About 24 small beetroots (600 g/1 lb 5 oz)
• A splash of merlot vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 3 splashes of extra-virgin olive oil
• 150 g (5½ oz) goat’s cheese, broken into large crumbs
• 8 walnuts, coarsely chopped
• Finely chopped fresh herbs of your choice, for garnish

Wash the beetroots and place them in a saucepan. 

Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. 

Reduce to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes, until tender — test by inserting the point of a knife into one of the beetroots. 

Drain and then refresh under cold running water for a few seconds.

Peel the beetroots, place them in a bowl and coat with the merlot or red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Transfer the beetroots to a serving dish. Garnish with the crumbled goat’s cheese, and finish with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts and chopped herbs.

Bread & butter pudding

This was a childhood favourite, when my dad would make a couple of desserts to follow the Sunday roast. We didn’t have brioche in those days, but it brings its own distinct flavours to the pudding.

Serves 6-8

• 3 tbsp dark ruml 3 tbsp water
• 110 g (3¾ oz) currants
• 800 g (1 lb 12 oz) brioche, cut into triangular slices
• 350 g (12 oz) unsalted butter, melted
• 500 ml (18 fl oz) whole milk
• 500 ml (18 fl oz) double cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out and reserved
• 8 eggs
• 70 g (2½ oz) caster sugar
• 1 tbsp apricot jam

In a saucepan, combine the dark rum and water. Add the currants, bring to the boil and then remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Line the base of a 30 cm x 25 cm ovenproof dish with the rum-soaked currants. Dip the brioche slices in the melted butter and arrange them over the currants in overlapping rows (as in the photograph).

Pour the milk and cream into a large saucepan, then add the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to the boil over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the vanilla pod.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar. Pour the hot milk mixture over the whisked egg mixture, stirring constantly – you don’t want scrambled eggs – until the custard is smooth. 

Pour the custard over the bread and leave it to stand for at least 30 minutes, so that the bread absorbs the custard.

Preheat the oven to 150c/fan 130c/gas 2. Bake the pudding for one hour, or until the top is golden. Paint the top all over with the apricot jam.

My Christmas turkey cocktail

This is the perfect dish for Boxing Day night, when we all have leftover turkey. It tends to be the brown meat of the thighs, which is perfect here. 

Turkey tastes better the next day because – like all cold meats – the flavour improves with time, and a turkey cocktail really glamourises the leftovers. 

It’s a turkey salad, I suppose, but in a pretty glass, although you could make it for a crowd in a large serving bowl. The meat from half a thigh will easily serve two. 

From two thighs, and adapting this recipe accordingly, you’ll get enough meat for 8-10 starters or 4-6 main courses. For extra style, garnish with a wafer piece of crispy turkey skin.

Serves 2

• 1 rasher smoked streaky bacon
• 1 egg
• ½ a turkey thigh
• A little leftover gravy, to taste
• 2 dsp mayonnaise
• ¼ of an iceberg lettuce, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp cranberry sauce
• Finely chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Grill or fry the bacon until crispy, remove from pan and set aside to cool. 

Hard-boil the egg, then cool, peel and finely dice the white (discard the yolk).

Remove the skin from the turkey thigh and finely slice the meat. If you’re making the crispy skin to garnish, preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4. 

Slice the skin into strips and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. 

Cover with baking parchment, then place another baking tray on top to weigh it down. 

Bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp. Cool.

Whisk the gravy into the mayonnaise, tasting as you go, so it’s just right for you. Cut the cooled bacon into crumbs.

Layer each serving glass with lettuce, turkey meat and cranberry sauce. Spoon over the mayonnaise mixture. 

Garnish with the bacon, egg white and parsley. Top with the crisp turkey skin, if using.

Smoked trout on baked toast & horseraddish mayonnaise

Shop-bought crispy French toast was a part of my years as a young chef. I’d smother it with Philadelphia and then top it with a bit of smoked salmon. But I had never made the toast, until now. 

The bread dries to become crispy and crunchy, and is eaten at room temperature rather than hot. 

So you can really take your time with this easy dish, as nothing can go cold. I think it’s a genius idea, and it only took me 42 years to come up with it!

Serves 6

• 6 slices of sourdough bread, cut to a thickness of about 1 cm
• 1 medium egg
• 5-6 dsp mayonnaise
• Fresh horseradish, grated (or horseradish sauce), to your taste
• 6 smoked trout fillets, broken into pieces
• 2 medium-sized gherkins, finely sliced
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 20 g (¾ oz) capers
• Watercress or herbs of your choice, chopped
• Sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 120c/fan 100c/gas ½. Cook the bread slices for 40 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. 

(You can toast the bread under a medium grill, but it won’t be the same.)

Hard-boil the egg, drain and leave to cool. Peel and slice very finely. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise with grated horseradish, or horseradish sauce, to your taste.

Let the toast cool to room temperature. Spread the mayonnaise and horseradish mixture on each slice of toast. 

Lay the trout pieces on top of the mayonnaise and horseradish mixture, then add the sliced egg. 

Garnish with the gherkins and shallot, add a few capers to each slice, and sprinkle with the herbs and a pinch of sea salt.

Christmas chuntney 

This is a fantastic festive chutney. It’s great with pâté, terrines, cheese, bread, cold meats and pork pies.

Makes 2 x 300 g jars

• 200 g (7 oz) dried cranberries
• 200 g (7 oz) dried figs
• 200 g (7 oz) dried dates
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 Earl Grey teabag
• 1 spice bag (tie a cinnamon stick and a star anise in a muslin cloth or bag)

Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Add boiling water until the surface is level. Steep for at least 2½ hours. 

Remove the teabag and spice bag, then blend until smooth, or to your liking. Transfer to sterilised jars and seal. Chill until needed; it will keep for several months.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Add boiling water until the surface is level. Steep for at least 2½ hours. 

Remove the teabag and spice bag, then blend until smooth, or to your liking. Transfer to sterilised jars and seal. Chill until needed; it will keep for several months.