Make.Eat.Share
Bridget Jones’ turkey curry buffet...
Reimagined
“Like a certain female diarist, you once might have groaned at the prospect of Boxing Day parties with turkey curry, but these family get-togethers, sadly missed last year, are one of the best bits of Christmas. Bring on the buffet!”
Jen Bedloe, food editor
RECIPE & FOOD STYLING: JEN BEDLOE. PHOTOGRAPHS: TOBY SCOTT. STYLING: SARA BIRKS
Pair a sausage roll wreath with tangy tomato chutney
Orzo rocket and halloumi salad – full of sunshine flavours
Veggie fennel and bean casserole with pesto garlic croûtes
Serve up a hearty veggie casserole with pesto toasts
Serves 6-8 as part of a buffet
Hands-on
time 20 min
Simmering
time 20 min
MAKE AHEAD
You can make the bean casserole up to a day ahead. Cover and chill,
then reheat until piping hot to serve. The croûtes are best made fresh on the day.
• Splash olive oil
• 2 red onions, cut into chunks
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into chunks
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 bushy rosemary sprigs, 1 left whole, 1 leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 200ml red or dry white wine
• 400g tin crushed tomatoes, plus half a tin water
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 450g jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
• 50g green olives (pitted or unpitted)
• 50g capers or caperberries, rinsed
• 700g jar butter beans (or 2x 400g tins), drained
• 1 ciabatta, sliced 1-2 cm thick
• ½x 165g jar good quality pesto (vegetarian if needs be)
• 25g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated
1 Put a splash of oil in a shallow casserole, then fry the onions, fennel, garlic, bay leaf and rosemary sprigs with some salt and pepper for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the veg have taken on some colour and are becoming tender.
2 Add the wine to the pan, then use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Stir in the tomatoes and water along with the balsamic vinegar, peppers, olives, capers/ caperberries and beans, then bring up to a fast simmer. Turn down the heat and simmer gently on a low-medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary sprigs, then stir in the chopped rosemary.