This week our Junior Chefs we will be making – Tagliatelle with sausage, turkey, chestnuts and cranberry

This week’s class will be all about the flavours of Christmas as it is our last Junior Chef before the Christmas celebrations commence.

Our ingredients will focus on those associated with the festive season.

Chestnuts have a sweet crumbly flesh and, unlike other nuts, are low in fat. Roast chestnuts are a traditional winter treat and can be cooked on an open fire, in the oven or in a frying pan. Available from mid-October to December.

Fresh and dried cranberries are excellent in sauces, cakes, desserts and stuffings. Fresh cranberries are used to make the popular accompaniment to turkey, cranberry sauce.

Oranges are the stars of the produce aisle come winter, and they are so versatile.  Orange juice, zest and flesh can all be used to add a sweet, juicy tang to both sweet and savoury dishes.

There are two main types of oranges: sweet oranges and bitter (Seville).  Sweet oranges can be thick or thin skinned, with or without seeds, and has sweet-tasting orange or red-flecked flesh. 

Oranges are at their peak between December and April.

Turkey and smokey, salty bacon pairs well with fruit which is readily associated with the festive season.

In this week’s dish we will be using the following skills:

Weighing, measuring, chopping, cutting, dicing, crumbling, deglazng, reducing mixing/combining, simmering, boiling, frying and searing.

See you at the weekend Junior Chefs.