Chef Matt’s flavoursome Christmas share table
SPICE UP YOUR LIFE WHILE YOU INDULGE IN TOGETHERNESS THIS FESTIVE SEASON WITH CHEF MATT CONQUEST’S ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS SHARE TABLE RECIPES.
With his flair for creating memorable culinary moments, Chef Matt has crafted a menu designed to bring family and friends together.
From a mouth-watering spiced brisket and a complementary Australian summer stone fruit-inspired salad, to providing you with inspiration for the stand-out panforte dessert on a sweet-treat platter, let Chef Matt’s dishes inspire your most delicious Christmas yet!
Spiced Christmas Brisket with Pomegranate Glaze
2 kg brisket, ask your butcher for a flat cut piece
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp cracked black pepper
3 tsp sea salt
6 tbsp pomegranate molasses
8 sprigs of thyme, stripped leaves (save some to sprinkle over the served brisket)
8 tbsp olive oil
4 large carrots, halved
4 celery sticks, halved
6-8 golden shallot onions, peeled and left whole
500 ml of quality beef stock
2 tbsp plain flour
½ cup or 1 fresh pomegranate, seeds removed and set aside
- Mix together the cumin, ginger, paprika, cloves, allspice, black pepper, salt flakes, pomegranate molasses, thyme leaves and half the olive oil in a bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the beef brisket. Set aside to marinate and infuse overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C on a fan-forced oven setting, or choose the ‘supercook’ function on your Smeg oven. On a lined baking tray place the carrot, celery and golden shallot onions, and drizzle remaining olive oil over them. Lay the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour in half the stock around the brisket (don’t pour over the brisket at this stage). Place into the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 20 minutes to form a nice crust.
- Turn the temperature down to 140°C and continue to cook for a further 3 ½ – 4 hours, spooning over the pan juices every 30 mins. The brisket is cooked when it’s tender and begins to fall apart with a fork (internal temperature of 95°C). Cook it less for a firmer brisket.
- Remove from the oven and set aside on a plate loosely covered with foil to rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the gravy, drain the stock into a saucepan and put on a medium heat on the stove. Bring the pan juices to a simmer and add the other half of the stock to the pan.
- Sift the flour into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water to make a paste. Whisk the paste into the simmering juices and continue to cook until thickened. (You may even use gravy powder instead of flour at this step instead of extra flour). If it gets too thick, add some hot water to the pan and let down (thin out). Season the gravy and pour into a jug.
- Slice the brisket and serve with the gravy, fresh herbs, and fresh pomegranate seeds.
- You can pre-cook the brisket the day before. Cool the brisket and slice and reheat it the next day. Retain the liquid to use in the pan.
Tip: Meat is easier to cut when it’s cool or cold, so you will achieve nice, clean, sharp cuts if you cut prior to reheating.
Serves 6 – depending how hungry you are!
A Christmas brisket is a festive twist on the classic beef brisket, slow cooked to perfection and infused with festive flavours to make it the star of the menu.
Matt loves adding flavour to cuts of meat and says slow cooking allows home chefs to prepare dishes in advance so they can spend more time with guests and enjoy the day.
Grilled Peach, Prosciutto, Walnut, Fetta and Pomegranate Salad
4 peaches, white or yellow, firm but ripe
2 punnets cherry tomatoes, red and yellow mix, halved
150 g Persian fetta or goat’s curd
150 g prosciutto, sliced and cut in half
200 g rocket
200 g spinach
50 g fresh picked tarragon
50 g fresh picked mint
100 g walnuts, cashews or your favourite nut
1 tbsp olive oil for peaches
1 pomegranate, seeded
Salt and pepper
For the dressing
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dukkah
Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your barbecue to medium high.
- Cut the peaches in half. Remove the stone/seed and cut each half into 4 wedges. Brush each slice lightly with olive oil.
- Once the barbecue grill is hot, place the peach slices on the grill bars (you can use a grilling rack if you have one) and grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Let them cool for 10 minutes.
- Arrange the salad leaf mix on a large platter and top with tomatoes, fetta, grilled peaches, mint, tarragon and your choice of nuts.
- Season it with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the dukkah over the top. Drizzle the olive oil and pomegranate molasses over the salad and finish with the pomegranate seeds to serve.
Serves 4-6
Chef Matt says this fresh salad complements the slow-cooked brisket, nicely carrying over the flavours, while making the most of the season’s beautiful summer stone fruits.
You can keep the peaches fresh but a nice grill on the barbecue gives them depth of flavour.
Christmas Dessert Charcuterie Board featuring Panforte
1 cup almonds
1 cup hazelnuts
220 g honey
200 g medjool dates or dried figs (or add both), diced
1 tsp all spice
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepp
150 g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup white sugar
130 g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
Icing sugar to dust on and serve
- Take a 20 cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper, then line the sides with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180°C and roast the nuts – spread them out in a single layer on a tray and roast for 6-8 minutes at 180°C or until they start to smell fragrant and toasty. Set aside to cool, and mix with the diced dates and/or figs.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, all spice, black pepper and salt together. Add the nuts and fruit and mix to coat all nuts and fruit with the spiced flour and set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the honey and sugar on medium heat until it becomes a syrup (it should take about 5-7 minutes or until it reaches 115°C). Remove from the heat and then add the chocolate and vanilla and stir these in which will melt the chocolate. Add this syrup into the flour and nut mixture and use a sturdy silicon spatula to mix this up. This creates a firm caramel so you will need a bit of strength to get it in the cake tin.
- Scoop into the prepared tin and, with damp hands, press out to reach the edges and smooth the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for 25-30 minutes (check at 25 minutes, and if the centre is like custard, but not sticky, then it is ready). Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Then unclip the ring, place on a serving plate and dust with icing sugar. Serve in small wedges. It’s a rich, spiced, nutty dessert.
Serves 10+
Why not make dessert a little different this year and do a sweet treats dessert charcuterie board?
Select your favourite Christmas desserts and pair it with fruit and cheeses, making a lovely, casual spread for everyone to enjoy at the end of Christmas day lunch or dinner.
Start by making the hero of the platter – whether it is a pie, cake or cookie – anything you please.
Matt says this recipe takes him back to his early years of making panforte – a type of Italian cake made with dried fruit, nuts and lots of spices.
It’s a ‘caramel-style’ cake that is firm to mould, or in other words it is a hot toffee-like sticky cake mix, so you’ll have to use your muscles when stirring! This cake is often seen served for morning tea, presented in a cake tin and served in wedges. It can also be gift-wrapped as a thoughtful present.
