Christmas cracker cheese parcels & winter salad

Name: Christmas cracker cheese parcels & winter salad
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: CRANBERRY DIP; 100g dried cranberries; 200ml port; 1 pinch of ground cloves; 1 pinch of ground ginger; 1 clementine; SALAD; 4 clementines; red wine vinegar; extra virgin olive oil; 200g mixed winter salad leaves such as rocket, baby kale, lamb’s lettuce, mustard red giant, mustard 'Red Frills', baby Swiss chard leaves, cos; PARCELS; ½ a bunch of chives (10g); 250g Baron Bigod, or similar Brie-style cheese; 50g unsalted walnut halves; 4-6 sheets of filo pastry; olive oil

with homemade cranberry dip

Vegetarian

30 mins

Not Too Tricky

makes 16

About the recipe

Crispy pastry filled with oozy cheese served with winter leaves and a tangy cranberry dip for dunking, this is the perfect way to kick off a festive party. Winter leaves naturally taste more bitter, which I love when contrasted with a sweet, zingy clementine dressing – this will definitely wake up the taste buds!

nutrition per serving

Calories

Fat

15%

Saturates

Sugars

Salt

Protein

Carbs

Fibre

of an adult’s reference intake

Recipe From

Jamie Cooks Christmas

By Jamie Oliver

FIND OUT MORE WATCH THE SHOW

Ingredients

CRANBERRY DIP

100g dried cranberries

200ml port

1 pinch of ground cloves

1 pinch of ground ginger

1 clementine

SALAD

4 clementines

red wine vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

200g mixed winter salad leaves such as rocket, baby kale, lamb’s lettuce, mustard red giant, mustard 'Red Frills', baby Swiss chard leaves, cos

PARCELS

½ a bunch of chives (10g)

250g Baron Bigod, or similar Brie-style cheese

50g unsalted walnut halves

4-6 sheets of filo pastry

olive oil

Method

Place the cranberries, port and spices into a small pan, finely grate in the clementine zest, bring it to the boil, then simmer on a medium heat for 1 minute, before setting aside for a few minutes to plump up. Pour into a blender and blitz until smooth. Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.
To make the salad dressing, squeeze the juice of 1 clementine into a clean jam jar, add roughly the same amount of vinegar, then top up with extra virgin olive oil – you want 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. Season with sea salt and black pepper, secure the lid and shake well to combine, then put aside.
Finely slice the chives. Cut the cheese into 1cm-thick slices, then cut again into rectangles, about 5cm in length and sprinkle over the chives, then crumble over the walnuts, gently squashing them into the cheese.
One at a time, lay a sheet of filo on a damp tea towel (wrap the rest in a damp tea towel to stop them from drying out) with the long side facing you, then use a sharp knife to cut the sheet into 4 equal-sized rectangles.
Place a piece of cheese on the bottom edge of each rectangle, lightly brush the exposed filo with olive oil, then roll up the pastry and gently twist the ends to seal, like a Christmas cracker. Brush lightly with olive oil, place on a lightly oiled tray or board, then repeat with the remaining sheets of filo and cheese.
Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with a splash of olive oil, add the filo parcels in batches (try not to overcrowd the pan) and cook for 4 minutes, or until oozy, golden and crisp, turning halfway.
Peel the remaining clementines and thinly slice horizontally into rounds. Toss the salad leaves in the dressing.
To serve, place a clementine slice onto each place, and top with a little handful of dressed leaves. Divide the filo parcels between them and serve with cranberry dip for dunking.

These parcels are best eaten when hot and oozy. To minimise prep time on the day, assemble the parcels a day ahead, then store in the fridge on an oiled tray, covered with a tea towel. Cook them just before serving.

Baron Bigod is a wonderful British Brie-style cheese, but you can use any melty cheese here.
To make this alcohol-free, simply use an alcohol-free red wine in place of the port in the dip.

Tags

Cheese Christmas Winter Vegetarian

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