A Very Peruvian Christmas!

Con mi burrito sabanero voy camino de belen

Si me ven, si me ven, voy camino de belen

Traditional Peruvian Children’s Christmas Song

I’ve gone early with my Panettone this year thanks to someone very close to me! This particular individual is of Peruvian descent and was delighted to see I’d mentioned one of the biggest Christmas traditions, the indulgence of their beloved Panetón, Christmas simply isn’t Christmas in Peru without it! We got chatting about it and she mentioned the way she loves to eat it is with Chocolate sauce – what a fabulous idea thinks me! With the thought of it making me hungry all day, yesterday evening I whipped up my favourite chocolate sauce recipe and put the bread knife to good use! Wow, what an absolute taste sensation, a real joyous eating experience! So today, I have not one, but two recipes; my favourite chocolate sauce recipe and the way I love to eat slightly stale Panettone, as an unctuous Bread and Butter pudding!

Chocolate Sauce

I came across my favourite Dark Chocolate Sauce recipe in a magazine, it’s by Michel Roux and it’s delicious. This recipe is fab because it’s actually comparatively easy and it’s a great accompaniment to lots of sweets.

Ingredients

200g good-quality dark bitter chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
175ml milk
2 tbsp double cream
30g caster sugar
30g butter, diced

Method

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of gently simmering water and allow to melt slowly, stirring occasionally until very smooth. Take off the heat.

Combine the milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan, stir with a whisk and bring to the boil.

Still stirring with the whisk, pour the boiling milk mixture onto the melted chocolate, then return the mixture to the pan and let it bubble over the heat for a few seconds, stirring continuously.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter, a little at a time, to give a smooth sauce. Pass it through a fine-meshed conical sieve. Serve at once or keep warm in a bain-marie.

For extra indulgence add a dash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau to add extra flavour or, infuse the cream mixture with a good pinch of crushed cardamom seeds for a light spicy sauce

Now, to my favourite Panettone Recipe

This is another I can take no credit for! Bread and Butter pud is a quintessentially British affair, historians have traced its origins back to the early 11th and 12th centuries, where frugal cooks looked for ways to use stale, leftover bread instead of letting it go to waste. In 13th century England, bread pudding was known as “poor man’s pudding,” as it was a popular dish with the lower classes.

For any old school recipe my default Guru’s are either the magnificent Mary Berry or the wonderful Delia Smith – this is one of her recipes!

Ingredients

400g panettone, cut into round slices 1.5cm thick
60g raisins
150ml Marsala
50g butter
20g whole candied peel
175ml milk
175ml double cream
60g golden caster sugar
zest of 1 small lemon
4 eggs, beaten
½ whole nutmeg

Method

Begin by putting the raisins in a small saucepan with 50ml of the Marsala and bring them up to simmering point, then remove them from the heat then leave to soak and cool for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Then butter the slices of panettone and cut each one into quarters measuring about 6cm (if you are using the small panettone, just halve them). Now arrange a single layer of slightly overlapping slices in the prepared dish, saving all the nicest-looking pieces for the top. Next drain the raisins and reserve the liquid.

Sprinkle half the raisins over the panettone, and all of the candied peel. Now arrange the remaining slices of panettone on top, overlapping them attractively so the crusts are prominent, then sprinkle with the remaining raisins. Next, in a large glass jug (it will need to be more than 570ml), measure out the milk, double cream, the remaining 100ml Marsala and the Marsala juices from the raisins.

Now use a mini-whisk to whisk the caster sugar, lemon zest and beaten eggs. Then pour the whole lot over the panettone and grate the nutmeg over the top. Pop the dish on a baking tray and bake for 50 minutes until the top is crisp and golden and the pudding is puffy and set in the centre. Leave it out of the oven to settle for 10 minutes, then serve with some chilled pouring cream.

Usually, I serve this with a Crème Anglaise but this year, I’ve got to try it with the Chocolate Sauce!

What’s on this week?