Cold cuts with chicken galantine

The time has come to break some moulds. On the first day of the New Year, you could think of marking the end of what has been a horrible year with some delicious turkey. After all, who says turkey should be confined to Christmas? The Americans have it for Thanksgiving, and weight-watchers wouldn’t mind eating its low-fat meat all year long.

I had a wonderful time with the bird — nicely plump, but happily late — in Calcutta some days ago. Chef Pradip Rozario of K.K.’s Fusion and his colleagues, Chef Harish and Chef Sushanta, had prepared a New Year’s special dinner for us — and it had everything that you could ask for. There was a whole turkey that had been stuffed and roasted to perfection, a platter of cold cuts served with different kinds of sauces, a chicken galantine, a delicious seafood salad with a wasabi mayonnaise sauce, baked tuna with prawns and a chocolate fondue.

I am happy to say the roast turkey stuffed with minced chicken and dry fruit and flambéed with chilli garlic infused whisky will figure in his New Year menu. It was an excellent dish. For one, it was moist and soft — and not dry and hard as some roast turkeys can get. Two, the bird had been browned just right — presenting a wonderful mélange of light and dark shades of browns. And three, the stuffing was mouth-watering.

Roast turkey flambéed with chilli garlic infused whisky

For this, he had first flavoured some whisky by adding garlic and chilli flakes to it, and then keep it aside for several days. The cooking itself was a two-day process. He took a 4.5kg turkey, 1kg minced chicken, 100gm pistachio flakes, 100gm almond flakes, 4tbs chopped garlic, 1 cup chilli garlic infused mixture of whisky, 2 cups fresh bread crumbs, 2 eggs, ½tsp grated nutmeg, 3tsp fresh rosemary, 2tbs Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

On day one, he cleaned the turkey and cut open the breast from the neck. He marinated it with salt and pepper and ¼ cup whisky and refrigerated it for a day. On the second day, in a bowl he mixed the chicken mince, almonds, pistachio, garlic, bread crumbs, eggs, chopped rosemary, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce and the remaining whisky (keeping just a little bit of the spirit for the flambé). He turned it into a smooth paste and piped the mixture into the turkey, using a Savoy bag. The turkey was roasted on a baking tray in a pre-heated oven at 220°C for 1 ½ hours.

Before serving, flambé it with the chili garlic infused whisky. And then serve it with pan sauce or cranberry sauce.

This New Year’s day, you can also impress your friends and relatives with spicy smoked fish with prawn salad and wasabi mayonnaise. For this, first prepare the sauce. Take ½ cup mayo, ½ tsp wasabi and 2tbs cream. Mix them together and chill (the sauce, I mean).

Spicy smoked fish and prawn salad with wasabi mayonnaise

Now marinate four pieces of cleaned prawns and four chunks of fish with chilli powder, oregano, thyme, yoghurt, salt and pepper. Cook the fish and the prawns in a clay oven and cool. For the salad, mix 2tbs chopped spring onion, 1 large onion (sliced), 2 lettuce leaves (cut into strips), 1tbs lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Now toss it with the prawns and fish. Place on a serving dish and pour wasabi mayonnaise over the salad and serve.

For the chicken galantine, the chef spreads a boned chicken and then rolls it around a thick layer of blended chicken mince, ham, bacon, egg and seasoning, flavoured with a shot of cognac.

He ties the ends of the chicken securely, wraps a thin napkin or aluminium foil around it and then prepares a chicken stock with the chopped-up bones of the chicken, some root vegetable and seasoning. He places the galantine in the hot stock, brings it to a boil and poaches it slowly. It is then left to cool in the stock.

He unwraps it the next day, wipes it well and then cuts it into slices. You can serve the chicken as it is, or stuff it with different fillings such as a Russian salad, a prawn cocktail or asparagus. Serve this with tartar sauce or a French or Italian dressing.

Celebrate the New Year with a bang — and some turkey, chicken, tuna and smoked fish. We’ll forget the sorrows of the year gone by, and raise a toast to happier times.        

Baked tuna with grilled prawns and thyme sauce

Main dish ingredients

•2.5kg tuna •Salt and pepper, to taste •Thyme, a few sprigs •2 cloves of large garlic •6 large prawns •1/2 cup olive oil •2tbs Parmesan cheese •1/2 cup fresh cream

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C. Score the tuna on both sides and rub with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the garlic and thyme and mix with cheese and cream. Insert into the slits. Put the fish on a tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the flesh is opaque and just cooked through. While the fish is in the oven, heat olive oil in a pan and grill the prawns with thyme and seasoning. Take the fish out and place it on a serving dish. Strain the sauce from the tray and pour over the fish. Serve with grilled prawns