Create your very own Christmas show-stoppers with these festive recipes from Booths

This recipes are inspired by produce from the north of England like Cumbrian Herdwick Lamb and Booths 'Four Counties’ cheeses. Create your very own show-stoppers this season that all the family will enjoy!

Scallops, air dried ham and wild mushrooms (4 people)

12 scallops

1 pack of kale

300ml chicken stock

4 slices air dried ham

1 pack exotic/wild mushrooms

15g Pumpkin seeds

Olive oil

Butter

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or grill to high heat.

Spread the kale over a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with sea salt.

Place in oven/grill until the edges of the kale start to darken.

Remove from oven and put to one side.

Prep the mushrooms so they are ready for cooking, slicing the larger ones.

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a hot pan until slightly browned.

Reduce the chicken stock by half, check that it isn't too salty (true foods stocks are perfect for this).

Pan-fry the mushrooms in oil and a knob of butter over a medium heat so they get a little colour.

Add the chicken stock and bring to the simmer.

Add another knob of butter to the simmering stock. This will emulsify the butter and stock in to a sauce consistency. Check the seasoning and remove from the heat.

Season the scallops with salt and a tiny bit of ground white pepper.

On a medium-high heat, pan-fry scallops for 2-3 minutes on the flattest side over a medi-um-high heat with a little oil until nicely browned.

Turn the scallops and reduce the heat to low, add a knob of butter and a squeeze of lem-on juice.

Continue cooking for a further minute spooning the foaming butter over the scallops then remove from the pan.

Plate all the prepared ingredients with torn parma ham.

Maple syrup spiced ham

2 bay leaves

3 celery sticks

1 onion

1 garlic

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 Thyme

2 Star anise

1 cinnamon stick

6 cloves

Glaze

150 maple

80 sugar

1/2 cinnamon stick

1/2 star anise

1/4

1/4 coriander cloves

Remove the ham from all packaging and place in a pan with the herbs, spices and water to cover.

Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that forms on the top.

Reduce to the simmer and cook for 15 minutes/lb.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

While the ham is cooking add all of the glaze ingredients to a pan, bring to the boil and take off the heat.

Once the ham is cooked remove from the water and allow to cool slightly.

With a sharp knife remove any skin and most of the fat, leaving around a cm of fat, and score.

Place on a baking tray and put in the oven until the fat starts to crisp.

Brush the glaze over the ham covering all sides and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Repeat for another 3-4 times or until you are happy with the glaze.

Serve warm or chilled.

Golden and purple beetroot wellington with fig, pistachio and goats cheese

The stuffing and beetroot can be prepared in advance to make preparation easier.

2 large purple beetroot

2 large golden beetroot

1 sheet puff pastry

1 hand full of spinach

2 garlic cloves

1 sprig of thyme

1 egg and splash of milk for egg wash

For the stuffing

130g sourdough bread

2 eggs

50ml vegetable stock

25g pistachio

55g cheese - broken in to irregular pieces

75g figs - chopped

Pinch of salt.

Make the bread in to breadcrumbs in a food processor.

Add the pistachios and pulse to break them up.

Add the eggs and salt, blend to bring together, add the veg stock gradually to ensure the mix doesn’t get too wet.

Remove from the bowl and fold in the cheese and figs taking care to leave chunks of cheese.

Cooking liquor for purple beetroot

1l water

150ml White wine vinegar

125gr Honey

1 tsp Chinese five spice

50ml Olive oil

1 small shallots sliced

1 tsp Salt

1 Large sprig of thyme

1 Bay leaf

1 clove garlic - crushed

On a medium heat sweat the sliced shallots in the olive oil in a large saucepan, no col-our. Add the five spice, garlic thyme and bay leaf and continue to sweat for 1 minute.

Add the honey, white wine vinegar and the water and bring to the boil.

Add the beetroot and cook for 30 minutes or until the beetroot is almost cooked.

Allow the liquor to cool with the beetroot in it. For best flavour allow to marinade overnight in the fridge.

Preparation of golden beetroot

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Wash the golden beetroot and place on a foil lined baking tray with 2 crushed garlic cloves and a sprig of thyme. Season with salt.

Cover with foil to make an envelope.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the beetroot is softening, almost cooked, then peel it.

Building and cooking the wellington

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Lay the sheet of puff pastry out.

Spread the stuffing out evenly on the sheet leaving a 2cm border around the edges.

Scatter the spinach evenly over the stuffing.

Place the beetroot in a line along the sheet and fold the pastry over to cover.

Press the pastry together to form a seal.

Brush with egg wash.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is cooked

Four cheese soufflé

50g flour

50g butter

300ml milk

1 Bay leaf

1 clove garlic - crushed

75g wensley

50g applebys

50g kidder ton ash

75g blacksticks

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

4 eggs - separated

Breadcrumbs and soft butter to line the soufflé dishes.

Line the 4-6 soufflé dishes (depending on size) with butter then breadcrumbs and tap upside down to remove excess crumbs.

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Gently warm the milk, bay leaf and garlic in a saucepan.

While the milk is warming, over a low heat melt the butter in a saucepan.

Once melted add the flour and cook out for 2 minutes to form a roux.

Add the warm milk to the roux slowly while whisking to make a smooth béchamel sauce.

Remove from the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce and broken up cheeses leaving some chunks of cheese.

Add the egg yolks once the mix has cooled to almost room temperature.

Beat the egg whites to form firm peaks.

Fold in a third of the whites to the cheese mix followed by the rest of the whites.

Place in the soufflé dishes, cook for 12 minutes and serve immediately.

Pomegranate, clementine and pistachio Pavlova

200g egg whites - should be 6 large eggs

250g sugar

50g Pistachio

40g Pistachio for garnish

120g Pomegranate garnish

10 Clementines

100g sugar

100ml spiced rum

1tsp coriander seeds

550ml cream

65g sugar

50ml clementine syrup(or to taste)

Zest, peel and segment the clementines squeezing and saving the juice out of the left over flesh.

Bring the 100g sugar to a light caramel, add the rum and cook off the alcohol.

Add the juice and zest from the clementines, coriander seeds and reduce down to a thick syrup.

Place the clementine segments in a Kilner jar or something similar and pour over the warm syrup.

Once cooled place in the fridge. This can be done a day or two in advance

Use a food processor or hand chop all the pistachios, you don't want them all the same size.

Separate out 50g for the meringue and keep the rest for garnishing.

On three sheets of baking paper trace around an 8 inch cake tin. Line three baking trays with paper so that the trace is on the underside of the paper.

Whisk the whites slowly for two minutes then at high speed until they start to form peaks.

Add the sugar slowly a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk until the whites feel smooth when rubbed between fingers.

Gently fold in the pistachio.

Use a little of the meringue to stick the paper to the trays.

Spread the meringue evenly over the three trays. Make 2 of them fairly flat on top but with the third make some peaks and interesting shapes as this will be the lid.

Bake at 110 degrees for 2 hours or until the meringue starts to be easy to lift off the paper.

Once cooked allow to cool in the oven with the door closed, this helps prevent the meringue from cracking.

Whip the cream with the sugar and syrup until it forms stiff peaks.

Build up then pavlova adding the cream, pomegranate, clementines, and pistachio between each layer.

Lamb hotpot

800g lamb shoulder

600g lamb neck steaks - on the bone

2l of chicken stock

3 carrots -chopped

2 onions - chopped

2 sticks celery - chopped

5 garlic cloves - crushed

3/4 tsp chinese 5 spice

30ml sherry vinegar

20ml Worcestershire sauce

Olive oil

Salt and cracked black pepper

3 large baking potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes

100g melted butter for brushing.

This can be used with either lamb, hogget or mutton. The cooking times will be longer for the hogget and mutton. Cook until the meat falls off the bone.

In a large sauce pan over a medium-high heat, with a little olive oil fry the seasoned lamb on all sides until well browned and remove from the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and allow to caramelise while stirring regu-larly.

Add the carrots, garlic, celery and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the Chinese 5 spice and cook for 1 minute.

Add a splash of the sherry vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and cooker 1 minute.

Add the stock and the meat. If the liquid needs topping up to cover the meat use water.

Bring to the simmer, place on a lid and cook for 4 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.

Remove the meat and turn up the heat to reduce the liquids to a sauce consistency. Once the sauce is the correct consistency check for seasoning adjusting using the sherry vine-gar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Pick the meat off the bone and break down to bite sized pieces.

Peel and slice the baking potato and cut in to discs.

Peel and slice the sweet potato and cut in to stars of different sizes.

Place the meat and sauce in an oven dish and top with the potato.

Brush with butter and season.

Bake until the potatoes are cooked and starting to crisp.

Glazed baby onions

500g peeled baby onions

75g butter

30g sugar

1 sprig thyme

Pinch of salt

Place the all ingredients in a thick based pan and just cover with water.

Bring to a simmer.

When the water has all evaporated reduce to a low-medium heat and allow the onions to caramelise, moving them regularly to create an even colour.

If using frozen baby onions, or pickled onions follow the same steps without the water.