Festive feast

Cooking with better quality ingredients is not only tasty, it's easy. Photo / Doug Sherring

Turkey is back on the menu for a Kiwi Christmas - a sign people are starting to look at the history and origins of their food in more depth - but how many people know how to get it right? Kiwis are used to cooking chickens, which are small, young and tender, so even the legs cook quickly. With a turkey, a leg just won't cook that fast - and if you cook the rest of the bird for as long as the legs need, the breast will be dry.

The trick is to cook the legs separately - you can still serve them together so you get that nice aesthetic of the whole bird, but all the meat should be cooked perfectly.

It also means part of the bird can be cooked in advance, taking some of that last-minute, on-the-day pressure off at Christmas.

The other recipes are simple, summery spins on Christmas traditions, making the most of seasonal produce.

It's about really good, tasty food that's easy to prepare - not an epic feast that's going to weigh you down.

New Nosh

Nosh's fourth Auckland food market opens in Dominion Rd, Mt Eden on December 7.

The new store will be a flagship for the successful chain, which operates three other stores - in Glen Innes, Ponsonby and Greenlane. Covering 1000sq m, the new Nosh will feature a butchery, deli, fishmongery and fresh produce section as well as a cafe and in-store florist but the biggest departure from the other stores is the addition of a mezzanine level demonstration area and library.

Here Nosh chefs - and, on occasion, celebrity guests - will demonstrate their skills and be on hand to assist customers with ideas, inspirations and tips.

Then with barely a week to draw breath, on December 14 the chain is opening it's fifth store in everybody's favourite summer getaway spot, Matakana. But Nosh founder Clayton Moore says the key to that store's success will be catering to Matakana locals rather than seasonal Auckland visitors. "We have to have customers all year, not just in summer." To that end Moore says the Matakana store will stick to the Nosh principals of providing the best food at the best prices, and will be stocking local Matakana region produce.

Green bean and endive salad

Pickled walnuts and an orange dressing add a festive note to this fresh, summery side dish.

Again, this is an easy dish to scale up when feeding a crowd.

200g fresh green beans
2 Belgian endive (also known as witloof or chicory)
50ml white wine vinegar
100ml orange juice
1 tbsp sugar
100ml olive oil
4 pickled walnuts, drained and chopped

In a small pot, reduce the orange juice, vinegar and sugar by two thirds, set aside to cool. Once cool, whisk in the olive oil.

Blanch the green beans in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, remove and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.

Drain when cold, then split the beans in half at the seam with your fingers.

Remove the bottom 5ml off the endives and split in half down the centre.

Cut them finely on a diagonal.

Place the beans, walnuts and endive in a salad bowl, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the orange dressing and toss together.