10 elegant and yummy savory dishes to cook this Christmas eve!

Finally the much awaited Holiday Season has come and how! While half of the people in your house are busy ‘decking the hall’ this is time you sit down and decide what special you can cook for your family this Christmas Eve. Without much saying, we bring to you 10 elegant and delicious savory dishes to cook the Christmas Eve with a special surprise recipe for you! :)

1. Kirsch Cheese Fondue

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What you need?

3 tbs cornflour

400 gm Emmental and Gruyere cheese

1 halved garlic clove

350 ml dry white wine

sour bread cut in cubes

Mix cheese and corn flour in a bowl. Rub the base of a sauce pan with a piece of garlic and then add wine. Let it simmer. Add cheese and keep stirring. Repeat this until the mixture has thickened and you have used all the cheese. Mix with one small glass of kirsch. Stir and serve kirsch cheese fondue with bread to dip!

2. Seeded Cheese Biscuits

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What you need?

185g chilled butter cute in cubes

250g plain flour

100g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated

1tsp mustard powder

¼tsp paprika

½tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1 egg, beaten, for glazing

1-2 tbsp mixed fennel seeds, poppy seeds and linseeds

2 baking sheets

Lightly oiled 5cm star-shaped cutter or any shape of your choice. I saw really sweet x-mas tree shaped cutters too in the market

Mix butter and flour. Add cheese, mustard powder, paprika and salt and mix well. Mix the egg yolk with 1 tbsp of cold water and whip. Once done, set the mixture on a flat surface spread with dry flour. Wrap the mix and keep it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 mins. Heat the oven to 180 C, roll out the dough and cut out in star shapes.  Spread baking sheets, brush them with beaten egg, sprinkle the seeds and set cut biscuits on the sheets and bake for 15 minutes. Tada!!

[SURPRISE ] HO-HO-HO!

3. Limoncello Prosecco Jelly

A fresher desert to go with the savoury! No Bakes, no cakes!

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What you need?

350ml Prosecco wine

5 leaves of gelatine

1 tbsp caster sugar

6 tbsp limoncello (you can also try raspberry liqueur)

edible gold glitter, for sprinkling (if you don’t want it, don’t add it)

Put gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes or until they feel soft. Squeeze the leaves and put the water away you don’t need it. Put the limoncello into a bowl that you could place over a pan of boiling water, add the gelatine leaves and sugar and heat gently so that the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the stove, add Prosecco and pour the mixture into a jug. Slowly and carefully pour the readied jelly into a glass and let it set in the refrigerator. Add edible golden glitters on the top.

4. Boulangere potatoes recipe

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What you need?

6 large thinly sliced potatoes

1-2 thinly onions sliced

3 bay leaves

50g  butter, and a little more for greasing

600ml vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, 350 F, gas 4. Brush butter on a shallow dish. Layer potatoes in the dish with onions, bay leaves, dots of butter, seasoning, and finishing with potato. Cover this with vegetable stock and pour butter in dots over the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1.5 hours,. Remove foil and bake until the dish turns golden brown.

5. Baked onion stuffing recipe

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What you need?

75 g butter
3 large onions, finely sliced
100 g cranberries
200 ml Marsala wine
12 sage leaves, finely chopped
100 g breadcrumbs
40 g Parmesan, grated
4-5 tbsp porridge oats

Cook onions in melted butter for 30 minutes. Add cranberries and wine. Boil until the wine is reduced then add the sage, breadcrumbs and most of the Parmesan cheese. Stir, then pour into a buttered baking dish. Add the remaining Parmesan cheese and oats, and a drizzle of oil. Leave the dish in the fridge for 3 days. Heat the oven to 200 C, 180 C fan, 400 F, gas 6. Bake the onion stuffing for 30 minutes, until the top is crisp and shining golden.

6. Cornbread, apricot and thyme stuffing recipe

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What you need?

For the cornbread

225g (8oz) cornmeal (polenta)

225g (8oz) plain flour

50g (2oz) caster sugar

1tbsp baking powder

225ml (8fl oz) milk

1 large egg, beaten

60g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted

For the stuffing

15g (1/2oz) butter plus 50g (2oz) butter, melted, for later

1tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cornbread loaf (recipe above), cut into 2.5cm (1in) cubes

3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

75g (3oz) pine nuts, toasted

100g (4oz) dried apricots, chopped

Day 1- Preheat the oven to 220 C, 200 C fan, 450 F, gas 7. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and half a tsp of salt. Add milk and egg , stir well. Add the melted butter. Mix, and pour into a well buttered 20x5cm loaf tin and bake for 20 minutes until the dough sounds hollow when you tap on it. Leave to cool overnight. Do not cover!

Day 2- Let’s ready the stuffing! Preheat the oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, 350 F, gas 4. Fry the shallots (onions) in 15g butter and the oil until they are soft, add garlic and cook the two together for a few minutes. Mix the shallots (onions), cornbread, herbs, pine nuts and apricots in a bowl, add melted butter, vegetable stock and seasoning. Place in a well-buttered ovenproof dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes. If the stuffing looks a little dry, add more vegetable stock. Ready!

7. Caramelized Onion Tarts With Apples

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What you need?

1/2 cup sour cream

 

Heat oven to 400º F. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, until they turn soft and golden brown (takes about 12 to 15 minutes). Stir in the apples, ½ tps salt, and ¼ tps pepper and cook for 2 minutes so the ingredients are tender. Place pastry sheet on a baking sheet and prick it all over with a fork. Spread sour cream, leaving a ½-inch border. Top with the onion mixture and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into square shaped pieces before serving.

 

 

8. Broccoli With Toasted Garlic and Hazelnuts

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What you need?

1/2 cup hazelnuts; peanuts

2 bunches broccoli (about 3 pounds), cut into long florets

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

 kosher salt and pepper

 

Heat oven to 375° F and toast hazelnuts  on a rimmed baking sheet for 5 to 6 minutes. Fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of water and fit with a steamer basket (or you could fill a large pot with 1/2 inch of water too). Steam broccoli over it until it is tender tender. Transfer to a platter. Take a small saucepan to cook oil & garlic over on low heat until the garlic turns golden. Transfer to a small bowl with hazelnuts, lemon juice, & 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. sprinkle it over the steamed broccoli. A perfect starter for Christmas!

 

 

9. Creamed Spinach

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What you need?

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 pounds spinach, with tough stems removed
1 large egg

2 egg yolks
Freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add flour and cook until the mixture is smooth and light. Remove from the stove, whisk in the milk, 2 tbsp salt & nutmeg. Place the mixture on medium heat and boil while whisking the whole time. Remove from the stove again; stir so that the mixture is slightly cool. Heat a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add spinach and 1 tsp salt, cover and cook spinach for about 3 minutes. Toss with tongs and cook  for 2 more minutes. Remove the water and squeeze the spinach until dry. Chop them. Heat the sauce, whisk in the whole egg with yolks. Cook until the sauce thickens and put in the spinach. Let the dish heat while you add salt and pepper to it.

 

10. Twice-cooked honey & five spice chicken wonton cups

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What you need?

1 small (1kg) whole chicken
60 ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice
2 small fresh red chillies, bruised
5 cm-piece fresh ginger, halved, bruised
1 stem lemon grass, pale section only, halved lengthways
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked, roots and stems reserved
Olive oil
48 wonton or gow gee wrappers
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 avocados, peeled, mashed
1 shallot, trimmed, cut into thin strips
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

 

Pickled cucumber
125ml (1/2 cup) rice wine vinegar
60ml (1/4 cup) water
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
4 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced crossways
3 large fresh red chillies, halved andthinly sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

 

Place the chicken in a large wok and cover with cold water. Add lemon juice, chilli, ginger, lemon grass and coriander. Cover the wok with a lid and let the chicken boil with other ingredients. Once done, drain the water from the wok. To make pickled cucumber, put vinegar, water and sugar on the stove to make a thick syrup, once done pour the syrup in a bowl, add cucumbers, chillies and lime to it and let them chill for 1 hour in the fridge. Now preheat oven to 180°C. Oil the muffin pans, place three wontons on each pan, glaze them with water so they don’t stick together and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

 

Place baking paper on a roasting pan. Mix the honey, sesame oil, Chinese five spice and salt in a bowl. Transfer chicken to the pan and brush it with honey mixture. Roast the chicken, brushing with pan juices, for 25-30 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool. Slice chicken off the bone. Place avocado among wontons. Top with the readied pickled cucumber, chicken, onions and coriander leaves. Tastes beat if served with sweet chilli sauce.

 

We wish you a great Christmas celebration. Watch this space for some delicious bake-and-cake recipes for Christmas too! :)