1ChristmasMenu1

4Dinner Party4

3

Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Bundles

Serves 4-6

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed (about 20 spears)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon (1 slice per asparagus spear)

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Lay the asparagus on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Roast until cooked and starting to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to another baking sheet to cool. Once the asparagus have cooled, wrap each spear in a slice of smoked salmon.
Arrange on a serving platter and serve at room temperature.

Pea Pesto Crostini

Serves 4-6

1 (285g) package frozen peas, defrosted
1 garlic clove
50g grated Parmesan, or vegetarian alternative
1 tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning
5 tbsp olive oil
8 (1cm thick) slices brown baguette or ciabatta bread, preferably day-old, * see Cook's Note
5 tbsp olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 small tomato, diced

For the pea pesto: Pulse together the peas, garlic, Parmesan, one teaspoon of salt and quarter teaspoon of pepper in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until well combined, about one to two minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
For the crostini: Preheat a stovetop griddle on medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 mins. Transfer the bread to a clean surface and spread one to two tablespoons of the prepared pesto on each slice.
Top with tomato halves and serve.

*Cook's note: If you don't have day-old bread on hand, you can dry out fresh bread by putting the slices in a preheated 150°C/ gas mark 2 oven until slightly crisp, about five mins.

Cranberry chicken salad

Serves 4

Use up leftover cranberry sauce in this healthy salad.

Add a can of cannellini beans if you want to bulk it up

2 skinless chicken breasts
4 tsp olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
200g mixed leaves
½ cucumber, deseeded and sliced
25g dried cranberries
85g/3oz cranberry sauce
juice 1 lime

Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to give 4 thin breasts, then rub with half the oil and season. Heat a non-stick frying pan and fry the chicken for 3 mins on each side until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the onions for 5 mins. Slice the chicken, collecting any juices, and layer up with the onions, leaves, cucumber and dried cranberries. Mix the cranberry sauce, lime juice, 2 tbsp water and any chicken resting juices, and drizzle over the salad.

Roasted stuffed cauliflower

Serves 6

Need an alternative to nut roast for veggies and vegans?

Try this festive and filling cauliflower roast stuffed with kale and chestnuts

1 large or 2 small cauliflowers (about 850g)
5 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp breadcrumbs

For the stuffing

250g kale, chopped
1 tbsp milled linseed
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ small pack sage, leaves chopped
½ small pack rosemary, leaves chopped
150g cooked chestnuts, finely chopped, plus 30g for the topping
2 lemons, zested
good grating nutmeg

Trim and discard the cauliflower leaves. Turn the cauliflower upside-down on a chopping board and use your knife to carefully cut out the stalk and core, leaving a cavity – the florets should still be holding together.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Submerge the cauliflower and cook for 7 mins, then remove with two slotted spoons and set aside to steam dry. Add the kale to the pan and cook for a min or so until wilted. Drain, run under cold water to cool. Squeeze out the excess liquid and roughly chop.
To make a linseed ‘egg’ (this will bind the stuffing together), mix the ground linseed with 3 tbsp water and set aside for 5-10 mins until gluey. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook until softened, then stir in the remaining stuffing ingredients, including the kale, and cook for a min or so more. Remove from the heat and season, put in a blender with 150ml water and the linseed egg and blitz to a thick purée. Transfer to a piping bag.
Pipe the stuffing mixture into every nook and cranny of the cauliflower, getting in as much of the purée as you can – see our tip below. Transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment. Can be made up to this point in the morning and kept in the fridge.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the remaining chestnuts with the breadcrumbs and some seasoning. Spoon the remaining oil all over the cauliflower, then pat on the breadcrumb chestnut mix. Roast for 45 mins until golden brown and tender (place under a hot grill for the last part of cooking time if it needs to crisp-up). Serve with any crisp bits that have fallen onto the baking tray.

Mince pie apples

SERVES: 6

3 eating apples, such as Braeburns
40g sultanas
20g dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 orange, zest only
½ teaspoon golden syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
15g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC.
Halve the apples and scoop out the core, plus a little of the apple flesh to create space for the filling. Lay the apple halves on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the sultanas, cranberries, carrot, orange zest, golden syrup and spices, and set aside.
Remove the apples and scoop a tablespoon of the fruit mixture into each apple half. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the apple halves and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the apple is soft. Serve immediately on their own, or with low-fat natural yoghurt.

Top tip

Raisins, prunes and dried apricots also work well in this dessert.

Berry trifle

Serves 8

4 sheets leaf gelatine
500g raspberries
40g fruity loaf, broken into small pieces
2 tablespoons fresh apple juice
400g fat-free custard powder
100g blackberries
300g fat-free Greek yoghurt
15g dark chocolate

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes or until softened.
Meanwhile, put the raspberries into a pan with 250ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Mash the raspberries until completely broken down. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean jug, then stir through the gelatine until dissolved. Pour into a trifle bowl and chill.
Once the jelly is set, make the custard with 300ml boiling water and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, layer the fruit loaf on top of the jelly and drizzle over the apple juice. Spoon over the custard and spread into an even layer.
Arrange the blackberries over the custard and top with yoghurt.
Finely grate the chocolate on top and serve.