Christmas dinner

Hope you enjoyed a great christmas eve together with you're beloved ones!

We only celebrated on the 24th, as most of us got parents-in-law and wanted to celebrat with them as well.

For christmas eve I made the appetizers and my mother made the whole dinner. A lot of work. Therefore I invited them the next day and my mother could spend a free day from cooking. 

The dinner should be a light one for three persons. 

I craved my books, my mind and the recipes below are what I made. 

Enjoy your days off from work with skiing, relaxing in front of the fire or whatever, just hope you got a nice day. 

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Christmas Dinner

Appetizer

• Preparation time:

15 minutes

• Cooking time:

10 minutes

• Total time:

25 minutes 
Makes: 16

Ingredients
25g trimmed kale, finely shredded leaves

50g blanched hazelnuts, toasted
1 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented
 ½ Perfectly Ripe Avocado, peeled and stoned
16 individual chicory leaves (from about 2 large heads of chicory - 1 white, 1 red)

For the dressing:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
¼ x 20g pack tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard

1. Plunge the shredded kale leaves into a pan of boiling water, return to the boil and cook for 30 seconds. Drain and plunge into cold water, then drain and dry on kitchen paper.

2. Roughly break up the nuts in a pestle and mortar. Cut the grapefruit and avocado into small cubes and place in a bowl with the kale and nuts.

3. Place all the dressing ingredients into a bowl, season and whisk to combine. Spoon a little salad into each chicory leaf and arrange on a serving plate.

Starter

A starter you can make in advance is always a good idea on special occasions. Prepare this the day before and gently reheat to serve. 

• Preparation time:

10 minutes

• Cooking time:

30 minutes


Ingredients
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 floury potato, about 175g, diced
410g can Cannelline Beans, drained and rinsed
500 ml hot vegetable Stock
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Direction:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the leek and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add the potato, beans, hot stock and 100ml hot water. Bring to the boil then cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.

1. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out and reserve about a quarter of the vegetables. With a hand-held blender, purée the remainder. Return the reserved vegetables to the pan and stir in the chopped parsley.

1. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle over the oil. Serve warm

tips

Try stirring 1–2 tbsp of vegan cream in with the parsley for a creamy finish. This soup will freeze for up to a month. Thaw fully and reheat thoroughly before serving.

Main Dish

Open ravioli with squash & porcini mushrooms

Prep: 40 min                                       Serves 2

Cook: 40 min

Plus 15 min soaking

Ingredients:

450 g butternut squash, peeled and chopped

25 g vegan butter

generous grating nutmeg

25 g vegan parmesan-style cheese, coarsely grated

For the porcini dressing
1 tbsp finely chopped dried porcini mushrooms
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce

To serve
generous pinch saffron
85 g chestnut mushrooms, guartered
1 fat garlic clove, shredded
100 g bag baby spinach
4 sheets fresh lasagne, halved
shavings of vegan parmesan

Direction:
Put the squash and butter in a pan with 5 tbsp water. Tightly cover pan and cook for 15 mins until the squash is just tender, but not coloured. Roughly mash with seasoning, nutmeg and Parmesan

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put the chopped porcini in a small bowl with 3 tbsp boiling water. Cover with cling film and cook for 1 min in the microwave on High, then leave to cool. Mix 1 tbsp oil with the vinegar and soy, then add the soaked mushrooms with almost all of the liquid (leave the last drop behind as it might contain grit).

To serve, boil a pan of water with the saffron and some salt for 5 mins to extract some colour and flavour. Meanwhile, fry the mushrooms in the remaining oil. When they are nearly cooked, add the garlic so that it browns and crisps, but doesn’t burn. Pierce the bag of spinach and wilt in the microwave for 1 min. Reheat the squash in the microwave, too.