Category Archives: Christmas dishes

Tropical Fruit Sorbet

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Sorbet is light and refreshing  and can be made a day in advance.  It is also a great summer dessert.  Another thing you do not need to make the sorbet from scratch.  I added fruits to the sorbet, roosted shredded coconut and passion fruit.

Ingredients

1 litre mixed berry sorbet

1 litre coconut sorbet

1 litre mango sorbet

For decoration to need

1/2 a mango sliced

140g canned passion fruit 

handful of roasted shredded coconut

handful of raspberry and strawberry

To make the sorbet

Line a baking dish with cling wrap.  This makes the sorbet easier to remove.

Remove the mixed berry sorbet for ten minutes to melt.  Once melted pour in the baking tin.  Put in the freezer for two hours to set. 

After two hours, remove the coconut sorbet to melt, and after ten minutes pour on the frozen strawberry sorbet and let it set for four hours in the freezer

After four hours remove the mango sorbet and let it melt for ten minutes and pour over the frozen coconut and mixed berry sorbet.  Place sorbet in the freezer and let it set.

When ready to serve, turn sorbet upside down on a serving plates and remove cling wrap.  Drizzle the passion fruit, sliced mangos. coconut and berries over the sorbet.  Slice and enjoy.  

Tropical Fruit Platter

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After a heavy lunch on Christmas day I tend to have something light.  A fruit platter is easy to prepare and all you need is two large plates or a platter board.  Slice your favourite fruits or summer fruits. 

On my fruit platter I added summer fruits.  I started by placing the red and green  grapes on the middle of the plates.  I sliced mango, sweet melon, kiwi, grapefruit oranges and strawberries. I made some fruit rolls as well.  

To make the fruit rolls.  Use rice paper and sliced fruits.

You can be creative and add any two or three fruits on the rice paper and roll them.

Follow the rice paper instructions.  


Crumble Fish and Salsa

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My third finale main dish for Christmas lunch is a delicious crumble fish with salsa.  The fish is marinated with lemon, rosemary and coasted in bread crumbs.  The salsa salad is a combination of tomatoes, red chilli, coriander and cucumber.



   Fish crumble you will need:

Two large snappers

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon rosemary 

1 lemon  juice

I teaspoon lemon zest

Salt and peer to season

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Place the rosemary and lemon zest in the breadcrumbs.  

Squeeze the lemon on the fish, season with salt and pepper.  Coat the fish in the bread crumbs.

Line a baking tray with non stick paper and place the fish on the tray.  

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

To make the salsa you will need.

250g cherry tomatoes

1 red chilli

125g fresh coriander leaves.

1/2 a lemon juiced

Salt and pepper to season.

Method

Chop the tomatoes in half. chop the chilli, chop the coriander.

In a salad bowl add the ingredients and season with salt. pepper and lemon juice. Mix well.

Beef log with Quinoa Salad

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Another simple Christmas lunch idea.  The meat is marinated in  red wine vinegar, cumin, ground fennel and chili flakes.  The fennel brings out the flavour of the meat.  The quinoa salad takes less than thirty minutes to prepare, cook the quinoa, add spinach,  nuts and drizzle red wine vinegar,  The red wine chilli sauce is a great sauce to drizzle over the beef and salad. 

To make this juicy beef log you need:

2.5kg beef log

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 tablespoon ground coriander

Method

In a large bowl add the vinegar, oil, soy sauce and spices.  Mix well.

Pour the marinade over the lamb and season with salt and pepper.  Cove the meat with cling wrap and place in the fridge and leave overnight.

Preheat oven to 220 degresss

Place meat in the baking tray and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours or to your liking.   

Remove the meat and let it rest for ten minutes than slice.

Tip

Before cooking the meat, make sure it is at room temperature after removing it from the fridge.

 

Quinoa Salad

The quinoa salad is a simple dish to make.  All you need:

1 cup Quinoa

Handful of spinach

1/3 cup olives

Handful of walnuts

Handful of dried cranberries

Method

Cook quinoa according to packet instructions.

Once quinoa is ready and cooled remove a salad plate and place the quinoa, spinach, olives, nuts and cranberries and mix.

To make the red wine vinegar chilli  sauce you need:

1/2 red wine vinegar

1 red chilli

salt and sugar to season.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Taste to your preference.  

 

Chicken Tikka and Vegetables

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Christmas is usually a stressful time for the one’s who are cooking.  To ensure a relaxing Christmas, make dishes that are simple and delicious.  This recipe is simply to prep and all you have to do is put the chicken and vegetables in the oven and go and enjoy the day.  

To make the chicken Tikka you need to buy good quality Tikka paste instead of making one.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

2 tablespoon Tikka Curry paste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Rub the paste over the chicken and let it stand for half an hour.

Place Chicken on a baking dish and cook for two hours or until cooked through.

Tip

To check if Chicken is cooked, poke the thighs with a skewer if it is clear than it is cooked.  

To make the Tikka vegetables you need the same Tikka paste you used for the chicken and red wine vinegar.

Ingredients

750 g baby potatoes halves

1 large cauliflower chopped in florets

250g Brussel sprouts halves

Coriander to garnish.

1 tablespoon tikka curry paste

Red vinegar to drizzle

To make  the Tikka vegetables

Preheat oven to 180 

In a baking dish add the paste, vegetables and red wine vinegar amd combine.

Place in the oven and bake for an hour or until vegetable are tender and crispy.

Tip

If you are cooking the chicken and vegetables together.  Half way through the chicken cooking time add the vegetables in the second oven tray. 

To make the cucumber sauce

Chop cucumber, add yogurt, and a squeeze of lemon.

To make the red wine vinegar sauce.

Add red wine vinegar, salt and sugar and mix.  Taste to your preference.  

The asparagus salad will take less than ten minutes to make.

Ingredients

250g Asparagus

handful of walnuts

Handful of pine nuts

Handful of dried cranberries

Red wine vinegar to drizzle 

Method

Blanch asparagus for 5 minutes in boiling water.

Drain Asparagus

On a salad plate add the Asparagus , nuts and cranberries and drile with red wine vinegar.