Alternative Christmas Recipes To Try This Year

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over a medium-high until hot but not smoking.

Season the beef tenderloin, then brown on all sides (4-6 minutes). Transfer to a plate to cool and remove ties.

Add shallots, garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Season, then cook with parsley and thyme until browned and moisture evaporates (8-10 minutes).

On plastic wrap, layer half the prosciutto, spread half the mushroom mix, then place the tenderloin on top. Cover with remaining mushrooms and prosciutto. Wrap tightly and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 230°C. Roll out puff pastry to fit the tenderloin. Remove beef from wrap, place in centre, and encase fully. Seal with egg wash, seam side down and vent the top.

Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce to 200°C and cook for 25–30 minutes more for medium-rare (internal temp 52-54°C). Rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

For the sauce, sauté shallot in olive oil, add wine and reduce. Stir in stock, then whisk in cold butter until glossy. Season to taste.

Place the ham in a large pot and pour in the cola, along with the onion, star anise, cloves and peppercorns. If the cola doesn’t cover the ham, top up with water.

Bring to the boil, then simmer steadily for 40 minutes per kg of ham. Once cooked, turn off the heat and allow the ham to cool in the liquid.

In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, honey and sugar. Cook gently until the sugar dissolves and the glaze thickens slightly. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (Gas mark 8).

When the ham has cooled, remove from the liquid. Peel away the skin to expose the fat, then score diagonally with a sharp knife. Stud each cross with cloves. Place in a roasting tray, brush with the glaze and sprinkle with mustard powder.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool slightly before slicing thinly to serve.

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan).

Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat, then add the spinach and cook until wilted. Drain the excess liquid. Stir in the dill and cream cheese until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, then mix in the egg yolk.

To make the egg wash, whisk together the egg with milk and set aside.

Roll out puff pastry slightly on floured parchment.

Season the salmon generously and place on one side of the pastry leaving a 2-3cm border. Brush the salmon with Dijon mustard, then spoon the spinach filling over the top. Brush the exposed pastry with egg wash, fold over to encase the salmon, and press out the air. You’ll want to seal and crimp the edges too. Brush the top with the egg wash and score decoratively if desired. Chill for 30 minutes.

Transfer the en croûte with parchment to a hot baking tray. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a deep-frying pan. Sweat the shallots, grated courgette and carrot with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until all the water has been released from the mix and you start to see a golden caramelisation on the bottom of the pan.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the diced apricots and the zest of one lemon. Cook out for a few more minutes then transfer the mix into a bowl to cool for 15 minutes.

Once cooled, mix in the sausage meat, the sage and onion stuffing premix and add 100-150ml of warm water. Combine well using your hands – if it feels too dry add a splash of more water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes then roll into balls.

Bake at 190°C fan for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Perfect for loading into a Boxing Day sandwich too.

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Slice the carrots lengthways if using large ones. If using baby ones, just halve any very large ones.

Place the carrots on a large baking tray and drizzle with a generous glug of olive oil and pinch of sea salt. Toss to coat and roast for 40 minutes until cooked through, golden and slightly sizzled.

Finely chop the hazelnuts and parsley leaves and combine in a small bowl with the finely grated garlic, lemon zest and juice, and enough olive oil until you reach a spoonable consistency.

Arrange the carrots on a serving plate and spoon over the hazelnut gremolata.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and line your 22 x 33 x 5cm baking tray.

To make the cake, melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat, then mix in the caster sugar. Create a base for the cake by taking some middle slices of the panettone and placing them in the base of the lined tray. You want to use about 375g of the panettone here. Squash the slices down with your hands, then pour the melted butter and sugar over the top so the panettone can soak up the butter. Pop it in the oven for 25 minutes to get a little brown and crispy as the sugar turns to caramel.

While the base is baking, make the custard. Warm the milk and vanilla in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat. Just before the milk begins to simmer, take it off the heat and add the butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the caster sugar and eggs, then slowly add the hot milk and melted butter mixture, continuing to whisk. Tear up the rest of the panettone and add that to the bowl too. Mix it all together to create a silky, bready custard.

When the base is ready, pour the custard over the top, then sprinkle with some chopped hazelnuts and a sprinkling of demerara sugar and bake for 25 minutes. The cake should have a slight wobble in the middle. It can be eaten warm like a pudding or left to cool and eaten like a cake. The double-baked base should give enough stability to lift the slice to your mouth to start the devouring process. Best eaten on the day it’s baked to retain the crunch, but it will keep for 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Chocolate really works in this recipe too. A sneaky 100g of chocolate buttons or small broken shards hidden in the mix will create little pockets of chocolatey joy as they melt during the bake.

Start by warming your milk, cream, vanilla paste and sugar until warm but not boiling. Add the segments of the chocolate orange and stir until melted.

Add your eggs one by one, whisking thoroughly between each.

Zest the tangerines into the cream and then the juice of one.

Roughly chop or tear your bread into similar chunky sized pieces and place in your baking dish.

Pour over the cream mixture and leave to sit for around 30 minutes.

Sprinkle lightly with sugar and place in an oven preheated to 170ºC for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and eat immediately. Serve with more cream, if you like.