As much as Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ it is also that time of year when families are finally able to spend some time together. And as all festivals go, food plays an important part in it, particularly good food.

 

 

To me a delicious meal has the ability to last in my memory for many years to come, so what better way to celebrate this Christmas than to try out some interesting and even well loved  recipes that are bound to make you and your family remember Christmas 2013 for years to come...

Breakfast

Christmas Breakfast is always big at our home and one of the main features of our breakfast table is Breudher.  “Breudher is made with a dough based batter,” says Lorraine Bartholomeusz, who is well known for her delicious and traditional Dutch Lamprais, also adorns her breakfast table with the usual breakfast treats for Christmas along with some traditional home made Dutch Breudher which she makes for her close friends and family.

 

 

Here is Lorraine’s take for this delectable treat which should ideally be enjoyed with butter and a salty, crumbly Edam Cheese but  cheddar would do just fine.

Ingredients:

1kg dough
350g sugar
350g butter or margarine
225g sultanas
9 egg yolks, large
1 drop of vanilla essence
1 pinch of ground nutmeg

Method:

Dough – Mix one kilogram of flour a pinch of salt.

Then to 1 ½ cups of warm water add two teaspoons of sugar and mix and then sprinkle a sachet of yeast on top.

Let it foam and then add this to the flour and knead till it comes into a dough-like consistency.

Leave the dough to rise in a buttered bowl, covered with a damp cloth.

Breudher – Beat the dough in a mixer.

Into this beat the egg yolks one at a time and then add the sugar and the butter or margarine.

Finally add in the sultanas followed by a pinch of vanilla and some ground nutmeg.

Place the dough batter into a buttered Breudher pan, leaving around 1 ½ inches at the top of the pan (so as to leave room for it to rise).

Bake in a slow oven for about 45 minutes to an hour in low or moderate heat. Lorraine stresses that it has to bake slowly as it is heavy mixture.

“Also remember that traditional Dutch Breudher only needs sultanas and no other dried fruit!” she adds.  

 

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Lunch

Therese Motha, whose interesting column in the WOW Magazine shared with me her recipes for Chicken Stuffing and Yoghurt Mousse which might be just the right combination to go with what you prepare for Christmas lunch.  “I don’t usually stuff the chicken, I bake it separately and serve it with the chicken,” Mrs Motha says.

Stuffing for Chicken
(Serves 10 to 12)

Ingredients:

400g Chicken, minced
400g Sausage meat
8 slices of Bread, without crust
2 Bombay Onions, chopped
2 Green Chillies, chopped
A good handful of Celery, chopped
2 tsp Pepper Powder
2 rashes Bacon, chopped
Dried Herbs, optional

Method:

Temper onions, green chillies and celery.

Then add the sausage meat, minced chicken and bacon and let cook.

Soak bread in water, squeeze out excess water and add this to the mixture and keep stirring.

Add pepper and the dried herbs, mix and then press the mixture into a greased Pyrex dish and bake for 15 minutes.
 

Yoghurt Mousse – Chances are,  your guests will love this light pudding on Christmas Day
(Serves 10 to 12)

Ingredients:  

Mixture-
½ a small tin of Condensed Milk
500g Yoghurt
2 tsp Lime Juice
1 pack of Jelly, mixed in just 1 teacup of boiling water and leave in fridge to set partially

Biscuit Base-
200g Marie Biscuit, crushed
4 tbsp Butter or Margarine, melted

For the biscuit based mix crushed biscuits and the butter together and then press into a dish and chill for an hour in the refrigerator. Then using a mixer get the condensed milk, yoghurt and lime into a smooth mixture then and add the partially set jelly into it. Then pour over the chilled biscuit base. The base is optional, Mrs Motha says as the mixture on its own is also quite delicious.
Mrs Motha says that the dessert can be made more festive by adding fruit into it and she gives us two options:
–Puree two fresh mangos with a little water. If you go with this, use mango flavoured jelly in the mixture
–Puree two or three passion fruits with a little water and in this case use lemon flavoured jelly in the mixture.

 

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Dinner

Here is a delectable option for dinner courtesy Athula Senanayake who is behind Don Stanley’s Catering. If you’d like to eat out for Christmas or even order out, they will be the ideal place for you to call over and place your order but if you’d like to be adventurous in the kitchen, like me, here are two recipes worth trying out.  

 

Appetizer  – Prawn and Crab meat salad in a crab shell with salsa cocktail sauce (served in individual crab shells)

Ingredients:

200g Medium Prawns, peeled and de-veined
50g Crab meat, cooked
20ml Mayonnaise
A dash of Tomato Sauce
¼ tsp Chilli powder

Method:

Mix the Mayonnaise, Chilli powder and tomato sauce. Steam the prawns and cool. Mix the prawns in the sauce with the crab meat, season and arrange on a bed of lettuce in a cleaned and dried crab shell. Garnish with a line of Chilli powder and serve.

 

Main Course – Fillet of Beef Wellington with candied Carrots, shocked Green Beans and crinkle skinned Potatoes

Ingredients:

180g Fillet of Beef, cleaned
120g Puff Pastry
50g Onions, chopped
22 dried on canned Mushrooms

Cut the beef into two steaks with the grain pointing upwards.

Sauté the onions and the mushrooms and season them.

Colour the beef in a pan without overcooking.

Season and warp in puff pastry with a generous helping of the mushroom and onion mixture, keeping the folds underneath.

Bake in an oven at 160C till the pasty in golden brown and serve hot with the vegetables.

And for dessert – Christmas Pudding Surprise, which is essentially, Rum Mousse cradled in festive dried fruits and served chilled.

 

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By Natasha Fernandopulle

Pics by Kanishke Ganewatte