Christmas soups, creams, chocolate cakes… These are some of our proposals so that you can enjoy Christmas without haste. They are delicious and they are also cheap!
Something light and tasty for the first course could be this original seafood cocktail with salad. Because not all Christmas recipes have to be heavy, especially if desserts come later! Also, it is a very, very quick recipe to make and leave prepared in advance!
Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients for 4 people)
300 g of clean monkfish loins
300g surimi
8 shrimp tails
1 lime
100 g escarole
1 or 2 avocados
sweet paprika
1 egg
1 fried tomato
Half orange
Whisky, oil, vinegar and salt
Preparation
Step 1. Wash the monkfish and cut it into cubes. Cook them for 5 or 6 minutes in salted water. When 2 minutes are left, add the prawns and drain everything. Peel the prawns (reserve the shells and heads to make a stock) and cut them with the surimi into not very thin slices.
Step 2. Clean the endive leaves and chop them. Let them soak in water to lose the bitter aftertaste. Drain them well and dry them. Then, cut the avocado(s) in half, add the juice of the lime on top and cut the pulp into cubes.
Step 3. Mix all the ingredients in a container and distribute them in glasses. Then, squeeze the orange and filter the juice.
Step 4. To make the mayonnaise, put an egg, 150 ml of oil, oil and salt in the mixer and beat. Then add 2 tablespoons of tomato, and 1 whiskey and beat again. To finish, serve it on top of the cocktail and sprinkle a little paprika.
But not all cakes have to be sweet at Christmas. This option of potato pie with ratatouille and aubergine is delicious and also very cheap. It can be made for any Christmas lunch or dinner and from the day before since it keeps very well cold.
Time: 1 hour + rest
Ingredients for 6 people)
1 kg of potatoes
2 eggplants
1 onion
3 ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
75ml milk
25g butter
3 tablespoons
of mayonnaise
1 sprig of rosemary
Parsley
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preparation
Step 1. Wash the potatoes. In a pot, bring 2 litres of water to a boil. Make a cross on the tomatoes and, when the water boils, blanch them for a minute. Remove and let cool. Add the potatoes, and salt and cook for 35 minutes.
Step 2. Wash the aubergines and cut them into cubes. In a pan with two tablespoons of oil, fry the garlic and onion over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add the eggplant and rosemary. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3. Peel the blanched tomatoes and chop them. Add the tomato to the sauce and salt and pepper. Sauté for 10 minutes over low heat. Turn off and let rest.
Step 4. Drain the potatoes, let them cool, peel them and chop them. Put them in a food processor together with the butter and milk. Blend until you get a dense and homogeneous puree.
Step 5. In a rectangular mould lined with baking paper, place a 1-centimetre base of puree, also covering the sides.
Step 6. Distribute the ratatouille and cover it with the rest of the puree. Smooth with a spatula, paint with the mayonnaise and grill for 10 minutes at 220 degrees, until golden brown. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Chocolate cannot be missing from Christmas recipes. They always brighten up meals and are a success. You can forget about the last-minute rush because this cold chocolate cake can be prepared the day before, and it’s delicious!
Time: 1 hour + rest
Ingredients (for 8 people)
2-star anise seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
200g chocolate
fondant
200 ml of cream
50g butter
200g of sugar
80 g of cornmeal
6 eggs
2 packages of cookies type Maria
Preparation
Step 1. Bring the milk to a boil with the anise seeds and the cinnamon sticks, remove from the heat, let it infuse for about 30 minutes and when you are going to use it, strain it.
Step 2. Pour the sugar, corn flour, and egg yolks into a saucepan, mix well and add, little by little, the infused milk, reserving about 100 ml to soak the cookies later.
Step 3. Put the saucepan to heat. Continuing to stir, cook until thickened and, at that time, quickly remove from the heat. Pour into a bowl, cover flush with kitchen film so that it does not dry out, and let cool.
Step 4. Soak the cookies a little in the reserved milk. Line a round mould with baking paper. Distribute half of the cookies on the base, pour the cream on top and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
Step 5. Place the chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until melted and mix well. Remove from heat, add the butter, stir until melted and well emulsified, and let cool until almost cold.
Step 6. Remove the mould from the fridge, and place the rest of the soaked biscuits over the cream, forming a layer. Pour the chocolate coating on top. Store the cake in the fridge until the next day, so that it sets well, unmold it and decorate it with some cinnamon sticks and anise seeds.