Easy Christmas Recipes & Ideas
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Tis’ the season to stay at home and eat tasty Christmas treats…
The Christmas period can mean a lot of things to different people around the world. Whether that’s getting together with friends and family, decking the halls and decorating the tree, watching a bunch of classic Christmas movies, or shopping for gifts (of course, receiving them too), there are many ways to get into the festive spirit!
This year has turned out very different to our usual Christmas celebrations. Whilst many of us have found ourselves in the new Tier 4 due to the spread of the new variant of the virus here in the UK, we are having to spend less time with our family than we hoped we would. However, that doesn’t mean we still don’t need a tasty Christmas meal in our stomachs!
Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your household, or are lucky enough to be able to see some family on Christmas day, take a look at some of these delicious festive recipes to help you and your cravings through this uncertain time. From Christmas classics to vegan-friendly dishes, eat, drink and be merry with some of our favourite Christmas recipes.
Nigella’s Deliciously Chocolatey Yule Log
Calling all chocolate lovers...
If there’s one dessert that is an absolute must-have during the festive season, it’s the mouthwatering chocolate yule log. This traditional Christmas cake appears like a large Swiss roll, iced with a tasty chocolate ganache, filled with a creamy filling and decorated with a woodland bark effect — cocoa-rich, soft and utterly delicious.
No Christmas is complete without trying out one of the iconic Nigella Lawson’s tantalising recipes. This easy and tasty yule log only requires the simplest ingredients, and looks (and tastes) completely marvellous once baked. From the soft and fluffy sponge to the indulgently generous chocolate icing, top this exquisite dessert with a generous sprinkling of icing sugar to achieve its full wintry aesthetic. Not to mention, the deep cocoa aroma and flavour will be turning those without sweet tooths into complete chocolate fiends.
Vegan Mushroom Wellington
Steer clear of the classic nut roast this year and discover this heavenly Christmas centerpiece. Impressive, mouthwatering, easy to make, and 100% vegan, if you’re looking for some inspiration for a main vegan/vegetarian dish to make for yourself or a loved one, look no further than this classic Mushroom Wellington. This delicious veggie option is not only an eye-catching star of the show, but it’s also delicious and nutritious. Meat eaters will even start to feel a little jealous!
If you haven’t heard of them already, BOSH! is possibly one of the best places to shop if you’re looking for some tasty plant-based meals for your dinner table. From hundreds of delicious recipes online to themed cookbooks that make a great addition to your cookbook shelf, authors and chefs Henry Firth & Ian Theasby have put together a fantastic selection of festive show stoppers, featuring this magnificent Mushroom Wellington. Be prepared to take your tastebuds on a tantalising journey with this absolutely exquisite recipe.
Festive Cooking with Flemings Mayfair
If you already know of the incredible dishes served at London’s exclusive Ormer Mayfair (Flemings Mayfair inhouse restaurant), you’ll know that no Christmas is complete without indulging in their delicious festive delicacies. This winter, one of their celebrated British executive chefs, Kerth Gumbs, is sharing two of his signature recipes with you to enjoy this Christmas. With step-by-step instructions and a few professional tips from their Learning With Experts team, treat yourself and your loved ones this festive season to a magnificent cooking course and create the ultimate Christmas masterpiece.
This course will make sure that you start the festive season with a bang. Learn how to create a delicate butternut squash veloute, topped with Thai green curry foam and a delicious shortbread biscuit. Then, create some scallops adorned with coconut, carrot, lobster butter sauce and roe. Not to mention, you will also virtually meet one of Ormer’s top sommeliers, who will take you through the perfect wine pairings with these dishes.
How often do you get to recreate some of your favourite restaurant dishes at home? This course is perfect for developing your cooking skills and a fantastic gift to yourself!
Click here for more information on the course.
Mary Berry’s Indulgent Mince Pies
No baking is achieved without a little help from the ‘Queen of Baking’ — the iconic Mary Berry. Renowned for her respected recipes and expert judging on The Great British Bake Off, Mary Berry’s mince pies are enough to win the hearts of all at any Christmas party. These tasty festive treats are made from a delicious orangey pastry, filled with homemade mincemeat steeped in a selection of dried fruit, spices and brandy, and can be topped with some grated marzipan for the ultimate cherry on top. Featured in Mary Berry’s recipe book, Simple Comforts, this indulgent Christmas treat is an all-round perfect treat for everyone to enjoy.
“One of my really favourite parts of the whole festive food thing are mince pies. They are an essential part of the season and I cannot imagine Christmas without them.” - Mary Berry.
Neither can we Mary Berry, neither can we!
Pineapple & Bourbon Glazed Ham
Christmas lunch is all about creating comforting classics and consuming a little (or a lot) more than you usually would throughout the year. Whilst this year’s Christmas is certainly not the most ideal, with many of us not being able to enjoy our traditional Christmas feasts, why not try experimenting this year with a little something different?
When it comes to making the centrepiece of your Christmas table, you’re spoilt for options; whether it’s traditional roast turkey or a beef tenderloin with horseradish, why not spice up your cooking this year with a fantastic pineapple and bourbon glazed ham? Brought to you by the fantastic Delicious Magazine, this complete showstopper is the perfect warming recipe to indulge in this Christmas — you won’t want to miss this!
Roasted Chestnuts
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”
A beloved ingredient and festive winter snack to enjoy during the holidays, no Christmas is complete without some delicious roasted chestnuts. Quite bitter when their raw, once roasted a delicate and slightly sweet flavour comes out and softens in the mouth — they’re utterly delicious! Not to mention they’re really easy to make at home.
Roasted chestnuts are not only popular during Christmas, but are also used in Italy during autumn. Some may say that roasting chestnuts over hot coals, on a fireplace or even an outdoor roasting pit, is the best way to cook them, but if you don’t have those materials, it can be pretty impractical. Therefore, BBC Good Food have put together a quick and easy step-by-step recipe for the ultimate roasted chestnut after-dinner treat. Put aside 30 minutes and be sure to make a batch of roast chestnuts for a traditional Christmas treat to share with members of your household!
Mulled Wine
Nothing induces the smell of Christmas more than the indulgent and heartwarming spiciness of mulled wine. As most restaurants, pubs and bars are now closed, the hunt for the perfect mulled wine companionment now feels nearly impossible to find. You can buy it ready-made in a bottle, but where’s the fun in that! Not to worry… now you can make the ultimate mulled wine recipe right from the comfort of your own kitchen with a little help from Delish.
Homemade mulled wine is possibly one of the easiest Christmas delicacies you can make. Gather together a selection of star anise, honey, cinnamon sticks, oranges, whole cloves, and of course, red wine including Merlot, Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon — a dash of brandy also won’t go a miss in this recipe. Place all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently. Don’t let it boil as this will cook out all of the flavour! The wine will then become infused with the mouthwatering ingredients and go down an absolute treat. Not to mention, the delicious aromatic ingredients will make your home truly smell like Christmas!
Ultimate Roast Potatoes
Everyone knows that the ultimate roast potatoes are fluffy and soft on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside. Whilst the turkey, vegan wellington or even glazed ham may be the star of the Christmas table, no showstopper is complete without a side of crispy roast potatoes.
It all starts with the right kind of potato. In order to achieve the crisp and fluffy texture, you must seek a more floury, high-starch variety of potato; such as a Maris Piper or a King Edward potato – stay away from salad and boiled-themed potatoes! Once you’ve mastered the ultimate roast potatoes, you can start experimenting with adding some extra flavours into the mix. From herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, to adding a dash of balsamic or red wine vinegar, discover the ultimate roast potatoes with Jamie Oliver’s recipe this Christmas.
Honey Glazed Parsnips and Carrots
Everyone has their own idea of what makes the perfect Christmas meal, but no Christmas dinner would be complete without a heavenly helping of golden, honey-glazed roast carrots and parsnips.
Discover how Gordon Ramsay works his magic with this delicious side dish of honey glazed parsnips and carrots. Don’t focus all of your concentration on the centrepiece — you can’t forget to add a couple of veggie dishes to your table. Soul warming and seriously tasty, throw together this stress-free root vegetable dish made by the iconic Gordon Ramsay. All you’ll need for this delicious recipe are some parsnips, carrots, olive oil, thyme, some honey, star anise and cinnamon sticks (grab the leftovers from the mulled wine) and some salt and pepper to season.
