Christmas Menu

Glühwein (hot spiced wine)

1 bottle red wine
1 small lemon
16 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 to 6 Tbsp. sugar
nutmeg (optional)

 Preparation:
Pour the wine into a saucepan. Peel the rind from the lemon in one continuous strip.
Add the lemon rind, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar to the pan. Heat over low heat until hot 
but not boiling. Strain and pour into tea cups. Top each glass with a pinch of nutmeg for an
extra spicy punch.




Pumpkin Soup

2tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
700g pumpkin flesh, roughly chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1.2 ltrs (2pts) water or vegetable stock
200ml (7fl oz) milk or soya light alternative to milk
4tbsp cream or soya alternative to cream

For the bread sticks
4 part-baked breadsticks
2tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes to soften.
Add the pumpkin and sweet potato and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the water or stock.
Season with salt and ground black pepper, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 25 mins
until the pumpkin and sweet potato are really tender. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Cut the bread in half lengthways.
Repeat with the other bread, put onto a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 5-8 mins until golden. Stir the soya light into the soup, whiz everything together in
blender or processor in batches until smooth. Return to the pan and gently warm through.
Pour into bowls and finish with a swirl of soya alternative to cream.




Christmas Goose with Berry Sauce

 4 (8-oz.) goose or partridge
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 carrot, roughly chopped
8 cups chicken stock
1 1⁄2 cups dried blueberries
1 1⁄2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1⁄4 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
3 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Preparation:
Remove breasts from partridges, leaving bones attached to carcasses. Discard skin; chill breasts.
Chop carcasses. Heat oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high. Cook carcasses until browned,
6–8 minutes. Add carrot; cook until soft, 5–7 minutes. Add stock, dried and fresh blueberries,
thyme, and bay leaves; boil. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, skimming fat as needed, until
reduced by half, about 1 hour. Strain stock and return to pan; simmer until reduced to 1 cup,
20–22 minutes. Simmer cream in a 1-qt. saucepan until reduced by half, 8–10 minutes; whisk
into stock. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 tbsp. butter, salt, and pepper. Keep sauce warm.

Melt remaining butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high. Season reserved breasts with salt and
pepper. Cook, flipping once, until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the
thickest part of the breast reads 130°, 3–4 minutes. Slice breasts; spoon sauce over the top.




Serbian Poached Apples Recipe

6 Golden Delicious apples
2 cups sugar
2 cups water or enough to cover apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cream:
1/2 cup finely ground walnuts
1/4 cup finely ground hazelnuts
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or Greek or Lebanese yogurt

Preparation:
To prepare the apples: In a saucepan large enough to hold all the apples, mix together sugar,
lemon juice and enough water to cover the apples. Add apples, weighing them down with a
plate on top. Simmer on medium heat until apples are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes.
Carefully remove them from the water and place them on a rack to cool. Reserve the poaching
liquid they were cooked in. 

To make the cream: In a medium bowl, stir together walnuts, hazelnuts, cinnamon and creme
fraiche or yogurt until smooth and well combined. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Pour
reserved poaching liquid over filled apples and serve with the cream.