Happy Christmas from everyone at Esker! We thought that we would share some Christmassy recipes with you.
Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas.
Recommended by Raj Sahota. Recipe from BOSH!:
Vegan Giant Christmas Sausage Roll
A Christmas Dinner centrepiece. High taste, high protein and high praise to BOSH! for the recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 Parsnips – boil in salt water till soft, drain well, cool before using
- 100g Hazelnuts
- 1 Red Onion
- 150g Chestnut Mushrooms – chopped
- 400g Butter Beans
- 400g Cannellini Beans
- 100ml Vegetable Stock
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 cloves Garlic grated
- 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 tbsp Chickpea Flour
- 1 tsp Thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds – crushed
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- ¼ tsp fresh black pepper
- 100g pre-cooked Chestnuts -roughly chopped
- 200g Brown Breadcrumbs
- 2 sheets Pre-rolled Puff Pastry
- Olive Oil -to brush pastry and fry onions
Fry the onion ’till softened. Add chopped mushroom and cook about 7 minutes. Put in the blender with the cooled and well drained parsnips and whizz.
Tip in the butter beans, cannellini beans and the cooked & chopped chestnuts. Blend to a thick paste. Add everything else and blend well. Transfer to a bowl and add breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.
Place greaseproof paper on the baking sheet. Lay both sheets of pastry side by side. Carefully spoon the mixture into a mound of 2.5 inches high on one pastry sheet. Decorate the pastry that will go over the mound using cookie cutter. Brush the sides of pastry with water. Hold the greaseproof paper on the edges to get the pastry onto the sausage mixture. Seal edges firmly with your fingers then press the edges down with a fork to seal and decorate. Brush with olive oil. Bake till golden, 35– 40 minutes on 200 degrees Centigrade.
—–
Submitted by Georgina Kershaw from Paula Rowlinson:
Christmas Pudding
One of my closest friends has always sworn by her Nanny’s and Pop’s Christmas pudding, Dorothy and Vic Day. Vic continued to make this Christmas pudding up until he died in 2013 at the age of 94, he then handed the original recipe book over to his Granddaughter.
Now his granddaughter, Paula Rowlinson has shared it with a few of her friends because it is just too good to keep a secret, so give it a go….we all are!
Ingredients
- 1 x egg beaten
- 8oz of wholemeal bread made into breadcrumbs
- Chopped nuts
- Small grated carrot
- Grated orange rind
- 8oz of raisins
- 2oz of currents
- 2oz of sultanas
- 4oz of brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4oz of sunflower margarine
- 1 x tablespoon of milk
- 1 x tablespoon of brandy
- 1 x teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 x teaspoon of mixed spice
- 1 x tablespoon of syrup
Mix well and then pour into a pudding bowl, steam for 4 hours and then re-steam again for 2 hours when needed.
—–
Recommended by Amy Rees
Christmas Fairy Cakes
These delicious little cakes are great to put out when guests call round at Christmas.
Ingredients
125g soft butter
125g self-raising flour (or to make these chocolately, replace 40g of flour with cocoa)
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp of vanilla extract.
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons of milk.
Put everything, apart from the milk, into a bowl and use a mixer or an electric hand whisk to combine. Add the milk and mix again.
Share the mixture out between 12 cake cases in a cake tray and bake for 15-20mins at 200oc.
Ice with white icing and edible glitter or other sparkly cake decorations.
Boxing Day Pancake Brunch
Something to try throughout the festive season for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper! Recipe makes enough for approximately four people.
Ingredients
• 270g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 dessert spoons caster sugar
• 260ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp melted butter (cooled slightly)
• Extra butter for cooking
Put the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl. Stir lightly and add the milk, melted butter and eggs. Use a balloon whisk to create a silky, thick batter.
Use a frying pan to cook the pancakes on a low heat. Melt a small blob of butter, then add small dollops of the batter. You can cook multiple pancakes at a time. Leave the pancakes alone until the batter circles start to bubble, then turn over. Once golden on both sides, remove from the pan. They should be thick and fluffy.
This is a great American-style pancake recipe on its own, but for Christmas, top a stack of pancakes with clementine segments, chocolate-hazelnut spread, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
Alternatively, serve with sausages, blueberries and a drizzle of honey.
