50g mixed seeds (poppy, linseed and sunflower seed here)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
50ml olive oil
A few tbsp boiling water
– Take half of the oats and blitz them to a fine meal in a food processor.
– Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
– Add the olive oil and stir through evenly.
– Add a small amount of boiling water and mix well to bring it together into a dough. Be careful to add gradually as you do not want the mixture to become too wet.
– Roll out the dough to 3-5mm thick and cut out rounds. Place on a lined baking tray.
– Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes until just turning golden. Leave to cool on the tray. Store in an airtight box.
This is going to be an odd year for many. May be you’re going to be tackling a smaller Christmas Dinner for the first time. May be you’ve decided to go all out now you don’t have to trek round to Auntie Sue’s because it’s “what you always do”! May be you’ve never cooked more than a fried egg but think this is your time to shine!
Whatever your situation, I thought it may be timely to do a little example of how to do a low effort Christmas Dinner as guidance for those that need it. Remember, Christmas Dinner is just a roast dinner but with cranberry sauce and crackers! Don’t let the weight of expectations get you down, this can be as simple or as complicated a meal as you want to make it!
You can look at the Christmas tag for some older recipes and round ups that are more comprehensive but I wanted to highlight some really simple recipes here. Whether you’re on your own or just a smaller family gathering this should hit the spot!
Canapés
We like to have nibbles to tide us over from noon to 3pm when we have our Dinner. If you want to keep it super simple just grab some party food from the freezer section. These days they almost all cook at 180°C for around 15 minutes. Any leftovers are also great for grazing at!
Starter
In my family the Prawn Cocktail is king. (Well, for me it is, mum does try to do fancy smoked salmon thingies!) This is not only traditional but super simple. Finely sliced iceberg lettuce, prawns, cocktail sauce (Iceland’s is my favourite!) and a twist of lemon on top to look fancy. Less than 5 minutes and you’re done!
The Roast
Turkey is, of course, traditional and if you want to keep it super simple I recommend a frozen Turkey crown. They’re about £10 and you can pick one up in almost any supermarket.
However, a large roast chicken will also do very nicely! I love to do a one pot chicken dish where you simply get a Really Big Pot, put in new potatoes in the base, add your chicken (put some herbs, garlic and half a lemon in the cavity), and scatter with bacon lardons. Drizzle with a little olive oil and cook according to the time on the packet (or 25 minutes per lb + 20 minutes in 180°C oven) Add a cup of frozen peas 30 minutes before the end. This also works well in a slow cooker on high for 3 hours if you need the space in the oven or even if you don’t have an oven! You can find the more detailed recipe here.
A roast dinner is all about timing. If you figure out your timings then it’s plain sailing. You can prep all of your veg in advance, even the night before, so all you have to do on the day is put dishes in the oven on time or you can get the roast in and then do your veg prep. I have a post outlining some of the timings for veg here.
For example:
2 hours before: Roast In
45 minutes before: parsnips in (I like them crispy.)
30 minutes before: leeks in cream sauce, stuffing balls & pigs in blankets in
25 minutes before: Brussels sprouts and carrots in steamer on the hob. Check the sprouts after 15 minutes by poking with a sharp knife. They should be soft but not soggy.
Serving Time: Remove the chicken from the pot and place on a serving board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes and peas and bacon. You can make gravy with the juices. I explain how here.
Pudding
Christmas pudding is traditional, easily available from the supermarket, and I hate it. So I have a couple of other seasonal options that you can make the day before:
If you’re on your own do not let this stop you from having a full roast! The leftovers are the best bit! From this dinner I will be able to make sandwiches, soup, risotto and may be a few other dishes as takes my fancy! I basically won’t have to cook again for the next week, which is exactly how I like it!
These mini breakfast bites were one of the first things I invented for myself in 3rd year food tech! They are now a staple tradition in our household and I couldn’t imagine Christmas without them!
Makes 24
24 slices of white bread (2 meduim sliced loaves)
1/2 cup sunflower oil
24 quails eggs
12 rashers streaky bacon or pancetta
24 tiny button mushrooms (or 6 small mushrooms cut into quarters)
Heat the oven to gas mark 7.
Get out 2x 12 hole bun tins, I prefer the rounded ones but the straighter ones work just fine.
Use a large round cookie cutter, checking that it is slightly bigger than the bun tins you are using, to cut out a large round from the centre of each slice of bread. (leftover crusts can be used to make bread sauce, or breadcrumbs to freeze for later use)
Brush both sides of each round of bread and gently press into the bun tins.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until just turning crisp and golden.
Take out the tins (being careful coz it’s hot!) and crack a quails egg carefully into each one. (I use a sharp knife to pierce the shells)
Return to the oven for ~5 minutes until the eggs are just setting.
Prepare your bacon/pancetta rolls by slicing each rasher in half then rolling up.
Take the tins out of the oven again and add your bacon rolls and mushrooms.
Cook for another 5-7 minutes until the bacon is cooked through.
Serve immediately while hot and make sure you get some too because these will disappear fast!
December is here and ’tis the season for cocktails and canapé at every turn! I thought I’d take the opportunity to share one of my favourite canapé from last year’s Christmas festivities, Mini Yorkshire Puddings!
These are a fabulous little morsel that are quick and easy to prepare, you can even cook the Yorkshire puddings in advance and then reheat them but I do recommend using an oven to reheat rather than a microwave as you get a much better texture. You can even serve these at room temperature if there’s too much pressure on the oven space. Keep it simple and enjoy your party!
Makes ~24
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
300ml milk
1 egg
oil/lard/trex for cooking (I favour Lard unless I have a vegetarian about in which case I switch to trex)
200ml creme fraiche
2 tsp horseradish sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
~6 thin slices of roast beef
parsley sprigs for decoration
Put the flour, salt, milk and egg into a tall jug.
Blitz with a stick blender to combine (Keeping a good grip on the jug!)
Leave to sit for around 20 minutes, half an hour, or longer if necessary.
Get the oven nice and hot (Gas 6 / 200C or above)
Put a small knob of Trex, lard or a dash of vegetable oil (just enough to cover the base of the tin) in each hole of a 24 mini muffin tin (if yours is smaller do this in batches) and place in the oven to get piping hot. (10 minutes or so)
Pour the batter in to just fill each hole of the tin. (Careful of the hot oil!!)
Place carefully in the oven and close the oven door.
Leave to cook for 15-20 minutes until all poofed up and golden brown. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN WHILE THEY ARE COOKING!
Mix the creme fraiche, horse radish and mustard together in a bowl. Test to see if its got enough bite to it (or too much!) and alter to suit your tastes.
Roll the roast beef up and slice into sections about 1″ long.
Carefully spoon a little of the horseradish mixture into the centre of each Yorkshire Pudding, insert a roll of beef and decorate with a sprig of parsley.
Grab and bottle of bubbly and go mingle with your guests!
I was feeling fancy the other week so when I spied quails eggs I grabbed them without any idea how to work them into my meal plan! It occurred to me that for many quails eggs might be a bit intimidating, they’re tiny little things and you don’t really see them in the supermarkets so they’re a bit of an unknown quantity. I love using them though! For lack of any suitable dish in my menu plan that week I simply soft boiled these and scoffed them like Malteasers with a pinch of salt! They can be tricky to peel so if you were to fancy serving them as a canape I suggest you at least get them started by peeling off half the shell. Wet hands are the trick here, makes things a lot easier!
Simply prick each egg with a pin in the larger end and place in boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from the water and either eat warm immediately or plunge into a bowl of cold water to stop them cooking further. If you leave them to air dry then your egg will continue to cook and will become hardboiled. Rapidly cooking the egg means they stop cooking and stay soft. Peel the egg as you would any hard boiled egg, as I said above, wet hands really help here, those little shells can be stubborn! A tiny pinch of salt makes any egg sing and these are no different. Enjoy!
I LOVE Yakitori! But I often forget about how easy it is to prepare and how delicious it is to eat! It’s a mainstay of Japanese food found on street stalls and izakaya menus across the country. I have some absolutely perfect memories of eating Yakitori across Japan on my travels.
It’s usually served as a snack, side dish or a dish amongst many but you can make it as a main in its own right. I had it with a bowl of rice and some gyoza here. It’s a brilliant option for BBQs as something a little different and makes a great canape option too.
One of the great things about Yakitori is that you don’t need to marinate the meat. You just make the sauce and brush it on as you cook it. You could even make the sauce in advance (and soak your skewers) then it’s simply a matter of 10 minutes on the grill!
Makes 6 skewers (serves 2 as a main)
2 chicken breasts, sliced lengthways into strips (or chunks, whatever you prefer!)
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
– Place your mirin, soy sauce and sugar in a small pan and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes on a low head but don’t let it get too hot or you will end up with salty toffee!
– Once the sauce is reduced and thickened (about the consistency of double cream) remove it from the heat.
– Reserve a little of your sauce for dipping once cooked
– Thread your chicken onto presoaked bamboo skewers.
– I like to give the chicken a quick coating of sauce before placing on the grill.
– Then put them on the grill and brush every minute or two with sauce.
– Give one final coating just before you serve for a glossy, sticky finish.
– Serve however you wish!
Hi, I'm Anna and this is what's going on in my kitchen and growing in my garden.
Everything you see here is how it looked as I cooked and ate it. I don't like to make things too fussy. I want you to know that if you try one of my recipes what you see is what you'll get.
Don't forget to leave a comment, I love to know what you're thinking and if you do try out a recipe then let me know how it worked for you. Happy cooking!
Anna in the kitchen 