Christmas is usually a time of tradition – family gatherings, favourite movies, and classic recipes that have stood the test of time. However, changing up your holiday menu with one or two new dishes each year gives you a chance to try new flavours and ideas for entertaining. Cepta Mahon, founder of Cookalicious, recently went live on our Instagram with these delicious and easy Christmas recipes that look impressive, are quick to pull together, and are sure to become new family favourites!
Cepta is a home chef and cookery tutor, hosting online classes, live cook-alongs and demos. She helps people cook ‘real’ food by showing them how to create food that is fuss-free, fabulous and healthy. With an ability to teach that is infectious and full of energy, Cepta loves nothing more than sharing her passion and giving others the confidence to cook great tasting food too.
Don’t miss Cepta’s recipes below for Brie, Turkey and Cranberry tarts, cracking Christmas red cabbage, and sticky, spiced gingerbread. Yum!
Festive and Easy Christmas Recipes
Cracking Christmas Red Cabbage
The big day dinner wouldn’t be complete without deliciously spiced red cabbage. You can make it days in advance and it reheats perfectly every time – and even better, it freezes beautifully!
Ingredients:
- A small red cabbage
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 apples OR 2 pears, peeled
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 50g butter
- Sea salt & black pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Shred the cabbage by hand or using the grater attachment on your food processor, then put it into a large roasting dish.
- Grate the apples/pears and mix them through the red cabbage, along with the vinegar, sugar, cumin and plenty of seasoning.
- Dot the butter on top and pop in the cinnamon stick. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 15 mins until the cabbage is broken down, jammy & smelling totally delicious! Remove the cinnamon stick before serving or freezing.
Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Tarts
These divine tarts use leftover turkey and Christmas fridge bits and bobs. They are mega quick to throw together and easy to sub out one ingredient for another. It’s a great recipe to have up your sleeve and has the potential for a multitude of variations.
This will make 8 individual tarts, but feel free to make one big one either. Delicious hot or cold with a simple side salad dressed lightly.
Ingredients:
- A sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 egg
- Olive oil
- Big bunch of spring onions
- Half a jar of cranberry sauce
- 400g leftover cooked turkey
- 150g of Brie
- Sea salt & black pepper
- 50g walnuts or pecans (optional)
- A big bunch of rocket dressed lightly in olive oil & lemon juice, to serve
Method:
- Take the pastry out of the fridge 30 minutes before you need it. Preheat the oven to 190C fan.
- Turn out the pastry onto your counter. Divide it into 8 squares or rectangles. With a knife, slice a little border on each square, halfway through the pastry, the whole way around – be careful not to go the whole way through. Prick the middle all over with a fork. Egg-wash the sides and bake on a baking sheet lined with baking paper in the oven for 10 mins.
- Finely chop the spring onions and pan-fry in a dash of oil for a few mins until softened.
- Combine 1 tbsp of the cranberry sauce with a splash of water to loosen.
- Shred the turkey and combine it with the loosened cranberry sauce, some salt and pepper and the spring onions.
- Scatter the turkey mixture all over the pastry base. Lay thin slices of Brie on top and dot on as much or as little cranberry sauce as you like.
- Return to the oven for 10 mins.
- If using, roughly chop the walnuts/pecans and scatter all over the tart for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking.
- Toss the rocket with a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and serve on top of the delicious tarts!
Don’t Miss…
This holiday season, let the kids get creative and have fun in the kitchen with these kid-friendly Christmas recipes that are super easy to make. From fruity snacks to chocolatey treats, we think that every child, big and small, will find something to love here.
Spiced Gingerbread
Mildly spiced, sticky and delicious – trust me, it will become a Christmas staple in your house too! Perfect with a cuppa (or a tipple) for all those visitors that will be popping in. And they’re super easy to glam up!
Ingredients:
- 150g butter OR coconut oil
- 200g golden syrup
- 200g treacle
- 100g dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp bread soda dissolved in a splash of warmed milk
- 250ml buttermilk/milk
- 2 eggs
- 300g flour (plain, spelt, gluten free all work perfectly)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 170C fan.
- Add the butter, golden syrup, treacle, brown sugar, fresh ginger and ground spices in a large saucepan on a low heat. Allow to melt fully, stir well and take off the heat.
- Add the buttermilk, beaten eggs, bread soda + soaking liquid.
- Sieve in the flour and use a small whisk to mix it by hand until well combined, breaking up any little lumps of flour as you go. It’s a ‘molten’ recipe, so don’t be alarmed about the batter being so runny – that’s perfectly ok.
- Pour the mixture into a prepared 9-inch tin and bake for 45 minutes. Leave to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack and digging in! Serve as is or smeared with real butter or with a dollop of fresh cream.
About the Author: Emily Manning
