If you’ve been brave and have taken on the task of hosting Christmas this year, then we’re here to help. Cooking Christmas dinner for everyone may be a daunting task, but if you’ve got some good recipes that you can stick to, everything will go a lot more smoothly. We’ve put together a few of our favourite recipes from one of our favourite brands: Le Creuset. These recipes should give you some Christmas cooking inspiration and could help you out on the big day. Here are a few of our favourites to impress your guests with:
Turkey Parcels with Christmas Stuffing
Port Wine and Cranberry Mince Pies
Turkey Parcels with Christmas Stuffing
This recipe is perfect for cooking a big roast whilst saving on space in the oven for vegetables and any other sides. These turkey parcels have all of the delicious seasonal flavours you want from a Christmas roast, but they also cook a lot quicker than a whole turkey if you’re looking to cut down on cooking time.
Note: If you’re looking to make Christmas lunch as easy and stress free as possible, why not buy some ready-made, fresh turkey gravy and ready-to-cook prepared vegetables. That way everything will be ready to go in the oven and you can focus on enjoying Christmas, rather than being stuck in the kitchen cooking all day!
Serves: 8 people
Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 x 140 to 150g turkey or chicken breast fillets or slices
- 48 rashers thin-cut smoked streaky bacon (1kg)
- 50g butter
- Clingfilm and tin foil
For the Christmas Stuffing
- 50g butter
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 500g pork sausage meat
- 80g dried cranberries
- 18 cooked chestnuts, chopped
- 140g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 2 lemons, zest
- 4 tsp dried thyme
- 4 tsp dried sage
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Place the turkey or chicken fillets in between two sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to flatten them to a thickness of 1½ cm.
- To make the stuffing, melt the butter in a pan over a low to medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are softened but not brown. Move the onion and celery into a bowl and allow to cool, then add the remaining stuffing ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
- Lay the meat escallops on a work surface. Place equal amounts of stuffing on top of each and flatten out with your hand to cover the surface. Roll up the stuffing-topped escallops like a Swiss roll. Place a small knob of butter on top of each roll and wrap each one in two rashers of bacon, enclosing the butter, to make a parcel.
- Place the parcels in a roaster and cook for 45-50 minutes. Remove the roaster from the oven, cover it loosely with tin foil and rest the parcels for 10 minutes.
- Serve the parcels whole, or for a special finish, slice and fan the meat out on to the plate. Pour over any cooking juices and accompany with fresh turkey gravy, roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables.