Christmas recipes on a budget

With just less than half an hour to spare, it is possible to serve excellent food that has not come straight out of the freezer. The menus here, while falling under the category of fast food do not have to mean poor or compromised quality food. By mixing fresh produce with canned, dried or frozen food in tasty and innovative ways, you will be amazed at the dishes that you can produce within no time at all this Christmas.

Soup and Appetiser

Broccoli and Almond Soup

The creaminess of the toasted almonds combines perfectly with the slight bitterness of the taste of broccoli.

Serves 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cups ground almonds

½ kg or more of broccoli

3 ¾ cups of fresh vegetable stock or vegetable stock cubes. If all fails, use water

1 ¼ cups milk

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/170°C. Spread the ground almonds evenly on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until just golden. Set aside ¼ of the almonds which you will use for the garnish.

2. Cut the broccoli into small florets and steam for about 8 minutes or until tender.

3. Place the remaining toasted almonds, broccoli, stock or water in a blender until smooth and season to taste.

4. When you are ready to serve, preheat the soup and serve sprinkled with reserved toasted almonds.

Deep fried Florets with

Tangy Thyme Mayonnaise

Cauliflower and broccoli make a sensational snack especially coated in a beer batter and then deep fried. Serve with a tangy mayonnaise dip.

Serves 2 – 3

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium size cauliflower

1 medium size broccoli

2 eggs separated

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup bee, preferably flat

1 ¼ ups wheat flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoon shredded basil

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1 cup good quality mayonnaise

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp grated lemon rind

2 tsp lemon juice

Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

METHOD:

1. Break the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets, cutting the large florets into smaller pieces and set aside.

2. Beat the egg yolks, olive oil, beer, flour and salt and pepper in a bowl. Strain the batter if need be in order to remove any lumps.

3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter with the basil.

4. Heat the oil for deep frying to 350°F/ 170 ° C or until a cube of bread when added to the oil, browns within less than a minute. Dip the florets in the batter and deep fry in batches for a couple of minutes until the coating is golden and crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

5. Mix the mayonnaise with the thyme. Lemon rind and juice in a small bowl.

6. If you are using the sea salt, sprinkle and serve hot with the thyme mayonnaise.

MAIN COURSE

Jamaican Spiced Cod Steaks with Pumpkin Ragout

Spicy hot from Kingston town, this fast fish dish is bound to appeal to fish lovers. The term ‘ragout’ is taken from the old French verb ragouter which means to stimulate the appetite. This recipe can be adapted to Nile perch on any other firm fish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Finely grated zest of ½ an orange

2 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp allspice berries or Jamaican pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

The juice of 1 medium lemon

4 x 200g cod steaks or other firm fish such as Nile Perch

Vegetable oil for frying

Irish potatoes for frying

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley to garnish

For the ragout

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

1 clove chopped garlic

500g fresh pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped

4 -6 shakes of Tabasco sauce to your taste

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp vinegar

Method

1. To make the ragout, heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Cover and cook stirring for about 5 minutes until soft

2. Add the chopped pumpkin, Tabasco sauce, brown sugar and vinegar, cover and cook over low heat around 10 minutes or until softened.

3. Combine the orange zest, peppercorns, allspice or Jamaican pepper and salt, then crush coarsely using a pestle and mortar. Alternatively, coarsely grind the peppercorns in a pepper mill and combine with zest and seasoning.

4. Scatter the spice mixture over both sides of the fish along with the lemon juice and moisten with a sprinkling of oil

5. Heat a frying pan and fry the fish for roughly 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish.

6. Serve the fish with a generous spoonful of pumpkin ragout and the potatoes if desired and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

GLAZED CHICKEN WITH CASHEW NUTS

Hoisin sauce lends a sweet yet slightly hot note to this chicken dish, while cashew nuts add a pleasing contrast of texture. If you can’t find hoisin sauce, then I suggest that you use either oyster sauce or soy sauce.

Serves 4

Ingredients

¾ cup cashew nuts

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

500g chicken fillet or boneless breast of chicken

4 tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 knob washed and finely chopped ginger

2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or medium dry sherry

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

5 – 6 spring onions, green part only cut into 1 – in length

Method

1. Heat a wok, until hot, add the cashew nuts and stir fry over low medium heat for a couple of minutes until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

2. Halve the peppers and remove the seeds and slice the into slim finger length strips. Slice the boneless chicken into finger length strips and set aside.

3. Heat the wok again until hot and add the oil and swirl it around. Add the garlic and the ginger and let them sizzle in the oil for a few seconds before adding the bell peppers and chicken. Stir fry these for about five minutes.  Add the rice wine or sherry and the hoisin sauce and continue to stir fry until the chicken is tender and all the ingredients are evenly glazed.

5. Stir in the sesame oil and the toasted cashew nuts and the spring onions. erve at once with rice or noodles.

DESSERT

Brazilian Coffee Bananas

Rich, lavish and sinful-looking, this dessert is amazing and takes no more than 3 minutes to make from scratch! Feel free to add a dash of dark rum or brandy to the bananas which will give you extra richness.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 small sukali ndizi, aka sweet bananas

1 tbsp instant coffee granules or powder

1 tbsp hot water

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 ½ cups plain yogurt

1 tbsp toasted slivered almonds

Method

1. Peel and slice one banana and mash the remaining three with a fork.

2. Dissolve the coffee in the hot water and stir into the mashed bananas.

3. Spoon a little of the mashed banana mixture into four serving dishes and sprinkle with sugar. Top with a spoonful of the plain yogurt and then repeat until all the ingredients are used up.

4. Swirl the last layer of yoghurt for a marbled effect and finish with a few banana slices and slivered almonds. Serve cold.