It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Our top 7 Christmas recipes to try this festive season, from the ByRuby team.
Quince Paste from delicious. magazine
A cheese board at Christmas time is a must, and while there are a lot of delicious chutney recipes out there, we want to shine a spotlight on this truly delicious quince paste. Quinces are in the prime of their season right now, and a simple quince paste really is the perfect cheese board accompaniment. This recipe uses only 3 ingredients, and although it is a slightly lengthy process, you are left with 1.5 litres of the good stuff, which should be enough to keep you going for quite a while, with some spare to gift to friends and family.
Delia Smith’s Black Soup with Black Bean Salsa
This is quite unlike a lot of soups out there, and truly is a winter staple. An absolute classic from Delia’s ‘Winter Collection’, it is incredibly flavourful, warming and, crucially, filling. For a bit less faff, we find the salsa isn’t 100% necessary, and instead serve with a chunky slice of buttered toast (and cheese if we’re really hungry).
Finding a really good mince recipe is a lot harder than it should be, but this classic from Nigel Slater ticks all the right boxes – primarily, a mega crumbly, buttery pastry. We wholeheartedly agree with Nigel’s suggestion to simply buy good quality commercial mincemeat, rather than trying to make your own – it is much less hassle and just as delicious. To add to that, Milly also likes to make hers extra boozy by adding ½ cup of brandy to 1 cup of mincemeat, and letting it sit for 24 hours before using. If you’re not as hardcore as Milly, ¼ cup of brandy to 1 cup of mincemeat also suffices (but we might judge you, just a little bit…)
Honey, goat’s cheese and mustard hasselback potatoes: Georgina Hayden, The Guardian
There is something about a hasselback potato that is hard to resist, and this recipe from the Guardian takes things up a notch. A simple side dish transformed, that will win you a lot of fans, and one you’ll likely come back to time and again.
Because granola is great, and Christmas granola is even better. Another great one to make in batches and give as a homemade gift to friends.
BBC Good Food’s Winter Whiskey Sour
Whisky sours are super delicious and moorish, but we never thought to add orange to them until we tried this recipe from BBC Good Food. We’re planning on having a lot of cocktails this Christmas (it’s been a long year), and this is a really nice one to throw in the mix. It even looks the part with its Christmassy, golden colour.
Mexican Hot Chocolate - Bon Appetite
A very indulgent hot chocolate to finish off a very indulgent (but justified) list of winter recipes. For the perfect night in, brew a few of these up whilst your ByRuby is in the oven, and enjoy with a festive film playing in the background.
