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If you're dreaming of an easy, light and elegant festive repast with minimal last-minute cooking, this is the menu to impress your guests
Cos, Minted Pea and Bacon Salad
For maximum impact, arrange this bright, crisp salad along an oval white platter and place it on the table for guests to help themselves.
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2 baby cos lettuce (or 1 packet cos hearts)
½ cup frozen minted baby peas, thawed
4 rashers shaved or streaky bacon, cooked until crispy and broken into pieces
¼ cup shaved parmesan
Fresh mint leaves and/or snowpea tendrils for garnish (optional)
Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon liquid honey
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Arrange cos leaves along a platter and top with peas, bacon and parmesan.
Dressing: Combine oil, lemon juice and zest, mustard and honey in a jar and shake well.
Spoon dressing over salad and garnish with mint and/or snowpea tendrils.
Serves 6
Peach, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese Wraps
Pass around this tasty offering before dinner.
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50g blue cheese
100g cream cheese
4 firm ripe peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
75g prosciutto
Liquid honey and black pepper to garnish
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Combine cheeses, mashing them together until creamy and smooth. (If making ahead, mixture can be kept for a couple of days in the fridge.)
Halve peaches, remove stones and slice into wedges, 3 per half. Brush with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
Lay prosciutto slices out on bench and cut into 24 even strips. Spread with a generous amount of cheese mixture and wrap a strip securely around each peach slice. Arrange on a serving platter, drizzle with a little honey and grind over some pepper.
Makes 24
Christmas Mince Ice Cream Cake
An easy, no-cook, make-ahead dessert that looks and tastes fabulous is a godsend for multitasking cooks. This one is also easily made bigger to feed a tribe and the fruit topping can be varied to suit what is available.
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2 litres vanilla ice cream
1½ cups fruit mince
1½ cups chopped mixed dried fruits, eg red cherries, apricots, raisins, cranberries, ginger
2-3 tablespoons brandy
½ cup fruit juice
1 sponge cake (large slab or double round)
Topping:
1 fresh ripe peach, sliced
1 punnet fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon liquid honey
Squeeze of orange or lemon juice
¼ cup grated white chocolate
Raspberry coulis to serve
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Tip ice cream into a large bowl and allow to soften slightly. Add fruit mince and dried fruits and mix to combine.
Stir brandy into juice. Cut sponge in half and trim to fit snugly in the base of a lined 23cm spring-form tin. (If using a round sponge, cut each half through the middle to make 4 layers, and use what you need from 2 layers to cover base.) Brush half the liquid over sponge.
Add half the ice cream mixture and smooth top. Repeat with remaining sponge as needed, liquid and ice cream mixture. Cover with foil and freeze (at least overnight).
Topping: Toss peaches and raspberries with honey and a squeeze of orange or lemon juice.
To serve, transfer cake to a serving platter and decorate with the fruits and white chocolate. Serve with raspberry coulis.
Serves 10
For the full story pick up a copy of the December 2011 issue
Story: Jo Wilcox
Photographs: Aaron McLean
Stylist: Claudia Kozub
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