Fun, family and food – the festive season is upon us once again! After a taxing 2020, the joyous times of the festive season can’t happen soon enough, as we will all get the opportunity to put aside the events of the last 12 months and indulge in the trappings of the holiday season, including all the culinary delights on offer!
Try and make this holiday season extra special by preparing some of these delightful festive season recipes:
Starter
Biltong Pâté
With biltong already being a South African staple and favourite, why not incorporate it into your festive season starters? This is the ideal local dish to make for your guests while they wait for the main course. To make it, you will need:
- 100g biltong, finely grated
- 100g cream cheese
- 50ml double cream
- 2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tbsp coriander, ground
- Melba toast or toasted baguette slices
How to make it:
Mix all the ingredients until they are smooth. Spoon them onto ramekins and serve on either melba toast or toasted baguette slices with gherkins and olives on the side.
Side Dish
Butternut Couscous Salad
Couscous salad is often a side dish favourite, and the combination of butternut and couscous is a real winner. This healthy delight is relatively easy to make. You will need:
- 1 small butternut, cubed and peeled into bite-sized chunks
- Couscous
- A handful of fresh mint and 4/5 sprigs of oregano (or, 1 to 2 teaspoons each of both herbs, dried)
- 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
- 2 cups baby spinach, lightly cleaned
- 1 small cup of feta, coarsely crumbled
- 1/2 a cup of pitted black olives
- Optional: two teaspoons balsamic reduction and a handful of toasted pine nuts (optional)
How to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C and place the butternut pieces in an oven-proof dish.
- Drizzle the butternut with olive oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes. dried/fresh herbs and salt. Roast for approximately 30 minutes until tender and remove from the oven. Toss the spinach leaves with the vegetables to endure the leaves wilt but don’t cook through.
- Ensure all the vegetables are evenly distributed and the loves and feta. Sprinkle with pine nuts and lightly drizzle balsamic reduction. If you feel the salad is too dry, lightly drizzle more olive oil.
- Serve the salad on a bed of couscous that is prepared according to the pack instructions.
Main Course
Roast pork with spicy sauce
While roast pork is a traditional festive season favourite, this dish is infused with a twist thanks to the spicy sauce that the dish is cooked in. These are the ingredients you will need:
- 2 to 3kg pork loin (boned, shoulder or rolled loin)
- oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- Spicy sauce
- 200ml tomato puree
- 20ml tomato sauce
- 15ml prepared mild mustard
- 45ml brown sugar
- 45ml white vinegar
- 2,5ml dried mixed herbs
- 30ml HP sauce
- 15ml soy sauce
- 2ml Tabasco sauce
How to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C
- Wipe the meat with oil, season lightly with salt and pepper, and if necessary, score the rind and sprinkle extra salt.
- Weight the meat and calculate the cooking time – allow for 25 to 0 minutes per 500 g plus another 25 minutes.
- On the rack of a roasting pan, place the meat with the fat side positioned uppermost.
- Thirty minutes before the end of cooking time, increase the oven temperature to 200°C
- Once the crackling is crisp and golden, combine all the sauce ingredients. Then, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Tip: don’t baste rind with pan juices as this will make it soggy and less crisp.
Dessert
Beeramisu
Most people have heard of the delicious dessert tiramisu, but have you heard of the absolutely delightful concoction beeramisu? The biggest difference in this alcohol-infused dessert is that it also contains Castle Milk Stout chocolate. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- 1 cup Castle Milk Stout Chocolate Infused
- 1 packet of ladyfingers (Boudoir Biscuits)
- ½ cup strong coffee/espresso
- 4 large egg whites
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 cups mascarpone cheese, softened/room temperature
- ½ cup and ¼ cup castor Sugar
- 1 tsp. almond essence
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
- Cocoa powder
- 100g dark chocolate (shaved to garnish)
How to make it:
- Line the bottom of your serving dish with a layer of boudoir biscuits.
- In a jug, combine Castle Milk Stout and coffee and spoon onto the first layer of biscuits – take care to not make it too soggy.
- Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and half a cup of castor sugar in a mixing bowl until they’re light and fluffy.
- With a spatula, fold in the softened mascarpone ½ cup at a time and add almond and vanilla essence.
- Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer and gradually add the ¼ cup of castor sugar gradually until a stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg whites mixture into the mascarpone mixture, adding 1/3 at a time – make sure to keep it light.
- Use a spoon to layer the mixture into a serving dish on top of the biscuits and dust with cocoa afterwards.
- Depending on the depth of your dish, repeat these layers and end with a layer of the mascarpone mixture.
- Use aluminium foil to cover the dish, refrigerate, and allow it to set for 12 hours or overnight before serving.
- Right before serving, grate some dark chocolate shavings or curls over the top.
No matter what dishes you choose to make this festive season, make sure you stay safe, enjoy this precious family time and have fun. And if you want to start 2021 off on a better foot, let Leadhome help you find your dream home at an affordable price. Educate yourself on how to achieve this goal by reading about whether you should sell your house before buying a new one and what to look for when buying a house.