When it comes to throwing parties, the world falls into two pretty distinct camps: those who love to do it, and those who would rather do just about anything else. For party-goers, planning ahead is essential, and recipes for tasty dishes are the first step.
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For the table between years, The Guardian has presented several recipe ideas, both for delicious dishes and cocktails.
Almonds with paprika
These spicy snacks with a pink grapefruit mocktail.
Ingredients:
500 g of shelled almonds
8 g of fennel seeds
50 g of honey
1 teaspoon paprika
10 g of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Grated peel from 1 lemon and juice from half
Method of preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/gas setting 4 and place the nuts on a baking tray. Roast them in the oven for seven to eight minutes, until they start to brown.
Mix all the remaining ingredients for the nuts apart from the lemon juice in a bowl and once the nuts are ready and still hot, pour them into the bowl and toss to coat.
Line the tray with baking paper, add the coated nuts and spread them in an even layer. Put them back in the oven for another eight to ten minutes, until they feel dry and not too sticky. Remove from the oven and immediately squeeze the lemon juice over them. Taste, adjust salt if needed, and let cool.
Buckwheat blinis with ricotta and salmon
A delicious festive appetizer that can be adapted to be served with a sweet topping.
Ingredients:
75g buckwheat flour
75g hard white flour
Salt and pepper
150ml milk
3g dry yeast
2 eggs, separated
100g crème fraîche or cream
Grated peel from 1 lemon
250g of ricotta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
30g of butter
100g smoked and sliced salmon or trout
Chopped chives
Roe of lumpur or salmon
Method of preparation:
Sift the flour and a teaspoon of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to the boil over medium heat, then remove from the heat and stir in the yeast, egg yolks and heavy cream. Slowly pour it into the flour, mixing it little by little with a wooden spoon. When the dough is smooth, cover it and leave it in a warm place for 30-60 minutes to rise (depending on the time available).
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean bowl, then fold them into the batter with a metal spoon. Let them rise again for another 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, add the lemon zest to the ricotta and incorporate the oil. Slice the lemon and season the ricotta with a little juice from one of the slices, along with a little salt and pepper.
When ready to eat, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the butter, then the ladlefuls of batter and cook until bubbling. Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so on the other side, until golden brown. Cook them in batches, keeping the cooked pancakes on low heat.
Serve the pancakes warm with a spoonful of ricotta, a few slices of trout or salmon, a pinch of chives, some caviar and lemon wedges. You can beat half of the ricotta with a little sugar instead of salt and serve them with liquid honey or maple syrup instead of salmon.
Mocktail with pink grapefruit, cardamom and lime
These drinks are a refreshing alternative to alcohol.
Ingredients:
For mocktails
Juice of 5 large pink grapefruits
3 juicy limes
100 ml raw apple cider vinegar
Mineral water, for topping
For the sugar syrup
8 cardamom pods
200 g caster sugar
Juniper Lemon Martini
Method of preparation:
To make the sugar syrup for mocktails, finely grind the cardamom seeds and put them in a saucepan with the sugar and 200ml of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.
Into each glass, measure 75ml of grapefruit juice, the juice of half a lime, 30ml (two tablespoons) of sugar syrup and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Add sparkling water and taste – you may want more sugar syrup.
Martini with juniper, lemon and roasted olives
House-made gin for a special festive martini, plus breaded olives stuffed with cheese and garlic paste.
Ingredients:
For martinis
2 unpeeled lemons
350 ml of good quality gin
2 tablespoons of juniper berries
2 sprigs of rosemary
1-2 teaspoons of agave syrup
Dry vermouth
For the fried olives
1 anchovy fillet in oil
½ orange
50 g cream cheese
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon of thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
200 g pitted green olives, gordal or queen olives
3-4 tablespoons of white flour
1 egg, beaten
100 g of panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
Method of preparation:
To infuse the gin, use a vegetable peeler to peel the zest from the lemons, then add it to a sterilized jar with the gin and juniper berries. Add the rosemary and agave, leave for three to four days, then strain.
To prepare the olives, chop the anchovies together with the pulp from a quarter of an orange and half the peel. Mix with the cheese, garlic and thyme and season lightly. Put the mixture in a piping bag and use it to stuff the olives.
Put the flour on one plate, the egg on another and the breadcrumbs on a third. Season the flour with a little pepper. Roll each olive in flour, then in egg and finally in breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for an hour to “harden”, or longer if you want to make them in advance.
When ready to cook, fill a small, high-walled pan two-thirds full with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C. Fry the olives in slices (so as not to crowd the pan) for two minutes or until golden brown; drain them on absorbent paper.
To make the martinis, fill a mixing glass with ice. Measure 100ml of gin and pour it into the 20ml glass. of vermouth. Stir with a long spoon until the gin is ice cold. Then pour into martini glasses.
Slow Cooked Shredded Lamb Loin with Red Onion Sumac Salad
Ingredients:
1 whole leg of lamb on the bone (about 3 kg)
100 g gochujang
100 g of orange marmalade
1 tablespoon of sea salt
2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
For chili
1 red pepper
2 red hot peppers
2 red onions, peeled and cut in half
1 orange, cut in half
1 teaspoon of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
For the red onion sumac salad
1 orange, peeled and sliced
1 clementine, peeled and sliced
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
30 g parsley, leaves cleaned
50 g arugula
For dressing room
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sumac
½ teaspoon of sea salt
Method of preparation:
Use a sharp knife to make deep, cross cuts all over the lamb back. Mix together the gochujang, marmalade, salt and coriander seeds, then pour this mixture over the lamb, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours and ideally overnight.
Preheat the oven to 240°C (220°C fan) and place the marinated lamb shank in a large, deep baking tray. Place the whole pepper, two whole chillies, the red onion and the orange on one side of the pan, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove the vegetables, now slightly burnt, and set them aside, cover the lamb with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for a further 30 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 220°C (200°C with fan), add 500ml. of water in the pan, then brush the lamb all over. Cover again and bake for 30 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 200°C (180°C with fan), baste the lamb again, then cover and bake for another hour. Reduce the heat to 180°C (160°C with fan), baste the lamb again, then cover and roast for another hour. If there is almost no liquid left in the pan at this stage, add a little water.
Meanwhile, prepare the salsa. Remove and discard the core and seeds from the peppers and cooked chillies, peel off most of the skin (if it comes off easily), then chop the flesh into small pieces. Chop the onion and orange (with skin) into small pieces (you can also puree them in a food processor, but try to keep some texture).
Place the pepper mixture and the onion mixture in a small saucepan, add the sugar, salt, vinegar and 120 ml. of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, until salsa reduces and thickens. Transfer to a small serving bowl.
To make the salad, place the orange and clementine and their juice in a large salad bowl. Add the sliced red onion, parsley leaves and arugula. Shake or mix the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad just before serving, tossing to coat.
Use tongs and a fork to pull the meat apart so the meat is shredded and mixed with the seasoned juices in the baking pan. Serve the lamb hot with salsa, salad and chips or tortillas.
Spiced cranberry and chocolate tart
Ingredients:
For the cranberry sauce
300g fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries
100g caster sugar
Juice from ½ orange
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
½ tsp ground ginger
For the dough
175g white flour, plus extra for dusting
30g cocoa powder
40g icing sugar, plus extra for icing
¼ teaspoon salt
130g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
For the frangipane
130g softened unsalted butter
130g caster sugar
Zest from 1 small orange
2 large eggs
35g cocoa powder
130g ground almonds
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of cocoa beans
Cream, for serving
Method of preparation:
Place all the cranberry sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for five to seven minutes, until the cranberries are soft and syrupy. Set aside to cool completely.
To make the dough, place the flour, cocoa, powdered sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and blend until you get a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolk and a teaspoon of water and mix gently until the mixture begins to clump. If it still seems a little dry, add another teaspoon of water.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead gently with your hands. Mix everything together, form a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for two hours or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C with fan). Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and then onto the tray. Use a sharp knife to cut off the excess dough and line the tart with a sheet of parchment paper. Fill with green beans or raw rice, then bake the tart for 25 minutes. Remove the paper and the beans or rice, bake for another 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the frangipane tart. Mix the butter, sugar and orange zest in a bowl until smooth, then fold in the eggs. Pour in the cocoa, almonds, spices and salt and mix well. Pour the mixture evenly into the pastry crust.
Use the back of a spoon to make some shrimp on the surface of the filling and fill them with about half of the cranberry sauce. Sprinkle with cocoa nibs, then bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center is no longer puffy. Allow the tart to cool completely, then unmold and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve with more cranberry sauce and a dollop of cold whipped cream.
