Christmas Dinner Recipes

As promised, here are the recipes for the two main savoury dishes I make each year for Christmas.


Sweet Onion & Ricotta Cheesecake with Cranberries & Sage


This is a recipe by Celia Brooks Brown, one of my favourite cookbook authors. Her book 'Entertaining Vegetarians' (Pavilion Books, 2003) remains one of my favourite recipe books of all time. I love how it is divided into events, with a sample menu for each one. And there are some really simple and yummy recipes. This is one of them.


Ingredients:


1 kg fresh ricotta cheese (best from the deli, so it isn't too watery)
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
350g onions (approx. 2 large), chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
10 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
6 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g/1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (or recently I've been using craisins, which works well too)
55g cracker crumbs, finely crushed
whole fresh sage leaves, to garnish


Method:


Preheat the oven to 190º C. Place the ricotta in a sieve and stand over a bowl or the sink. Leave to drain thoroughly while you cook the onions.


Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the onions and cook gently, stirring frequently, until very soft, but not coloured. Add the garlic and sage and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.


Beat together the drained ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, salt and pepper (ideally in a food processor) until totally smooth. Stir in the onion mixture and cranberries and mix thoroughly.


Brush a 22 cm springform tin generously with olive oil. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom and sides, then pour in the ricotta mixture and smooth the surface with a spatula. Garnish the top with whole sage leaves and drizzle a little olive oil over the top, especially the sage leaves. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until firm and golden. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

Cheese, Cashew and Walnut Roast


I found this recipe a few years ago, when searching online for vegetarian nut roast recipes. It was contained in an article in The Guardian (UK) in December, 2006 written by Julia Ponsonby. It comes from a recipe book entitled 'Gaia's Kitchen' (2000), which is a collection of the most popular recipes from Schumacher College in Devon during their first 10 years.


This recipe makes quite a large quantity, and serves at least six. I am sometimes a little loose with measuring the ingredients, but it really doesn't seem to matter.


Ingredients:


175g onion, finely diced
175g chopped mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red pepper, finely diced
2-3 sticks celery, finely diced
1 tbsp mixed herbs
250g cooked brown rice (about 100g before cooking)
110g walnuts, finely chopped
110g cashew pieces
5 medium eggs
175g cottage cheese
340g grated cheese (I use cheddar)
50ml chopped fresh herbs, incl. parsley, rosemary and thyme (I've never figured out that measurement!)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil


Method:

1. Sauté the onion and celery in olive oil until they begin to go transparent.

2. Add the mushrooms, garlic, red pepper, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Cook until mixture is soft, stirring regularly to avoid burning.

3. Combine the cooked ingredients with all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

4. Line a 1kg loaf tin (or I use a flatter, wider baking dish) with baking parchment. The simplest way to do this is to use two pieces that will cross over on the base of the tin - a narrow one for the length of the tin and a wide one for the width. Fill to, at most, 7cm (3 inches) deep. Fold over paper, to help prevent drying out. If the mixture is too deep, the outside may get rather leathery before the inside is properly set. Avoid using ordinary, old-fashioned greaseproof paper as it lacks the non-stick properties of silicone parchment and this is a very sticky mixture. If you have to use it, make sure it is generously buttered.

5. Bake at 180°C for 1-1½ hours until firm. A knife inserted will come out wet but relatively clean showing that the eggs have set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for five to 10 minutes before turning out and serving. Garnish with roughly chopped parsley. Carve into generous slices. Can also be served cold.


There you go! I've only included the metric measurements, but if you search online you'll find the original recipe with more details. Let me know if you give either recipe a try, and what you think.