Christmas dinner recipes

Text: Christmas dinner committee

Goat Cheese Onion Tartlets

Ingredients (for 10 tartlets):

• 5 medium sized onions

• 100 gr goat cheese

• 3 branches of thyme

• 0.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar bottle

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 10 sheets of puff pastry

• 1 beaten egg

• 45 gr pine nuts

• Some salt for flavour

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius, cover the tray with parchment paper. Also let the pastry sheets thaw.

2. Peel the onions and cut them into thin rings of about 4 mm. Put the olive oil in a saute pan and add the onions. Toss them while adding the salt and thyme leaves.

3. Now fry the onions for about 5 minutes until nicely browned. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn down the heat and let it cook for another 10 till 15 minutes, while stirring regularly so as to not burn them.

4. Place the squares on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Then cut into the dough 1 cm from the edge. Do not cut all the way through, but use the back of your knife. This will give you nice, raised edges. Make some tiny holes in the middle to prevent the inside from puffing up.

5. Fill the tarts with the caramelised onion and divide the goat cheese over the tartlets. Finally, brush the edges with the beaten egg and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until they start browning.

7. Finish off by garnishing the onion tarts with the pine nuts.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients (for 5 portions):

• 2 onions

• ½ red pepper (mildly spicy pepper)

• 5 cloves of garlic

• 1.5 blocks of vegetable stock (groentebouillon blokjes)

• 8 + 2g paprika powder (not the spicy variant)

• 350g red lentils

• 15g butter

• 8g cumin seed powder

• 90g canned diced tomato

• 90g Greek yogurt (the fat version, so around 10% fat)

• Pepper

• Salt

• oil

Recipe:

1. Peel and dice the onions. Finely cut the red pepper and the garlic.

2. Sautee the onion with a bit of oil for 4 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and pepper and sautee for another minute

4. Add 1 liter of boiling water and bring back to a boil.

5. Add the stock, 4 tsp paprika powder and lentils.

6. Let it simmer for 45 minutes.

7. After 40 minutes, melt the butter in a separate pan and bake it with the cumin for a brief moment. Add this to the soup.

8. Puree the soup. If it’s very thick, add a bit of water.

9. Serve with 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and a dash of paprika powder (the remaining teaspoon)

Mushroom Wellington

Ingredients: (for 5 portions)

• 1 kg mushrooms

• 1 cup (250 gr) diced carrots

• ¾ cup celery

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1½ onion

• 140 gr tomato paste

• ¾ cup of breadcrumbs (3 sliced of bread)

• 1 roll puff pastry (squares from the Albert Hein; 1½ packets)

• Vegetable stock: 1 cube

• Olive oil to fry

• ¼ cup milk, to glaze with

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tsp dry rosemary

Recipe:

1. Dice the mushroom, onions, carrots and celery into small squares.

2. Heat oil on medium high heat, then add the mushrooms.

3. Cook until all the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated.

4. Remove and put in a mixing bowl, then put the onions, carrot, celery in the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened.

5. Add garlic, rosemary, and tomato paste, and cook for 1 mininute.

6. Transfer to the mixing bowl with mushrooms and allow to cool for 30 min in the fridge.

7. Separate 2 portions (glutenfree) from the bowl.

8. Remove mushroom mix and add the breadcrumbs.

9. Place puff pastry on a large baking sheet on parchment paper.

10. Put the mushroom mixture in the middle in a sausage shape then roll the pastry over and seal with water.

11. Cut 5/6 diagonals across the top, then brush with milk.

12. Bake for 30 mins.