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Christmas Dinner Meals Ready In Under An Hour

You don’t have to spend all Christmas Day roasting a gigantic turkey - why not cook one of these recipes that’ll be on the table in an hour.

Chestnut and Spinach Stuffed Turkey Breast

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



These turkey breast fillets take just 40 minutes to cook - and the preparation’s easy. They’re stuffed with chestnuts and spinach and then wrapped in bacon. Beautiful either hot straight out of the oven or sliced, cold from the fridge with a good spoonful of cranberry sauce. Serves 2 large portions (just increase quantities to make more if you need to).

Ingredients
2 turkey breast fillets
6 rashers streaky bacon (smoked or unsmoked, your choice)
1 tbsp olive oil or cooking fat of your choice
6 chestnuts, cooked and peeled (I’ve used them from a pack)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
40g fresh spinach

Method

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



First, make the stuffing. Add the olive oil or other cooking fat to a frying pan. Quickly chop the chestnuts into small pieces and add them to the pan, along with the garlic and spinach leaves. Allow everything to cook down and the spinach to wilt - it’ll take just 2-3 minutes - and then turn off the heat and leave to cool completely.

While that’s cooling down, prepare the turkey. Heat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC and line a baking or roasting tray with foil. Lay the turkey breast fillets out on a board and make a slit along the side of each one, without cutting all the way through. Open it out and fill the pocket you made with the cooled stuffing, pushing it in as you go, and then push the fillet back together around it. Wrap each fillet in the bacon slices - you’ll need about three rashers for each fillet - overlapping them to secure the stuffing. Place on the lined tray and cook for 35-40 minutes, until cooked all the way through. Slice and serve with Christmas veggies and cranberry sauce.

Fillet Steaks in Mushroom and Whisky Sauce

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



A really quick meal that’s perfect if there’s not many of you for Christmas dinner this year, but is also very indulgent. The whisky might flame up in the pan when you add it to the mushroom mixture, so be careful - it will quickly die down or you can clamp on a large pan lid if you prefer. Serves 2.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 fillet beef steaks
1 thick streaky bacon rasher, chopped
4 chestnut mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
50ml Whisky
100ml beef stock (not too strong)
dash of double cream

Method

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



First, cook the steaks. Heat the oil in a hot frying pan and sear the steaks, cooking them to your liking - about 3 minutes per side for medium, depending on the thickness of the steak. Once cooked, lift them out and leave to rest on a plate. Next, add more oil if you think it needs it and throw in the bacon and mushrooms. Allow them to sizzle for a couple of minutes and then add the whisky. Careful - if your pan is very hot, it might flame up, but will die down in a few seconds. Pour in the beef stock and stir, scraping up any meaty bits from the pan and incorporating them into the sauce, bringing it to a simmer. Turn off the heat, swirl in the cream and serve poured over the steaks.

Luxury Smoked Fish Pie

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



A fish pie is real comfort food - and you can give it that extra bit of luxury by adding in some smoked salmon and a little Gruyere cheese, for extra richness. This pie is topped with pastry instead of mashed potato. Add some raw, shelled prawns if you like, too. Serves 4.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
3-4 tbsp crème fraîche (about 100ml)
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp finely grated Gruyère cheese
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 handful spinach leaves
About 500g boneless, skinless fish fillets - I’ve used half salmon and half smoked haddock
3 thin smoked salmon slices
320g ready-rolled puff pastry
1 beaten egg

Method

[Jo Romero]
[Jo Romero]



Drizzle the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the spring onions for a minute or two until just softened. Stir in the crème fraîche, and let it come to a simmer. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, parsley and the cheese. Put to one side, to cool.

Cut the raw fish into bite-sized chunks and arrange in the base of a pie dish or roasting dish. Add the spinach leaves. Pour the cooled sauce over the fish and lay the pastry over the top, tucking it in at the corners and trimming it to fit the dish if you need to. Make holly leaves, stars or fish shapes with the trimmings so you don’t waste them, and arrange on top of the pie. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 25 minutes at gas mark 6/200ºC.

What are you cooking for Christmas dinner this year? Let us know on Twitter!

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