When it comes to Christmas there are probably four or five things that immediately spring to mind. One, I can most certainly guarantee being, is food. Food at Christmas is just the most delightful.
What I’d call the crème de la crème of a roast dinner, Christmas dinner is basically all the best bits overfilled on one plate, with the invitation to have as many seconds you would like.
I mean, I’m not encouraging you, or saying you have to help yourself to more, but in all honesty, don’t we all? And isn’t that the excuse we all look for during the festivities?
Crunchy roasties, tender meat with a crispy skin, soft Brussel sprouts (lover not a hater), stuffing balls, and of course a dunkable Yorkshire pudding to go with the thick gravy. A proper Christmas feast.
As we’re celebrating Christmas in Germany this year, the ‘Seasons Greetings’ challenge* by Oven Pride was perfectly timed, meaning we took the time to cook up a UK Christmas dinner with our own festive twist.
We decided to create a four component meal, combining many of our favourite Christmas flavours into several main items. Unlike the usual portion sizes you may see at Christmas, we opted to go small, and try out something we’d previously never even considered.
We swapped roast potatoes for mash, with a Brussel sprout twist, mashing the two together, and instead of pigs in blankets we swapped it for turkey. Our vegetables and stuffing were reassembled into the shape of a Christmas pudding, accompanied by spicy roasted potato skins.
- 2 turkey breast
- 450g Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Chicken Gravy
- 100g Wensleydale and cranberry cheese
- 2 rashers of bacon
- 10 potatoes
- 500g Brussel sprouts
- 500g diced carrot and swede
- 85g stuffing mix
- 8 bay leaves
- Knob of butter
- Dash of milk
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oil
- Cranberry/ lingonberry jam
- Cookie cutters
- Oven dish mini bowls
- Skewers
- Preheat the (fan) oven to 180°C.
- Peel and dice the potatoes. I used a knife to make the peel chunkier for the potato skin crisps afterwards.
- With the peel, season with paprika and pepper, and a drizzle of oil. Bake for 20 minutes, but check in every to often to determine how crispy you'd like your crisps to be.
- Take the ends off the Brussels sprouts and peel off their first layer.
- Place into a boiling pot of water with the potatoes. Add a few bay leaves for flavouring.
- Boil the swede and carrots until tender. Mash together with a pinch of salt and pepper, and a knob of butter.
- Prepare the stuffing in a bowl. Once set, place at the bottom of a bowl followed by the mashed swede and carrots. Place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Slice the turkey breast to make a pocket and fill with Wensleydale and cranberry cheese.
- Wrap a rasher of bacon around the center and hold the meat in place with a skewer. Season on both sides with paprika, salt and pepper.
- Add a bay leave into the bacon for extra flavour.
- Place the turkey in a tray and drizzle lightly with oil/butter. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Once the potatoes and sprouts are soft enough, drain the water, remove the bay leaves and mash together. Use a dash of milk and butter for taste.
- Use a cookie cutter to shape your mashed potato.
- After 25 minutes of the turkey being in the oven, add in your shaped potatoes for a quick 5 minute bake.
- Place your gravy on for the boil and remove all items from the oven.
- Serve up and add cranberries or lingonberry jam to your meal.
- Ho, ho, ho and a very Merry Christmas dinner to you.
Lots of love,
Charlotte xox
*Thank you to Oven Pride for inviting us to join the festive challenge. We were offered food vouchers in return for the recipe creation.
Charlotte Corner
Lifestyle blogger & cat mother
