With Christmas just around the corner, it can be easy to get overwhelmed, but we are here to save you! Here at Flo and Frankie our team take our food very seriously indeed, we have spent years curating our cook book selection to suit any and all needs of our lovely customers, and we are about to spill the beans - grab a pen and pad, you won't want to miss these!
We will be breaking down Christmas Day into three lovely meal recipes (even though realistically its 5+ courses on a typical Christmas Day, right?).
Ok, let's get into it.
recipe #1 - Spring Radicchio Citrus Salad
As we head into the warmer months, it feels fitting to start with a light and zesty salad! The extremely talented Julie Pointer Adams, behind the recipe book Al Fresco dabbles in many tastes, but tasty salads seem to be a fav.
Let's break it down...
DRESSING
1/4 CUP (60ml) fresh grapefruit juice
6 tablespoons (90ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
SALAD
1 head read radicchio or Treviso radicchio
3 tangerines, peeled and seperated into segments
2 avocados, halved, pitted and sliced into thick chunks
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup (110g) parmesan shavings (cut from a chunk of cheese with a vegetable peeler)
1 large handful of basil leaves, torn into small pieces
01 To make the dressing, whisk together the grapefruit juice, olive oil and salt pepper to taste in a small bowl.
02 To make the salad, cut or tear the radicchio crosswise into 1-inch wide (3cm) strips.
03 Combine the radicchio, tangerines, avocado, shallots, parmesan shavings and basil into a medium bowl and toss gently.
04 To serve, drizzle the dressing over the salad and enjoy!
recipe #2 - honey roast chicken
Time for the main course. We felt like a classic chicken dish was rather fitting with a New Zealand Christmas Day, and boy do we have a tasty (and easy!) Honey Roast Chicken for you, straight from the Iconic Jamie Oliver One Simple One Pan Wonders book.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1kg mixed chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 red onions
1 bunch of oregano
2 oranges
160g ripe mixed cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons runny honey
20g shelled unsalted pistachios
20g feta cheese
01 Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the chicken into a large cold shallow casserole pan and place on a high heat. Fry for 10 minutes, or until golden all over, turning regularly, while you peel and roughly chop the onions and pick the oregano leaves. Use a speed-peeler to strip the orange peel into the pan, add the onions, oregano and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, season with sea salt and black pepper and mix well. Make sure the chicken is skin side up, then roast for 45 minutes, or until the chicken pulls easily away from the bone.
02 Move the pan to a medium-high heat on the hob. Squeeze in the orange juice, quarter and add the tomatoes, and let it start to sizzle and bubble. Drizzle the honey over the chicken, finely chop and scatter over the pistachios, crumble over the feta, and serve. Pairs beautifully with couscous or a simple salad.
03 Enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas Day!
recipe #3 Pineapple Cake
To wrap up the Christmas Day feast, it's time to end on a sweet note. The recipe we are delighted share with you is for a Pineapple Cake, straight from the recipe book Fitwaffles Baking It Easy.
Serves 8.
INGREDIENTS
250g self-raising flour
200g caster sugar
450g canned crushed pineapple with juice
ICING *optional
60g unsalted butter, softened
110g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g icing sugar
01 Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 20cm round springform cake tin with cooking oil and line the bottom with a circle of nonstick baking paper.
02 Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Pour into your prepared tin and smooth out evenly.
03 Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool or serve cake while it's still fresh and warm.
04 Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
05 Enjoy!
the books from above recipes:
Alright, there you have it, three wonderfully simple and delicious recipes to inspire your upcoming Christmas Day feast, based on three of . We are constantly being inspired in our own kitchen by our super impressive collection of cook books, coffee table books and more.
And lastly, Merry Christmas! We hope you have a relaxing, fun and love filled holiday break.
With Love,
Flo's Family