Christmas with Bettina
I cherish Christmas. It is the month of celebrations. I love everything about the season, from opening up advent calendars to putting up decorations. Seeing friends and family socially to spend hours on cooking because, well, it is Christmas and definitely worth celebrating!
Coming from a multicultural background I always celebrated Scandinavian (Norwegian) Christmas on the 24th and Bulgarian/Danish Christmas on the 25th. Today we still celebrate the Scandinavian version and the UK version from my husband’s side of the family with elements of Bulgarian and Danish from my childhood.
LENTIL PÂTÉ WITH CARAMELISED PEARS
This is a great pâté that can be made in individual pots or as a terrine. The thyme and pear offer an extra layer of flavour. This is one of those dishes that gets better with time.
INGREDIENTS
280 g (10 oz) pre-cooked brown lentils (I suggest cooking
your own for this recipe following packet instructions; 140 g/5 oz dry weight)
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for frying and topping
300 g (101⁄2 oz) chestnut mushrooms
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
20 g (3⁄4 oz) thyme leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
FOR THE TOPPING:
1 small pear, sliced lengthways
a few sage leaves
sprigs of thyme
METHOD
Start by cooking the lentils, ensuring they are nice and soft. Once cooked, drain thoroughly and set aside to cool.
Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil in a saucepan for a few minutes until soft.
Roughly chop or tear the mushrooms, including the stems, then add to the pan and cook for a further 5–10 minutes.
Add the lentils and give everything a good stir.
Add the maple syrup, tamari/soy sauce, sherry, thyme, and salt and pepper. Stir well for a couple of minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender with the olive oil and blitz until smooth.
Pour into your desired pâté pot –
for example, one large serving dish or
a couple of ramekins.
To make the topping, heat some olive oil in a frying pan (skillet), fry the pears until nice and golden, then add the sage leaves and thyme sprigs and allow to warm through.
Add the fried pears and herbs to the top of the pâté, then pour over the remainder of the olive oil from the pan to cover and encapsulate the topping. If there is not enough oil to cover the topping by 5 mm (1⁄4 in), a little more olive oil.
Refrigerate the pâté for a couple of hours or overnight and wait for the top to solidify before serving.
RISALAMANDE
This is a classic Danish Christmas dish that I have made into a plant-based version. Slow-cooked rice pudding is made extra luxurious with cream ladled in at the end and there’s also a hidden almond for one lucky finder.
INGREDIENTS
200 g (7 oz/1 cup) sushi rice (or any rice will do)
500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water
250 ml (81⁄2 fl oz/1 cup) coconut cream or refrigerated full-fat tinned coconut milk
1⁄2 vanilla pod (bean), split and the seeds scraped out, or 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar or 1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar
1 almond (to hide inside the pudding once cooked)
TO FINISH:
100 ml (31⁄2 fl oz/scant 1⁄2 cup)
coconut cream, whipped
1⁄2 vanilla pod (bean), split and the seeds scraped out or 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
TO SERVE:
warmed berries (such as blueberries, blackberries and strawberries) and a sprinking of ground cinnamon basil sprigs
METHOD
Boil the rice in the water in a medium saucepan until all the liquid has completely evaporated. This should take no more than 20–30 minutes.
Add the coconut cream, vanilla and sugar (or whichever sweetener you are using) to the rice and let everything simmer for a further 20 minutes until you have a beautiful, creamy, rice pudding-like consistency.
Once the rice pudding is ready let it cool down completely.
To finish, whip the cream and fold in to the rice pudding with the vanilla and cinnamon – and don’t forget to add the almond.
Ladle into serving bowls, top with warm berries and basil, and whoever finds the lone almond in their dish has a lot of good luck coming their way!
COOK’S TIPS:
Whatever quantity you would like to make, just use 1 part rice to 2 parts water to scale the recipe up or down.
If using a fresh vanilla pod, once you have scraped out the seeds, pop the pod in the rice while it’s cooking for extra flavour and remove before serving.