Christmas is a date marked by the number of family and friend gatherings that usually occur. In fact, when family gatherings are held, it is typical for cooking at home or even for each family to bring their own dish.
This is always a headache, we want to prepare something original, but that everyone likes and that doesn’t increase the price too much. To do this, today we leave you five easy recipes for Christmas.
Dips or pâtés
They never fail as an appetizer, or even between courses. They are very recurrent and tend to be very popular. In addition, we can accompany them with snacks, bread, crunchy snacks or also with crudités, for a healthier option.
Pâtés tend to be very well received, although we must also make special mention of cream cheese.
We know one that we love. This is one of the easiest food ideas for Christmas. We just prepare an egg mayonnaise and, once cooked, we mash it with white asparagus, salt and pepper. Normally, we accompany it with crusty slices of bread or picos, but it is sure to be great with any type of canapé or snack.
Soups and creams
Taking advantage of the fact that the Christmas holidays are accompanied by cold and, sometimes, rainy weather. Warm soups and creams are very appetizing and recurring.
Picadillo soups are very typical, with chopped ham and boiled egg. But seafood soups, or asparagus cream, also stand out, which we can prepare economically with the preparations we find in any supermarket and a very delicious stir-fry. The important thing is to cook it with a lot of love, so our soup will turn out delicious.
Ingredients for the white asparagus cream (8 people approx.):
- 1 egg
- 125ml sunflower oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 jar of white asparagus
- Salt
- Pepper
Preparation of the white asparagus cream:
- First of all, we will prepare the mayonnaise. We will start by placing the garlic in the blender glass. Next, we add the egg and pour the sunflower oil. Finally, we add a little salt, there is always time to add more later if we have fallen short.
- We begin to beat gently. Once the mixture has emulsified, we can increase the power of the mixer. We will easily see when the mayonnaise is ready, since it will acquire a homogeneous and unctuous texture.
- Next, we chop the asparagus and add them to the mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix, and ready to serve.
Croquettes
Another of the easiest food ideas for Christmas are croquettes. These never fail and, furthermore, we can prepare them in many ways. From the typical stew or ham, to the latest ones we have tried, black rice with aioli.
Fish and seafood
Continuing with the quick and easy Christmas recipes, the typical fish and seafood come to mind.
It is true that seafood tends to be more successful but, to get them at a reasonable price, we must anticipate the dates of highest demand. If not, we can replace some of them with a cheaper option, such as shrimp.
It is true that these usually give off an intense odor that is very difficult to eliminate. But we have a trick, a delicious baked shrimp recipe that will prevent the release of this smell.
Ingredients to prepare baked shrimp with garlic and parsley:
- 1 kilo of shrimp
- 3 garlic
- Fresh parsley
- coarse salt
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation of the baked shrimp with garlic and parsley:
- We put 250ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the blender glass, add the 3 garlic cloves and a handful of parsley. We beat everything until we obtain a completely green sauce.
- We preheat the oven to 200º with heat up and down.
- Next, on a baking tray, we put a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil and distribute the shrimp all over it. We pour half of our sauce over the shrimp, we can use a brush or a spoon.
- Finally, we put the shrimp in the oven for 8 minutes, open it, add the rest of the sauce again and leave the shrimp in the oven for another 8 minutes. After this time, they will be ready to serve.
It is important not to exceed this time, since if we go too long, the shrimp can be very dry.
Nougat desserts
To finish with the easy recipes for Christmas, we will go straight to dessert.
Without forgetting the classic nougat, very typical of these dates. As you know, we can include it in countless recipes to make it much more original.
Among the recipes with this product we can opt for a creamy flan, a pudding, a cake, ice cream or even a delicious mousse. The most important thing is to add a good amount of nougat so that its flavor is not lost with the rest of the ingredients.