AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS FARE

Christmas in England: “For many of the islanders, this anniversary is memorable (apart from all religious significance) because it evokes a great slaughter of turkeys, geese and all kinds of game, a wholesale massacre of fat oxen, pigs and sheep; they envisage garlands of black puddings, sausages and saveloys... mountains of plum-puddings and oven-fulls of mince-pies...  On that day no one in England may go hungry... This is a family gathering, and on every table the same menu is prepared. A joint of beef, a turkey or goose, which is usually the pièce de résistance, accompanied by a ham, sausages and game; then follow the inevitable plum-pudding and the famous mince pies.” - Alfred Suzanne

Christmas in Australia is a Summer Christmas, with temperatures often up in the mid- to high-30˚C mark. This seems to preclude traditional Christmas fare on the Christmas lunch/dinner menu (although there are a few die-hard traditionalists that do the full roast stuffed turkey, roast pork, ham, Christmas cake and hot steamed pudding bit with flaming brandy sauce). Christmas fare has adapted to the climate and season and there many options for cool summery salads, cuts of cold meats, cheeses, assorted seafood, barbeques, ice cream cakes, pavlovas and cool fruit salads.

Here are a few Australian Christmas menus to give you an idea of our Christmas fare:

MENU 1

Appetisers

Watermelon ice with malibu & coconut milk

Barbecued prawns with papaya & chilli relish

Mains

Fennel & coriander fish cutlets

Asian greens & tofu salad

Pink grapefruit & endive salad

Grilled vegetables with almond & wasabi dressing

Dessert

Mango & coconut slice with palm sugar cream

MENU 2

Appetisers

Oysters with ponzu, mignonette sauce and gazpacho salsa

Balmain bug and prawn salad with saffron vinaigrette

Mains

Barbecued whole salmon with cracked wheat stuffing and coriander cream

Barbecued fontina and herb polenta fingers

Green leaf salad with lime and macadamia dressing

Dessert

Soft pavlova roll with liqueur mascarpone and berry compote

MENU 3

Buffet

Barbecued lime & mint chicken skewers

Oysters with chilli and bacon

Prawns with caper tartare

Barbecued stuffed pork loin

Lemon & oregano lamb racks

Barbecued corn with chilli-herb butter

Prosciutto, green bean & pumpkin salad

Roasted capsicum salad

Cranberry & champagne granita with berries

As you can see, the accent is on informality, with the food to be prepared quickly and to be preferably consumed outdoors: At the beach, in a park, in the backyard, or in a garden. All suited to the glorious summer weather and the heat! Here is the recipe for a Christmas Cake Ice Cream:

Christmas Cake Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 L vanilla ice cream

200 g sultanas

125 g pitted prunes

125 g glace cherries

60 g mixed peel

125 mL rum

160 g toasted almonds

100 g block of dark chocolate, broken up into small pieces
300 mL cream

Method

1. Leave the ice cream out on the bench to get really soft while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. Chop up the chocolate, nuts and fruit into small pieces of roughly the same size, keeping the fruit to one side.

3. Place all of the fruit into a saucepan on medium heat and add the rum.

4. Heat gently for a few minutes so that the fruit begins to soak up the alcohol, then set aside to cool down.

5. Stir the cream into the ice cream, mixing well.

6. Add in everything else and place into a bombe container to freeze overnight.

7. Unmould to serve and decorate with some molten chocolate if desired.

Merry Christmas!