It’s easier than you think to cook a three-course holiday meal that’s both impressive and affordable. Here’s how.
Cooking a festive meal for your friends or family can be a daunting task at the best of times, but if you are on a tight budget it’s even trickier.
The cost of putting together a table laden with piles of fresh seafood, roast turkey and fruit-rich puddings can really add up.
But according to Carmel Cammarano, Hospitality Education Manager at Chisholm, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy a delicious and festive lunch or dinner which won’t break the bank.
“Choose simple but tasty recipes with affordable ingredients,” Carmel says. “Regardless of how much money you’ve spent, your guests will truly appreciate the effort you’ve put in.”
If you are not sure where to start, Carmel has put together these recipe suggestions, which can work during the holiday season, or anytime you have guests to impress.
If you’re hosting a meal, try to serve the three dishes together and adding your own side dishes, such as roast potatoes, green beans with garlic and almonds or mac and cheese.
You can also save by planning ahead and take advantage of purchasing lamb when it’s on sale. It will keep in the freezer for up to two months.
Whole roasted, stuffed butternut pumpkin (Vegetarian, serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 whole butternut pumpkin, halved lengthways
1 ½ cups cooked long-grain rice or cous cous
½ cup (130g) sun dried tomato pesto
2 spring onions finely chopped
1 egg lightly whisked
30g baby spinach, silver beat or kale (whatever you have on hand or prefer)
½ cup (70g) walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
100g fetta crumbled
2 tbsp maple syrup
Extra sun-dried pesto to serve
Salt and pepper to season
Method:
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Step 2:
Use a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin seeds and discard. Use a small sharp knife to cut a diamond pattern into the cut side of the pumpkin. Place pumpkin, cut side up, on the lined tray.
Step 3:
Combine the rice/cous cous, pesto, egg, greens, onion, half the walnuts and half the fetta in a medium bowl. Season. Spoon the rice mixture evenly into the pumpkin cavities. Drizzle the pumpkin with maple syrup and season. Bake for 1 ½ hours or until the pumpkin is very tender.
Step 4:
Place the pumpkin on a large serving platter. Drizzle with the extra pesto and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and remaining fetta.
Slow roasted leg of lamb (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
Leg of lamb, bone in approximately 1.25kg
Salt and pepper
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 whole garlic head, peeled, cut in half horizontally
1 onion, quartered (unpeeled is fine)
2 rosemary sprigs or thyme sprigs
450ml beef stock (homemade is best, but low salt if you buy from the supermarket)
250ml water
Method:
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 170°C (standard) or 150°C (fan)
Step 2:
Place garlic, onion and rosemary in a metal roasting pan, creating a base for the lamb to sit on
Step 3:
Season the lamb with salt and pepper and place on top of the garlic and onion so it’s not sitting on the bottom of the pan.
Step 4:
Drizzle the lamb with olive oil. Pour beef stock and water around the lamb. Cover with foil (don’t use a lid, you want a bit of liquid to steam out).
Step 5:
Place in the oven and roast for approximately 4 hours.
Step 6:
Check your meat at the 3.5-hour mark, remove it from the oven and take off the foil. Turn the lamb over and check to ensure the meat is tender enough by pulling some off with a fork, if it comes off easily it is ready. If not, return it to the oven, covering it again with foil.
Step 7:
Once the lamb is ready, remove the foil and cover the lamb in the juices from the bottom of the ban. Allow to brown for a minimum of 15 minutes before serving.
Cost saving tip: You can take advantage of purchasing lamb when it’s on sale and freeze it for up to two months.
Blueberry cake (Serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
150g butter cubed
155g castor sugar
2 eggs (at room temperature)
265g self-raising flour (sifted two times)
1 x 200g vanilla yoghurt
1 x 150g punnet of blueberries
Icing sugar to dust
Method:
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 175°C. Line the base and sides of a 19cm square cake pan with non-stick baking paper.
Step 2:
Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides so you get all the butter and sugar incorporated.
Step 3:
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until combined.
Step 4:
Use a wooden spoon to stir in half the flour and yoghurt until just combined. Stir in the remaining flour and yoghurt until combined. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Scatter the blueberries evenly over the top.
Step 5:
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside the pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Step 6:
Carefully turn out onto a wire rack. Turn upright and set aside for a further 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
Step 7:
Dust with icing sugar and cut into slices. Serve with cream or ice cream.
Got the taste for cooking?
Check out Chisholm’s hospitality and cookery courses or get in touch to explore the different career paths in the hospitality industry.
