Food Lorists

• 10 big peruvian corns on the cob
  
• 1/2 kg of chicken
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 50 g of toasted peanuts
• 230 g butter
  
• 12 Peruvian pitted black olives
• 1 big onion, chopped
• 4 dry mirasol chili paste
  
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 10 Banana leaves
• Salt and pepper

Grate the corn of the cob.

In a frying pan, put 30g of butter. Sweat off, the chopped onion, the garlic, salt, pepper, the mirasol paste and the chicken, cut in pieces.

When the chicken is browned, cover with water and allow to cook on a low heat.

Heat 200g of butter in a pot. Add the corn and stir constantly. Add the chicken mixture. Allow it to cook gently until the corn masa thickens.

Wash the banana leaves. Put a spoon of dough over two leaves; add a piece of chicken, 1/4 of a hard-boiled egg, a little of toasted peanuts and an olive. Cover with more dough and wrap as a gift. Tie with a strip of the same leaf.

When all the tamales are done, cook them in a big pot with a little of water for an hour.

Gluten free, not suitable for pregnant women.

• 500g chicken thighs
  
• 12 cl good Japanese soy sauce
• 12 cl sake
• 12 cl mirin*
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• salt and pepper
  

First of all, prick your chicken thighs with a fork. Season them well and roast them in a hot oven for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in thick bottom sauce pan bring the soy sauce, mirin and sake to the boil. Add the sugar and allow to reduce to a light glaze.
Take your chicken thighs out of the oven. Place them hot in clean bowl and pour the sauce over them. Coat them well with it and put them back in a medium hot oven to glaze for 20 minutes. Stir them from time to time.
Serve warm.

* Mirin is a kind of rice wine to sake, but with a lower alcohol 14% instead of 20%. There are three general types. The first is hon mirin (true mirin), which contains alcohol. The second is shio mirin, which contains alcohol as well as 1.5% salt to avoid alcohol tax. The third is shin mirinmirin-fu chomiryo (imitation mirin), which contains less than 1% alcohol yet retains the same flavour (new mirin).

Gluten free, lactose free, nut free, suitable to pregnant women.

• Les 4 mendiants (the 4 beggars):
  

• La pompe a huile (the olive oil pump):

• les 2 nougats

• Dattes (that could be stuffed with marzipan)
• Calisson d'aix en Provence
• Quince fruit paste (or jam)
• Fresh white grapes
• Christmas melon (called verdau), called green espiran in English due to its colour.
• Fresh oranges (sign of wealth)
• Candied melons
• Winter pear and apples
• Plums

In some place children are not allowed to start digging into them unless they named them all first.

As you can see it makes a healthy option in these times of reach, festive dinners.

My be a cause of allergies. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten free (except the bread), suitable for pregnant women.

Along with a stuffed duck or turkey and some spiced biscuits, julegrot or almond rice pudding is served as part of a traditional Scandinavian Christmas dinner.

Recipe for 4 people:

• 125g pearl rice
• 1 litre milk
• 125g caster sugar
• 125g creme fraiche
• 50g butter
• 75g ground almonds
• some raspberry liqueur
• pinch cinnamon

Heat up the milk in a thick bottom sauce pan. Add the sugar and allow to simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and add the rice, stir for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and allow to cook for about 1h. Take your pot off the heat and stir in the butter.
When the rice has completely cool down, stir in the creme fraiche. Transfer your rice pudding into a nice bowl and refrigerate for an hour.
Just before serving sprinkle the ground almond on the top of the rice and drizzle with the liqueur.
Serve chilled.

"The tradition wants that a whole almond is hidden into the pudding. The one who finds it win a present."

Gluten free, vegetarian, suitable for pregnant women.

In some North American household, Christmas eve dinner often starts by an oyster soup. It is said that this recipe was brought to the U.S by Irish immigrants.

Recipe for 4 people:

• 24 oysters
• 4 cups whole milk
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 50g butter
• salt and pepper

Open all the oysters and clear them from the water that is expulsed by the shellfish. Stack them flat on a tray and wait that the second water is produced. Collect it.
Then, put the milk to simmer into a sauce pan. Add the butter and the water collected from the oysters. Poach the oysters in this liquid for 6 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper. Place six oysters per person in a soup bowl and pour the soup over them.

May be the cause of allergies. Gluten free, nut free, not suitable for pregnant women.

In Jamaica and other Carabbean island the festive season starts with the season of a type of hibiscus growing exculsively in this region of the world. This plant is by no means related to the French sorrel. The people of Jamaica and other island in the area are used to prepare a drink with hibiscus that they enjoy all along the holiday season.

Recipe for 1.5 litre of punch:

• 2 cups of dry sorrel (hibiscus flower)
• 1/4 cup crushed ginger
• 8 cups freshly boiled water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark Jamaican rum

Infuse the ginger and hibiscus flowers into the warm water for several hours.
Strain the solids out and pour into a jar. Add the sugar and the rum.
Serve chilled.


Vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, lactose free.

• 2 tins of condensed milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• 1 Vanilla pod
• 1 liter of milk
• A pinch of nutmeg
• 6 rinds of lime
• 1 liter white rum

• 5 cups of water or milk
• 1/2 cup masa harina (corn meal)
• 1/4 cup piloncillo
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 vanilla pod, opened and scraped

In a thick bottom sauce pan, mix well the masa harina and water (or milk) until smooth. Put on a gentle fire and start heating up the mixture. Then, add the piloncillo, vanilla pod and cinnamon and cook for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the consistency that you want to reach. Make sure to stir at all time.
Serve hot.

Gluten free, lactose free (if made with water), vegetarian, vegan, nut free, suitable for pregnant women.

• 5 green bananas, peeled and chopped
• 1 plaintain
• 1 1/2 lb of taro (Yautia), peeled and chopped
• 1 starchy potato
• pinch of salt

• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed and finely chopped
• 2 lb of lean pork meat (shoulder or ham), cut in small dices
• 1 cup of tomato sauce
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and paper
• some vegetable oil
  

• 15 12 by 6 inches, banana leaves rectangles
  
• roasting string

The dough or masa is made by reducing all the ingredients for the dough into a very fine, thick pure with a food processor. Salt to taste.
Reduce all the ingredients for the filling into a food processor to a coarse mince. Then, in a thick bottom sauce pan cook it for a bout 20 minutes making sure to stir from time to time. Allow to cool down and set aside.
For the assembly, take a clean, dry piece of banana leaf, brush it with a little bit of oil, spread on it about 1/2 cup of the masa, then place 2-3 spoons of filling in the middle of the dough and fold the banana leaf into a neat parcel. Secure with a piece of roasting string. Repeat until all the banana leaves have been used. I have to admit it takes a while to get it wright when you've never done that before.
Cook your parcels in a large pot of simmering salted water for 1h30.

Gluten free, lactose free, nut free, suitable for pregnant women.

• 1 oz butter
• 6 oz honey
  
• 6 oz plum jam
  
• 1 egg
• 8 oz plain flour
• 2 oz icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp each cardomon, ginger, and cinnamon
• 1 tbs crushed blanched almonds
• 2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cream together butter and honey. Add the egg. Bind in the baking soda, spices and almonds. Then add the flour to make a soft ball of dough. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven at 175 degrees Celsius (350 F).
Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. With different shape cutters, cut out the dough until it has been fully used.Spread some jam on one half of each biscuits and place them on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees Celsius (325 F) and bake them for another 10 minutes.
Cool them down on a pastry rack, then combine the lemon juice and icing sugar and drizzle some of it over them.

Vegetarian, lactose free, suitable for pregnant women.

• 7 g active dried yeast (1 package)
• 180 ml warm water
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 120 g soft butter
• 350 g strong flour
• 115 g chopped blanched almonds
• 60 g candied lemon peel, cut into small pieces
• 70 g candied orange peel, cut into small pieces
• 75 g raisins
• 15 ml lemon juice

• Pinch of sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast (7g)
  
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 cups unbleached strong flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brandy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried or glacéed cherries
• 1/3 dark raisins
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup in total of candied ginger, lemon and orange peel
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

• 2 large oranges
• 3 pints of water
• 8oz granulated sugar
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 vanilla pod
• 10 cloves
• 2 bottles of good red wine
• 3 tablespoons of honey
  
• 1 apple, sliced and cored
• 1 orange, deseeded and sliced
• a dash or two of Brandy

Place all the ingredients into a large pot and slowly bring them to a gentle simmer.

Serve warm.

Gluten free, vegetarian, lactose free.

Lebkuchen is a German spiced pastry, baked for Christmas similar to gingerbread apart its soft texture. It is often used to make decorated slabs or decorated little houses.

Recipe for 10 to 20 lebkuchen:

• 420g plain flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 200g sugar
• 120ml honey
• 110g almonds, finely chopped
• 60g candied orange peel, finely chopped
• 60g candied lemon peel, finely chopped
  

For the Glaze:

• 65g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices into a bowl. Then, beat together the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until it becomes thick and creamy. Carefully and gradually add the honey to the egg mixture. Then, add a quarter of the dry ingredients, mixing well with a wooden spoon, like you would do for a sponge base. Repeat 4 times until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

Now add the almonds and the candied peels and stir them into the batter then pour the mixture onto a well-greased baking tray (or spoon individual portions). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool on a pastry rack when cooked.

Meanwhile, mix the glaze ingredients together. Then, when the lebkuchen have cool down entirely spread over the icing.

Suitable for vegetarian, pregnant women, lactose free.

• 3 litres of dry, German red wine
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of clove
• 10 Cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 cup of fruit alcohol (schnapps)
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3 oranges, sliced
  
• 3 lemons, sliced
  

In a large pot place the wine, lemon juice, spices and schnapps, bring to a gentle simmer. Then add the sugar and the sliced fruits.

Serve hot.


Vegan, vegetarian, nut free, lactose free, gluten free.

• 8 oz of jackfruit *
• 14 oz light coconut milk
  
• 8 tablespoons jaggery**
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamon

In a medium saucepan, gently heat up the coconut milk. Dice up the jackfruit. Add the Jackfruit and sugar to the coconut milk. Cook gently on low heat, stirring often until the jackfruit is tender (about 40 minutes). In the last five minutes of cooking, stir in the cardamon.

Serve warm or hot.

* Jackfruits are the fruit of a tree of the mulberry family, native of parts of Asia and South-East Asia. Each fruits are about 36kg and pretty much tasteless apart from the sweet yellow sheaths around the seeds that have a similar taste to pineapple.

** jaggery is a brown sugar mass made of both sugarcane and date palm tree, the shape of a truncated cone that is used in the whole of Asia.

Gluten free, lactose free, vegan and vegetarian, suitable for pregnant women.

• 300g "amandelspijs" (almond paste)*
• 300g puff pastry
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• few red glace cherries
• few nibbed almonds