Christmas Lunch
Cheap Christmas Lunch Ideas
Servings: 2
Calories: 1703kcal
Cost: £3.09 per serving
Equipment
- small sharp knife
- chopping board
- mixing bowl
- large mixing spoon
- small whisk
- baking tray
- saucepan
- microwaveable pots
Ingredients
- 800 g turkey joint
- 400 g white potatoes fluffy ones, not waxy
- 1 tbslp rapeseed oil
- 75 g Brussel sprouts
- 1 sausage
- 50 g bacon
- qtr pack stuffing
- 100 g parsnips
- 1 tbslp cranberry sauce to serve
Gravy
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 1 tblsp flour
- 1 tsp mustard optional
- 1 tsp cranberry sauce / red currant jelly optional
- water/white wine/stock as needed
Pudding – Muscovado and mixed fruit pudding, with double cream
- 1 egg
- 100 g self raising flour
- 100 g Muscovado sugar or ordinary sugar and a tblsp of black treacle, or just ordinary sugar
- 100 g butter buttery spread
- 100 g mixed dried fruit
To Serve
- 100 ml double cream
Metric - US Customary
Instructions
Christmas Lunch
- Cook the turkey / joint according to the pack instructions.800 g turkey joint
- Cut the sausage into 4.1 sausage
- Bash the bacon out into a flat piece and wrap the sausage lumps in pieces of the bacon to make pigs in blankets. Set on one side.50 g bacon
- Mix the stuffing with the amount of hot water given on the packet, form into small balls and place on one side.qtr pack stuffing
- Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and shake well to get some fluffy edges.400 g white potatoes
- Whilst still hot, drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Put in a baking tin.1 tbslp rapeseed oil
- 1 hour before the turkey is done, put the potatoes in the oven.
- 20 minutes before the turkey is done, put the peeled and sliced parsnips, stuffing and pigs in blankets in the oven.100 g parsnips
- When the turkey is done, remove it from the tin, place on a warm dish, cover and leave to rest.
- Put the roasting tin on the hob and make some gravy with the juices.
- Depending on how many juices you have, you may need to add a little water/white wine/stock.water/white wine/stock
- Add a bay leaf if you have one, a tsp or so of redcurrant jelly / cranberry sauce and a bit of grainy mustard too if you have it. Season with salt and pepper1 tbslp cranberry sauce, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp cranberry sauce / red currant jelly
- Add the flour and whisk like mad until it thickens, add more flour if it needs to be thicker (it depends on how much liquid there is) whisk in any lovely tasty bits stuck on the tin. Pour into a gravy boat or jug1 tblsp flour
- Prepare the Brussels sprouts and simmer in little water until cooked through - about 5 minutes75 g Brussel sprouts
- Serve everything as soon as you can, while it's still hot, using 100g of the turkey per person
Pudding – Muscovado and mixed fruit pudding, with double cream
- Weigh out the sugar and put 1 tbslp in with the fruit, along with 60ml hot water, and leave the fruit to soak and plump up. You could microwave it for a few seconds to help it along a bit.100 g mixed dried fruit
- Put the remaining sugar and the butter in a bowl and beat together until creamy.100 g Muscovado sugar, 100 g butter
- Add the egg yolk and beat.1 egg
- Now add half the egg white, beat, and repeat.
- Add the flour and gently stir through, not too much, lots of stirring will make the pudding leathery.100 g self raising flour
- Now, you have a few options. You can bake this in a medium oven for half an hour until golden, or steam it in a slow cooker for 2 hours, or microwave it practically instantly.You can use 1 dish, 1 pudding basin, or divide it into 4 in ramekins, individual sized pudding basins or even microwaveable teacups or small mugs.
- For individual puddings - I used 4 little plastic pots with lids. The mix should only come about halfway up the pots, or the mix will spill out as it expands in the microwave.
- Put the soaked and plump fruit, and remaining juice into the baking dish / pudding basin(s) and the pudding mixture on top, dividing equally if using individual dishes.
- Microwave in 1 dish for 6 minutes or individual servings for 5 minutes.
- Alternatively, bake in a medium oven for half an hour until golden, or steam it in a slow cooker for 2 hours in a pudding basin with acid or covered tightly with greaseproof paper,
To Serve
- If you have microwaved the pudding(s) beforehand, you can reheat in the microwave, but just do so for a few seconds, or they will be rock hard
- Serve with the cream trickled over100 ml double cream
Notes
The pudding could be enjoyed with cream, as here, or with custard or ice cream, or any combination of the three you fancy. A flavoured ice cream would be lovely, maybe Muscovado again, or rum/brandy, or a fresh lemony one, or how about a chocolate or coffee one.
If you have any, or have the funds to get any, you could substitute any other dried fruit.
Chopped dates would be lovely, maybe with a few chopped walnuts mixed in,or figs,or fine chopped apricots.Or an exotic version with dried mango or dried pineapple.
If you have any, you could use anything containing alcohol to soak the fruit in – Blue Curacao anyone?
Or use a dollop of mincemeat and leave out the sugar.
All these suggestions will supply lovely Christmassy flavours.
Nutrition
Calories: 1703kcal | Carbohydrates: 175g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 95g | Saturated Fat: 47g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 32g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 344mg | Sodium: 956mg | Potassium: 2050mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 81g | Vitamin A: 2489IU | Vitamin C: 81mg | Calcium: 261mg | Iron: 6mg
