Celebrating Christmas in Your New Hotondo Home
Are you ready to host Christmas Day in your beautiful new Hotondo Home? We've got some great quick and easy recipes to help you out so you can impress your family and friends with your cooking as well as wowing them as they gather in your stunning new kitchen with some tried and true Hotondo Homes Christmas favourites!
Lamb Pilaf
This is the perfect slow cooker recipe you can make ahead of time for Christmas Day, leaving you free to get your other dishes prepped and into the oven before your guests arrive. You’ll just need to heat it up and plate it right before everyone takes a seat at the dining table. This pilaf is also perfect for warm weather because it’s not too heavy, but still rich in flavour thanks to the lamb!.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2cm pieces OR 1kg of lamb shanks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch silverbeet, trimmed and chopped
- 400 grams canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 100 grams raisins
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
Method
Heat half the oil in a saucepan on medium heat and cook the lamb in batches until it is browned all over. Transfer to the slow cooker when done.
Heat remaining oil in saucepan and cook the garlic and onions, stirring occasionally for five minutes or until fragrant.
Add the ground spices and cook for another minute.
Stir in the chicken stock and bring the mixture to the boil.
Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on low for seven hours.
Stir in rice and chickpeas, and place the silverbeet on top at hour seven and cook on high for a further fifty minutes until the rice is soft.
Use a fork to stir the silverbeet through the pilaf.
Serve topped with pine nuts raisins and fresh coriander.
Serves 6
Rumballs
A firm family favourite, these delicious treats are kid-friendly and can be made a few days before Christmas so that all you have to do is pull them out of the fridge on Christmas Day to serve as an after dinner treat! These are also perfect to make each year with the kids, and a lovely holiday tradition to start with your little ones as they help you make a batch to give out in treat bags to family and friends during the festive season!
Ingredients
- 1 packet of milk arrowroot biscuits
- 1 x 395 gram tin of sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons of cocoa, sifted
- Two cups of desiccated coconut, set aside
- 1 teaspoon of rum (optional)
Method
Crush the milk arrowroot biscuits in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs.
Sift in the cocoa and mix.
Pour in the condensed milk and mix until all the dry ingredients are combined.
(add the optional teaspoon of rum now for a more grown up flavour!)
Pour the desiccated coconut into a container. Roll teaspoons of the biscuit mix into balls and roll in the coconut, then place them in a container.
Continue until all the biscuit mix has been rolled into balls, then place in an airtight container and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Makes about 20.
The rumballs will keep in the fridge for up to one week.
Watermelon Christmas Trees and Kiwi Fruit Stars
This is perhaps the easiest post-lunch refreshing treat you’ll ever make! Perfect for hot summer days, and always a winner with kids, watermelon Christmas trees and kiwi fruit stars will take you no more than fifteen minutes to cut, plate and serve!
Ingredients & Materials
- One large watermelon wedge
- 2 or 3 kiwi fruit
- 1 medium Christmas tree cookie cutter
- 1 small star cookie cutter
- Additional fruit to decorate (cherries, berries, honeydew melon)
Method
Slice watermelon in triangular slices that are larger than the cookie cutter.
Place the cookie cutter over the watermelon slice with the rind base lined up with the cookie cutter base.
Press down to cut the Christmas tree shape and place on a platter with the tree top ends meeting in the centre.
Peel kiwi fruit and slice in 1 cm thick slices.
Press star cookie cutter down and cut out star shapes.
Place on platter around the watermelon.
Add additional fruit to decorate – any red or green fruit will tie in nicely with the Christmas theme.
Cut ahead of time and keep in the fridge until needed.
Cannoli with Cinnamon Ricotta Filling
This dessert is perfect as a light alternative to heavier Christmas cakes and puddings, and very easy to prepare in the morning on Christmas Day. The soft ricotta mixed with the sweetness of sugar, lemon or orange zest and a hint of cinnamon will leave your guests indulging in more than one of these irresistible sweet treats!
Ingredients & Materials
- 12 x Premade cannoli shells (available from European delicatessens)
- 750 grams of ricotta cheese
- 40 grams of icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange zest
- 1/2teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Additional icing sugar
- Piping bag
Method
Combine the ricotta, icing sugar, cinnamon and zest in a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
Fill the piping bag with the cream mixture, snip the end off and gently pipe the cannoli shells full of the ricotta filling, ensuring the piping is spread from one end of the shell to the other.
Once you’ve piped filling into all the shells, arrange them on a plate and sprinkle icing sugar over the tops right before serving.
We hope these delicious dessert recipes help with your meal prep in the lead up to Christmas Day, and that the celebrations in your new Hotondo home are beautiful memories that are better than you ever imagined. From everyone at Hotondo Homes, we wish you a very merry Christmas, and a happy and safe new year!
For more home design and interior inspiration ideas, visit the Hotondo Homes website today.
