Kick of your Christmas meal with some tasty entrees! From the traditional to the modern, we’ve covered all bases with our Christmas entrée menu.
Chilli Calamari Salad
You’ll need:
- 2 long red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 small red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 5kg cleaned calamari
- 100g rocket, to serve
Method:
- Place chillies, green onions, garlic, 1/4 cup lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Score flesh of calamari in a criss-cross pattern and cut crossways into thick strips. Place calamari strips in a separate bowl. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
- Preheat a greased barbecue plate on high heat. Add calamari strips. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes each side or until curled and just cooked through. Add to chilli marinade. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or longer in the fridge).
- Arrange rocket on serving plates. Spoon over calamari and chilli marinade and serve.
Zucchini Fritters
You’ll need:
- 3 medium zucchinis
- 75g self-raising flour
- 40g parmesan, finely grated
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 egg, whisked
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 tsp olive oil
Method:
- Trim the ends from zucchini and grate them. Place in a colander and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in self-raising flour, parmesan, shallots, egg, parsley, oregano, salt and nutmeg.
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop four 2-tablespoonful measures of zucchini mixture into pan. Cook for 1.5 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and zucchini mixture.
Arancini Balls
You’ll need:
- 1L chicken stock
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic clove, crushed
- 330g risotto rice
- 40g shredded parmesan
- 4 eggs
- 180g dried breadcrumbs
- 150g plain flour
- 100g mozzarella, cut into 1.5cm pieces
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method:
- Place the stock in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring just to the boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Hold at a gentle simmer
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.
- Add the rice to the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until the grains appear slightly glassy. Add a ladleful of the simmering stock to the rice mixture and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is completely absorbed. Continue to add the stock, 1 ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful, for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite and the risotto is creamy. Stir in the parmesan. Set aside for 2-3 hours to cool completely. Add 2 eggs and stir until well combined.
- Place the breadcrumbs on a large plate. Place the flour in a bowl. Crack the remaining eggs into a separate bowl and use a fork to lightly whisk. Use wet hands to shape 2 tablespoons of the risotto mixture into a ball. Press your thumbs into the centre of the ball to make an indent. Place a piece of mozzarella in the indent, then mould the risotto mixture around the mozzarella to enclose. Repeat with the remaining risotto mixture and mozzarella to make 28 balls.
- Roll the risotto balls in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, pressing to coat. Place on a large plate. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
- Add enough oil in a large saucepan to reach a depth of 5cm. Heat to 190°C over medium-high heat (when the oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden in 10 seconds). Add 7 risotto balls to the oil and cook, turning occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until golden. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat, in 3 more batches, with the remaining risotto balls, reheating the oil between batches.
- Place the risotto balls on a serving plate and serve with tomato chutney.