Frugal Recipes - Xmas Special!

Check out these amazing recipes for an alternative three course Christmas dinner and Boxing Day leftovers - for £7.49 per person!

Christmas can be a stressful and an expensive time of year when it comes to having the family round for Christmas dinner (not to mention what to feed them on Boxing Day as well). I've created a menu which is slightly alternative to the traditional Christmas dinner whilst still creating a truly great meal the family will enjoy. I'm fed up of turkey, trying to squeeze a big expensive bird into a domestic oven only to achieve dry breast meat as the legs take longer to cook! And do you really want to get up at 8am to get started on the cooking?

So over the next 3 weeks I'll be showing you a starter, a main, a dessert and what to do with the leftovers for a family of six all for £7.49 per person and some of it can be prepared in advance. This week the starter...

Smoked mackerel pate on crostini and red onion confit (Serves 6, total cost £6.85 - £1.14 per person)

Ingredients

• 600g of smoked mackerel (£4.48)
• 5 large red onions (84p)
• 1 lemon (23p)
• 300ml of crème fraiche (93p)

• 1 fresh baguette (37p)

The cupboard staples...

Salt, black pepper, olive oil, horseradish sauce and red wine vinegar.  

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco, where it came to £6.85 - that's £1.14 per head!

Instructions

• The pate can be prepared on Christmas Eve. Start by flaking the mackerel into a large bowl (discarding the skin and watch out for the bones!). Now mix in the crème fraiche, the juice of half a lemon, two teaspoons of horseradish sauce and season with salt and pepper. Place in the fridge overnight.
• You can also make the red onion confit the day before as well. Slice the red onions and place in a thick bottomed pan with a little olive oil, sauté off until the onions are translucent and you have a little colour on the bottom of the pan - probably about 6 to 7 minutes. Now add salt, pepper, a big pinch of sugar, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar and one tablespoon of water. Reduce down on a very low simmer for about 1 hour until all the liquid has evaporated and you're left with a sticky red marmalade consistency. Cool down and this can also be placed in the fridge overnight.
• On Christmas day morning you can make the crostini. These really are simple. Slice the baguette on an angle about ½ an inch thick - you'll get plenty of crostini - I would serve 2 or 3 per person. Drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the oven at 200C for 5 minutes. Let them cool before serving.
• When ready to serve just place a little pate on each crostini and serve with a wedge of lemon and good dollop of red onion confit on the side.

• Happy eating!

The rest of the Xmas recipes

I've also written an Xmas main recipe - roasted pheasant (with garlic and bacon), caramelised sprouts, rosemary roasts, bread sauce and peach, sausage and thyme stuffing, or a veggie main option - mushroom port and stilton wellington. You also have recipes for lemon tart (with fresh vanilla mascarpone) and pheasant massaman curry to look forward to.

To help you get prepared, I've put together the ingredients you'll need for the rest of our Xmas menu!

Ingredients - The main

• 2 x 250g packs of unsmoked streaky bacon (£3.28)
• 2 x 398g of Porkinson sausages (£3.60)
• 3 x whole Gressingham pheasants (£15)
• 1 can of Tesco value peaches (27p)
• 1 pint of whole milk (45p)
• 500g of Brussel sprouts (£1)
• 1.5kg of Bartlett organic potatoes (£1)
• 25g of fresh rosemary (79p)
• 25g of fresh lemon thyme (79p)
• 1 bulb of garlic (25p)
• 1 large onion (16p)
• 1 loaf of Tesco crusty white bread (65p)

The cupboard staples...

Salt, black pepper, olive oil, cloves, butter and a splash of white wine.

Ingredients - The dessert

• 4 lemons (92p)
• 250ml of double cream (73p)
• 250g of Italian mascarpone (£1.18)
• 6 Tesco medium free range eggs (£1.42)
• 1 fresh vanilla pod (£1.44)
• 1 pack (500g) of caster sugar (68p)
• 1 block (500g) of sweet shortcrust pastry (89p)

The cupboard staples...

Icing sugar and a dash of milk.

Ingredients - The Massaman curry

• 1 large white onion (16p)
• 1 lime (20p)
• 2 cans (400ml each) of coconut milk (98p)
• 1 105g Bart Massaman paste (£1.75)
• 500g of Tesco easy cook rice (64p)

The cupboard staples\leftovers...

Salt, black pepper, olive oil, peanut butter, brown sugar, fish sauce, potatoes (leftover from Christmas day) , pheasant legs and wings and the carcasses.   

A bit about our Chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes: Potato rosti with creamed spinach and poached egg | Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs |  Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lacashire) hotpot