Serve the starter plated at the table, it will give a festive look to your Christmas table and allows time to propose a toast before self-help at the buffet starts.

600 g calamari tubes cleaned and sliced into rings
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Fish Spice
extra oil for frying if needed

SALSA

1 small fresh pineapple, peeled and finely diced
10 peppadews cut into rings or strips
1 small yellow pepper, cored and diced
½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup (125 ml) coriander leaves

TO SERVE

butter lettuce leaves
½ cup (125 ml) Ina Paarman's Honey Mustard Dressing
Ina Paarman's Chilli & Garlic Seasoning

Rinse the calamari rings under the cold tap. Pat dry on paper towels. Toss the rings with the olive oil and Fish Spice. Preheat a non-stick frying pan. Stirfry the calamari rings in batches until just done. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Keep covered in a glass bowl until serving time.

Prepare all the ingredients for the salsa, cover and store in separate containers in the fridge.

To serve, toss all the salsa ingredients together. Dish up on a bed of lettuce and top with grilled calamari. Drizzle Honey Mustard Dressing over the salad and on the plates. Sprinkle with Chilli & Garlic Seasoning.

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Side of Salmon with Asian Flavours

Marinading the salmon cuts the oiliness and the oriental ingredients add excitement for more adventurous diners.

1 side of Salmon ± 800 g

MARINADE

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
6 spring onions, finely sliced
2 T (30 ml) fresh lemon thyme leaves
¼ cup (60 ml) Kikkoman soy sauce
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman's Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman's Chilli & Garlic Seasoning
2 T (30 ml) peanut or canola oil
lemon thyme for garnish

Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Place the fish, skin side down on a large ovenproof platter and spread the marinade over the meaty side. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Remove the cling film and bake the fish open for 20-25 minutes.

Serve at room temperature, still slightly warm or well chilled. It tastes great at any temperature.

Garnish with fresh lemon thyme.

 CHEF'S TIP:
Do take the trouble to get fresh lemon thyme - the nursery is your best bet. It will thrive in a pot in any sunny spot.

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Festive Chicken and Ham Mould

This is one of my best discoveries. All the true festive flavours of poultry and ham combined and plenty of elegant slices to serve later on sandwiches or with salads. Everything can be done a day (or two) before.

1 large fresh free range chicken
1 kg uncooked smoked gammon
3 T (45 ml) Ina Paarman's Vegetable Stock Powder
2 x 10 g envelopes of gelatine powder (2 T, 30 ml)
¾ cup (187 ml) parsley, chopped

Put the raw chicken and uncooked ham together into a saucepan and add 3 liters of warm tap water. Add vegetable stock powder. Bring to the boil, put a well fitting lid on the saucepan and turn the heat down to low. Simmer very slowly for 2 hours until the meats are tender. Leave to cool down until lukewarm in the stock. Remove the chicken from the stock. Strip off the skin and discard, take the meat off the bone and cut into strips - keep on one side. Remove the gammon (reserve the stock), peel off the skin and cut away all the fat. Slice the meat into strips.

Sprinkle both packets of gelatine over 3 T (45 ml) cold water in a cup and leave on the side to sponge while reducing the stock.

Return saucepan to stove and boil very fast, without a lid until the stock is reduced to 1½ liters. This is important - the ratio of stock to gelatine is key to the setting of the mould. Add parsley and just bring back up to the boil to sterilise the herbs to ensure a longer shelf-life for the mould. Add the gelatine sponge and stir to dissolve.

Add the meat from the chicken and gammon to the stock and stir to mix. Decant into two terrines or loaf pans. Cover with cling film and store overnight in the fridge. Turn out and cut into thick slices - an electric knife works best. Don't forget a good granular mustard on the side!

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Wrapped Beef Fillets with Stuffing

Cook the day before, refrigerate and serve sliced on a platter. The slices will keep their shape beautifully when chilled because of the dry gelatine powder sprinkled over the cut sides of the meat.

1 beef fillet, neatly trimmed (about 1½ kg)
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Meat Spice
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman's Garlic Pepper Seasoning
1 x 100 g Ina Paarman's Poultry Stuffing Mix
1 cup (250 ml) boiling water
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
½ pack Ina Paarman's Sundried Tomato Quarters, drained
1 x 10g envelope gelatine powder (1 T, 15 ml)
500 g rindless streaky bacon
herbs to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Slit the fillet right through, lengthways. Slash lightly along the length of the meat a little to flatten it. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with a combination of the two seasonings. Mix the stuffing mix with the boiling water and olive oil. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Cut the Sun-dried Tomato pieces into smaller strips and add to the stuffing. Sprinkle dry gelatine powder onto the cut sides of both fillets. (the gelatine prevents the slices from falling apart when the fillet is sliced after cooking when cold). Spoon the stuffing onto the cut side of one of the two fillet pieces. Place the other half, cut side down, matching the thin end of the bottom fillet with the thick end of the top one.

On a rectangle of greaseproof paper, arrange the bacon slices overlapping so that the fatty side is against the paper. Lay the fillet parcel on top of the bacon. Stretch bacon around the roll and secure with strong toothpicks or bamboo skewers. Turn best side up and lay it on a big baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes. Leave to cool. Remove skewers and wrap in foil. Refrigerate overnight. Slice into 1cm thick slices and arrange on a platter. Garnish with herbs.

Serve with wholegrain mustard.

 CHEF'S TIP
Any leftover juices can be warmed and drizzled over the sliced meat.

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Roasted Red Salad

The beautiful colours of this 'make ahead of time' salad is a Festive Feast! Our Lemon Vinaigrette dressing compliments this salad perfectly.

2 red peppers, seeded and cut into cubes
2 red onions, peeled, cut into quarters and broken apart
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into fine julienne strips
Ina Paarman's Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
4 medium cooked beetroot
200 g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ - ¾ cup (125ml - 187ml) Ina Paarman's Lemon Vinaigrette

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Toss the red peppers, onions and carrots together in an ovenproof dish, spread out and season with Lemon and Black Pepper seasoning. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Leave the vegetables to cool down. Cube the beetroot but keep it on one side. Cut the tomatoes in half just before needed.

TO ASSEMBLE: (just before serving)
Toss all the vegetables together. Dress generously with the Lemon Vinaigrette.

 CHEF'S TIP
Never refrigerate tomatoes. They become ripe and sweet if stored in their container or open, at room temperature.

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Sweet Potato Salad

A real winner! A welcome variation on regular potato salad or serve both, if the conservative side of the family insist!

6 medium sweet potatoes
Ina Paarman's Garlic & Herb Seasoning
½ t (2,5 ml) curry powder
½ cup (125 ml) Ina Paarman's Honey Mustard Dressing
½ bunch spring onions, finely sliced with green tops
½ bunch fresh coriander

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1cm x 1cm cubes. Toss them with Garlic & Herb seasoning, curry powder and Honey Mustard Dressing. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until done. Cool to room temperature.

TO SERVE: Toss the cooked sweet potato with the spring onions and the whole coriander leaves.

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Cold Christmas Puddings with Fresh and Dried Fruit

CONES

½ cup (125 ml) seedless raisins
½ cup (125 ml) sherry
grated rind from one orange
¾ cup (180 ml) water
1 x 250 g Ina Paarman's Lemon Cheesecake Mix
1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream

Add the raisins to the sherry in a glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 1 minute. Add grated orange rind. Leave to cool to room temperature or (in the fridge if in a hurry).

Measure the water into a medium size mixing bowl. Sprinkle the cheesecake mix over and beat until well blended. In a smaller mixing bowl whip the cream until stiff. Using the same beaters, re-whip the cheesecake mixture for 1 minute until smooth. Stir in the raisin/sherry mixture. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture using a spatula or metal spoon and stir until evenly blended.

Rinse moulds or tiny coffee cups with cold water; don't dry. Divide the cheesecake mixture between the moulds, shake and tap each one a few times to make sure the mixture has settled right down. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

FRESH AND DRIED FRUIT MIXTURE

125 g dried apricots, finely sliced
125 g dried mango, sliced into 1cm lengths
125 g dried apple rings, coarsely sliced
1½ cups (375 ml) sparkling apple juice
500 g fresh, stoned litchis or 1 x 565 g tin litchis, drained
500 g strawberries or 250 g cherries or 250 g raspberries or 1 large bunch black
grapes, halved and seeded

Place the chopped dried fruit in the sparkling apple juice and soak for 3-4 hours or overnight in the fridge. Keep the litchis and strawberries, cherries or grapes in the fridge separately to be added just before serving.

TO SERVE
Turn cheesecake moulds out into dessert plates. Mix the fresh fruit with the soaked dried fruit mixture and spoon around the desserts. Garnish with a sprig of holly or mint.

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