Christmas Colours On Your Plate: Check Out These Yummy Delicacies You Can Try At Home

December is the most anticipated month of the year; winter has here, and it’s time for hot chocolate, soups, and slow mornings. The spirit of Christmas combined with the anticipation of a greater and brighter new year is what makes December so magical.

So, whether you’re planning the ‘Party of the Year’ with friends and family, or you’re just seeking to spend Christmas snuggled up in your blankets watching our favourite movies, these delicacies will ensure that you bring the Christmas colours to your plate! Voltas Beko has some traditional Christmas recipes with a colourful twist!

Recipe 1 – Red Sauce Christmas Pasta

Ingredients–

1. 3 cup penne
2. 1 chopped onion
3. 1 tsp oil
4. 1 red bell pepper
5. 3-4 garlic chopped
6. 1 tsp celery finely chopped
7. 1 tsp basil
8. 6 tomatoes
9. 1tbsp fresh cream
10. 1tsp sugar
11. 1tbsp olive oil
12. 1 and ½ cup water
13. 1tsp salt

Steps–

1. Slice each tomato in a criss-cross manner and place it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
2. Take them out and keep them in a bowl of cold water for 2-3 minutes. Peel and quarter them into 6-8 pieces, by removing and discarding the seeds. Add them to a blender and make a paste
3. Heat 1 and ½ cups of water in a microwave wave safe for 2 minutes, add 1 tsp oil and the pasta and microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring in between. The Voltas Beko microwave with a digital display will help you keep an eye on your food while you are busy with your Christmas decorations.
4. Drain the pasta and keep it aside.
5. In a microwave-safe pan, add olive oil, garlic and red chilli flakes and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until it is fragrant. Add the chopped onion and microwave for another 4 minutes.

• Add in the tomatoes and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Then add the pasta, salt, basil, pepper, and celery and again microwave for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cream and mix well.

Recipe 2– White Christmas Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients-

1. 24 natural ice cream wafers
2. 1 and ½ cups thickened cream
3. 400g sweetened condensed milk
4. 2 cups rice crispies
5. 1 and ½ cups frozen blueberries
6. 290g melted white chocolate
7. ¼ cup shredded and toasted coconut
8. ¼ cup chopped pistachio kernels

Steps–

1. Take a 20x30cm pan and line it with 2 layers of plastic wrap, while extending 10cm over the sides. Make 2 rows of 6 wafers each, side by side and leave a 2cm gap in the middle of the pan.
2. Using a mixer, whisk the condensed milk and cream in a bowl until soft and gradually add the coconut cream and whisk until it is just combined. Ensure not to over-beat as the mixture will curdle.
3. Fold in the rice crispies and frozen blueberries and carefully spoon over the wafers and smoothen it.
4. Cover it with the remaining wafers to make a sandwich and use the extra plastic wrap to wrap it.
5. Place it in the Voltas Beko freezer for 4 hours or until firm as the NeoFrostTM Dual Cooling Technology creates the ideal condition for cooling.
6. Lift the ice cream slab out of the pan and onto a chopping board using plastic wrap. Remove any extra ice cream that has accumulated around the wafers and in the 2 cm centre space. Slice the slab into 12 wafer-sized sandwiches starting in the centre.
7. Place the sandwiches on a dish covered in baking paper and freeze for at least an hour.
8. Take out one ice cream sandwich from the freezer at a time and dip one end into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle coconut on half of the sandwiches and pistachios on the other half. Place each sandwich back on the freezer tray. Continue with the remaining sandwiches. Put in the freezer for an hour, or until it becomes hard.
9. Garnish with frozen blueberries and serve.

Recipe 3- Green Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1. 150 g caster sugar
2. 150g unsalted butter
3. 3 eggs
4. 180g all-purpose flour
5. 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
6. 100g white fondant
7. Edible gold dust
8. Edible mini chocolate, sugar balls, multicoloured sprinkles for baubles

For the buttercream

1. 300g unsalted butter
2. 500g sifted icing sugar
3. Green food colouring
4. 1tsp vanilla bean paste

Steps:

1. Line a 6-hole muffin tin with baking paper. Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and 1tbsp of flour and beat again
2. Sift the remaining flour in the batter and mix until it is smooth and no streaks of flour are visible.
3. Pour the batter into the cupcake moulds and place it in the muffin tin. Bake on high for 10 minutes in the Voltas Beko microwave, which has a large turntable to ensure more cooking in less time. Cool it completely.
4. Using mini biscuit cutters stamp out 6 stars/flowers on the rolled-out fondant and leave it to dry on a sheet of baking paper. After they are dry, brush or spray with gold dust.
5. For the buttercream, combine butter, vanilla and sugar and slowly whisk them for at least 5 minutes. Once done, add in the green food colouring slowly until you get the desired shade.
6. Take a piping bag, pour the buttercream into it, and pipe swirls over the cupcakes making a cone shape.
7. Top the ‘trees’ with sprinkles and sugar balls.