Make the most magical meal of the year fizz with success. Our Triple-Tested Christmas menu is guaranteed to impress and our failsafe time plan will remove festive worry so you can enjoy the celebrations with friends and family
Prop styling DAVINA MAJI
THE CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL
Pretty as a picture and just the right thing to start a celebratory meal.
Photography MIKE ENGLISH
THE SPECIAL STARTER
These clever pastries showcase the classic combination of tangy goat’s cheese and sweet grapes, with added sharpness from the balsamic vinegar.
Assembling these tarts upside down saves on prep time and guarantees crisp pastry. Swap the thyme for finely chopped rosemary, if you prefer.
Hands-on time 20min, plus chilling and cooling. Cooking time about 30min. Makes 8
• 4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra to garnish
• 150g goat’s cheese log with rind, we used Chavroux
• 175g seedless red grapes, halved
• ½tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Plain flour, to dust
• 500g block puff pastry
1 Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Draw 8 rectangles, each 8 x 12cm, on the parchment, spacing apart. Flip so the ink is underneath.
2 Scatter the thyme leaves inside the rectangle templates, leaving a rough 5mm border around the sides. Using a small, serrated knife, slice the goat’s cheese log into 16 rounds. Lay 2 rounds inside each rectangle.
