Welcome to your one-stop menu shop for Christmas 2025. This week and over coming weeks, you’ll find inspiration for festive starters, mains and sweet endings. As with all my recipes, the aim is to keep the technique simple, the ingredients available and affordable, and to add a sprinkle of restaurant sparkle where appropriate – all while trying to keep the wash-up to a minimum.
As with most Christmas menus, the challenge for people at home revolves around the increased numbers we have to feed, and the timing in bringing everything together. Too often, those in charge of the menu get lost in the kitchen. All this year’s recipes are designed to be prepped in advance, with sauces ready a day or two ahead for simple reheating. Desserts will also be premade and ready to scoop or slice. But back to today, and your Christmas starters.
For me, seasonal starters are all about preparation. There’s enough going on with main courses for us to be adding stress throughout the menu.
My first dish is a classic, and yet it is made so poorly, so often. Prawn cocktail relies on two things; great quality prawns and a seriously punchy sauce laced with lemon juice, mustard, Tabasco and a dash of brandy.
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One of the best things about Christmas dinner is being able to spend a little bit extra on high-quality ingredients. If you can source them, Dublin Bay prawns are the making of this. I would have the prawns poached, the sauce made and the lettuce lined up in the glasses long before the guests sit down. Then, all that’s left to do is dress the prawns and serve them up.
Speaking of great produce, it doesn’t get much better than quality crabmeat. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s my favourite ingredient of all. If you warm it up in a simple garlic butter and fill some golden pastry cases to soak up all the juice, you’re talking about one of the better starters you’re likely to see.
The key to the vol au vents here is using some top-quality puff pastry, and cooking them on a preheated baking tray to ensure a crispy base. As with our prawn cocktail, the vol au vents can be made in advance and kept in an airtight container. All that’s left to do is warm them up alongside the crab in butter and assemble, leaving more time for the important things this Christmas.
Don’t forget to swing by next week for fresh ideas for your Christmas main course.
Recipe: My classic prawn cocktail
