December is flying by, bringing with it a whirlwind of Christmas chaos, shopping and festivities. For these reasons, I like to have some staple side dishes on hand and ready to go, so I can cherish more time with the family creating those treasured festive memories.
My sage and onion stuffing is a Christmas must-have and, with only five ingredients, you’ll be wishing you made more. As for my gravy, it will have you thrilled that you decided to leave those granules in the cupboard this year as my easy, mouth-watering recipe will elevate your dinner to the highest levels.
To wrap up our three delicious side dishes, we have the cranberry sauce, something no proper Christmas meal is complete without. I also recommend placing the cranberry sauce in a beautiful Kilner jar wrapped with red ribbon to gift to your neighbours in the run up to Christmas so they can enjoy it with their Christmas dinners too. I hope you love these as much as my family does.
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Sage and Onion Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 onions
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 50g butter
- 150g breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
Method
- Firstly, chop the onion into a 1cm dice and fry in butter over a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until soft.
- To prepare the breadcrumbs, place the bread in a blender and blend until fine. Add to the pan with the softened onion.
- Next, beat the egg and add it to the mixture in the pan.
- Finally, roll the stuffing mixture into small, round balls and place on a greased tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes.
Gravy
Ingredients
- Juice from turkey roasting tin
- 1 large glass of white wine
- 300ml chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Firstly, separate the roasting juices from the fat of the turkey roasting tin and add in one large glass of white wine. Boil on high heat for five minutes.
- Next, add in the chicken stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce until the liquid thickens.
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
(Serves up to 12 but can be stored in Kilner jar in fridge)
- 1kg cranberries
- 400ml orange juice (freshly squeezed approx. 6 oranges)
- 400g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/3 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
Method
- To begin, peel and roughly dice the cranberries, discarding the pith, place in a pot of cold water with one teaspoon of caster sugar and bring to the boil. Refresh the cold water and repeat this process three times.
- Next, place the orange juice, mixed spice and remaining sugar into a pot with the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer to reduce the liquid by half.
- Then, add in your cranberries and bring back to the boil, reducing by half again. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Pass the mixture through a sieve if you prefer smooth cranberry sauce. If, however, you prefer chunky cranberry sauce, strain all the juice away and leave to cool.
- Place in a bowl or Kilner jars and refrigerate until required.
