3 Christmas starters.

These three recipes make the most wonderful starter for your Christmas meal.

I can’t emphasis strongly enough how delicious all three recipes taste and how simple they are to make.  I’m making all three over the Christmas seasons.

Asparagus starter.

Asparagus with Serrano Ham

Serves 4

The secret to this recipe is to dip the asparagus in lemon and butter.

16 asparagus spears

4 slices of Serrano ham

2 tablespoons butter

Juice of half lemon

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

1 tablespoon of double cream

1 tablespoon of chopped chives

Steam asparagus very lightly.

Heat butter and lemon. Stir together.

Roll spears in lemon and butter mixture.

Take four spears and wrap Serrano ham around each bundle.

Mix yoghurt, cream and chives.

Arrange asparagus and ham on plate and add dollop of cream mixture on top.

Serve.

Very simple to make, looks  great and delivers on taste.

Green GazpachoI came across this cold soup for the first time this year in Spain.

It tastes brilliant and is completely different from the original red gazpacho soup.

Serves  4

Courgettes,  2 mini ones.

Green pepper,  1 deseeded

Cucumber,  ½ deseeded

Onion , ½ chopped

Garlic cloves, 2

Celery, 3 stalks chopped

Mint, 2 tablespoons  chopped

Parsley, flat leaf 2 tablespoons chopped

Water , 1 cup

Olive oil, 2 tablespoons

Sherry wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons

Salt, just a pinch to taste

Basil to garnish

Whizz first eight ingredients

Add  water, vinegar, salt and water.

Put in fridge.

Serve chilled.

Garnish with basil or any herb you fancy and serve with crunchy French style bread.

Organic smoked salmon.

Smoked Salmon Terrine.

I’ve very fussy about where my smoked salmon comes from I’m very lucky I’ve been able to get my hands on organic smoked salmon from Ireland.

You could also use trout from Franschhoek for this recipe.

It’s another starter which is so easy to make it tastes amazing and looks great.

Serves  4

400g smoked salmon

1 cup crème frache

Greek yougart

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons of chopped chives

Fennel or dill for garnish

Whizz 200g salmon with crème fraiche and yoghurt

Spoon into bowl and add juice of lemon and chopped chives.

Take four ramekin dishes.

Lightly oil dishes.

Place clingfilm inside and tap in leaving an overlap around the edge.

Places pieces of salmon to cover base of ramekin and sides.

Spoon  mixture into ramekins.

Then take cling film and wrap over top.

Place in fridge to chill and set.

Take from fridge  unwrap clingfilm from top, turn ramekin over on plate and salmon parcel will come out.

Serve with dill or fennel on top  with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of crème frache with chopped chives or dill on the side.

Green gazpacho soup.