The sophisticated dishes and refined ingredients for a holiday dinner can start to add up, so return to simplicity for a sustainable and affordable Christmas menu.
Affordable Christmas menu
Follow in the footsteps of the Italian nonnas. Even at Christmas, they don't discard anything. They build a holiday menu that starts with simple dishes, they work for entire days to avoid any waste. Their passion for cooking, attention to detail, fresh raw materials stand front and center without them having to discarded anything.
With the vegetable peels? An aperitif
If, for example, you decide to make a roast with potatoes as the main dish, don’t discard the potato peels. Fry them in hot oil to make crispy chips. Use the outer blanched parts of any vegetable side dishes to make spreads for toasted canapes. Jut top with oil, salt, pepper, and you're done.
Dust off the memory: flour!
Bread and pasta used to be made at home, and you can give it a try today. Indulge yourself with numerous types of flour: make a cereal bread or small pizzas. Fresh pasta adds an authentic touch to your Christmas menu. Flour has always been the nonna's ally in the kitchen, so why not start to get your hands in some dough?
Main courses, fruit, and dessert
Choose white meats, such as chicken or turkey, or prepare a delicious meatloaf that contains some stale bread and the mushrooms that you might offer as a side dish. It lends itself well as a recipe that is always welcome at the table. Serve a fresh fruit salad for dessert, which lets you use any fruit you have sitting around your kitchen. A little bit of orange juice will make it sweet and fresh, without blackening it. And you don't even have to throw away the orange peel Cut it into thin strips, and combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water in a saucepan and let them caramelize, then lay them to dry on parchment paper for 2 days. If you like, you can prepare a chocolate sauce to dip their ends in by melting 9 oz. of your chocolate of choice with 2 oz. of cream, stirring constantly.
