Christmas is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated times of the year. At this time, joy, sharing, gifts, and lots of food come together! December is definitely the month of food, and every Christmas menu should start with some good starters. Now, what to prepare to surprise your guests? At this article, we have selected a list of easy and original Christmas starters, with and without seafood, with puff pastry, with avocado and many more ingredients. Take note, choose the ones you like the most and prepare a menu at the height of the season.
Christmas starters with seafood
Seafood is an icon at Christmas in many countries and is perfect as a starter. Yes, seafood is light, elegant and whets the appetite. Perfect as an entrance! For this reason, we propose an original and elegant starter recipe for Christmas, ideal to surprise:
Stuffed brown crab
Ingredients:
• 2 crab
• 2 eggs
• 1 tomato
• ½ onion
• ½ green bell pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 or 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste
Preparation:
1. Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing the olive oil with the apple cider vinegar and salt to taste.
2. Wash the vegetables, chop them finely and also reserve.
3. Boil the eggs for 20 minutes, wait until they cool down and finely chop them.
4. Cook the crabs in a large saucepan for 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Drain them and then separate the inner part, pressing the bottom part.
6. Scoop out the crab or edible crab meat, reserving the shell, using a spoon and skewer for the claws or tough parts.
7. Chop the meat and reserve the juice that is produced.
8. Finally, mix all the reserved ingredients (including the crab juice) in a bowl, leaving the dressing (vinaigrette) for last.
9. Serve the preparation in the shells or in a bowl to eat them with toast or other accompaniments.
Other Christmas starters with seafood
• Grilled prawns
• Scampi
• Baked scallops
• Octopus salad with prawns
Christmas starters without seafood
But if you don’t feel like shellfish or they seem very expensive, there are also many other options: creams, broths, montaditos, brochettes, savory tarts, etc. Which one do you fancy? Here’s the recipe for one of the easiest and most delicious Christmas appetizers out there—and no seafood! It is the popular vichyssoise:
Homemade vichyssoise Ingredients:
• 3 large leeks, chopped
• 3 potatoes cut into slices waterfall style
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 125ml cream
• 60g of butter
• 1 liter of water or vegetable broth
• Salt
Preparation:
1. Place a saucepan on the heat and add the butter and oil. When the butter melts, add the leek. Let it fry but without changing color.
2. Add the potatoes and fry them for a few minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the water or vegetable broth and let it cook for 30 minutes. Once the time is up, prick the potatoes with a knife to check that they are cooked.
4. Incorporate all the ingredients in the blender and process them. Rectify the salt if necessary.
5. Once ready, let the preparation cool and then take it to the fridge for at least 1 hour. It is even better if you prepare it overnight.
6. Add the cream and mix until fully integrated. Return the preparation to the fridge, wait until it is very cold and serve.
Other starters for Christmas without seafood
• Salmon cake
• Tuna stuffed mushrooms
• Sweet potato and cheese croquettes
• Christmas tree sandwich
• Salted ham bonbons
Christmas starters with puff pastry and filo pastry
A puff pastry starter is almost always popular, as it has a crunchy texture at first and a stuffed interior that you must discover, bite by bite. For this reason, if you are looking for original Christmas starters, with puff pastry and filo pastry, they will be a success. You can prepare your own puff pastry with this step-by-step recipe. We show a simple recipe and share some more ideas:
Mini vol-au-vents with black pudding, peppers and apple
Ingredients:
• 12 puff pastry mini vol-au-vents
• 1 rice blood sausage (remove the skin and finely chop it)
• 8 piquillo peppers cut into strips
• 2 pippin apples chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 finely chopped shallot or 1 onion
• 1 glass of muscatel
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch of parsley
Preparation:
For the filling:
1. Poach the finely chopped shallot in a saucepan with olive oil. Add the chopped apple and fry both ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add the muscatel and cook until it falls apart. Reserve the apple filling.
3. Add the finely chopped garlic, fry it in a pan with a splash of olive oil and add the peppers, season with salt and pepper and wait for them to confit. Reserve the pepper filling
4. Sauté the chopped black pudding (without skin) with a splash of olive oil until crispy. Reserve the blood sausage filling.
For the assembly:
1. On a tray, arrange the vol-au-vents. Give them a heat shock for about 5 minutes.
2. Fill the vol-au-vents distributed as follows: 4 apple fillings, 4 pepper fillings and finally 4 blood sausage fillings.
3. You can sprinkle a little grated cheese and gratin them in the oven.
Other starters for Christmas with puff pastry and filo pastry
• Vegetable rolls with filo pastry
• Chicken vol-au-vents
• Asparagus wrapped in puff pastry
• Puff pastry stuffed with goat cheese
Cold Christmas starters
If you opt for cold Christmas starters, you save time and work. You simply need to prepare the entree ahead of time and refrigerate it until serving time. In addition, there are many recipes for cold starters and they are very good. You dare?
Sausage sandwich with pesto sauce
Ingredients:
• 1 package of sliced bread
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• ½ cup Dijon mustard
• 200g pepperoni
• 200g of salami
• 200 g of sliced ham
• 1 package of sliced Gruyère cheese
• ½ cup pesto sauce
• ½ cup sliced olives
• 1 and ½ package of cream cheese
• 1 red bell pepper without seeds
• Sliced olives to decorate
• Pepper in strips to decorate
• Washed and disinfected parsley to decorate
Preparation
1. Cut the edges of the bread. You can prepare your own homemade bread with this recipe.
2. Arrange 4 slices of bread on a large tray or plate.
3. Spread mayonnaise on a sheet and place a layer of pepperoni.
4. Arrange another slice of bread and spread it with pesto sauce. Top this second layer with ham, salami, pepperoni, and cheese.
5. Repeat the operation on another sheet but, this time, spread Dijon mustard. Place another layer of sausage and cheese.
6. Continue layering bread until the cake is finished. Refrigerate.
7. Mix cream cheese and bell pepper.
8. Cover the bread with the pasta and decorate with olives, sliced peppers and parsley.
Other cold Christmas starters
• Smoked salmon tartare
• Brandied of cod
• Mussels Pate
• Potato and tuna pie
• Duck ceviche
• Seafood salad
Avocado Christmas appetizers
Avocado is great for easy Christmas appetizers due to its versatility, luscious texture, and exotic flavor. This fruit is used to make cold creams, vegetable shots, timbales, dips, stuffed avocados, among many other options.
Muhammara with avocado and hazelnuts
Ingredients:
• 270g roasted bell peppers
• 130g avocado, peeled and pitted
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 25g walnuts
• 40g hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
• 6-8 coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
• 5 peppers
• Salt to taste
• 30-40 g of extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
1. Soak the nuts in water for 1 hour to blanch (optional).
2. Roast the bell peppers, let them cool and peel them. Booking.
3. Add all ingredients to blender or food processor. If your blender does not have a powerful motor, finely chop all the ingredients beforehand.
4. Rectify the salt if necessary. Optionally, you can add cumin.
Other starters for Christmas with avocado
• Tomato and avocado tartare
• Avocado and mango salad
• Chicken stuffed avocados
• Breaded avocado
• Avocado and cucumber salmorejo
• Avocado and crab cocktail
• Avocado hummus
• Salmon, avocado and mango tartare
Vegetable starters for Christmas
Vegetables offer you versatility, lightness and… A lot of color! All these elements are ideal to create a good entrance. In addition, they are excellent for preparing vegetarian Christmas starters, for children and adults. Take note!
Brussels sprouts with creamy blue cheese sauce
Ingredients:
• 50g muscatel raisins
• 700-800g Brussels sprouts
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 350g evaporated milk
• 120 g of blue cheese, chopped
• 50g chopped toasted hazelnuts
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• Chopped fresh chives
• Olive oil
• Salt
Preparation:
1. Hydrate the raisins for at least 1 hour.
2. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbages and remove the stem.
3. Submerge the cabbage in cold water and rinse well. Discard the water, pour cold water again and finish rinsing them.
4. Steam the cabbages for 15 minutes or until they reach the desired doneness.
For the sauce:
1. Prepare a frying pan with a splash of olive oil and wait until it heats up well (low heat).
2. Add the chopped shallot, wait for it to soften and stir.
3. Pour in the evaporated milk and the chopped blue cheese. Integrate them.
4. Raise the heat of the fire to medium-high and stir every once in a while. Make sure it doesn’t stick.
5. Drain the raisins and add them to the pan (reserve some for last), along with the chopped hazelnuts (reserve whole hazelnuts), spices, and salt. Mix very well.
6. Cook the sauce for a few minutes, until you see that it begins to thicken.
7. Remember: if the sauce rests for a few minutes before assembling the dish, it will have a thicker texture.
For the assembly:
1. Serve the cabbage with the creamy sauce on top and decorated with raisins and hazelnuts.
2. Another option is to sprinkle grated cheese and gratin them in the oven.
Other vegetarian starters for Christmas
• French aligot
• Spinach pie
• Cochayuyo ceviche
• Eggplant antipasti
• Cabrales and apple croquettes
Meat starters for Christmas
A protein entree is very attractive at the table, definitely an anticipation of things to come. In addition, this type of Christmas starters are elegant, easy and very well received by almost any diner.
Plums stuffed with suckling lamb
Ingredients:
• 40 pitted prunes
• 200 g minced lamb meat
• 20 toasted almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg (grated or ground)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
• ¼ liter broth (poultry or meat)
• Sesame seeds (sesame)
• Salt
Preparation:
1. Marinate the lamb meat with the spices, the chopped almonds and salt to taste. Wrap the meat in plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
2. Carefully remove the pit from the plum. Do this by lightly pressing the center of the fruit, using your index finger and thumb. As the bone comes out, it will leave a hole. Place the plum in the palm of your hand and insert a finger from the other hand, hollow out the inside of the fruit and return it to its round-oval shape.
3. You can fill the plums with the meat using a pastry bag or directly by hand.
4. Incorporate the broth into a saucepan. When heated, add the stuffed plums and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.
5. Once the time is up, remove them and keep them warm.
6. In the same saucepan (already removed from the heat), add 4 plums without pits or fillings and mash them there until they are incorporated into the broth.
7. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Cook again and wait until its texture is similar to a light cream. Apply low heat.
8. Add the plums stuffed with lamb back into the reduced broth and let them soak in, wait a few minutes.
9. Assemble these appetizers or entrees on a plate. Top with a tablespoon of your sauce and toasted sesame seeds.
Other meat starters for Christmas
• Venezuelan hallacas
• Corn and meat tamales
• Baked meat dumplings
Christmas appetizers with cheese
Who doesn’t like cheese? Yes, hardly anyone can resist a starter like this, whether large or small. For this reason, we highlight a recipe for a Christmas starter with cheese and recommend other easy ideas:
Fresh sheep cheese timbale with mushroom jam
Ingredients
• 100 g of fresh sheep cheese
• 40g trumpet mushrooms
• 40 g chanterelle mushrooms
• a light syrup
• 30g pesto sauce
• 70 ml of water
• 30g sugar
• Olive oil
• 1 pinch of pink pepper
• 1 pinch of thyme
• Salt to taste
Preparation
1. In a saucepan, boil enough water. When it starts to boil, add the mushrooms and cook them for 5 minutes that is. Drain very well and reserve.
2. On the other hand, prepare a syrup with the water and sugar. Once ready, add the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Over the center of the plate, pour 2 tablespoons of the pesto sauce.
4. Cut the cheese into three slices, each 1 cm thick.
5. Arrange the first slice of cheese on top of the pesto and pour the mushrooms in syrup over its surface. Cover with another slice of cheese and repeat the process.
6. Sprinkle with pink pepper and thyme leaves.
7. Finally, decorate with several whole mushrooms
Other starters for Christmas with cheese
• Cheese fondue
• Cheese nickname
• Cheese fingers
• Potato and cheese croquettes
