Christmas lunch: Roast lamb, mash potatoes, roast pumpkin and malva pudding cupcakes

Christmas is just a couple of days away, so to give you some inspiration, we’ve put together a delicious, hearty, and wholesome Christmas lunch menu which you can prepare for your loved ones to enjoy.

This mouthwatering Christmas lunch menu includes roast lamb with honey, mustard and thyme glaze, creamy mash potatoes, bacon wrapped asparagus, roasted pumpkin, and malva pudding cupcakes, to be enjoyed as dessert and served with your choice of ice cream or custard.

Roast lamb with honey, mustard and thyme glaze

Ingredients

• 2.5kg of lamb leg roast
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 2 brown onions, peeled, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 1kg of brushed potatoes, peeled, chopped
• 1kg of pumpkin, seeded, cut into large wedges
• Steamed green peas, to serve
• Fresh thyme sprigs, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Make 1cm deep cuts in the skin of the lamb and push a slice of garlic into each cut. Combine 2 tablespoons of the oil, honey, mustard, and thyme in a small jug. Season with salt and pepper. Brush honey mixture over the lamb. Place onion in a single layer on the base of a large roasting pan. Top with the lamb. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a saucepan with salted boiling water. Cook for 10 mins or until just tender. Drain. Return potatoes to the saucepan and shake to scuff their edges.
4. Arrange the potatoes around the lamb. Drizzle with half the remaining oil and season with salt. Place the pumpkin on the prepared tray. Drizzle with remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast lamb, potatoes and pumpkin for a further 45 minutes, for the lamb to be cooked medium-rare. Remove lamb from the oven and rest it 15 mins. Keep potatoes and pumpkin warm.
5. Top lamb with fresh thyme sprigs, slice, and serve with your mashed potatoes, roast pumpkin, and bacon wrapped asparagus.

This recipe was found on taste.com.au

Creamy mashed potatoes

Ingredients

• 1kg potatoes
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of hot milk, or more
• 1/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 6-8 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• 1/4 cup of fresh shredded parmesan cheese, optional
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Peel and cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise. Remove any spots, lumps, or knots.
• Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold, salted water by an inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat down to medium-low and allow to simmer until fork tender (about 15-20 minutes).
• When potatoes are just about done (nearly fork-tender), heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside and keep warm.
• Drain cooked potatoes, add in the remaining butter, cooked garlic, hot milk and sour cream.
• Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth, adding a little extra milk if needed.
• Add in the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the other Christmas lunch dishes.

This recipe was found on cafedelites.com

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Bacon wrapped asparagus

Ingredients

• 24 stalks of asparagus, trimmed
• 12 slices of bacon, center cut preferred
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 204 degrees C.
2. Place an oven-safe wire rack onto a cookie sheet.
3. Trim asparagus by snapping it, and throwing away the woody ends.
4. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper to taste.
5. Cut the bacon slices lengthwise to make narrower strips.
6. Wrap each bacon strip tightly around an asparagus stalk, only slightly overlapping the bacon on each stalk.
7. Place seam side down onto the wire rack.
8. Bake for 10 minutes.
9. Use tongs to turn over.
10. Bake for 10-15 minutes more, until the bacon is almost crispy.
11. Set the oven to broil, then place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to crisp up the asparagus.
12. Serve with the other Christmas lunch dishes.

This recipe was found on eazypeazymealz.com

Roasted pumpkin

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin or 1/4 large pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground clove
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 204 degrees C. Using a large metal spoon, scoop out the seeds and insides of the pumpkin. Save the seeds for roasting. Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut slices of pumpkin.
2. Place pumpkin slices on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and rub on both sides of pumpkin. Season with salt, spices and brown sugar. Roast for 18-20 minutes, depending on thickness of pumpkin slices (check at 15 minute mark).
3. Serve with the other Christmas lunch dishes.

This recipe was found on steamykitchen.com

Malva pudding cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon of apricot jam
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ⅓ cup of milk
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar

For the sauce

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of hot water
• ¾ cup of heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Beat the butter and sugar together; add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the jam and mix through.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix alternating with milk. Stir in the vinegar. Combine everything together.
6. Pour into the prepared muffin pan and bake until the cakes turn golden brown on the edges (about 30-45 minutes, or about 60 minutes if you’re not using a muffin pan).

For the sauce

1. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and heat over medium heat until butter is melted and everything is well combined.

Assembly

1. Take out the cakes from the oven and poke holes all over them with a toothpick. Pour the sauce over the hot baked pudding cakes.
2. Let the cakes stand for about 20-30 minutes for the sauce to completely soak in.

This recipe was found on all-thats-jas.com