This year our Sabine is giving you the gift of time! Yes, you heard right: these traditional recipes for a South Tyrolean Christmas menu will save you preparation time and leave you free to enjoy the pre-Christmas mood.

Three recipes for a relaxed festive season

Why should it be any different for you than for me? You have great expectations of a Christmas menu that is festive rather than ordinary, offering special culinary highlights that need proper preparation – and is still straightforward enough to serve lots of guests. A truly tricky task – and one that I would like to spare you. So here are three recipes for a festive Christmas menu. Have fun cooking – and enjoy the results!


Starter: soup of Terlan white wine with cinnamon croutons
This exquisite soup is not just for wine lovers – it gives a cosy feeling of (inner) warmth.

Ingredients for 4 people
4 slices of toasting bread, crusts cut off
1 tbsp butter
¼ litre vegetable stock
½ litre Terlaner Sauvignon (or another South Tyrolean Sauvignon)
3 egg yolks
80 ml cream
salt, nutmeg, cinnamon

Cut the bread into small cubes and fry in butter and cinnamon until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.
Heat the vegetable stock then pour into a metal bowl with the white wine and leave to cool slightly. Mix the egg yolks and cream and add to the soup. Heat in a bain-marie and whisk until the soup is nice and creamy. Season with salt, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.

Serve up the hot soup in plates accompanied by the cinnamon bread croutons.
 


Main course: South Tyrol beef goulash
A Christmas classic in South Tyrol that is very easy to prepare (even the day before).

Ingredients for 4-6 people:
1 kg beef for goulash (shoulder), cubed
800 g onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 tbsp oil
150 ml red wine
500 ml beef or white stock
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp paprika powder, sweet
1 bay leaf
1 tsp caraway seeds
½ tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp lemon zest (from an untreated lemon)
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

Wash the meat, pat dry with a kitchen towel and fry vigorously in oil in a large roasting pan (also in portions depending on the quantity of meat). Remove from the roasting pan and put to one side. Now fry the onions: when they are golden brown add the paprika powder, tomato puree and the meat, then fry briefly. Add red wine and white wine vinegar and briefly reduce. Season with salt, add the bay leaf, pour in the beef stock and simmer covered for at least 90 minutes over a low heat. Stir from time to time and add more stock if necessary: the longer the goulash simmers, the more tender the meat will be! The real highlight, however, is the butter ball with spices that can be prepared in the meantime. Mix the caraway seeds, marjoram, lemon zest and a little pepper with the butter and place in the fridge.
Once the goulash is ready, stir in the spiced butter. Leave to stand for a short while – and it's ready to serve!

As an accompaniment I would recommend South Tyrol speck dumplings, creamy polenta or mashed potatoes, and red cabbage stewed with apple.



Dessert: baked apple with hot vanilla sauce
They might look funny, but these baked apples with hot vanilla sauce are also the perfect way to round off your South Tyrolean Christmas menu!

Ingredients for 4 people:
4 large apples (Golden Delicious are best)
4 tbsp cranberry jam
4 tbsp walnuts or hazelnuts, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar

For the vanilla sauce:
1 egg
500 ml milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 sachet bourbon vanilla sugar
1 vanilla pod, scooped out
1 tbsp cornflour
salt

Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Wash the apples and remove the cores. Grease a baking tray with butter. Mix the cranberry jam, nuts, cinnamon and lemon juice and fill the apples with the mixture. Put a small piece of butter on each apple and place on the baking tray. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and put in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes until the apples are soft.

For the vanilla sauce, mix the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, pulped vanilla seeds, cornflour and a pinch of salt together in a saucepan. Add the milk and heat slowly, stirring constantly (do not boil!) until the sauce starts to become creamy.
Serve hot with the baked apples.

Just writing this is making my mouth water! So, with this in mind, I wish you all a relaxed and tasty Christmas, where no one will go hungry – guaranteed!

Yours from the heart, Sabine