The no-cook Christmas lunch … discover how to do it
A Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, without any actual cooking? It is possible. Read on to find out how.
Christmas day can be stressful in the kitchen, prepping in the early morning, then juggling hot roasts, oven space, things bubbling away in saucepans and timers going off. Imagine if someone could do all the hard work for you, and all you have to do is don an apron (for appearances) and serve the food – at most doing a little warming up.
It is possible if you do a little planning and order ahead.
The no-cook seafood lunch
Our climate and Australians’ willingness to break with tradition sees many serve seafood at Christmas. The abundance of fantastic seafood in Tasmania and its relative ease of preparation, make this a great choice for a no-cook Christmas lunch.
So Cape Bruny or Tasmanian Oyster Co oysters, Tassie crayfish, jumbo and extra-large cooked Crystal Bay prawns, Woodbridge cold and hot smoked salmon, and 41C South hot smoked whole baby salmon are all already cooked, and can simply be served cold with a simple dressing, some ready-made cocktail sauce, or a squeeze of lemon.
Strictly speaking, this next suggestion is not ‘no cook’ but it is no prep. If you are up for a quick 25-minute session in the oven for a seafood main course dish, our Hill Street Kitchen team has again created our much-loved Salmon en Croute which features a 500g portion of nori-wrapped salmon, with spinach, dill, garlic, lemon, and green peas, nestled in a butter puff pastry. This dish is fully finished except for a brief period in the oven and looks beautiful when the fish-scale design on the pastry is puffed and browned to perfection.
Alternatively, our seafood pie is already cooked and just needs you to warm it through for 35-45 minutes. It’s chock-full of fresh salmon, scallops, ling, and prawns in a garlicy cream sauce.
The no-cook turkey lunch
If you are a little more traditional, but balk at the whole roast turkey affair, consider our rolled turkey breast. We use free-range Numurkah turkey breasts and stuff them with roast pumpkin, pistachios, and sage. The turkey roll is fully cooked, and all you need to do is heat it through for 30-40 minutes and then let it brown in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes. While turkey breasts can be dry, this stuffing has butter in it which helps baste the roll from the inside while it is heating and provides pan juices to spoon over afterwards. Serve with a dollop of store-bought cranberry sauce on the side if you wish.
And gravy and side dishes? These can be no-cook too: just order Hill Street’s ready-made gravy and our balsamic-glazed vegetables – a medley of parsnips, baby carrots, celeriac, baby turnip, roast garlic, pinkeyes and baby beetroot. These come already cooked, for you to heat and eat.
The (almost-no cook) Christmas ham
Now this is a voilà moment if ever here was one – your warm glazed Christmas ham on a big platter, straight out of your oven. Using Hill Street’s own ready-made brown sugar, orange and mustard glaze, follow the directions it comes with (note: this involves taking the skin off a full leg of ham and scoring the skin into a diamond pattern and poking a clove into each little diamond shape - sounds hard, but it really isn’t.) All you need is 40 minutes in the oven for the glaze to do its magic and for the delicious aroma to reach your guests’ noses and set off their hunger pangs.
There are so many more options at Hill Street to make your Christmas stress-free and virtually no-cook – including truly delicious ready-made vegan and gluten-free main courses, fabulous cakes, pies and puddings.
All dishes mentioned above are available to order at Hill Street’s online Christmas Orders page, so hit the link and secure them early to give yourself and your guests a happy and relaxed Christmas day!
