Just a month ago we could still swim in the sea, but the cold (and the dates) have reminded us that Christmas is just around the corner, and we love that. To get into the Christmas spirit and prepare future meals and dinners for these dates, we have sought inspiration from celebrities like Isabel Preysler, who celebrates Christmas Eve with a roast turkey. Or at the childhood dinner of the model Nieves Álvarez.
Samantha Vallejo-Nájera, the chef who for years was a judge on the RTVE program 'MasterChef', remembered in Vanitatis what her Christmas Eve was like. “On the afternoon of December 24, my father took my brothers and me to see the lights of Madrid,” he said. That magical day, I saw from the car “all those streets decorated with thousands of colorful light bulbs and my face of amazement never faded throughout the entire journey.”
When he returned home, the gifts were already waiting for him under the tree, because they gave them to him before dinner, but this one has a special place in his memories. “The gourmet moment came with the steamed truffled capon that my mother prepared every year for dinner, a total delight!” he stated. They celebrate it together at their mother's house in Pedraza. “We have a four-meter Christmas tree and a gigantic Santa Claus full of gifts and we cook together,” he tells Hola in an interview.
Vallejo-Nájera assures that this tradition is still present. Sabine Dèrouléde, his mother, always prepares this dish as one of her traditional dishes. He states that to this day “it is never missing” along with “a very good truffle velouté that my mother always makes and is only eaten on Christmas Eve.” Although Dèrouléde prepares it steamed, the traditional recipe for roasted stuffed capon that they have on Directo al Paladar (DAP), is a perfect option for these dates. The filling can be varied to taste, as indicated by DAP experts, and we can add truffle as the Vallejo-Nájera family does.
She prepares that night in advance, like a good chef. “I prepare little by little and I do the shopping in advance so as not to be overwhelmed,” and among its star dishes that are never missing, “a salad with some seafood, with lobster or crab.” This option brings a refreshing touch to the table, and can be the ideal alternative to traditional seafood recipes. For example, this prawn, arugula and papaya salad or this prawn, grapefruit and avocado salad are perfect for avoiding eating the classic prawns cooked with mayonnaise, and this lobster on quinoa salad with lime vinaigrette gives a gourmet touch to the table.
In addition to the salad, the chef prepares a bird in advance so that night you only have to “heat it up and serve it with a sauce.” For dessert, she wants her family to get involved, so she comments that she is preparing “a cake that we can decorate with the children so that everything is very Christmassy.” Obviously it is not Christmas without traditional Christmas sweets. “I love nougat and chocolate, and I decided on the Opera cake,” a classic French pastry that you can also make at home.
There is also no shortage of the Roscón de Reyes, which has been present in his house since December 1st. And now that the chef has mentioned it, we feel like having a very hot chocolate with a piece of this typical Christmas sweet.
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