Because everyone’s focus is on the main course – the main event, if you will – on Christmas Day, starters and desserts can get overlooked. But don’t worry: M&S has you covered. Its sumptuous Lobster, Salmon and Prawn Towers, just to take one example, will start Christmas dinner in considerable style; while rounding off with its Collection Salted Caramel Tiramisu Cheesecake is certainly one way to wow your guests.
Celebrate Irish produce with mature cheddar from Cork on your cheese board or extra-special chocolates from Co Meath to go with coffee afterwards. You see? M&S provides the perfect beginnings and endings to Christmas dinner. And if you want to get really creative in the kitchen, try our delicious starter and dessert recipes for Toast Skagen and No-Bake Cheesecake. With a little help from M&S, of course ...
Toast Skagen
Serves: 6-8
Always trust the Scandinavians to turn something classic and kitsch into an effortlessly elegant dish. Toast Skagen is a prawn cocktail by any other name but this Swedish dish – also popular in northern Denmark – predates the 1960s version of prawn cocktail made with Marie Rose sauce. Try this timeless twist on a familiar dish using Marks & Spencer staples.
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- 2 packs M&S Food Atlantic Peeled Prawns (175g each)
- M&S Authentic Brioche Loaf
- 1 heaped tbsp M&S Collection Dill & Mustard Sauce
- 100g M&S Food Classic Mayonnaise
- 100g M&S Food Lighter Crème Fraîche
- Juice and zest of half an unwaxed lemon
- 5-10 sprigs of fresh dill (or chive)
- 1 large (or 2 small) spring onions, finely sliced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A little salted butter, for frying
- Burren Balsamics Citrus Pearl Bursts (optional)
- Make the dressing by combining the mayonnaise and crème fraîche with the dill and mustard sauce, lemon juice and zest. Stir through the prawns, sliced spring onions and half of the dill (de-stemmed and finely chopped – or chopped chives, if you don’t enjoy the flavour of fresh dill). Season and taste, adjust seasoning if required, then set to one side.
- In a large pan on a medium heat melt two tsp of salted butter and fry the slices of brioche loaf for two minutes a side until lightly golden and slightly crisped. Remove each slice to a tray lined with kitchen paper to cool slightly. Alternatively, toast each slice lightly in a toaster.
- To assemble, cut each slice of brioche diagonally to make two triangles and spoon 1-2 tbsp of the prawn mixture on top. If using the citrus pearl bursts add a 1/2 tsp of these on top of the prawn mixture and finish with some fresh dill (or chive, for the dill-averse).
M&S Golden Blonde Chocolate No-Bake Cheesecake
Serves: 10
If there were just one jar to stash in your cupboard as a secret weapon this season, it would have to be M&S Crunchy Golden Blonde Chocolate Spread. This caramel-coloured spread with crunchy wafer pieces levels up a no-bake, chilled cheesecake to stratospheric deliciousness. It takes minutes to put together and offers exquisite respite from all the mince pies and puddings on the Christmas table.
For the biscuit base:
- 400g (1 pack) M&S Digestive Biscuits
- 125g Abernethy Salted Irish Butter
For the filling:
- 300ml M&S Northern Irish Fresh Cream
- 250g M&S Full-Fat Cream Cheese
- 250g M&S Mascarpone
- 400g (whole jar) M&S Crunchy Golden Blonde Chocolate Spread
- Juice and zest of half an unwaxed lemon
To decorate (optional):
- 300ml M&S Northern Irish Fresh Cream, whipped to firm
- M&S Mini Meringues
- M&S Golden Blonde Chocolate, shaved
- M&S Desiccated Coconut
- Melt the butter into brown butter (beurre noisette) in a small pan over a medium-low heat until it bubbles, then foams and turns an amber colour with a nutty scent. Remove and allow to cool.
- Crush the digestives to a fine rubble by pulsing in a food processor or by placing biscuits in a resealable bag and running a rolling pin over it.
- In a mixing bowl, add the brown butter to the crushed biscuits, then pat firmly as a base layer in a 20/23cm non-stick springform cake tin. Place in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling by whipping the cream until softly firm (be careful of over-beating as it may split) and set to one side.
- In another mixing bowl, lightly beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, golden blonde chocolate spread and lemon juice and zest together with a whisk or electric beater. Then, take a third of the cream and whisk in to loosen the mixture before carefully folding in the other two-thirds of the whipped cream using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Remove the chilled, firmed biscuit base and spread over the filling mixture in an even layer, (rapping the tin on the counter a few times help to compact), then return the cheesecake to the fridge overnight (12 hours) or the freezer for two hours (if you are short on time) until firm.
- An optional final step is to decorate the top of the cheesecake using piped whipped cream, sprinkled desiccated coconut, mini meringues and a shaving of golden blonde chocolate.
Patrick Hanlon and Russell Alford are food, drink and travel writers whose award-winning GastroGays blog has been informing and entertaining readers for more than a decade. Their bylines appear in print publications in Ireland and internationally, and the pair regularly contribute to radio and digital platforms.