On Christmas Eve, we started off with some readymade amuses, which we just had to heat up in the oven. After that we had a velvety carrot/cauliflower soup, followed by roast beef with wilted spinach, a carrot sauce and (as requested by the kids) potato croquettes. For dessert we had an easy peasy, but ever so good ice cream cake.

Carrot/cauliflower soup

Ingredients (for 6)

400 gr cauliflower (small chunks), 300 gr carrots (small slices), 2 large onions (finely chopped), 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), 4 cubes of vegetable stock, 2 liters of water, 50 gr butter, 4 tablespoons flour, good splash of cooking cream, salt & pepper

How to make?

1. Melt the butter and fry the onion and garlic.
2. Add the slices of carrot and fry for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour, mix everything and stir for about 1 minute.
4. Add the vegetable stock, the water and the cauliflower.
5. Boil the soup for about 15 minutes (or until carrots and cauliflower are completely cooked).
6. Add the cooking cream and mix the soup.
7. Season to taste.
8. Add some finely chopped parsley when serving.

Roast beef with wilted spinach and a carrot sauce (inspired by a recipe from Pascale Naessens)

Ingredients (for 6)

• Roast beef: roast beef (about 1,2 kilo), butter, salt and pepper, 1 clove of garlic (roughly chopped), 2 shallots (roughly chopped), sprig of thyme, a bayleaf, 1 liter of of beef stock
• Wilted spinach: 600 grams of spinach, handful of koriander leaves (finely shopped), sesame oil, salt and pepper
• Carrot sauce: 2 large carrots (in fine slices), 1 piece of ginger (2 cm), 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of sesame oil

How to make?

• Roast beef

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Season the meat with salt and pepper and bake the meat for about 5-7 minutes on one side.
2. Turn the meat, add shallots, garlic, thyme and bayleaf and bake for another 5-7 minutes
3. Transfer the meat into an ovendish (leave the shallots, garlic, thyme and bayleaf in the pan!) and put in a preheated oven (180°C). Cook for about 35 minutes.
4. Get the meat out of the oven and cover in foil to rest (for at least 20 minutes)
5. Whilst the meat is resting make the sauce in the pan you baked the meat in. Add beefstock to the shallots, garlic, thyme and bayleaf and bring to the boil.
6. Let the sauce cook in for a while. Add a bit of double cream to the sauce if you want!
7. Strain the sauce and serve with the meat.

• Wilted spinach

1. Heat some sesame oil in a wok and add the spinach.
2. Season with salt and pepper and keep stirring the spinach until ready.
3. Add the koriander.

• Carrot sauce

1. Put the slices of carrot, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce in a blender.
2. Blitz until you get the consistency of a thick sauce.
3. Add sesame oil when the sauce is still too thick

Plate up!

1. Slice the roastbeef in thin slices and put on a plate.
2. Add some of the spinach and carrot sauce.
3. Serve with the roastbeef sauce and some potato croquettes.

I hope I have given you some inspiration! Bon appétit…

Love, Kathleen