Things may have been so
different the past few months, but there’s one thing that won’t change: The
Christmas season remains to be the most hopeful time of the year when you
gather ‘round the table with your loved ones enjoying a spread of eats and
treats that have been made from the heart.
While the holiday
celebrations may be scaled back for everyone’s health and safety, the Christmas
celebrations at home can still be merrier and brighter by carefully preparing a
delicious menu that the entire family will love. Here are three showstopping
recipes from The Maya Kitchen that can make your Christmas spread extra
delightful this season.
Marseille Seafood Soup is a
light and flavorful French soup that’s versatile enough that can include your
family’s preferred seafood—it can be shrimp, squid, or clams, your call! The
Maya Kitchen’s take comes out with a cheery ochre color from saffron powder.
As
Noche Buena may be a bit pared down this year, ordering a whole lechon
seems too much for a single household. Your family can opt to prepare Lechon
Belly with Bacon Saffron Rice Stuffing, which combines the juicy tenderness
of pork belly and the irresistible crispiness of lechon, plus some earthy and
sweet saffron rice stuffing surprise.
To
round out your Christmas feast, why not prepare a medley of Mini
Bibingka? This time, do something beyond traditional and get adventurous in
the kitchen. Make your bibingka with ube, buko pandan, coffee, or chocolate flavors.
You can even take some of your bibingka up a notch by topping it with leche
flan for a sweet, creamy finish or slices of salted egg for a savory kick. .
With a delicious Noche
Buena spread and the warm company of your loved ones, a scaled-down
Christmas celebration can be as memorable as before—and maybe just a bit more
meaningful.
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Marseille Seafood Soup
INGREDIENTS
·
4 pieces tomatoes
·
3 mugs fish broth
·
1 mug fish fillet, sliced into chunks
·
1 mug seafood (you can use shrimps, clams,
squid or whatever you prefer)
·
1 teaspoon Pernod alcohol (you can use a
teacup of diced fennel as a substitute, but unfortunately no local alcohols has
the same taste)
·
1 piece small onion, sliced
·
1/3 teaspoon saffron powder
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Choose a
combination of your favorite kinds of seafood and fish. Just make sure to
remove the bones, skin and shells.
2. Peel
tomatoes. Slice them into four wedges.
3. In a large
pot heat your broth and bring to a boil. Set a handful of seafood aside. Add tomatoes,
fish chunks and the rest of your ingredients to your broth.
4. Reduce heat
to low and cook for 30minutes without covering your pot to allow your liquid to
reduce.
5. After
30minutes, remove from heat, and pour the soup in a blender (you might have to
do this few times depending on the amount of soup). Blend well on full power
until soup is smooth.
6. Pour soup
back into the pot through a fine strainer. Use a wooden spoon to help press the
soup through the strainer, allowing all the liquid through.
7.
Set the fleshy residue that is left in the
strainer aside. Add the rest of your seafood into the soup, along with the
Pernod, and pepper to taste. Stir and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Serve
hot.
RECIPE
NOTES
To increase
number of serving, simply multiply the ingredients measurements by the number
of guests.
Lechon Belly with Bacon Saffron Rice Stuffing
INGREDIENTS
·
2.5-3 kilos boneless whole pork belly slab
·
2-3 tablespoons rock salt, enough for rubbing
·
2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
·
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
·
1 ½ tablespoons freshly pan roasted black
peppercorns, crushed
Rice Stuffing:
·
¼ cup olive oil
·
200 grams picnic bacon, cut into small cubes
·
2 pieces medium-sized onions, finely chopped
·
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
·
5 cups cooked rice (sticky or Japanese rice)
·
2-3 small sachets saffron powder
·
1 teaspoon salt
·
2 tablespoons curly parsley, finely chopped
·
zest of 1 lemon
·
annatto oil (heat up ¼ cup annatto seeds in
1/3 cup olive oil)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large
tray, lay flat the pork belly skin side down then prick or cut all the meat
portion using the tip of a sharp knife then season or rub the meat on both
sides with rock salt, garlic, ground pepper and freshly pan roasted crushed
whole black peppercorns.
2. Place and
chill in the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours without cover. Remove seasoned belly
from the refrigerator and sew up both ends of the belly using an over-sized
needle with the use of butcher’s twine or any kitchen twine until it looks like
a body of a “lechon”.
3. Place again
inside the refrigerator until ready for stuffing.
To make
rice stuffing:
1. Heat oil in
a pan and pan fry bacon until golden brown.
2. Add in
onions and garlic and pan and sauté until aromatic.
3. Toss in
cooked rice and give a few stir until the rice is fully covered with the
sautéed ingredients.
4. Season with
saffron powder, salt, parsley and zest of lemon.
5. Continue
mixing the rice until the lemon is aromatic.
6. Turn off
heat and cool the rice. Set aside for later use.
To
assemble:
1. Get the
sewn pork belly and stuffed with the prepared bacon saffron rice stuffing.
2. Enclose
both ends of the stuffed pork belly with foil and cover the entire top of the
pork belly with foil.
3. Arrange in
a roasting pan and roast in a preheated oven 350°F/177°C for about an hour then
turn up heat to 375°F/190°C removing the foil on both ends, every 30 minutes’
brush belly with prepared annatto oil.
4. After an
hour turn up heat again to 400°F/204°C and continue roasting until the skin of
the pork belly gives a crackling sound when knocked.
5. Remove
belly lechon from the oven and rest for 10 to 15 minutes before chopping.
RECIPE
NOTES
Yield:
10-15 servings
Assorted Mini Bibingka
INGREDIENTS
·
4 pieces eggs
·
1 pack MAYA Original Fluffy n’ Tasty Hotcake
Mix 200 grams
·
1/4 cup sugar
·
1 tablespoon rice flour
·
¼ cup fresh milk
·
¼ cup coconut cream store bought
·
¼ cup coconut milk store bought
·
1/4 cup butter melted
·
Different flavorings and toppings as desired
ube flavoring, buko pandan flavoring, instant coffee powder, leche flan,
chocolate ganache, etc.
·
salted egg sliced
·
cheese sliced or grated
·
banana leaves for lining of pans (optional)
·
grated coconut optional
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat
oven to 350⁰F/177⁰C. Line mamon molder or 6-holes 8oz muffin pans with banana
leaves. Set aside.
2. In a bowl
beat eggs, then add hotcake mix, rice flour, sugar, milk, coconut milk, coconut
cream, and melted butter. Mix well. Fold in desired flavors.
3. Fill up to
¾ of the mamon molder or muffin pans with the bibingka mixture. Bake bibingka
for 10 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4. Note: In
the middle of baking, around 5 to 6 minutes of baking, gently take the half-baked
bibingka and top it up with sliced salted egg and sliced or grated cheese. Then
put it back in the oven to completely bake the bibingka.
5. Serve with
butter on top and grated coconut on side.
RECIPE
NOTES
Yield: 8-10
pieces
