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 yearwhen 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 Soupis 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 canopt to prepareLechon 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 ofMini Bibingka? This time, do something beyond traditional and get adventurous in the kitchen. Make your bibingka with ube, bukopandan, 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 bellygives 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, bukopandan 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
