Recipe: Bondi Harvest toss up their tips for healthy and simple dishes this Christmas

The count down to christmas is fast approaching, and for foodie enthusiasts it is one of the best times of the year, for obvious reasons: lots of freakin’ food.

If it is your turn hosting this year’s Xmas lunch, or you’re in need of a head-turning dishes to add to to the table, then Bondi Harvest founders, Mark and Guy have your back with a few recipes they whipped up for Philips AirFryer. We asked them to share some of their top tips for a fresh fuss-free feast so you’ve got it all sorted on the big day.

harissa-prawns

“Pimp out your seafood spread this Christmas with my epic spiced Harissa King Prawns. My homemade harissa paste is so simple to make and flavor packed. I cook mine in a Philips Airfryer – so they come out crispy and spice crusted on the outside yet tender and sweet in the center.”

To Prep: 10 minutes
To Cook: 5-10 minutes
Ingredients: 21 ingredients
Makes: 12 king prawns
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients

  • 12 king prawns
  • 3 long fresh red chillies
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauce

  • 1 cup Yogurt
  • 1 lemon, rind and juice
  • 1 coriander

Method

1. In a food processor or mortar and pestle beat all ingredients together until a smooth paste.

2. In a bowl toss king prawns with harissa, place prawns in the Philips Airfryer basket at  180°C and bake for 5-10 minutes until golden.

3. To make sauce, mix yogurt, lemon and coriander together.

4. Serve prawns in a bucket with dipper sauce on the side and lemon for squeezing.

For a delicious and easy ‘dip and side’ to make this Christmas that still looks divine, try a homemade Kale Pesto with Beetroot chips. It is healthy and delish.

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The boys have four important rules for us to follow.

“Pre-cook it – Save time by pre-cooking some of your Christmas lunch this year to serve cold or to reheat on the day. Pre-roast a stuffed pumpkin then heat up for 10 minutes on Christmas day and you’re ready to rock and roll.

Marinate it – Marinating has to be the simplest way of adding add a lot of flavor to any dish with very little work.

Freeze it – Keep dessert frozen this Christmas, make it a week ahead of time and it’s ready to serve. Dishes like semifreddo, ice blocks and granita are perfect.

Equipment – Using good equipment like food processors, Airfryers and blenders for chopping, cooking and whipping will make your life a lot simpler and speed the cooking and prep process up of any Christmas feast.”

To Prep: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 6 ingredients
Makes: 3 serving
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 Clove of garlic
  • 200mls of olive oil
  • 1 cup of loose basil leaves
  • ½ cup of almonds, toasted
  • zest and juice of ½ a lemon
  • ½ cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. In a mortar and pestle add garlic with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt push with pestle to break up until it forms a paste.

2. Add basil, a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Grind the basil with the pestle to break it down into a paste.

3. Add almonds. Break up a little with pestle. Add remaining ingredients and pound with pestle to get desired consistency of pesto.

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If we want to keep Christmas lunch on the light side, but still packed with maximum taste, the boys suggest keeping dishes raw.

“Save time and keep it raw this christmas, with dishes like Poke, Ceviche, and tartare. These have to be the quickest and healthiest dishes going around and they taste better a day after they’re made.

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A great way to keep your Christmas guilt free and the bloat at bay this year is to get creative with vegetables. Swap your turkey or pork for my Whole roast stuffed pumpkin. This recipe is the centre piece of our Christmas table every year, it’s sweet, crunchy and when sliced the cross sections looks so sexy.”

To Prep: 20 minutes
To Cook: 30 minutes
Ingredients: 18 ingredients
Makes: 6 servings
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 Butternut pumpkin
  • 2 cups prepped kale (blanched and refreshed in cold water)

Stuffing

  • 1 cup mixed mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup scraped pumpkin flesh
  • 3 garlic
  • 1 chilli
  • 1 onion
  • 2 thyme
  • 250g cooked quinoa
  • 250g macadamia nuts (mixed nuts)
  • 150ml Spiced rum
  • 1 cinnamon
  • 1 clove
  • ¼ cup Cranberries
  • ¼ cup Dates
  • ¼ cup Apricots
  • ¼ cup Cherries
  • 2tbs olive oil

Method

1. pre heat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cut pumpkin in half long ways, scrape out the seeds and discard.

3. Continue to scrape the pumpkin flesh to hollow out the centre, making space for stuffing.

4. Using a knife cut incisions on the inside of the pumpkin flesh.

5. Line the inside of each scraped pumpkin with cooked kale. Then fill with stuffing, place back together and truss.

6. Place pumpkin in the oven and bake un covered for 30 minutes then covered for a further 30 minutes.

Method for the stuffing

1. In a bowl mix spiced rum, spices and dried fruit and then let soak overnight.

2. Then strain.

3. In a large pan or pot over medium heat add olive oil, onions, garlic, chilli and cook till tender. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook till soft.

4. Add remaining ingredients till combined then place on a tray and in the fridge to cool.

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Christmas is never without chocolates, cakes and delightful desserts. It certainly is tricky to say no to a second slice of Nan’s trifle, but what if there was some healthier puddings dished out? What can wow the grandparents and keep the kids happy?

Raw Avocado and chocolate mud slice is one of our all-time favourite Christmas desserts, it’s so simple to make that I make this one with my kids every year. Everything basically goes into the food processor and then into the fridge – then it is DONE! It contains no refined sugar, dairy or gluten so it’s the perfect guilt free chocolate treat for the sweet tooth in the family.”

To Prep: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 8 ingredients
Makes: 6 servings
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of medjool dates, seeds removed
  • 7 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup of walnuts
  • 4 medium avocados
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 150g 100% raw cacao powder
  • 4 tablespoon of honey
  • Bee Pollen, to garnish

Method

1. Grease a fluted slice tin.

2. Place dates and 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a food processor. Process until they form a paste. Add walnuts and process until combined.

3. Transfer mixture to prepared tin and smooth out to form base of slice.

4. Process avocado, zest, remaining coconut oil, cacao and honey until smooth and combined well.

5. Transfer mixture to tin and spread over base.

6. Sprinkle with bee pollen to garnish. Pop the tin in the fridge for 2 hours to set.

7. Slice to serve.

Raw Christmas Pudding – if you’re after a guilt free Christmas dessert then this has to be it. My no bake Raw Christmas Pudding has no refined sugars, it’s packed with superfoods and is gluten free, vegan and raw. Most importantly it tastes better than any store bought pudding – take my word for it.”

To Prep: 5 minutes
To Cook: 1 hours
Ingredients: 9 ingredients
Makes: 6 serving
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dates, pitted
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • zest 1 orange
  • zest 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1-2 caps cointreau (optional)

Method

1. Process all ingredients in a food processor until coarsely chopped.

2. Line a mould of your choice with plastic wrap. Pack mixture into mould fairly tightly so that it is compact. Wrap plastic wrap over base and twist to tighten. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

3. Carefully remove form mould and top with yoghurt and a cherry for decoration.

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