Discover these exquisite Christmas recipes from HUBERT, crafted for an unforgettable holiday feast. As a professional chef with years of experience in fine dining, I've refined these dishes to showcase premium ingredients and flawless techniques for home cooks.
Light Duck Foie Gras Toasts with Red Onion Jam, Noirmoutier Salt, and Pink Peppercorns
Ingredients for 4: 4 slices country bread, 1.200 kg semi-cooked duck foie gras, 20 cl port, 5 cl soy sauce, Noirmoutier salt, pink peppercorns.
Prepare the red onion jam (recipe below). Trim and halve the bread slices, then halve 4 foie gras slices. Reduce port and soy sauce by 3/4. Lightly toast bread slices and cool. Top each with onion jam, foie gras slice, pinch of salt, and pink peppercorns. Drizzle with reduced sauce using a spoon.
Adapted from a hot recipe to serve cold—prepare ahead but keep at room temperature, not refrigerated.
Red Onion Jam: 300g red onions, 20g grenadine syrup, 30g raspberry syrup, 20g raspberry vinegar. Finely chop onions, boil until tender, drain, return to pan with vinegar, and cook until evaporated. Add syrups and simmer to syrupy consistency.
John Dory Sticks with Truffle Juice and Palm Oil, Wild Chanterelles with Parsley and Nutmeg
Ingredients for 4: 500g John Dory fillet, 6 cl truffle juice, 200g veal juice, 120g palm oil, 20g white sesame seeds, 1 kg gray chanterelles, flat-leaf parsley, 120g butter, nutmeg.
Cut John Dory fillet into aiguillettes (sticks) and coat with palm oil. For sauce: Reduce veal juice by half, add truffle juice (off heat), whisk in butter pieces, season. Sort and trim chanterelles, chop parsley. Sauté mushrooms in hot butter 15 minutes, add parsley and nutmeg. Sear fish in hot non-stick pan 5 minutes, season. Plate chanterelles, top with fish and sesame, serve sauce separately.
Orange Champagne Granita
Ingredients for 4 glasses: 40 cl brut champagne, juice of 1 orange, 1/2 vanilla pod, 135g sugar.
Mix orange juice with water to 20 cl, add sugar and split vanilla pod, boil, cool, add champagne. Pour into shallow dish, freeze, stirring every 20 minutes until granita forms. Serve in cups. (*Use liquid vanilla for convenience.)
Venison Cutlets with Cognac and Smyrna Raisins, Tender Chestnuts
Ingredients for 4: 600g venison leg (4 pavés), 20 cl cognac, 150g blond Smyrna raisins, 400g peeled cooked chestnuts, 120g butter, 20 cl veal juice, 12g gray mignonette pepper, oil, chervil, salt, pepper, 20g honey.
Sauté chestnuts in butter and honey with veal juice, low heat, season, garnish with chervil. Soak raisins in cognac. Sear pavés in butter-oil, season, bake 15 minutes at 180°C, rest. Deglaze pan with cognac-raisins, reduce by 3/4, add veal juice, reduce, whisk in butter off heat. Slice pavés, plate with sauce and chestnuts; serve extra sauce.
Chocolate-Almond Christmas Treats with Mint Cream, Starfruit, and Physalis
Ingredients for 4: 4 egg whites, 80g ground almonds, 90g icing sugar, 20g cocoa powder, 20g caster sugar, 3g fine salt, 200g bitter chocolate, 40g butter, 1 carambola (starfruit), physalis tray, 15 cl cream.
Biscuit: Mix almonds, icing sugar, cocoa. Whip whites to stiff peaks with sugar and salt, fold in dry mix. Spread on parchment, bake 15 minutes at 200°C, cool, cut into 12 rounds, chill.
Mousse: Melt chocolate with boiling water-cream mix, rest 1 minute, blend, chill 1 hour. Warm 3/4 ganache with butter. Assemble 4 stacks (3 biscuits each with mousse). Coat with remaining melted ganache, dust icing sugar. Surround with mint cream (flavor crème anglaise with peppermint extract), decorate with starfruit slices and physalis.
