It’s hard to believe that the third candle is already burning on our Advent wreath today. Christmas is within reach and the anticipation of a cozy get-together is growing. Still no idea for Christmas dinner? On this Advent Sunday, we still have one or two festive dishes and present more favorite recipes from different nations of our teams.
We hope you enjoy trying them out!
Mom’s apple pie
Provided by Manon from Marketing Team Benelux
“This is my mom’s recipe. She made this not only at Christmas but all year round. If you are an apple and coconut fan this is the recipe for you!”
For the dough: Whisk the butter with the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt with the hand mixer for about 10 min until it’s creamy.
Mix the egg in the creamy mass. Mix the self-rising baking flour and coconut in portions and work with your hands to form a crumbly dough.
Coat a pie tin of 26 cm with butter and press the dough into it. Peel and slice the apples into small pieces. Mix them with the ginger jam and custard powder and divide them over the tart base. Roll the rest of the dough between your hands into small crumbs and sprinkle them over the apple filling.
Baking time: In a preheated oven of about 160 degrees for about 50-60 min.
Bolognese Tortellini in broth
Provides by Aurora from Human Ressource Team Italy
“An old tradition that melts peoples’ heart at Christmas.”
For the broth: Clean and wash the vegetables and cut them into coarse pieces. Place the vegetables in the pot with hot boiling water and adjust the salt. At this point simmer on very low heat for at least 3 hours.
For the filling: Mix all the ingredients until combined.
For the dough: First roll out the dough with a pasta machine to a thickness of 1 mm. Once you have the dough, roll it out and cut out 3 cm squares of egg dough. In the center add some dough and close it forming a triangle, then join the two edges by rolling them around your index finger.
Pour them into the boiling broth until they rise up and serve them with hot broth and enjoy a Bolognese dish!
Grandmas stew
Provided by Evi from Marketing Team Benelux
“My grandma always made this stew for us during Christmas. It’s the best stew for winter.”
Brown out the butter in the pan and sauté the braised steak for a few minutes. Optional, add salt and pepper after your liking.
Remove the meat from the pan and extinguish the pan with water. Add Laurel leaf and onion to pan with the broth. Add the meat to the pan and simmer gently on the stove for 2 hours with the lid on the pan. If necessary, you can pour some of the remaining broth off to make a nice gravy.
Romanian Cozonac
Provided by Cosmin from Team Romania
“I miss this sweet bread that my grandmother used to make.”
For the dough: Put the milk, sugar and liquid vanilla extract on the hob and stir until the sugar melts.
Crumble in the yeast and wait 15 minutes. Rub the egg yolk separately with the salt and add the orange zest.
Pour the mixture into the bowl with the flour, add the egg and butter and mix to form a smooth dough. Knead for at least 30 minutes and leave to rise in the warmth.
For the filling: Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. Carefully fold in the sugar and vanilla sugar, then stir in the lemon zest. Now add the ground hazelnuts.Roll out the pastry and spread with the filling.
Baking time: Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C fan oven for approx. 35 minutes.
Then whisk the egg yolk with the milk, brush the strudel with the egg-milk mixture and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for a further 10 minutes. Leave to cool and serve.