Carb overload, lashings of butter and sugary desserts… festive feasting is fun, but what if you could indulge without wondering why your jeans don’t fit come January?

CRANBERRY & BALSAMIC ROAST CHICKEN
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
For The Marinade
cup dried cranberries
cup orange juice
cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp thyme,
roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
For The Chicken
1 whole chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sprigs rosemary
1 cup chicken stock
To Serve
2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes and roasted

METHOD
For The Marinade
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large, shallow dish.
For The Chicken
1. Place the chicken in the marinade, spooning all over the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinating liquid. Place it in the centre of an oiled roasting tin lined with lemon slices.
3. Place the onion, garlic and rosemary inside the cavity of the chicken, pour over the chicken stock and brush some of the marinade on top of the chicken. Roast for 1 hour to 1 hr 15 min, until cooked through.
4. While the chicken is roasting, place the remaining marinade in a pot over medium heat. Simmer for 5–6 minutes until slightly thickened and use this to baste the chicken during roasting.
5. Carve the chicken to your liking and serve with roasted sweet potatoes.

STEAK & PEAR SALAD
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
For The Steak
500 g steak
2 tbsp olive oil
For The Dressing
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped mint
cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
For The Salad
1 cup watercress
2 cups rocket
2 radishes,
thinly sliced
1 pear, cored and
thinly sliced
1 wheel feta, crumbled
cup pumpkin
seeds, toasted

METHOD
For The Steak
1. Heat a griddle pan over high heat. Drizzle the steaks with olive oil and season generously.
2. Grill for 2–3 minutes a side, then remove from the heat and rest before slicing into thin strips.
For The Dressing
1. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste.
For The Salad
1. Toss the watercress, rocket, radishes and pear slices together in a bowl.
2. Top the salad with feta, toasted pumpkin seeds and slices of steak.
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad or serve it on the side.

MINCE PIE BISCUITS
Makes: 9 biscuits

INGREDIENTS
For The Biscuits
1 cup nutty wheat flour
tsp salt
cup coconut oil, softened but
not melted
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp cold water
For The Fruit Mince
apple, peeled, cored and grated
lemon, zested
and juiced
orange, zested
and juiced
tbsp coconut oil
1 cup mixed dried fruit
cup apricot juice
tsp mixed spice
tsp ground cinnamon
tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp cornflour

METHOD
For The Biscuits
1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Add coconut oil and beat until combined. Add honey and beat again until it resembles sticky breadcrumbs.
2. Add the water and mix until a soft dough forms. Cover the pastry in cling film and set aside in the fridge.
For The Fruit Mince
3. Place all ingredients, except corn flour, in a pot over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 8 min.
4. Mix the cornflour with 2 tsp cold water to make a paste and stir it into the hot fruit. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
6. Roll the biscuit dough out and, using a 6 cm cookie cutter, cut circles out of the dough.
7. Divide the circles into two batches. Use a smaller decorative cutter to cut a shape out of the middle of one batch of circles, creating the ‘window’ biscuit.
8. Bake all the circles for 10–12 minutes until golden brown.
9. Spoon 1 tbsp of the filling on to each of the bottom biscuits and sandwich closed with the top decorative ‘window’ biscuit.
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