Recipes: The Bold and the Buttery

 Festive Seafood Sharing Platter (pictured above)

Help yourself to this inspired festive starter or buffet idea - featuring Lurpak Butter with Crushed Garlic Prawns, a Simple Mackerel Pate and smoked salmon - accompanied by Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter with lemon and chives.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
Lemon and Chive Butter 100g Lurpak Slightly Salted butter
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
Smoked Mackerel Pate
200g smoked mackerel, skinned
25g Lurpak Slightly Salted butter, melted
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp Greek yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper Garlic Butter Prawns
25g Lurpak Butter with Crushed Garlic (for an even more garlic flavour, include 1 large garlic clove, finely sliced 300g raw king or tiger prawns, thawed and patted dry)
Lemon thyme, to garnish
200g smoked salmon
Lemon wedges, to serve
Crusty bread, to serve

Method
First, make the Lemon and Chive Butter. Beat the Lurpak Slightly Salted butter until softened, then mix in the chives and lemon zest. Spoon into a serving pot, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

For the Mackerel Pate, flake the smoked mackerel with a fork, then add the melted Lurpak Slightly Salted butter. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and yogurt. Season with black pepper. Cover and chill.

For the Garlic Butter Prawns, melt the Lurpak with Crushed Garlic butter in a large frying pan. Add the optional extra garlic should you wish, sizzle for a few seconds, then add the prawns. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until the prawns turn pink. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped fresh thyme.

Arrange the smoked salmon on a platter with the lemon wedges. Sprinkle with black pepper. Slice the bread and serve with the Mackerel Pate and the Lemon and Chive Butter.

Cook’s tip: Be prepared! Make the Mackerel Pate and the Lemon and Chive Butter up to 3 days before you need them

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Pull-Apart Cheese Scone Christmas Wreath

Make a batch of cheese scones and bake them in a ring to look like a festive wreath. Serve warm, with extra Lurpak!
Makes 1 wreath, plus about 6 extra scones
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes


Ingredients
450g self-raising flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
110g chilled Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter, cut into pieces
300g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
1 large egg 200ml milk, plus extra for brushing
Rosemary sprigs, to garnish
Olives, to serve

Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan oven 200°C/ Gas Mark 7. Grease 2 large baking sheets.

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped rosemary and stir it in. Rub in the chilled Lurpak Slightly Salted butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in about three-quarters of the cheese.

Beat the egg and milk together, then stir it into the mixture with a knife. Bring the dough together with your hand, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few moments until smooth.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3cm, then use a small (3-4cm) cutter to stamp out the scones, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Arrange 15-16 scones an overlapping circle on one baking sheet. Put any remaining scones on the second baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until risen and golden.

Leave to cool for a few minutes. Garnish the wreath with rosemary sprigs and serve while warm, with olives and extra Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter.

Cook’s tip: When cutting out the scones, avoid twisting the cutter – this will help them to rise better.

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Boxing Day Bubble & Squeak with Bacon & Halloumi

Bubble & squeak makes a perfect brunch for Boxing Day – using up vegetables from Christmas Dinner. Topped with crispy bacon and char-grilled Halloumi cheese, it tastes terrific!
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes


Ingredients
450g cold mashed potato
400g leftover vegetables, chopped (such as carrot, leek and cabbage)
50g Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter, melted
1 egg
75g plain flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
200g Halloumi cheese
12 cherry tomatoes
4 thick-cut smoky bacon rashers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parsley sprigs, to garnish

Method
Mix together the mashed potato and vegetables. Add half the melted Lurpak Slightly Salted Butter. Season with salt and pepper, then form the mixture into 4 large or 8 small patties.

Beat the egg with 1 tbsp cold water in a shallow dish. Put the flour into a second dish and season with salt and pepper. Dip the patties in the beaten egg, then coat in flour. 3. Heat the remaining butter with the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.

At the same time, heat a char-grill pan or the grill. Char-grill or grill the Halloumi until lightly browned, along with the tomatoes. Grill or fry the bacon until crispy.

Top the bubble & squeak with the bacon and Halloumi and serve with the cherry tomatoes, garnished with parsley sprigs.

Cook’s tip: Make the bubble & squeak patties and freeze them (uncooked) to serve another day.

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Right Rum Christmas Cake Muffins

These mini Christmas cakes are utterly delicious – moist, fruity and full of flavour – and just the perfect size!
Makes 8 Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus soaking
Cooking time: 50 minutes


Ingredients
150g currants
150g sultanas
150g raisins
100g glace cherries, halved
100ml dark rum
100g Lurpak Unsalted butter
100g dark muscovado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange 150g plain flour
Pinch salt 1 tsp ground mixed spice 50g caster sugar
Pecan halves, blanched almonds and glace cherries, to decorate

Method
Put the currants, sultanas, raisins and glace cherries into a bowl. Add the rum, stirring well. Cover and leave in a cool place for up to 2 days, though at least overnight. This plumps up the fruit to make the muffins deliciously moist.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/Gas Mark 3. Put 8 paper or foil muffin cases into a muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the Lurpak Unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a wooden spoon or hand-held electric mixer. Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition. Stir in the orange zest and orange juice. (Don’t worry if the mixture curdles).

Sift the flour, salt and mixed spice into the bowl, folding them through with a large metal spoon. Add the soaked dried fruits and stir thoroughly. Share the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake for 50 minutes in the centre of the oven. Cool completely.

Put the caster sugar into a saucepan with 100ml water. Heat gently to dissolve, then boil for 1-2 minutes. Brush over the cakes and arrange the nuts and cherries on top. Brush again with the glaze – be careful as the glaze is really hot!

Cook’s tip: Brandy could be used instead of rum – the choice is yours!

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Shortbread Stars with Mincemeat and Orange Brandy Butter

Homemade buttery shortbread just can’t be beaten - and it’s so easy to make! Top it with a little luxury mincemeat and some orange-flavoured brandy butter to complete the treat.
Makes 25 Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12-15 minutes


Ingredients
225g Lurpak Unsalted butter, at room temperature
110g caster sugar
350g plain flour
Pinch salt

Orange brandy butter
100g Lurpak Unsalted butter
100g icing sugar
Pinch mixed spice
50g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp brandy
Luxury mincemeat, to serve

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 or 3 baking trays with baking paper (if you only have 1 baking tray, cook in batches).

Beat together the Lurpak Unsalted butter and caster sugar until combined, using a wooden spoon. (The mixture doesn’t need to be light). Add the flour and salt and work it in with the wooden spoon, then use your hand to bring the mixture together.

Turn out the dough and knead for a few moments until smooth – but avoid over-handling. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and stamp out biscuits with a star-shaped cutter (or just use a round one). Re-roll the trimmings to make about 25, placing them on the baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until pale golden brown. Cool on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Make the orange brandy butter by beating the Lurpak Unsalted Butter with the icing sugar, mixed spice and orange zest. Stir in the brandy, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

Serve each biscuit topped with a little mincemeat and orange brandy butter.

Cook’s tip: Make the brandy butter to serve with your mince pies too!

More recipes found at: www.lurpak.co.uk