Starters for Christmas day lunch - suggestions please

[sandyballs]

I always struggle with this and end up with boring soup. DH thinks he's allergic to prawns as he always goes rashy on xmas day and that's the only time he eats prawns (I think it's more to do with the quantity and mixture of alcohol he always consumes on xmas day)

So what do you all have? I'm toying with the idea of little cheese souffle things from Cook but not sure.

did this last year Smoked salmon pateand it was yummy :) easy and can be prepped in advance

I was going to do something else but MIL and SIL have both told me I've got to do this again! :)

Blinis, with chopped red onion, sour cream, dill and your choice of smoked salmon or cut price pseudo-caviar. Delicious, light, and No Cooking! (unless you want to cook your own blinis of course)

Alternatively DH did Delia's duck rilette one year which was fabulous - took forever but was all done the previous day apart from making the toast.

DM always does consommé soup out of a tin with an extra splash of sherry and julienne carrots - retro but I like it, and it's light enough to not spoil your appetite.

Prosciutto, mozzarella, rocket and clementines, with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

It is light, tasty and most importantly can be plated up in advance and kept in the fridge, so no hassle.

at my parents its always been tradition that we have cashew nut pate with warm pitta. If you're interested i could find the recipe for you. Its to die for. I love it!

Grilled goats cheese salad - easy, quick and yummy.

We've always had prawn cocktail, but the last couple of years my vegetarian uncle has stayed for dinner. We do stuffed mushrooms for him. Easier and less faff than it sounds - the biggest flat mushrooms you can find, with a mix of breadcrumbs, parmesan and chopped tomatoes on top, under the grill for a few minutes. With a small handful of ready-bagged salad.

i will make pate with melba toast and caramelised red onion chutney on rocket. easy to prep and serve, no cooking but tastey.

I am doing smoked salmon with brown bread (posh brown bread ) and dill butter. DH will have vegetarian pate.

CBA faffing with cooking a course other than the main one. All this needs doing is assembling on a tray and plonking on the table.

Yes please to the recipe for cashew nut pate.

We don't bother with a starter - just have nuts, olives etc to pick on if we want them. One year I did balsamic roasted shallots with a rocket and parmesan salad, which was lovely but really not needed.

Im doing chestnut soup (basically its a lentil soup with chestnuts blended through to make it taste Christmassy) and homemade chicken liver pate because its one of my favourite things to cook now.

Both made before hand, so dead easy.

Oh yes to the cashew nut pate recipe please...it sounds delicious.

I'm thinking of doing savoury jam tarts - filo pastry basket filled with home-made tomato and chilli jam and a bit of goats cheese in the middle.

Never before have I done anything so poncey

I did a huge platter of prosciutto, pecorino cheese, melon and rocket, sprinkled with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar, with crusty bread.

No fussing about, and it's fairly light, so won't detract from the main event.

These lovely sounding platters a few of you have mentioned......silly question coming.........do you mix it all together and let peeps helpthemselves, or put it all individually on a platter so peeps can choose what they do / don't want?

Always had pate, but platter sounds good!

I put it all on a huge platter and stuck it on the table (actually, two huge platters, as there were 14 for lunch), and everyone just took what they wanted. It was mixed together, but in big pieces iyswim, so if someone didn't like melon they just avoided it.

My friend does something similar with fresh figs, prosciutto, rocket and buffalo mozzarella, just scattered onto a big plate and drizzled with honey. Yum.

Just doing a few small bits to have with wine - last year the starter was so filling we all ran out of room before the pudding. Prob olives and small triangles of smoked salmon on brown bread, simple things like that.

These are super easy and can be made in advance of the day. Looks and tastes fab. here

This is the actual recipe I used (just checked) here

Ooh just me and dp this year so thinking eithepate with rocket and red onion chutney or mozzarella prosciutto avocado etc... decisions decisions...

My dad is really into cooking and my mum was saying on the phone this evening that he's already been trying out ideas ready for Christmas

The best so far had been potted pork with an apple and something chutney and scotch eggs made with quails' eggs. I would guess that the recipes are in BBC Good Food, which I know he subscribes to.

Most years we do the boring classic smoked salmon starter . I do love it, though. We use Irish soda bread cut into triangles with a dollop of soured cream mixed with very finely diced red onion and dill and a sliver of smoked salmon. Simple and yummy.

In other years we have also had retro prawn cocktails in a glass, spiced parsnip soup and Jamie Oliver's fig, goat's cheese and honey salad

toothless please post the cashew nut pate recipe, it sounds delicious!

yes, would love to see the cashew pate recipe please!

I've been pondering this question too. I'm a bit limited as there will be two veggies (plus four meat-eaters), can't do soup (too filling) or mushrooms (veggie main course), can't do fish or prawns (two don't like). Was thinking of doing some home made olive and herb tapenade and mini french toasts, but it doesn't seem Christmassy enough.