A Year in Review, as a Winter Season Menu 🎄

No questions asked this year, we have transported a whole feasts worth of food!

And so as the year draws to an end, we are back doing our favourite thing - creating a Chill-Chain winter menu using the goods we’ve transported this year.

It was a tough pick but we’ve narrowed it down to our top contenders. Indulge in a delectable selection that captures the essence of the season, each dish a testament to the quality and care we've dedicated to every delivery.

Oh and of course, let us know your favourite!

Quick Links:

Gingerbread Men - Kathryn, Client Success Manager.

Pavlova - Olivia, Business Operations.

Spinach and Ricotta Pastry- Indi, Marketing Coordinator.

Ryba Po Grecku - Aleks, Operations Strategy Manager.

Cheesecake - Eleonora, Operations Manager.

All the ingredients highlighted in pink, we have transported this year!

Kathryn, Client Success Manager

Makes: 12 large | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 45 min

You will need:

• 140g unsalted butter

• 100g dark muscovado sugar

• 3 tbsp golden syrup

• 350g plain flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

• 2 balls stem ginger, chopped

To decorate:

• 50g icing sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
   

2. Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a pan. Mix flour, soda, spices and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Stir in the butter mix and chopped ginger to make a dough.
   

3. Wait until cool enough to handle, then roll out dough to about 5mm thick. Stamp out gingerbread men, re-rolling and pressing the trimmings back together and rolling again. Lift onto baking sheets.
   

4. Bake for 12 mins until golden. Cool 10 mins on the sheets, then lift onto cooling racks.

5. To decorate, mix icing sugar with a few drops of water until thick and smooth. Decorate as desired.

Olivia, Business Operations

Serving: 6 | Prep: 30 min | Cook: 2 hours

You will need:

For the meringue:

• 4 large egg whites

• 225g caster sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp cornflour

For the filling:

• 400ml double cream

• 400g strawberries

• 200g raspberries

• 2 kiwi fruit

• 3 passion fruit 

• Mint sprigs, to decorate

• Sifted icing sugar, to decorate

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/Fan and prep your baking paper by placing a dinner plate in the centre and drawing around it to create a circle, leave to the side.
   

2. Put your egg whites in a large bowl and whisk with an electric beater until stiff peaks form (tip: they are ready when you can turn the bowl upside down without the eggs sliding out).
   

3. Gradually whisk in the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, whisking for a few seconds in between. Once all the sugar has been added, whisk in the vanilla extract and cornflour until well combined.
   

4. Place your earlier prepared baking paper, drawn side down on a baking tray - you should still be able to see the circle.
   

5. Spoon the meringue into the circle and shape with the back of a spoon or spatula to create a large meringue nest.
   

6. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 1 hour until very lightly coloured and crisp on the outside. Turn the oven off and leave the meringue for a further hour.
   

7. Remove from oven and leave to cool completely.

8. Up to 2 hours before serving, carefully release the meringue from the baking paper, and place onto your serving plate.
   

9. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and spoon into the centre of the meringue.
   

10. Chop your strawberries and kiwi fruit, and place on top of cream. Cut the passion fruit and scrape the pulp over.
    

11. Decorate with sprigs of mint and dust with sifted icing sugar to serve.

Indi, Marketing Coordinator

Serves: 8 | Prep: 20 min | Cook: 30 min

You will need:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for frying

• 2 red onions, chopped

• 8 cups fresh spinach

• Salt and black pepper

• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

• 9 ounces fresh ricotta cheese

• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

• 1 egg, beaten

• 4+ cherry tomatoes, halved.

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and saute onions until soft and translucent. Add spinach, salt, and pepper and briefly saute while stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and cook until spinach is wilted, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove lid after 5 minutes and allow cooking liquid to evaporate. Remove from stove and cool completely.
   

2. Chop spinach mixture and combine with ricotta and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
   

3. Roll out puff pastry sheet and evenly cover with spinach and cheese mixture to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Tightly roll up sheet lengthwise and press edges tightly together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
   

4. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (C). Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   

5. Slice pastry log into 3/4-inch slices so you have 16 to 22 pinwheels. Lay puff pastry pinwheels in the shape of a Christmas tree. The lowest row should consist of 6 pinwheels the second row 5 pinwheels, etc. If you end up with 16 pinwheels, start with 5 pinwheels in the lowest row. Place the last wheel on the bottom to make the trunk. Brush with egg.
   

6. Bake in the preheated oven until wheels are lightly browned and puffed up, 20 to 25 minutes. Decorate with cherry tomatoes for Christmas tree ornaments.

Aleks, Operations Strategy Manager

Serves: 6 | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 35 min Ryba Po Gre

You will need:

For the fish:

• 680g white fish fillets, such as cod

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 cup (30g) flour

• 1/4 cup (60ml) frying oil

For the vegetable topping:

• 1 tablespoon frying oil

• 3 medium carrots (about 200g)

• 2 parsley roots (about 100g)

• 1/2 leek the white part

• 1 medium onion

• 85g celeriac (or 1 celery rib and more carrots/parsley root)

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon basil

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 allspice berries optional

• 1 cup water or vegetable/chicken broth

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley

• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook the fish:

1. Pat dry the fish with paper towels. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and paprika on all sides.
   

2. Dredge in flour on all sides.
   

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook (in batches if necessary) until golden on both sides and cooked through.
   

4. Transfer the fish to a deep plate or baking dish (I used a 9-inch (23cm) round pie dish).
   

5. Use the same pan to cook vegetable topping.

Make the vegetable topping:

1. Peel the carrots, celeriac, and parsley roots. Grate on the large holes of a box grater. Dice the onions and leek. Finely chop garlic.
   

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan. Add carrots, celeriac, parsley roots, onions, and leek. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until soft and slightly browned.
   

3. Reduce the heat to low and add garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
   

4. Add water/broth, bay leaves, allspice berries. Cover the pan with a lid. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Take off the lid, almost all water should be evaporated.
   

5. Add tomato paste, cook over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, until everything is well-combined.
   

6. Season with lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves and allspice berries.
   

7. Spread the vegetables over the fish.
   

8. You can eat this right away or chill for a couple of hours or overnight (it tastes better after some time, when the flavors have time to meld together). This dish tastes good hot or cold (you can gently reheat it in the oven at 325°F/160°C).
   

9. Enjoy!

Eleonora, Operations Manager

Serves: 8-10 | Prep: 40 mins | Cook: 40 mins

You will need:

• 200g dry biscuits (like digestive)

• 100g butter, room temperature

• 3 eggs, separated

• 100g sugar

• 250g ricotta

• 250g mascarpone cheese

• 1 tablespoon of flour

• 4 tbsp jam of your choice (strawberry, raspberry, etc)

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the dry biscuits and combine them with the butter.
   

2. Scoop this mixture into the bottom of a cheesecake tine and leave to rest in the fridge.
   

3. Combine the egg yolks with the sugar, then add in the ricotta, mascarpone and flour. Mix well until smooth.
   

4. In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and then gently add them to the mixture (from step 3).
   

5. Cover the biscuit base with the resulting cream and bake at 180° for 40 minutes.

6. Leave to cool and then cover the cake with a sweet jam of your choice. Store the cheesecake in the fridge and serve chilled when needed.

(P.s. you could also buy a pre-made cheesecake, we heard they are pretty good and we have also transported them again this year, so it still counts!)

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The Chill-Chain Christmas menu could go on, we could have turkey, carrots, and peas or finish off the meal with tiramisu or some profiteroles!

If you need help transporting anything on our Christmas ingredient list or if you have something new to add, please reach out, our team will be more than happy to assist.

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