Darina Allen: three recipes for cooking for Christmas crowds

Chicken, Leek, and Mushroom Casserole in White Wine Cream.

Everyday life whizzes by so fast, don’t know about you but mine is full of good resolutions, many I don’t manage to achieve.

As I get older, many of my best intentions seem to be vague plans to contact and get together with an old friend or friends I haven’t seen for ages.

For me, the days around Christmas are perfect for informal parties around the table or tables, sometimes guests spill into another room.

It’s also the time of year when we have a few free days but everyone else is on holidays too, so one has less help – a Catch 22… 

Nonetheless, the most important thing is to actually get together, share a meal and to have a jolly catch-up.

Doesn’t have to be a super complicated and exotic, multi-course meal. Let’s face it, the mere mention of the word Christmas makes many feel full!

I love a walk on a bright, blustery day and a picnic – I’m still a little ‘bockety’ but 3 months after my knee operation, I’m increasingly agile, though not quite ready for a jaunt up the Comeraghs just yet.

Afternoon tea around the fire is an easy option.

 I’ve got a myriad of irresistible tray bakes or what are also call sheet pan recipes, but today I’m concentrating on easy options to feed a crowd and those are mostly one pot, pan or roasting tin dishes.

I’ve got masses of recipes for those, both sweet and savoury.

But first, let me mention a soup supper – make a big pot (could be weeks ahead) of chunky vegetable soup, make lots so everyone can tuck into several bowls with several thick slices of good bread.

Could be followed by a tempting selection of Irish farmhouse cheese or an Irish charcuterie board – think Gubbeen, Lúnasa Farm, Broughgammon, Sheridan’s Cheesemongers.

How about this treacle tart? It comes from the King Cookbook published by Flatiron Books who share their favourite recipes from the iconic and much loved restaurant on the corner of King St.in Manhattan. 

It’s owned and run by Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni Clare de Boer and Jess Shadbolt and their business partner Annie Shi. The food is ‘delicious’ – not my words, but The New York Times' – so add it to your New York list.

Many other easy and delicious suggestions for easy ‘feed a crowd’ recipes can be found in my One Pot Feeds All cookbook published by Kyle Books – many people’s go-to. 

I love to see dog-eared copies on kitchen shelves, but one of my favourite Christmas picks is Eunice Power's My Irish Kitchen Table, published by Gill Books, filled with Eunice’s infectious warmth and the delicious recipes that she has become justly famous for in the many events she caters for. 

I have to say how delighted I am when I hear that Eunice and her team are catering at an event – one can rest assured that the food and ambiance will be memorable.

Here I share her chicken, leek and mushroom casserole in white wine cream, a firm favourite with her clients for parties and buffets.

It’s super easy: one roasting dish, easy to assemble and serve, so you too can enjoy the party. Just add a crunchy salad of winter leaves.

Enjoy the festive season and don’t forget a hug for the cook!

Eunice Power's Chicken, Leek & Mushroom Casserole in White Wine Cream

This dish is a firm favourite with my lovely clients for parties and buffets or as bowl food. It’s a real crowd-pleaser. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can add a heaped teaspoon of flour to the leek and mushroom before adding the stock and wine reduct

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 200ml chicken stock

• 200ml white wine

• 6 chicken fillets

• 30ml olive oil

• 30g butter

• 1 leek, outer leaves and tops removed, washed thoroughly and sliced

• 250g mixed mushrooms (or flat-cap mushrooms), sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 240ml cream

• small bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves stripped and finely chopped (or 1 scant tsp dried tarragon)

• sea salt and black pepper

• Recipe from My Irish Kitchen Table by Eunice Power (Gill Books)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/Gas 4.

2. Place the chicken stock and white wine in a pan and simmer until reduced by half.

3. Season the chicken fillets with salt and pepper. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat half the olive oil over a medium heat. Pan-fry the chicken fillets for a few minutes on each side, until they’re golden and have a nice colour. You may need to do this in batches. Transfer the chicken to a roasting tin, add a tablespoon of the reduced wine and stock and 3 tablespoons of water. Place the tin in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Once cooked, allow the chicken to cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a wide-based saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil and butter over a medium heat. Add the sliced leek and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the mushroom and garlic, cooking for another 5 minutes. Pour in the reduced wine and stock and allow it to simmer.

5. Next, pour the cream into a small saucepan, bring it back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until it has reduced by almost half.

6. Once the chicken has cooled, tear it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the leek and mushroom mixture. Stir in the reduced cream and the chopped tarragon. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Note: If you are preparing ahead of time, add the cream and tarragon only when you’re ready to serve. This dish is best served with creamy mashed potatoes.

Festive Roast Fish Three Ways

recipe by:Darina Allen

An inspired way to cook whole fillets of fish, I’ve given three separate sauce suggestions here but even a simple dill butter makes roast fish into a feast.

Servings

20

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 whole trout or wild salmon

• butter or extra virgin oil, about 25g/25ml

• flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the tomato and dill topping:

• 4–8 tbsp chopped dill

• 8-10 ripe cherry tomatoes, deseeded and diced, sprinkled with a little flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar

• 110–225g extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Descale the trout or salmon, fillet and remove the pin bones. For the topping, mix the dill and diced seasoned tomato together with the extra virgin olive oil.

2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put the fillets of fish on top. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the dill and tomato oil over the surface. Roast for 8-10 minutes or until cooked and tender.

3. Serve in the tray or transfer the fish onto one or two hot serving dishes. Sprinkle with a little fresh dill and dill flowers. Serve immediately with a salad of organic green leaves.

4. Variations:

5. Roast Salmon with Teriyaki Sauce

6. To make the teriyaki sauce, put 100ml light or dark soy sauce, 100ml dry white wine, 2 large, thinly sliced garlic cloves, a 4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, 2 tbsp of wholegrain mustard and 2 tbsp of soft brown sugar into a stainless-steel saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. (Alternatively, spoon over the fish before putting it in the oven.) Roast the fish as above. Brush the fish generously with the teriyaki sauce, sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve.

7. Roast Salmon with Pul Biber

8. Prepare the salmon as above, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with pul biber and flaky sea salt. Roast as above. Serve with a good green salad.

King St Treacle Tart

This tart is made with stale white breadcrumbs and treacle. It became a post-war favourite due to its humble cupboard-friendly ingredients.

Servings

10

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the tart shell:

• 1 x 25cm tart shell, prepared with short-crust pastry and chilled (see recipe)

• For the short-crust pastry:

• Makes 2 x 30.5cm tart shells

• 350g plain white flour

• 100g granulated sugar

• Salt

• 225g unsalted butter, cut into 2.5cm cubes and chilled

• 3 large egg yolks

• For the filling:

• 145g unsalted butter

• 900g Lyle’s Golden Syrup

• 100g heavy (whipping) cream

• Salt

• 2 lemons

• 3 large eggs

• 150g fine breadcrumbs

• To serve:

• Cold cream

•  

Method

1. For the short-crust:

2. Combine the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse repeatedly, cutting the pieces into the flour until irregular pea-sized bits form, about 1 minute.

3. One at a time, add the egg yolks to the processor, blitzing each one in before adding the next. Stop blitzing once a dry, crumbly dough that’s mostly uniform comes together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper, divide it in half, and pat each half into a log. Wrap each one in parchment paper and chill in the fridge until firm, at least 30 minutes.

4. Once the dough is firm, grate one log directly into a 25cm tart shell, using the largest holes of a box grater. Then, working from the edges in, press the dough together, forming a 5mm thick pastry shell. Pay extra attention to the corners, as they can typically build up and get too dense.

5. Chill the tart shell in the fridge until cold to the touch, about 20 minutes, before using. The prepared shell holds, covered, for a day in the fridge. Freeze the extra log if you’re not making a second tart - it will keep until infinity. When ready to use, thaw it in the fridge.

6. For the tart:

7. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

8. Prick the tart shell all over the bottom with a fork. Set the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until the shell is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, at least 35 minutes.

9. To make the filling, brown the butter by heating it in a medium pot over a medium-low heat until it smells nutty and is a rich golden brown, 8 minutes. Do not let the butter burn! Turn off the heat.

10. Stir in the golden syrup, heavy cream and 2 teaspoons of salt into the browned butter and warm over medium heat, whisking, until the mixture emulsifies, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, about 4 minutes, then finely zest the lemons directly into the pot. Stir to combine and cool the syrup until just warm to the touch, about 30 minutes.

11. Meanwhile, juice the zested lemons, strain the juice, and set aside.

12. When the syrup has partially cooled, whisk the eggs together in a large bowl. Whisk in a small amount of the warm syrup to temper the mixture so the eggs don’t curdle, then add the remaining syrup a little bit at a time. Whisk in the lemon juice and breadcrumbs.

13. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell and bake in the oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. As the tart bakes, rotate the tin every 15 minutes so it cooks evenly.

14. Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack. Once cool enough to handle, but still warm enough that any leaked treacle is pliable, gently pop the tart of the tin’s ring.

15. Slice the tart and serve with cold cream.

Seasonal Journal

Midleton Farmers' Market, December 20 

Don’t miss the final Midleton Farmers’ Market of 2025 next Saturday, December 20, to pick up last minute essentials for your Christmas dinner from 9am–2.00pm.

How to Cook Well at Christmas with Rory O’Connell

Rory’s on the TV again.

Don’t miss How to Cook Well at Christmas, with two episodes featuring lots of delicious festive recipes.

Airing on RTÉ 1 on Sunday, December 21 at 8.30pm and Monday, December 22 at 6.30pm.