Michelin star chef, Oliver Dunne, shares some recipes to bring your Christmas dinner to the next level. Scroll down to see a soup, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pudding recipe.

For every dinner reservation in any Oliver Dunne restaurant for the month of December – €5 will be donated to Aware as part of their #YouDineWeDonate campaign. That includes:

• Bon Appetit
• Cleaver East
• Beef and Lobster (Dublin & Galway)
• Bryanstown Social
• Ribeye Steakhouse
• The Donnybrook Gastropub

CHESTNUT SOUP WITH SOFT POACHED HENS EGG

Ingredients

• 200g Pre Packed Cooked Chestnut (sliced)
• 500ml Vegetable Stock
• 200ml Cream
• 2 Large Shallots
• 3 Sprigs of Thyme
• 50ml Madeira
• 25g Butter
• 4 Free Range Eggs
• 20ml White Wine Vinegar

Method

1. In a large pot, add the butter, sliced shallots and thyme and cook on a high heat for 1-2 mins.
2. Add the Madeira and reduce until a glaze. Then add the sliced cooked chestnuts, stock and cream.
3. Bring to the boil, blend until smooth and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. To poach the eggs, stir a large deep pot of boiling water with addition of white wine vinegar. Add the eggs one by one to the centre of the pot and poach for approximately 2.5 mins.
5. To serve place one egg into the centre of each bowl and cover with the hot chestnut soup.

FRESH CRANBERRY SAUCE

Ingredients

• 500g Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
• 150g Golden Sugar
• 2 Grated Apples
• ½ Cinnamon Stick

Method

1. Simply put all ingredients into a small pot.
2. Boil & reduce to the required consistency.
3. Season with salt if required.

SAUSAGE MEAT STUFFING

Ingredients

• 1lb Sausage Meat
• 225g Breadcrumbs
• 6 Rashers
• 1 Tbls Fresh Sage (chopped)
• 2 Tbls Fresh Parsley
• 1 Onion (diced)
• 1 Egg
• 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
• 1 Tsp. Mixed Herbs
• 50g Butter

Method

1. Fry the onion, garlic and mixed herbs in the butter for 2-3 minutes until soft. Just before removing from the heat add the chopped sage, stir in and remove from heat.
2. Add the onion mixture to the rest of the ingredients and mix everything together.
3. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Use to stuff the turkey legs or bake in a 2lb loaf tin for 1 hour at 180C.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING
(Makes 1 x 2lb Pudding)

Ingredients

• 75g Flour
• ⅓tsp  Baking powder
• 75g breadcrumbs
• 75g dried suet
• 35g ground almonds
• 180g muscovado sugar
• 1/3tsp mixed spice
• Pinch cinnamon and nutmeg
• 60g stoned prunes
• 60g grated carrot
• 250g mixed currents, sultanas and raisins
• 20g mixed peel
  • small apple grated
• orange and lemon juiced and zest
• eggs
• 50ml rum
• 1tbls treacle/golden syrup
• 100ml stout

Method

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs, suet, ground almonds, sugar and spices together.
2. Then chop the prunes a little and mix with the currents, sultanas, raisins, mixed peel, grated apples, orange and lemon zest in a separate bowl.
3. In a third bowl beat the eggs and add to the orange and lemon juice, rum, treacle, golden syrup and stout.
4. The pudding ingredients can now be mixed together and should be a wet loose consistency –  if it feels to dry then add more stout.
5. Leave covered in the fridge for 2 days.
6. Then fill your 2lb pudding basin and steam for 4 hours topping up with boiling water when necessary.
7.  Leave the puddings in the fridge for up to one month after cooking.

For every dinner reservation in any Oliver Dunne restaurant for the month of December – €5 will be donated to Aware as part of their #YouDineWeDonate campaign. That includes: Bon Appetit, Cleaver East, Beef and Lobster (Dublin & Galway), Bryanstown Social, Ribeye Steakhouse & The Donnybrook Gastropub. Find out more >>