Finally, it’s almost Christmas. After months of diminishing daylight, after weeks of dropping temperatures and – let’s face it – after a couple of mental breakdowns because December is just a bit too much, the Christmas holidays are upon us. Meaning it’s time to slow down, take a breath and enjoy some time off with friends and family. Maybe you’ve even decided to go all out this year and enjoy that winter break abroad, in which case we envy you pretty hard. But anyways, as it’s time for the holidays, it’s also time to think about what you’ll be eating for Christmas, New Year and every day in between.
If we’re really honest, those tend to be the days during which we don’t get to our daily 500 grams of veggies and fruits. And that’s okay. Because even though eating healthy is one of the most important things to do if you wish to stay in good health, sometimes, you’ve got to cut yourself some slack. There’s no better time to do so than during the holiday season, your grandma and her thousand-and-one chocolates, snacks and other unhealthy foods will surely agree.
I myself tend to opt for a lot of cheese-based platters during this time of year. There’s just something very comforting about the smell of melted cheese, about the feeling of cracking through that perfectly roasted cheese crust. And the more effort you do during the day, the better it tastes, making that long winter walk through cold and snow (or rain) totally worth your while.
Haute Raclette
If you, just like me, are a fan of raclette, there’s a book you should know about. ‘Haute Raclette’, written by Jennifer & Arnaud Favre, Pierre Crepaud and Dorian Rollin, takes your usual potato-cheese-and-charcuterie dinner to a whole different level. They rewrote the definition of raclette, as it were, by combining that greatly melted cheese with some very unusual suspects. There’s chestnuts, for example, or pineapple, and even avocado. To say I’m intrigued is an understatement.
Concretely, they’re suggesting to swap out your very normal potatoes for a tropical avocado. You cut it in half, take out the stone, put an egg in the little hole you’ve just created and then put it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius. You put some melted cheese on top and TADAM, you’ve got yourself merry little Christmas dinner. If it’s worth it? Let’s say the idea alone is too tempting not to try it at least once.
