Basic HTML Version
Cover Story
12 ~ FireFlyz
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” … the soothing
sounds of the opening verse from the popular Nat King
Cole Christmas song is a sure sign that Christmas is
around the corner.
A Very
T
he
biggest festive
celebration of the year-end
is fast approaching and it is
time to turn our thoughts
tomerry-making. And
whatmerrier way to celebrate than to
have amouth-watering Yuletide feast.
But instead of the traditional turkey
with roasted chestnut trimmings, how
about trying a Christmasmenu that will
take your taste buds on a tour of nations?
Angelica Lim
starts this gastronomical
tour in France, the fine dining capital of
theworld and finishes the festive feasting
with a toast in the Caribbean island of
Puerto Rico.
Christmas
Menu
nobleman’s horse plunged into the sea
with his reluctant rider still astride. The
horse swamto the vessel and escorted it
back to land.When both horse and rider
emerged fromthe sea, bothwere covered
with scallop shells. The rider, whowas the
Lord of Maya, was convinced that he had
encountered amiracle and converted to
Christianity on the spot.
Soup-Avgolemono -Greece
For Greeks, Christmas is one of themost
important festivals of the year, and the
season is known as the “The Feast of the
Nativity of Jesus”. Feasting begins on the
24th of December and it is tradition for
family and friends to gather together
to enjoy Christmas recipes
handed down throughout the
generations.
And nothing ismore
traditional than
avgolemono
soup -which is an enticing blend
of chicken, rice and an egg-
lemon sauce.Whilst the Greeks
lay claimto this soup being an
age-old
tradition in their
country, the egg-lemon sauce cuts
across national boundaries. Arabs have
their
Tarbiya
, Turks call it
Terbiye
, for the
Jews it is
Agristada
, whilst the Italians have
a similar soup called
Bagna Brusca
.
Bread- Laufabrauð - Iceland
To gowith the Greek
avgolemono
soup, try
Laufabrauð
, or Leaf Bread from Iceland. It
is an interesting pairing of Mediterranean
warmthwith Icelandic cold.
Themaking of this thin, wafer-like
crisp leaf bread is a Christmas
tradition in Icelandwhere
entire families come
together to knead the
dough, cut the patterns
on the bread and
deep-fry this
holiday delicacy.
A special leaf
bread iron knife
is used to cut the
intricate geometric
leaf-like patterns
on the
Laufabrauð
.
There is a running
joke in the country
that this is the only
time in the year that
menwill step into
the
kitchen!
Appetizer -Coquilles Saint-Jacques
- France
Scallop of St James, or Coquilles Saint-Jacques
as it is called in the culinary world, is a dish
of baked scallops with cheese and herbs,
served in scallop shells. What better way
to start off your Christmasmeal thanwith
an appetiser that is linked to the Apostle
James. Legend has it that when the body
of the apostle, St James the Great, was in
a ship near the Spanish coast of Galicia, a