Merry Quiz'mass quiz 📝
We've pulled together a classic seasonal fun quiz, the perfect way to test your Christmas knowledge!
Hasselback parsnips with orange & maple syrup
This is a great addition to your Christmas dinner!
Serving: 4 people
Course: Christmas lunch
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 parsnips, peeled and cut in half lengthways
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 orange juiced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 4 thyme sprigs, leaves picked off
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Make deep cuts into the length of the parsnips at roughly 1/2cm intervals, without cutting through. Put on a baking tray lined with baking parchment in one layer, drizzle with the oil and season. Roast for 20 mins.
- Mix the orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup and thyme. Pour over the parsnips and roast for 15 mins more, basting once or twice.
Marinated beetroot with grilled goat's cheese, walnuts & honey
This is a very simple starter for Christmas Day and can be prepared the day before.
Serving: 4 people
Course: starter
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 90ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
- 15ml of red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp dill
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 4 raw beetroots, peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandolin or with a food processor slicing attachment.
- 4 individual vegetarian goats’ cheeses or 4 goat's cheese log rounds with rind
- 4 handfuls rocket
- 100g crushed walnuts
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions:
- Mix the oil, vinegar, sugar and thyme in a shallow dish and season well. Add the sliced beetroot and marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight if you like.
- Heat the grill to high. Season the goat’s cheese slices, then place on an oiled baking tray and grill for 2-3 minutes until golden and melting.
- Lift out the beetroot, reserving the marinade, and divide between 4 plates.
- Top with the rocket, a round of goat’s cheese and a little more rocket and sprinkle on nuts.
- Drizzle with the marinade and honey, then serve.
Whole roasted butternut squash filled with chestnut mushrooms, walnuts, kale & cranberries
This is a great dish because it can be prepared in advance and left in the fridge for a least 2 day, don’t rush the cooking on this, it’s better to give it time to cook all the way through.
Serving: 4 people
Course: lunch/main
Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp and a drizzle
- 2 pinches of ground mace
- 2 pinches of mixed spice
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 160g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 50g walnuts, chopped
- 25g dried cranberries
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 6 sage leaves, sliced
- 160g kale, shredded and large stalks discarded
- 100ml vegan white wine or stock
- 150g sourdough bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut the squash in half through the middle lengthways and scoop out the seeds using a spoon (don’t discard them).
- Drizzle the squash halves with 1 tbsp oil and rub this all over. Season and transfer to a baking tray, cut side up.
- Roast for 50 minutes - 1 hour until tender through to the middle when pierced with a fork and lightly caramelised.
- Meanwhile, wash the reserved squash seeds in a sieve, removing any stringy pieces of flesh, then pat dry with a tea towel. Tip the seeds into a bowl, drizzle over 2 tsp oil and toss with pinch of each of the spices and a pinch of salt until coated. Transfer to a baking-parchment-lined baking tray and roast on the shelf below the squash for 10-15 minutes until golden and crunchy, stirring halfway through to ensure they roast evenly. Leave to cool on the tray.
- Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 10 mins until soft. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for another 10 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the walnuts, remaining mace and mixed spice, the cranberries, maple syrup, sage and kale.
- Cook for a few minutes more until the kale has started to wilt, then stir in the wine or stock along with some seasoning. Continue to cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs until combined (add a splash more wine or stock if you need to soften the bread). The mixture shouldn’t be dry and crumbly and should hold together when pressed. Season well.
- When the squash is tender, scoop out a hollow channel in the neck of the squash to make a gap for the filling. (You can keep the scooped-out flesh for soups or purées.) Spoon in the filling, packing it into the squash and piling up slightly. Drizzle over a little oil and roast for 20-30 minutes until lightly crisp on top.
- Scatter with the squash seeds and slice to serve.
Christmas pudding brownies
You have probably got one hanging around from last year to use! This is a great alternative to the traditional pudding on Christmas Day, but this recipe is also good for Boxing Day, using left over pudding.
Serving: 10 people
Course: dessert
Time: 50 mins
Ingredients:
- 400g butter
- 400g dark chocolate
- 6 eggs
- 4 tbsp brandy, amaretto, or rum
- 500g caster sugar
- 250g plain flour
- 200g cooked Christmas pudding
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line a 30cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
- Chop the butter into small cubes and pop into a large pan. Place on a gentle heat and let it begin to melt.
- Chop the chocolate and add it to the butter when it has nearly melted. Keep on the heat until the chocolate has melted, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- While the butter cools, beat the eggs in a large bowl with your chosen liqueur (if using) until frothy, then beat in the sugar.
- Stir in the melted butter and chocolate, then sift in the flour and use a metal spoon to fold it all together.
- Crumble in the Christmas pudding and stir until fully mixed. Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin.
- Slide into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is pale but the middle is still dark and gooey. There should still be a slight wobble when you shake the tin.
- Leave the brownies to cool for 10-15 minutes in the tin, then cut into squares.
- Serve warm with leftover brandy cream, custard or ice cream.
- The brownies are also delicious cold and will keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Suggested reads for the festive season 📚
Our English Subject Advisors, Sam Orciel and Lydia Ridding, have suggested some festive reads for the holiday period as well as some recommended reads for your holiday shopping list! 🎁
Festive reading suggestions from Lydia
16 December 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. I recently read two new novels based loosely on her life:
The Elopement by Gill Hornby, author of Godmersham Park and Miss Austen (which was subsequently made into a TV series), tells the story of Mary Dorothea Knatchbull, stepdaughter to Jane Austen’s niece, Fanny Knight. Hornby takes historical details gleaned from painstaking research at the Kent archives in Maidstone and weaves them into a highly entertaining, warm and witty novel. Rumour is that it’s also been optioned for TV!
Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne is a reimagining of a time in Austen’s own life, the year 1801 when Jane and her family spent six weeks in Sidmouth, Devon. We tend to think of Austen as a satirist rather than a romance writer, and although there has been speculation over the years, we know very little about her love life apart from the fact that she remained unmarried. Six weeks by the sea tells the story of a brief romantic relationship with an unnamed clergyman who Byrne turns into Samuel Rose, a lawyer and abolitionist. A worthwhile read for a new take on the life of Austen.
I’m just catching up with some 2024 publications for younger readers and have recently bought these titles as gifts:
King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore, winner of both the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize for older readers and the Shadowers’ Choice Carnegie Medal for Writing, is a ‘laugh out loud’ teen comedy, sure to entertain even the most reluctant readers.
I loved Katya Balen’s October, October when I read it for a local book group, so I was excited to find a beautiful copy (with images of puffins sprayed on the page edges) of her latest novel for children, Ghostlines during one of my bookshop trawls over half term. Set on the magic island of Ayrie, the story follows Tilda and newcomer Albie as they forge a friendship rooted in the power of nature. A great stocking filler for any Year 5-6s on your Christmas list!
Festive reading suggestions from Sam
This year, I've decided to get into the spirit of the season by only recommending – and gifting! – books that brought me joy. I read all five of these in 2025, and there are probably very few people who wouldn’t welcome at least one of these under the tree.
Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
What a debut! My runaway favourite novel this year is a fantastic mix of formidable character development, incredible wit and real fun. Set in New Zealand, this tale of a brother and sister who keep making terrible choices is immediately accessible and endlessly entertaining, capturing neurodivergence and multiculturalism in both frank and subtle ways. Perfect for reluctant, shyer types who deserve a really good read.
Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi
I came across this book almost by accident, and now I won’t stop talking about it. You might ask: who am I going to give a book about 1990s communist Albania to? Answer: anyone. Free, written from a young Ypi’s perspective, is forthright, informative, and darkly funny (I challenge you not to laugh at the Coca-Cola can saga). I learned a lot of history from this book, and it also happens to be beautifully written. Ypi’s just published another slice of family life (her grandmother’s story, titled Indignity), so that’s also next year’s gift sorted.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
This novel takes an Irish working-class attitude and vernacular and transports it to ancient Syracuse, where two friends haplessly attempt to stage a performance of Medea with a group of tortured Athenian prisoners. It’s a ridiculous premise that really shouldn’t work – but it absolutely does. It's funny, emotional and clever (though it wears its wittiness and allusion lightly) and I would happily read anything else Lennon decides to create in this brilliant, original universe.
The Artist by Lucy Steeds
Come for the intrigue, stay for the descriptions of art and food. If you’ve ever read a previous Christmas books recommendations list from me, you’ll know that I often have my head turned by novels about art, but this one has the most evocative sense of place and texture I have seen in a very long time. The plot is far from upbeat (an isolated young woman tiptoeing around her explosive uncle, while a journalist tries to uncover their secrets), but the immersion into the life of an obsessive artist in 1920s Provence is truly life-affirming.
The Forward Book of Poetry 2026
There is absolutely something for everyone in this collection that captures the exciting landscape of modern poetry. I challenge any reader not to be profoundly moved by this year’s nominated poems – in particular, Abeer Ameer’s ‘at least’ and Griot Gabriel’s ‘Where I’m From’. If you’re looking to gift the love of language to someone this Christmas, this would be an excellent place to start.
This year, our Music Subject Advisor, Marie Bessant, has shared her favourite songs to bring festive cheer and the soundtrack to your holiday!
