Christmas sandwiches

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus cooling time Cook time: 30 minutes

Makes 24 finger sandwiches

Make with chicken – as you might be serving these before you’ve cooked your turkey – or with turkey if the tea is after Christmas Day. Work as carefully as possible to produce neat sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS For the stuffing

– 20g butter

– ¼ onion, very finely

chopped

– 100g fresh white

breadcrumbs

– 12g parsley, finely

chopped

– finely grated zest of

½ lemon

– 1 large egg, lightly

beaten

– freshly grated nutmeg

For the sandwiches

– 40g butter, at room

temperature

– 16 slices of wholemeal bread, crusts neatly removed

– 100g mayonnaise – 100g cranberry sauce – 285g cooked chicken, mostly breast (skin removed), cut in neat thin slices

– 100g gem lettuce

leaves, finely sliced

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180C / 170C fan/gas mark 4.

Make the stuffing first. Melt the butter in a small frying pan and gently sauté the onion until soft. Scrape this into a small ovenproof bowl or dish and mix with all the other ingredients, and some seasoning. Cover the bowl or dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool.

Butter half the slices of bread on one side. Spread the other half with mayonnaise and top that with cranberry sauce. Divide the chicken between the buttered slices and season. Add some stuffing and leaves, then put the slices spread with mayo and cranberry sauce on top.

Cut each of the sandwiches into three fingers, working as neatly as you can (you need a good sharp knife). Keep the sandwiches covered with cling film until you want to serve them.