Dear Park Bo Gum, knowing how much you enjoy cooking, fans from across Europe have gathered the Christmas dishes that bring our families together, each with a short story from the person who sent it. We hope it brings a little of our Christmas to you.
박보검 배우님, 메리 크리스마스! 요리를 좋아하시는 배우님을 위해 유럽 여러 나라의 팬들이 각자의 크리스마스 레시피와 이야기를 모았습니다. 저희의 따뜻한 크리스마스가 전해지기를 바랍니다.
From our tables to yours
Europe is a patchwork of languages, landscapes and traditions, and at Christmas you can taste it: in one home a sweet bread, in another a fish dish, in another a soup made the same way for generations. With this cookbook, we wanted to share that variety with you.
But the recipes are only half of it. What we truly remember are the moments around them: a busy kitchen, a dish someone always made for us, a meal shared with the people we love. Those are the memories that stay with us for life, and the ones we wanted to give you this Christmas.
Every page is a small piece of someone's home. We hope they bring you warmth, and perhaps inspire you to cook something new.
With love,
Editorial team signatures
England
Gifts from friends
Two favourites at our family Christmas table are not recipes handed down through the generations; instead, they were gifted to us by dear friends. Macaroni cheese, with the style and flavour of Jamaican cooking, was passed to us by our pastor's wife. Red cabbage was given to our mother by a lady she worked with, and is based on traditional German cooking. Both recipes were shared by word of mouth and are very flexible in flavours, consistency and ingredients.
A Jamaican-inspired baked macaroni cheese that can be served as a side or a main dish, perfect for the Christmas dinner table.
Ingredients · 4–8 servings
450 g macaroni
400 g English cheddar (or any hard cheese)
about 200 ml milk
1 medium onion
1 sweet pepper (any colour)
3 slices smoked bacon, rind removed (optional)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp English mustard (optional)
salt and black pepper
Method
Grate the cheese and divide it into two portions, one third and two thirds. Finely chop the onion and sweet pepper.
Boil the macaroni in salted water according to the packet, usually 7–10 minutes. Don't overcook it.
Meanwhile, warm the oil in a frying pan and sauté the chopped bacon with the onion and pepper.
Drain the macaroni, return it to the pan and mix in salt, pepper, the mustard and the bacon mixture.
Gradually add the larger portion of cheese and the milk, alternating between them, until it's as runny or thick as you like.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish, top with the remaining cheese and bake at 180°C (gas mark 4) for 15–20 minutes, then grill until golden.
Red Cabbage
로트콜 · 독일식 새콤달콤한 적양배추 조림
Rotkohl. A warming side dish with a sweet and sour flavour, a great companion to Christmas meals.
Ingredients · 8–10 servings
1 large red cabbage
1 large red onion
1 sweet pepper
1 cooking apple
1 sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
Method
Shred the cabbage, roughly chop the onion and pepper and dice the apple into small chunks.
Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and pepper. Gradually stir in the cabbage, add the thyme and bay leaves, cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until it wilts.
Add the sugar, butter, salt and pepper and stir well.
Cover, lower the heat and simmer. After 10 minutes, stir and taste. If there is very little liquid in the pan, add a few tablespoons of water.
Keep cooking for 45–60 minutes, stirring regularly.
Remove from the heat once the cabbage is tender, and serve.
France
A place for everyone
For as long as I can remember, my family has had a strong tradition of unconditional hospitality, especially at Christmas. When my brother-in-law, who is vegan, joined us a few years ago, we naturally looked for tasty dishes that respected everyone's choices and still suited French Christmas traditions. That's how we tested and approved this vegan chocolate Yule log, stunning and delicious, and now it's a natural part of our Christmas table!
평생 친구 Catherine Zinchiri Diamantidis Instagram: @zinchiridiamantidis · Cafe: Catherine Zinchiri
Vegan Chocolate Yule Log
비건 초콜릿 부쉬 드 노엘 · 프랑스식 크리스마스 통나무 케이크
Bûche de Noël végétalienne au chocolat. Easy, stunning, delicious, healthy and good for the planet!
From Catherine's kitchen
Ingredients · 12–15 servings
1 kg butternut squash (about 920 g flesh)
300 g dark chocolate
200 g almond butter (purée d'amande)
50 g coconut oil
40 g cane sugar
cocoa powder or icing sugar, to decorate
Method
Peel the squash, cut it in half, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into cubes.
Steam the squash for 10 minutes (or cook it in boiling water).
Chop the chocolate and put it in a glass bowl with the almond butter and coconut oil. Melt gently over a pan of simmering water, mixing well.
Pour the mixture into a blender, add the squash and cane sugar, and blend until smooth.
Spread it into a silicone loaf mould and leave in the fridge for 12 hours.
Unmould and dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream or apple compote, if you like.
Poland
Two families, two Christmas Eves
In Poland, Christmas is celebrated with Wigilia, a meatless supper on 24 December that begins when the first star appears, with everyone sharing a Christmas wafer (opłatek) and wishes. One side of my family comes from Lviv (Lwów), the other from Kraków, so as a child I had two Wigilias every year. We always left the first one too early, arrived at the second one too late, and at both were told we hadn't eaten enough. But truly, everyone was happy.
평생 친구 Anna Magdalena Starzyńska Janiszew Instagram & X: @parkbogumpoland
Lviv Christmas Eve Kutia
리비우식 쿠티아 · 크리스마스 이브의 꿀 양귀비씨 밀 디저트
Wheat for prosperity, poppy seeds for abundance, honey for a sweet year ahead.
Ingredients · 8–10 servings
250 g hulled wheat grains
200 g poppy seeds
4–5 tbsp runny honey
100 g walnuts, chopped
50 g almonds, chopped
100 g raisins
50 g candied orange peel
Method
Soak the wheat overnight, then simmer for 1.5–2 hours until tender. Drain and cool.
Pour boiling water over the poppy seeds, leave for 1 hour, drain and grind twice.
Mix everything with slightly warmed honey. Chill before serving.
Kraków Barszcz with Uszka
크라쿠프식 바르슈치와 우슈카 · 버섯 만두를 넣은 비트 수프
Ruby-red beetroot soup with tiny mushroom dumplings, "little ears". In my family it was always made with zakwas, a fermented beetroot sour, a little like kimchi. And just as Koreans eat manduguk at New Year, we eat dumplings in soup on Christmas Eve.
Soak the mushrooms for 1–2 hours, cook for 20 minutes, keep the liquid.
Simmer the beetroots in the stock with the spices for 40 minutes. Add the mushroom liquid, garlic, sugar and marjoram, then strain.
Add zakwas or lemon juice to taste. Heat gently, don't boil.
For the filling, chop the mushrooms, fry with the onion, add the breadcrumbs and season.
Knead the dough until smooth and let it rest for 20 minutes. Roll it thinly, cut into 4 cm squares, fill, fold into triangles and join the corners.
Boil for 2–3 minutes after they float. Serve 5–6 in each bowl.
Zakwas
Put 1 kg sliced beetroot in a jar with 1.5 l cooled boiled water, 1 tbsp salt, garlic and spices. Leave for 4–7 days at room temperature, strain and keep in the fridge.
Poland
Made together
Every Christmas Eve morning, my mum invited my little sister Zosia and me into the kitchen to make kulebiak together. We bravely stirred the cabbage and mushroom filling and helped wrap it in the dough. Once, as the kulebiak went into the oven, Zosia asked, "Mum, why do we always bake it for Christmas?" Mum hugged us and said, "Because the things we make together always taste the best."
Elżbieta (Ella) Instagram: @eblumela
Christmas Eve Kulebiak
쿨레비악 · 양배추와 버섯을 넣은 폴란드식 크리스마스 파이
A golden yeast pie filled with sauerkraut and wild mushrooms, a classic of the Polish Christmas Eve table.
Ingredients · 1 large pie
500 g plain flour
25 g fresh yeast
250 ml warm milk
1 tsp sugar
2 eggs (1 for the dough, 1 for brushing)
80 g butter (50 g melted, 30 g for frying)
500 g sauerkraut
30 g dried wild mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper
Method
Soak the mushrooms for 1–2 hours, then cook for 20 minutes. Add the rinsed sauerkraut and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain well and chop.
Fry the onion in butter until golden, mix with the sauerkraut and mushrooms, season and leave to cool.
Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with the sugar and leave for 10 minutes. Add the flour, 1 egg, the melted butter and a pinch of salt, knead into a smooth dough and leave to rise for about 1 hour.
Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1 cm thick, spread the filling along the middle, wrap it up and seal the edges. Place seam-side down on a lined tray.
Brush with beaten egg and prick with a fork. Bake at 180°C for 35–40 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool slightly, slice and serve warm.
Poland
The smell of Christmas
Fried carp has been a Christmas Eve tradition in my family since childhood. I still remember coming to my grandma's house and smelling the fish she was making as soon as I walked in, knowing that Christmas had begun. She always made sure everyone had a piece. I've always loved this simple dish, and now that she is no longer with us, I keep this family tradition alive by preparing it every Christmas Eve.
Magda Instagram: @madziek846
Christmas Eve Fried Carp
폴란드식 크리스마스 이브 잉어 튀김
A traditional Polish dish served at the Christmas Eve supper on 24 December.
Ingredients · 5 servings
1 whole carp, any weight (e.g. 1.5 kg)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp breadcrumbs (panko or ppang-garu, 빵가루)
2 tbsp wheat flour
clarified butter (ghee) for frying, or any frying oil, though it tastes better with ghee
Method
Remove the scales, head, tail and fins, then wash the carp and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut into equal steaks, about 2.5 cm thick.
Rub each piece with salt, place in a deep dish and pour over the lemon juice. Mix gently and leave to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Pat the steaks thoroughly dry. Mix the breadcrumbs with the flour and coat each piece evenly.
Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat with at least 3 heaped tbsp of clarified butter. Fry the carp for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through.
Transfer to paper towels to remove excess fat.
Serve with boiled potatoes and a teaspoon of horseradish, or with braised cabbage and mushrooms.
Portugal
Blessed twice
For many years, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meant celebrating with my work team and my patients, my second family. Those days were full of hustle and bustle, sharing and laughter, and they enriched me deeply. Christmas is a time to pause and renew, and I feel blessed by two families who gave me everything twice. That is why I chose these two dishes: both of my families love them equally.
Bacalhau cozido com couve portuguesa. Cod has deep roots in Portuguese culture, and on Christmas Eve this simple dish means comfort and the joy of knowing that, that night, we are all where we belong: with family.
Ingredients · 2 servings
2 thick salt cod steaks (about 250 g each)
2 potatoes
2 carrots
1 large Portuguese kale (couve portuguesa) or other leafy cabbage
2 eggs
1 tbsp salt
olive oil and wine vinegar, to taste
Method
Soak the salt cod in cold water in the fridge for 24–48 hours, changing the water 3–4 times.
Peel the potatoes and carrots and cut the kale into large pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the potatoes, carrots and kale.
After 10 minutes, add the cod and the eggs (in their shells) and cook for about 20 minutes more.
Check with a fork that everything is tender, then peel the eggs.
Arrange everything separately on a serving platter and serve with olive oil and vinegar.
Portuguese Rice Pudding
아로스 도스 · 포르투갈식 크리스마스 쌀 푸딩
Arroz doce. A dessert with very old roots in Portugal, it means affection, tradition and the warm embrace of family, with the smell of cinnamon filling the whole house.
Ingredients · 6–8 servings
200 g short-grain rice (Carolino)
250 ml water
1 l whole milk
200 g white sugar
3 medium egg yolks
1 dessertspoon butter (about 10 g)
1 cinnamon stick
peel of 1 lemon
a pinch of salt
ground cinnamon, to decorate
Method
Put the water, rice, salt, lemon peel and cinnamon stick in a pan and cook over low heat until the rice is soft and has absorbed most of the water.
Add the milk little by little, stirring constantly, so the rice releases its starch and becomes creamy.
When the rice is very soft, add the sugar and simmer for a few minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir in the butter until melted.
Beat the yolks in a bowl, then slowly pour in a ladle of the hot rice, stirring all the time, so the yolks don't curdle.
Turn off the heat and pour the yolk mixture into the pan, stirring vigorously. Return to low heat briefly, just to cook the yolks.
Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel, spread on a large platter, leave to cool and decorate with festive patterns in ground cinnamon.
