New Year’s Eve three-course dinner menu
A celebratory three-course menu: smoked salmon blinis, roast beef fillet with fondant potatoes and honey carrots, finished with zingy lemon posset.
This three-course New Year’s Eve menu is built for celebration — small, showy blinis to start, an impressive roast beef centrepiece with fuss-free but elegant sides, and a zippy lemon posset to finish. It’s party fare that won’t have you stuck in the kitchen while guests mill about.
Time the oven and do the posset first: much of this menu cooks in the same oven, so you’ll be doing more plating than pan-wrangling. Serve with a crisp white for the starter and a red for the beef, and you’re ready to welcome the new year in style.
Ingredients
- 200 g plain flour — Starter — smoked salmon blinis
- 5 ml baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 300 ml milk
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 10 ml sea salt
- 200 g smoked salmon
- 150 g crème fraîche
- 20 g fresh dill
- 4 lemons
- 1.2 kg beef fillet — Main — roast beef fillet, fondant potatoes & honey carrots
- 60 ml olive oil
- 5 ml black pepper
- 800 g potatoes
- 300 ml chicken stock
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 30 ml honey
- 600 g carrots
- 600 ml double cream — Dessert — lemon posset
- 150 g caster sugar
Equipment
- frying pan
- roasting tray
- meat thermometer
- whisk
- cutting board
Instructions
Make the blini batter: whisk plain flour, baking powder and a pinch of sea salt in a bowl. Whisk eggs and milk in a separate jug, then combine with the dry ingredients until just smooth — do not overmix.
Cover and leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Cook the blinis: heat a frying pan over medium heat and melt a little unsalted butter. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter per blini into the pan, cook 1–2 minutes until bubbles appear, flip and cook another 1 minute until golden. Keep warm on a plate covered with foil.
Assemble starter: spread a little crème fraîche on each warm blini, top with slices of smoked salmon, a small sprig of fresh dill and a squeeze of lemon.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional.
Season the beef fillet all over with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a heavy frying pan until very hot, add olive oil and sear the fillet on all sides until well browned, about 3–4 minutes total.
Roast the seared fillet in the preheated oven. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 52–55°C for medium-rare (approx. 35 minutes for 1.2 kg) — timing is a guide, use temperature not clock.
Prepare the fondant potatoes while the beef roasts: peel the potatoes and cut into even 4–5 cm thick cylinders (use a cutter if you have one). Heat a roasting pan or ovenproof frying pan, add a knob of unsalted butter and a glug of olive oil and brown the potato cylinders on all cut faces, about 6–8 minutes.
Add chicken stock, fresh thyme sprigs and crushed garlic to the potatoes, then transfer to the oven and cook for 35 minutes until stock has mostly reduced and potatoes are tender.
Honey-roast the carrots: toss carrot batons with olive oil, honey, a little sea salt and some stripped thyme leaves. Spread on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 25–30 minutes until tender and lightly caramelised.
Remove the beef from the oven and transfer to a board. Tent loosely with foil and rest for 15 minutes.
While the beef rests, finish potatoes by spooning the reduced jus over them and add a knob of unsalted butter to glaze.
Make the lemon posset: put double cream and caster sugar in a saucepan and gently bring to a simmer, stirring so the sugar dissolves, for about 5 minutes.
Remove the cream from the heat, stir in the juice and zest of 3 lemons, then pour into six small glasses or ramekins. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
Carve the rested beef into thick slices. Plate: starter of blinis, then slices of beef with fondant potatoes and honey-roasted carrots. Finish each posset with a little lemon zest before serving.
Tips
- Make the lemon posset first and chill it while you cook — it needs at least 2 hours to set and frees up oven space.
- Use an instant-read meat thermometer for the fillet; aim for 52–55°C for medium-rare and remember it will rise a few degrees as it rests.
- Cut the potatoes to identical size so they cook evenly; a 4–5 cm cutter makes fondants neat and restaurant-style.
- Keep blinis warm in a low oven (about 60°C fan) on a tray covered loosely with foil if you need to make them ahead by a few minutes.
- Taste the carrots before serving and add a final drizzle of honey or a squeeze of lemon if they need brightening.
Substitutions
smoked salmon → smoked trout, same quantity
Stays closebeef fillet → rib-eye or sirloin joint, adjust roast time and slice thinner
Noticeably differentchicken stock → vegetable stock, same quantity
Stays closedouble cream → single cream mixed with 50 g extra caster sugar (posset will be softer)
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 930
- Calories
- 48 g
- Protein
- 62 g
- Carbs
- 55 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 18 g
- Sugar
- 900 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make parts ahead of time?
Yes — make the lemon posset and the blini batter ahead. Chill possets up to 24 hours and rest the batter in the fridge (bring back to room temperature before cooking).
How do I tell when the beef is done?
Use an instant-read thermometer: 52–55°C for medium-rare, 58–60°C for medium. Remove from the oven a few degrees below target and rest for 15 minutes.
Can I replace potatoes with another side?
Yes — roast baby potatoes with olive oil and thyme as an easy swap; fondant potatoes are more showy but take a bit longer.
Can I use ready-made blinis?
You can — they save time. Warm them in the oven briefly and assemble as instructed.
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