A Christmas meal often comprises of roasted turkey, honey glazed ham, roasted goose, rack of lamb, or even classic roast chicken. Finish it off with desserts, and you will have a grand satisfying holiday feast. To get the best out of such a delish meal, you can start off with some light appetizers to keep those hunger pangs at bay as well as save a lot of space for the huge Christmas dinner.

• Marinated beet toasts with yogurt : This toast with a twist makes for a great appetizer as well as side dish. To make this Christmas recipe, you will need 1 pound precooked and vacuum-packed beets (sliced into 1/4-inch wedges), 1 small shallot (finely chopped), 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided), 1 teaspoon kosher salt (divided), ½ teaspoon black pepper (freshly-ground and divided), 1½ cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, one 1 pound loaf of whole-grain bread (sliced into ½ inches, toasted, and halved), 1 small bunch of radishes (thinly sliced), and 2 tablespoons of chopped chives. In a large bowl, mix the shallots, beets, vinegar, three tablespoons of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Toss it once and set it aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the horseradish, yogurt, 1 tablespoon oil, and the remaining salt and pepper. Spread yogurt over each toast and top it with the marinated beets, chives, and radishes.
• Pears with blue cheese and prosciutto : This simple appetizer needs barely 10 minutes to be whipped up. You need 2 pears cut into 8 wedges, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, 1 cup arugula, 3 ounces of blue cheese cut into small pieces, and 6 ounces of thinly sliced prosciutto cut in half, lengthwise. Toss the pears and the lemon juice in a large bowl. On a piece of prosciutto, layer a slice of pear, an arugula leaf, and a piece of cheese. Roll this up and serve.
• Tender greens with champagne vinaigrette : Made with fresh greens, this salad is a colorful addition to a Christmas meal. This Christmas recipe needs 2 ½ teaspoons of Dijon mustard, ¼ cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 large shallot (finely chopped), 1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce, ½ cup fresh dill sprigs, ¾ cup fresh whole flat-leaf parsley leaves, 1 ½ tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves (roughly chopped), ¼ cup fresh chives (chopped), and ¼ cup fresh whole chervil leaves. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and honey with 1 ½ tablespoon of water. Slowly, add oil to this while whisking. Combine the fresh greens in a large bowl and serve with the vinaigrette on the side.