Spiced and Superjuicy Roast Turkey
For me the only turkey is a brined one. Not only does it tenderize and add subtle spiciness, but it makes carving the turkey incredibly much easier. You have only to try this method to be utterly conv…
Christmas Mains
Whether you're looking for inspiration for the Big Day itself, or another meal over the Christmas season, we've got lots to choose from.
Turkey Breast Stuffed With Italian Sausage and Marsala-Steeped Cranberries
I know it might sound a bit of a faff, but take it from me that stuffing a whole double breast joint is very much easier than stuffing and rolling a single breast joint, as is more commonly found in s…
Roast Duck with Orange, Soy and Ginger
In How to Eat, I had a method for cooking roast duck that involved poaching them on the stove, letting them cool and then roasting them in a hot oven. It worked, giving tender meat and fantastically c…
Roast Goose With Pear and Cranberry Stuffing
While it’s true that goose has the older pedigree as the traditional Christmas roast, I find it suitable only if you haven’t got a huge tableful to feed: I reckon that you can feed six comfortably wit…
Roast Rib of Beef With Port and Stilton Gravy
There is something about a big rib of beef sitting proudly on its carving board at the table that makes that table, and those around it, so immediately celebratory: this is a proper, stand-up-and-clap…
Slow-Cooked Black Treacle Ham
Nothing will ever take the place of my Ham in Coca-Cola from Bites — in my heart or on my table — but this slow-baked ham is a revelation of a different sort. The meat is astonishingly tender and carv…
Ginger-Glazed Ham
This gammon is simply simmered in ginger ale and, although you need to strip off the rind to glaze it, the glaze is straightforward. And it is a very efficient way of cooking — depending on how many y…
Ham in Coca Cola
Only those who have never tried this raise an eyebrow at the idea. Don't hesitate, don't be anxious: this really works. No one who cooks it, cooks it just once: it always earns a place in every repert…
Roast Stuffed Pumpkin With Gingery Tomato Sauce
There is something so magnificent about a whole pumpkin stuffed with jewelled rice, that it doesn’t really need too many side dishes to detract: its starchy interior means you can forgo potatoes or th…
Hearty Wholewheat Pasta With Brussels Sprouts, Cheese and Potato
It is not quite normal to feel as joyous as I do when saying the words “Brussels sprouts”, but this recipe does not merely use said much-denigrated ingredient, it also celebrates it. Sprouts are nutty…
Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Lasagne
One of the questions I am asked most often is how do I come up with recipes? The answer is simple: greed. When I'm not eating, I'm thinking about what I might want to eat, and the notion of pumpkin la…
Seafood Pot
This makes for a very quick, warming and yet elegant supper. A fennel salad before or after would be lovely, but you need no more with it than just some bread for dunking.
Turkey and Glass Noodle Salad
I love recipes using up leftovers, and this is a particular favourite because it suddenly goes off on another tangent, so to speak. The zingy South-East Asian flavours certainly give new life to the o…
Mexican Chicken or Turkey Salad With Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
This is the perfect recipe for using leftover chicken or turkey at any time. A jicama is sometimes known as a Mexican potato, though that's a bit misleading since you can eat it raw. It looks like a t…
Egg and Bacon Pie
This recipe (which started off as Boxing Day Pie) comes from Beryl Scoffield, the mother of one of my oldest friends, and a woman with a reputation for her pies. It’s wonderfully old-fashioned and com…
Beef and Aubergine Fatteh
This is a subtly textured, richly flavoured arrangement of toasted pieces of flatbread topped with meaty aubergine and beef, a garlicky tahini-yogurt sauce, red pepper flakes, pomegranate seeds, toast…
Norwegian Pork Ribs
A vital part of the Christmas Eve dinner in Norway, these pork ribs have the tenderest meat and the crunchiest crackling imaginable. You have to take a leap of faith when making them, as the idea of l…
Lasagne of Love
This is what I make for my children’s birthday celebrations, for farewell suppers to send them off before they go away, and for the dinners to welcome them back when they come home again. It’s our fam…
Lasagne of love is a suitable name as it is time consuming but well worth it. I have struggled to make a good lasagne for 35 years. At last! Went down very well. Thank you.By Beviec
Crab Mac 'n' Cheese
This is the most luscious of treats: rich, to be sure, but somehow delicate at the same time. Smoked paprika and crab (a 50/50 mixture of both white and brown meat) give an almost honeyed depth to the…
Butternut Squash With Pecans and Blue Cheese
Although this started off as a Christmas-time recipe, I have found that I cook it pretty much year round: the sweet squash is tangily countered by the blue cheese and the nuts bring gorgeous crunch, t…
Jansson's Temptation
Known as chip gratin in my house, this is the most fabulous potato bake, and an indispensable part of Christmas celebrations in Sweden: the potatoes are cut as if you were making French fries, then la…
Guest recipe
Beet Wellington
Boot the beef for some beet! Serve with your choice of good old gravy.
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