The Instant Edit's guide to cooking the ultimate Christmas dinner

The Instant Edit’s guide to cooking the ultimate Christmas dinner

With a huge bird to roast, tons of trimmings to tackle and the family expecting a mouth-watering banquet, cooking Christmas dinner can be a daunting task.

But there really is no reason to feel stressed; even if this is your first year hosting on the big day.

By following a simple timetable, and working in a few clever hacks, short cuts and showstopping recipes, you can whip up the ultimate festive feast without breaking a sweat. Here’s how…

The day before

A stress-free Christmas dinner is all about preparation. But forget slaving over a hot stove for days on end, or ‘feeding’ your plum pudding brandy from the end of November; all you need is 24 hours to really get ahead.

Potatoes, carrots and parsnips 

Set aside Christmas Eve to peel, chop and half-roast the carrots, parsnips and potatoes. Toss in olive oil and plenty of seasoning and put them in the oven for half an hour at 200°C/180°C fan.

For a festive flourish, you can add a few teaspoons of honey or maple syrup to the carrots and parsnips, and some garlic cloves and fresh rosemary sprigs to the potatoes. Once cooked, leave them in their roasting tins, cover with foil and put them in the fridge.

Sprouts 

Now’s also the time to boil your sprouts – all they need is 4-5 minutes in a pan of boiling salted water. You don’t need to waste time cutting crosses in the bases; shop-bought sprouts will cook through just fine without them. Plunge them into cold water immediately after cooking so they retain their colour – and leave them there overnight.

Hosting Christmas? Our guide to cooking the perfect Christmas dinner makes things easy… 

The turkey 

For a really moist bird, put the turkey in a large pan (or a bucket, if you don’t have one big enough!) of cold water, along with a handful of sea salt, a few cloves, a tablespoon of cinnamon and the peel of a large orange. Do this around 4pm on Christmas Eve and leave it to soak overnight.

Quick Christmas cake 

Finally, before you go to bed, rustle up this super-speedy Christmas cake, from my book Three Ingredient Baking – which uses just three store-cupboard ingredients and cooks in two hours. 

Serve warm with ice cream or brandy butter as an easy dessert on the day.

Christmas cake is a must!

THREE-INGREDIENT CHRISTMAS CAKE

Rich, spiced and packed full of juicy raisins, cherries and peel, it’s hard to beat a proper fruit cake at Christmas. My take on this festive classic is super-simple, using chocolate-flavoured milk to create that heady sponge, laden with plump, bursting fruits.

Serves 12

Ingredients:

530g mixed dried fruit (I use a bag containing peel, glacé cherries, sultanas, raisins and cranberries)

500ml chocolate milk

175g self-raising flour

You’ll also need a medium round cake tin (23cm across)

Method:

Put the dried fruit and chocolate milk in a bowl, cover in cling film and leave them for as long as possible so the fruits absorb the liquid and become plump and juicy. You’ll know it’s ready when the milk thickens and the fruit swells to the top of the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan, and grease and line the cake tin.

When the fruit is ready, sift in the flour and stir until fully combined. Pour into the tin, bang it on a table a couple of times to get rid of any air bubbles, and smooth out the top using a palette knife.

Bake for around 2 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin before turning out on to a wire rack. This won’t keep as long as traditional Christmas cake, but it will last a couple of weeks in a sealed tin. It tastes great with a dollop of brandy cream.

Tip: Try other flavours of milk (such as coffee or banana), or orange juice to give a lighter sponge. And if you miss that layer of white fondant on top, sift icing sugar over some Christmassy stencils – stars, snowflakes or trees – for a snowy finish.

The big day

With our guide you won’t be in the kitchen all day…

The key to getting things done on time is starting early. Follow this step-by-step to have lunch on the table by 2pm (based on a 4.5kg turkey, big enough to serve 8-10 people)…

8.15am: Take the turkey out of the fridge (or the pan/bucket of cold water) to allow it to get to room temperature. This ensures the meat all over the bird cooks evenly.

While the turkey warms up, make your stuffing – using the following simple-but-delicious recipe…

MUM’S STUFFING

I grew up eating this stuffing (and not just at Christmas), so for me it’s packed full of nostalgia as well as tasty flavours. The caramelised onions and crunchy breadcrumbs work perfectly with the fresh herbs and nuggets of salty bacon, and it’s all cooked already so you don’t need to worry about any of the ingredients coming out raw.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

100g salted butter

2 large onions

4 cloves of garlic

6 slices smoked back bacon, finely diced

12 slices brown or white bread, left out overnight to harden

Half a bunch of fresh parsley

Plenty of sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Melt the butter in a large shallow pan over a medium heat.

Finely chop the onions and crush the garlic and add to the pan, along with the bacon bits. Cook for 15-20 minutes until nicely soft and caramelised.

Meanwhile, chop or crumble the bread into crumbs. Stir this into the mixture in the pan. Snip in the parsley (leaves and stalks) and season well. Leave to cook for another 10 minutes on a low heat. Store well-covered in the fridge or roll into balls as desired.

8.50am: Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. If you’re stuffing the turkey, pack it into the body cavity of the bird; if you’re serving the stuffing separately, instead place a large onion, halved lemon and a handful of bay leaves inside.

Use your fingers to loosen the skin and rub softened salted butter – around 150g – all over. Finish by wrapping the turkey in slices of bacon (you’ll need at least 12) and covering the whole thing loosely in a ‘tent’ of tinfoil to trap in all the succulent juices.

You either love them or you hate them 

9.20am: Put the turkey in the oven. If you’re making bread sauce, peel an onion, stud it with cloves and leave it to infuse in a saucepan containing 600ml whole milk.

10am: Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/140°C fan and set the timer for 1pm. You’ll need to baste the turkey at half-hour intervals, so it’s worth setting a reminder on your phone to do so.

11am: If you’re serving ham as well as turkey, put it in a large pan of water – completely covered – and boil it on a low heat for two hours. For added moisture, and a festive spiced flavour, use two-parts ginger beer to one-part water, as well as a few bay leaves and peppercorns.

12.15pm: It’s after midday, so time to crack into the Christmas drinks! Or at least open the red wine to let it breathe… As the chef, you definitely deserve a glass (or three).

12.30pm: Take the foil ‘tent’ off the turkey and turn the heat up again to 220°C/200°C fan. This will crisp up the skin and give a lovely golden colour. Take the half-roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips out of the fridge and remove the foil covers.

12.50pm: Put the potatoes and veg in the oven to finish roasting, topping up the oil and garnishes if you need to. I like to add a few spoonfuls of goose fat to the potatoes at this stage, and shake the tin around vigorously to roughen up the edges – guaranteed crispy roasties.

If you’re catering for veggies, now’s the time to pop your nut roast in the oven – whether homemade or shop-bought, most take around an hour to bake.

1pm: Take the turkey out of the oven and check it’s cooked by piercing the thigh meat with a skewer. If the juices run clear, it’s done. Extract the stuffing (or other filling) and place the bird in a warmed serving dish, covered loosely with foil. Turn the oven down to 200°C/180°C fan and leave the potatoes and veg inside.

Take the ham out of the pan of water, stud it all over with cloves and drizzle with a mixture of mustard and honey (3 tablespoons of each). Place it in the oven for 40 minutes to roast.

If you’re cooking pigs in blankets, put these in the oven now too.

1.20pm: Tip the Brussels sprouts into a dry pan and prepare the ingredients for my crispy cheesy sprouts…

Christmas dinner might just be our favourite meal of the year 

CRISPY CHEESY SPROUTS

Forget soggy, unexciting sprouts this Christmas. Adding a few simple ingredients transforms these humble greens into the stars of the show and will even convert the haters among your guests.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1kg Brussels sprouts, parboiled

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbsp chilli flakes

4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

150g chunky breadcrumbs (either shop-bought or homemade)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Half the part-cooked sprouts and place them on a large baking tray. Add the oil, juice and zest of the lemon, crushed garlic and chilli flakes and mix well.

Put in the oven to roast for 10 minutes. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and breadcrumbs and roast for another 15 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling on top. Serve hot.

1.30pm: Make your gravy (Bisto is fine!), adding roasting juices from the cooked turkey for flavour. It’s also time to cook the rest of the bread sauce. Remove the onion from the milk, turn up the heat and add 100g white breadcrumbs. Stir in a knob of butter and a teaspoon of nutmeg and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and fragrant.

1.40pm: Take the veg and potatoes out of the oven and place in warmed serving dishes along with the rest of the trimmings. Remove the ham from the oven and cover loosely with foil.

1.55pm: Carve the turkey and ham, call everyone to the table – and serve! 

Your ultimate Christmas dinner, on time and piping hot, totally hassle-free. 

Now you really deserve that festive drink… 

Kitchen essentials for Christmas

L-R: Large Roasting Pan (£3) and Pyrex Roasting Dish (£8) at Matalan

L-R: Set of 3 Saucepans (£18) and Melamine Measuring Cups (£3) at Matalan

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