CHRISTMAS

The wreaths are up, the tree is decorated to perfection and the big day is a week away! Whether your main family meal is dinner on Christmas Eve or lunch on Christmas Day, it’s going to be a long one. But I’m not going to re-invent the wheel for you and tell you how to cook a turkey. If you want to know about cooking times for turkey, read my Thanksgiving article. But stay with me if you want to do something DIFFERENT and a little more original this year.

I used to make turkey, every single year, in fact. Until one year I confronted the family because I grew sick and tired of slaving for 7 hours preparing a big turkey feast and begged them to perhaps consider beef instead. Apparently they shared my opinion all along but didn’t want to offend me, so we switched to a fantastic (monster sized) farm-reared rib of beef, on the bone. It’s simply the most wonderful and most flavoursome joint of beef… served with all the usual traditional British Christmas accompaniments like mini sausages, stuffing balls and assorted vegetables, it seems to please all my family, including my beloved young nephews Cyrus (5) and Darius (3).

Cyrus spends each Christmas quietly watching ‘Aunty Shabi’ do her thing in the kitchen. He regularly joins me in the kitchen and his inquisitive nature leads to all sorts of questions like “Aunty Shabi, why are you rubbing butter on the turkey….?” And “Aunty Shabi, why are you making so much food?” But last year was the funniest of all... He came into the kitchen, looking for the traditional turkey. Searching high and low, he clearly wasn’t seeing what he was looking for. Looking somewhat bemused at the beef, he slowly backed out of the kitchen. His Mother later informs me that he came running up to her and said “Mummy, Mummy! Aunty Shabi is making a very big sausage for lunch, but I can’t see the turkey!” Needless to say, he was extremely disappointed that it wasn’t a giant sausage and from what I remember, he suspiciously prodded his fork into the beef until everyone else had eaten their first! Kids are just so funny and for me Christmas isn’t truly Christmas without someone’s kids running around the house, causing mischief, and my nephews are no exception!

So what are the key differences between serving turkey versus beef? Well, about 4 hours, for a start! Not only is the flavour of beef (or lamb for that matter) a huge improvement on bland and boring turkey, but it’s also a huge time saver also. Surely Christmas is about spending time with your family and not spending hours slaving away in the kitchen worrying about what else needs to go into the oven. So what else can we look at preparing which would enable us to eat WITH our family, rather then constantly run in and out of the kitchen to serve people. Well the good news is…there are no rules for Christmas! In fact turkey wasn’t always the meat of choice. Other popular favourites included goose, pheasant and good old beef. So who’s to say what should be on our table, other than us!

Beef aside, rewind 15 years ago or so and the tradition in my house was to rebel against tradition (gimme a break, I was a teenager!). I would prepare the ultimate ‘Anti-Christmas’ luncheon, if you will, a gargantuan spread, combining everyone’s favourite dishes all mish-mashed together. Whilst I prefer something a little more traditional now, im happy to confess that my Christmas spread would have included a whole oven-roasted salmon, Chinese style Peking duck with pancakes and hoi sin sauce and pretty much anything else that would be asked of me! Looking back, there were some uber-weird combinations, but there were hardly ever any leftovers! My culinary tastes were not so developed back then but it certainly did the trick, regardless.

So what about a nice leg of lamb? If you don’t feel that’s festive enough, why not rub some rosemary, orange peel and sumac (somaagh) into it before putting it in the oven and serve with a redcurrant jelly and some gravy. Have you ever tried goose? I know it’s not something many people commonly eat, but it is delicious and when perfectly cooked it beats turkey any day. In fact go one better and do a completely Italian Christmas? Serve a nice meaty white fish or even lamb with garlic and rosemary. And how about a selection of Crostini to start with? Char-grilled slices of olive oil slicked bread (often Ciabatta) with pretty much any topping you like, such as tuna, olive tapenade or just simple mixture of chopped parsley, tomatoes and red onions. Delicious! What about a highly non-traditional middle-eastern Christmas with kefta (koofteh) meatballs in a cumin and chilli spiced sauce served with fried diced potatoes or rice and a vast selection of stuffed vine leaves, baba ghanoush, humous and olives. Fantastic, especially when entertaining a large group of people as it is very interactive food which can be shared easily.

Perhaps all this meat isn’t for you and dare I say it, but maybe there are some vegetarians amongst us? They too deserve to have something delicious waiting for them at the table too and not just the usual serving of vegetables or boring lentil or nut based concoction. Take mushrooms for example. These fleshy, succulent and meaty vegetables are a worthy substitute for meat and not just for vegetarians either. Why not take some ready made puff pastry and make a filling using a variety of mushrooms, such as fresh Portabella, Porcini, Shiitake or Chanterelle (making sure they are dried properly after washing) sauté them in a pan over a hot heat, so they don’t stew, but they brown nicely instead and at the last minute, add a little finely chopped fresh tarragon (a tablespoon or so) and finish off with some double (heavy) cream. Don’t forget to season well with salt and pepper. The mixture should not be too watery but the mushrooms should be well coated in the cream sauce with a little sauce to spare. Next, take your ready made puff pastry and create little pastry pockets and fill them (not over-stuff them!) with some of the mixture. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes (or until golden brown) on 180C (350F). They are a really tasty alternative to the normal festive fayre.

What about dessert? I’m often told I don’t make enough references to desserts and sweet things and you would be right to think this. To be honest, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and it’s pretty much savoury food that gets me excited and sets off alarm bells in my stomach. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some wonderful (and simple) desserts that can be served to accompany the perfect meal. The thing with Christmas is that dessert can often be KEY to ending a perfect Christmas meal in style. Too often people over compensate with the savoury aspect of the meal and dessert (especially if you live in England) is often left to a few crappy ready made mince pies. I still don’t know how these unusual creations became such a hit for us Brits. Personally I think they are vile and nothing, but nothing, could ever make me like them. My main problem is that despite being called “Mince” pies… They contain no meat! Its false advertising! The filling is a somewhat pungent and gloopy mix of raisins and other dried fruit bound together with sugar, fat and alcohol. Not my taste at all.

So what do I serve at Christmas, I hear you ask? A classic Italian Christmas cake called “Panettone” or “Pandoro” which is basically a very light sponge cake (kind of like a brioche) which has a sweet bread-like consistency and comes either plain (Pandoro – which means ‘Golden bread’) or classic Pannetone, studded with candied fruits and juicy raisins. As the trend for serving this cake at Christmas grows in London, there are new varieties for those with a more adventurous palate, containing chocolate, rum and even truffles! Personally I’m all about keeping things simple. The cake comes conveniently packed in its own box with a packet of icing (powdered) sugar which you sprinkle on top and serve. Even better, it lasts for a while and is a great accompaniment to a sobering cup of coffee the morning after the night before! They are also a great gift for the host of your Christmas meal.

I also recommend buying a really good fruit tart from a deli or patisserie, and in London we are spoilt for choice, but for those who want to be different, why not serve a beautiful platter of exotic fruits or perhaps juicy giant strawberries dipped in unctuous milk or dark chocolate? An extremely popular dessert that is surfacing as a clear restaurant favourite in London is ‘Frozen berries with white chocolate sauce’. And yes, it is just as straightforward as it sounds. Take some assorted frozen berries (perhaps raspberries and black/blueberries but no strawberries as they don’t freeze well) and simply melt some white chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of hot water and when it has melted, pour it into a jug and once at the table, pour straight onto the frozen berries and its truly fantastic and very gratifying.

I think a light dessert is a perfectly acceptable offering after such a heavy meal. Desserts in England are notoriously stodgy affairs, packed with pastry, animal fat, dried fruit and alcohol… whether Christmas pudding (with the obligatory sixpence coin hidden inside) served with brandy cream or mince pies and steamed puddings… They are always an overly rich ending to an already-heavy meal and WAY too much for most people, so don’t be afraid to keep it light! You should stock up on good old Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, as it really is a great accompaniment to most dessert items. Maybe even lightly poach some pears in some red wine spiked with cloves, a stick of cinnamon, nutmeg, and some orange peel and well-sweetened with some white sugar. The plus side of making poached pears is the poaching liquid is what is known as Mulled wine, which is a fabulously fragrant and warming drink to serve after dessert, especially as cinnamon aids digestion!

So whether you are going for the full-on traditional Christmas meal or you don’t really follow the trend for western holidays, I would stress that the important thing is to take advantage of the fact that we have a day off and therefore should make an effort to be surrounded by people we care about. I know that I have made mention of this several times before, but food really does bring people together, and so what if you don’t celebrate Christmas? The point is this is the one day of the year that truly EVERYWHERE is closed and most of us are granted a paid day off and we should make every effort to congregate, because that’s what the spirit of Christmas is. It’s about joy, indulgence and spending time with friends and loved ones. So whether you celebrate or not this year, at least try and make a nice meal to share with those around you. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, people don’t come for the food, they come to be with you and share this holiday with the people they enjoy being around.

Here’s wishing Santa Clause (or Baba Noel) brings you everything your heart desires this year and may your table be blessed with plentiful bounty and may your house be filled with love and warmth in the form of friends and family. Wishing a truly Merry Christmas to you all!