Top chefs’ recipes, tips and tricks for Christmas lunch

Roast parsnips

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Ravinder Bhogal’s roast parsnips

Serves 6

Ingredients
500g parsnips, quartered lengthways
Drizzle of rapeseed oil
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp chaat masala, or to taste
100g yoghurt
50g dates, thinly sliced lengthways
1-2 red chillies, thinly sliced into rounds and deseeded if you like
Handful of coriander sprigs
For the chutney
8 pitted dates
1 tbsp grated jaggery or soft brown sugar
5 tbsp tamarind concentrate
Chilli powder, to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp chaat masala

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

2 Put the parsnips in a roasting tin, coat well in the oil. Sprinkle over the chilli flakes and chaat masala, then roast for 45 min, until tender and caramelised.

3 Put the dates and sugar in a saucepan, cover with 250ml of water and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 min. Stir in the tamarind concentrate, then tip into a blender and whizz until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, then stir in theremaining ingredients, along with a little water if needed — it should have the consistency of ketchup.

4 Arrange the parsnips on a serving platter. Beat the yoghurt, then drizzle over the parsnips followed by a drizzle of the tamarind chutney. Scatter with sliced dates, chillies and coriander.
Recipe extracted from Jikoni by Ravinder Bhogal (Bloomsbury, £26)

Marcus Wareing’s tarragon carrots

Serves 4

Ingredients
12 large carrots, tops removed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 star anise
120g pine nuts
2 tbsp picked tarragon leaves
Sea salt and black pepper
For the pickling liquor
100ml white wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
For the vinaigrette
100ml carrot juice
3 coriander seeds
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
50ml olive oil

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 210C/gas 7.

2 Cut half of the carrots in half, lengthways. Thinly slice the remaining carrots and put half aside to pickle.

3 To make the pickling liquor, place the vinegar and honey in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Put half the sliced carrots in a heatproof bowl, pour the hot pickling liquor over the carrots, set aside.

4 Coat the halved carrots with the vegetable oil and season well with salt, pepper and half of the star anise, grated over the carrots using a Microplane or other fine grater. Place in a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden, tossing them once halfway through the cooking time.

5 Place the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until a deep golden colour, shaking them halfway through. Remove from the oven and set aside 20g for sprinkling over the finished dish and place the rest in a small blender. Season with salt, add 2-4 tbsp of water and blitz to form a puree — it should have a slightly looser texture than peanut butter. Set aside.

6 To make the vinaigrette, put the carrot juice in a medium saucepan with the coriander seeds and remaining half of the star anise and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly for a few minutes, until the liquid has reduced to about 25ml, then remove from the heat and strain into a small bowl. Mix in the rice wine vinegar and olive oil, and season.

7 Place the remaining sliced carrots in a bowl and dress them with the carrot vinaigrette. Spoon the pine nut puree onto 4 plates. Top with the warm roasted carrots, pickled carrots and dressed carrots. Finish with the remaining toasted pine nuts and the tarragon.
Recipe extracted from Marcus Everyday (HarperCollins, 25)

Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s spiced cabbage

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 red cabbage, shredded
5 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
100ml red wine vinegar
100g redcurrant jelly
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper

Method
1 Add all of the ingredients — except seasoning — to a pan over a low heat. Cover the pan and simmer for 1 hour until tender, checking occasionally.

2 After an hour remove the lid and simmer until it becomes syrupy and the juices coat the cabbage. Season.
thestaffordlondon.com

Pip Lacey’s brussels sprouts with hazelnut mayo

Serves 6

Ingredients
For the hazelnut mayo
2 tbsp pasteurised egg yolk
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp 100 per cent hazelnut paste (or use Nutella)
300ml vegetable oil
Handful of hazelnuts, whole
400g brussels sprouts

Method
1 First, make the hazelnut mayo. Whisk the egg yolk and vinegar for 30 seconds, then add the Dijon mustard and hazelnut paste and keep whisking. Slowly add the oil while whisking to form a mayo. If too thick, add a few drops of cold water. Add a pinch of table salt to season.

2 Roast a handful of whole hazelnuts for 5 min at 170C/gas 3. Break them up and add them to the dish at the end.

3 Wash the sprouts and cut them in half. Dry. Deep fry in a fryer or shallow-fry in a large saucepan at 180C until dark brown for 2-3 min — the centre should still be green. Remove from the oil and place on some kitchen roll. Season with table salt. Serve with the pickled kohlrabi, hazelnut mayo and the roasted hazelnuts sprinkled on top.
hicce.co.uk

Selin Kiazim’s spiced glazed carrots

Instead of roasting carrots or parsnips, I like to glaze them. In a wide-based pan place about 50g of butter with a few tablespoons of sugar, honey or maple syrup, a mug of water or dry sherry and a few crushed cardamom pods and star anise. Bring up to the boil and reduce by about a quarter. Cut the carrots or parsnips (or both) into even-sized chunks and add to the pan along with a little salt. Gently cook for 15-20 min, turning halfway through. Once cooked, the liquor should be at a syrup-like consistency — if not, take the carrots out and reduce down. They can be prepared ahead of time too and reheated to serve.
oklava.co.uk

Brussels sprouts

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Chefs’ top sprouts tips

Tommy Banks’s soy-dressed sprouts
I like to halve my Brussels sprouts then cook them on a griddle pan. Cook them until they begin to char on the outside and go crispy, then dress them with a little soy sauce, lemon juice and honey.
blackswanoldstead.co.uk

Angela Hartnett’s wine-glazed sprouts
I simply cut sprouts in half, parboil them in boiling water and finish them with bacon, chestnuts and glaze with a little white wine.
muranolondon.com

Roast potatoes

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Potatoes

Skye Gyngell’s crispy potatoes with black garlic

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients
1kg potatoes, ideally a floury variety such as Agria, washed
2 bay leaves
For the vinaigrette
50g tub black garlic
30ml balsamic vinegar
Maldon sea salt
200g sour cream
Mixed fresh soft herbs (eg tarragon, chervil, dill and chives)

Method
1 Season a large pot of water with salt and bay leaves and boil the potatoes whole until just tender. Drain, set aside.

2 Once cool, break up the potatoes into rough pieces, trying not to crush them too much. Fry in batches at 150C for 10 min or until golden.

3 Make the vinaigrette. Blend the black garlic and balsamic vinegar in a food processor until smooth — you can add a splash of water to help them to emulsify fully. Season with Maldon sea salt.

4 To serve, refry the potatoes for 5 min at 180C until golden and completely crisp. Drain well and then toss in the black-garlic vinaigrette, along with a large pinch of salt. Top with a generous spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle with the picked herbs.
heckfieldplace.com

Dan Smith’s rosemary and garlic roast potatoes

Use a good roasting potato such as a Maris Piper. Boil in salted water until they are soft. Leave to cool, then fluff in a colander and place into a roasting tray. Melt goose fat and pour over. This can be done the day before and left in the fridge. Roast in a 190C/gas 5 oven until golden and crisp (about 35-40 min). Halfway through cooking remove the tray and turn the potatoes over. Once golden, remove and drain excess fat, then, while they are still hot, season with sea salt flakes and some chopped thyme, rosemary and garlic. Adding the herbs once they are cooked gives a much fresher flavour, and stops them burning and going bitter in the cooking process.
fordwicharms.co.uk

Turkey, goose, beef

Thomasina Miers’s sweet ancho turkey marinade

This sweet, gently spiced marinade is great on roast turkey. I also love it slathered over any of the leftover meat and stuffed into tacos after Christmas.

Ingredients
2 ancho chillies
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tbsp cumin seeds
6-8 cloves
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 large tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
4-5 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil

Method
1 Open up the ancho chillies like a book and discard the stem and seeds. Toast for 30-40 seconds a side in a hot dry frying pan until smelling fragrant, then cover with boiling water and leave to rehydrate for 10-15 min.

2 Briefly toast the spices in the same dry frying pan and then grind to a powder in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar. Work in the salt, oregano and garlic to a paste. Now drain the ancho chillies and pound them in too (in the mortar, or a small food processor). Finally add the oil.

3 Rub all over the turkey and leave to marinate overnight.
For details of Thomasina’s new online cooking course (£127) visit createacademy.com

Gary Lee’s simple turkey recipe

1 Brine the turkey for 12-24 hours. Make the brine with 3 litres water mixed with 150g salt, 200g sugar, 50ml white wine vinegar and a small handful of a mix of herbs such as sage, oregano, parsley stalks and thyme.

2 Preheat your oven to 175C at least an hour before putting in the turkey (which should be at room temperature).

3 Push some butter mixed with thyme and oregano under the skin.

4 Rub the skin with a little olive oil.

5 Place the prepared turkey in your hot oven for 2 hours and 50 minutes for a 3.5kg bird, basting the turkey every 30-45 minutes. Rest before serving.
joeallen.co.uk

Beef wellington

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Cyril Lignac’s beef wellington

Ingredients
1 x 500g piece of beef tenderloin
10 Paris mushrooms
1 onion
3 tbsp mustard
3 very thin slices of Serrano ham
1 puff pastry, 33cm x 30cm
2 organic egg yolks
15g lightly salted butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
Fine salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
1 Cut the stems off the mushrooms, wash them and chop them. Peel and finely chop the onion. In a hot pan, pour a dash of olive oil, add the onions, the lightly salted butter, then the chopped mushrooms and salt, and mix. Let out the natural water, then cook over a
high heat until the mushrooms begin to colour slightly, about 10 minutes in total. Season with pepper and pour onto a plate to cool faster.

2 Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a hot pan, pour a dash of olive oil, brown the meat for only a few minutes over a high heat, without cooking it, to prevent it from losing blood during cooking. Place it on a plate.

3 Ideally you do this during the day and do step 4 in the evening. Brush the mustard over the beef. On your work surface, unroll some clingfilm, place the slices of ham on top, then the mushroom mixture followed by the beef, roll up and close the film tightly, then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

4 Preheat the oven to 210C.

5 Spread the puff pastry on the cutting board, brush with egg yolk, place the rolled beef roll on the sheet, then wrap it in the puff pastry and fold the sides down. Coat with egg yolk again. Place the beef wellington on a baking sheet covered with a silicone sheet or baking paper. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 19 minutes.

6 Take out of the oven, let stand for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with homemade gravy.
bardespres.com https://www.createacademy.com/courses/thomasina-miers

Richard Corrigan’s marmalade goose

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 5kg goose (giblets, wings and neck reserved for the gravy)
50g marmalade
For the gravy
Goose giblets, wings and neck
1 large onion, halved
2 sticks of celery, halved
1 large carrot, halved
A sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1.2 litres water
3 tbsp calvados
1 tbsp marmalade

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Tie the goose legs together with a piece of string. Lightly pierce the goose all over with a fork (this will allow the fat to run out when cooking), then pour boiling water all over the skin, which will help to crisp it up. Sit the goose on a trivet set in a roasting tin. Season generously and cover with foil.

2 Roast for 30 min, then turn the oven down to 180C/gas 4 for a further 2½-3 hours, basting it with its own fat every so often. Ladle out any excess fat and keep for roasting stuffing balls and potatoes.

3 While the goose is cooking, make stock for the gravy. Put the giblets, neck and wings in a large pan with the onion, celery, carrot, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf and water. Bring to the boil, skim away any scum. Lower the heat, loosely cover with a lid, and simmer for 1½ hours.

4 Warm the marmalade in a pan until it melts to a syrup. Remove the foil from the goose for the last 30 min of cooking and brush with the melted marmalade. When it’s ready, take it out of the oven and leave it to rest for 20 min.

5 Pour away any excess fat from its roasting tin. Put the tin on the hob over a high heat and pour the stock through a fine sieve into the pan. Add the calvados and 1 tablepsoon marmalade. Season, bring to the boil and scrape any caramelised pieces of meat from the bottom of the tin. Turn the heat down and simmer for 3-4 min, then strain into a serving jug.
corrigancollection.com

Monika Linton’s whole sea bream

Serves 2 (scale up for larger groups)

Ingredients
1 sea bream
2 onions, finely chopped
6 tomatoes
100g mushrooms
125ml dry white wine
½ lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
50g butter

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180C.

2 Wash and dry the fish. Put the olive oil into the bottom of an ovenproof dish (large enough to hold the whole fish) that can also go on the stove top.

3 Place half the onion on the bottom of the dish. Thinly slice 3 of the tomatoes in rounds, remove the seeds, place on top of the onion and sprinkle with salt.

4 Slash the sides of the fish twice on both sides and then place on top of the tomato and onion, salting the cavity too. Cover the fish with the rest of the onion, the other 3 tomatoes (also sliced and de-seeded). Clean the mushrooms, cut into thin slices and scatter over the top.

5 Pour the wine over the fish and vegetables, squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and scatter the butter in small lumps over the fish.

6 Heat over a gentle then stronger flame for 10 minutes and then place in a preheated oven for 15-20 min (baste twice in this time), depending on the size of the fish. You can tell when the fish is done by inserting the tip of a sharp knife into the seam of the fish and wiggling it; the flesh should come away cleanly from the bones.
brindisa.com

Tomos Parry’s beef rib eye

Marinade the beef rib in a dry rub of rosemary and fennel seeds for at least 24 hours. Then cut the beef into two pieces and “reverse sear” it by slowly roasting the beef first (a 6-bone in beef rib-eye will take about 3 hours at 120C), then turn the heat up to 250C and cook the beef for 8-10 min.

Mark Hix’s stuffed turkey legs

I remove the legs of the turkey, debone them and stuff them with a simple mix of minced turkey and chicken (and the offal too, if you have it) with breadcrumbs and fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, sage and thyme. You can then roast the bird on the crown — that way it only takes 1 hour to cook for a small 3kg bird, which will feed eight people. theoysterandfishhouse.co.uk

Chefs’ top turkey tips

Michel Roux Jr
You only need a couple of slices of turkey each, so don’t buy a huge one — if it’s over 4kg, it’s most probably a male bird, which can be drier and tougher.
le-gavroche.co.uk

Luke French
Go for a turkey crown — brine it in a 6 per cent salt to water solution (60g fine salt for every 1 litre) for 1 day. Remove it, pat it dry and freeze it. This brining/freezing process will make it super-juicy.
jororestaurant.co.uk

Rich wine gravy, cranberry sauce and bread sauce

TERRY BENSON/CANDIS MAGAZINE

Gravy and sauces

Jack Stein’s ultra-umami gravy

You can make this in advance. Cook down two finely chopped shallots, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and a sprig of thyme in a pan with about 375ml red wine. Allow this to reduce by about half, then add 1 litre good-quality shop-bought beef stock. Let it simmer down for 30 min, then add 1 tablespoon of Marmite, 4 tsp soy sauce for an umami hit and a splash of rice wine vinegar. On the day add all the pan juices from roasting your meat at the end, then whisk in 50g cold, unsalted butter to finish.
rickstein.com

Greg Marchand’s turkey jus

Instead of gravy I make a light, very clear and delicate jus. Ask the butcher for some turkey/chicken bones. Roast them in the oven at 180C/gas 4 until golden. Then put them in a pan along with vegetables (onion, carrot etc), tomato puree and water to cover, on a very, very low simmer — not allowing it to boil. Pass through a sieve, then reduce to the right consistency. Season with a little bit of acid (ie a squeeze of lemon juice) to make it bright, infusing it with delicate herbs at the last minute.
frenchiecoventgarden.com

Will Bowlby’s cranberry sauce

Gently fry 1 sliced red onion in a knob of butter in a pan, along with 3 minced cloves of garlic, 3 star anise and 3 sticks of cinnamon. Continue to cook until the onions start to caramelise. Remove the spices and add to a blender with 1 roughly chopped orange (pips removed), 250g cranberries, 100g caster sugar, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and some salt and pepper for seasoning. Pulse until smooth. Season to taste. Serves 8.
kricket.co.uk

Tony Turnbull’s bread sauce

Stud a peeled, halved onion with 8 cloves and put in a small pan with ½ tsp ground nutmeg, a bay leaf and 500ml milk. Bring to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes then leave to steep off the heat for an hour or so. Strain the milk into a clean pan. Add 100g fresh white breadcrumbs and heat gently over a low heat until the breadcrumbs have swollen. Add 50g unsalted butter, check the seasoning, and keep warm until ready to serve.

Peter Howarth’s zesty cranberry sauce

Put 100ml of orange juice and zest into a pan with 175ml of red wine. Reduce to a syrup, then add 350g of cranberries, 100g of sugar, and 4 used vanilla pods (with the seeds scraped out). Cook down until the cranberries burst and it is thick, then add 100g of cranberries for a lovely texture.
hippinghall.com

Stuffing

Hairy Bikers’ stuffing balls

Ingredients
15g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
35g cranberries
50ml just-boiled water
50g chestnuts, crumbled
75g breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried thyme
1 egg

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onion. Sauté until very soft and translucent, then remove from the heat.

2 Put the cranberries in a small bowl, cover with the just-boiled water, then leave to soften and swell. Put the onions and cranberries in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, then season and mix thoroughly. Form into 8 balls.

3 Bake for 40-45 min.
Extracted from Hairy Bikers’ Everyday Winners by Si King and Dave Myers (Seven Dials, £22)

Paul Ainsworth’s sourdough stuffing

Melt 500g of butter in a shallow medium-sized pan. Add 500g of finely sliced onions with some fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs and a couple of bay leaves. Stir well, then season. Continue to cook the onions with no colour until they are beautifully soft, then add 15g of diced sage and 30g of chopped parsley and soften. Mix through 90g chopped dried apricots, 90g dried cranberries and 90g coarsely diced cooked chestnuts and leave on a very low heat for 5 min. Add 300g of sourdough bread (day-old or stale is better) bit by bit until you start to form a stuffing-type texture, then fold in the parsley. Season with a little lemon juice and add the zest of 1 lemon. Season with a little salt and pepper if needed. Place the stuffing in an ovenproof tray and bake at 180C/gas 4 for 35 min so that you start to brown the top and form a light crust. Serve in a bowl and place with all the trimmings.
paul-ainsworth.co.uk

Stevie Parle’s ’nduja devils on horsebacks

Ingredients
1 Earl Grey teabag
18 prunes (d’agen prunes if possible, as they’re juicier)
50g ’nduja
18 thin slices of pancetta
75ml red wine vinegar
Small pinch mild dried chilli flakes

Method
1 Heat the oven to 200C/gas 6 (cook these while your goose rests).
2 Make a pot of Earl Grey tea and soak the prunes in it for 1 hour (longer if you didn’t get d’agen prunes because they’re usually drier). Remove the stones and replace each with a bit of ’nduja. Wrap the filled prunes in pancetta and fit snugly in a tray. Pour in the vinegar and sprinkle with a little chilli (for background heat).
3 Bake for about 10 min, until the pancetta turns crisp and the prunes are hot and tasty.

Luke French’s top stuffing tip

Make your stuffing and roll it into a cylinder using foil or clingfilm. Remove the foil or clingfilm, pop the cylinder of stuffing on a baking tray and cook until done; allow to cool and then freeze. Defrost when you want it and cut the cylinder into mini-burger-sized pucks, then fry it in a little butter so it gathers a lovely golden crust before serving.

Raymond Blanc’s top gravy tip

Get ahead by making chicken stock now to use in your gravy. Take the picked carcass, cover it with cold water, add a few leftover vegetable peelings, sliced onions, garlic and strong herbs (thyme, bay and rosemary) and simmer it for 1 hour. Leave to cool before straining through then strain and freeze until Christmas Day.

Puddings

Michel Roux Jr’s whisky jelly with oranges and Drambuie sauce

Serves 10

Ingredients
6 leaves of gelatine
200g light brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
100ml water
400ml whisky
10 oranges
For the Drambuie sauce
400ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split
4 egg yolks
100g sugar
4 tbsp Drambuie

Method
1 Soften the gelatine in cold water; squeeze dry. Melt the sugar and honey in the water, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the gelatine and whisky and leave to cool.

2 Segment the oranges — use 5 blood oranges if you like — and dry with kitchen towels. Line a terrine (25cm x 8cm x 8cm) or individual moulds with a layer of jelly and leave to set. Add a layer of orange segments, cover with jelly and leave to set again. Repeat, finishing with a layer of jelly. Refrigerate overnight.

3 To make the Drambuie sauce, bring the milk and vanilla to the boil, then remove from the heat. Beat the yolks and sugar until thick. Pour the boiling milk on the yolk mixture, whisking continuously. Return to the saucepan and stir over a low heat until the custard thickens slightly. Leave to cool slightly before adding the Drambuie. When ready to serve, turn out the jelly, slice and serve with Drambuie sauce.
Extracted from Le Gavroche Cookbook (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)