I hosted a discussion at the Cook Christmas Bazaar last Saturday about what makes the perfect Christmas lunch. The panel was made up of Jeremy Lee, surely the world’s best-read chef; turkey farmer Paul Kelly, who had just finished hand-plucking 46,000 turkeys; and my mother, Josceline Dimbleby, who (if you’ll forgive a little filial boasting) has been credited with starting a culinary revolution in 1978 with her first recipe book, Cooking for Christmas. (Sainsbury’s, which published the book, ordered in lots of hitherto rare spices such as turmeric and cumin to accompany her recipes. They have since become supermarket staples.)
It was a cheerfully argumentative panel. Mum – who thinks Christmas pud with pouring cream and Cointreau butter is quite enough to round off the festive meal – was agog at Paul’s revelation that he serves a medley of Christmas pudding, pecan pie and steamed toffee pudding. Ooft! Jeremy likes to roast his potatoes in an inch of goose fat, whereas I think that a simple light tossing makes them crisper. But, we all agreed, you shouldn’t add the salt until you get them to the table, because it makes them soggy.
We also agreed that most people make too many different things for the main course. I once met a man who insisted on luring his guests in with a starter of smoked salmon and blini, before felling them with a main course of turkey, ham, chipolatas, pigs in blankets, devils on horseback, two kinds of stuffing, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, broccoli, sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, red cabbage, gravy, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, apple sauce and mustard.
Such a generous spread may look festive, but it is near-impossible to cook so many different dishes well, or fit them all on a plate, let alone enjoy all their distinct flavours.
One of the great advantages of doing a vegetarian Christmas lunch is that it gives you a chance to de-clutter. I’m not a vegetarian, but I love cooking for them – especially at Christmas. It makes everything simpler and less stressful. Jane’s mushroom wellington recipe can be made the day before, and then popped into the oven along with the roasting potatoes. Serve it with the spuds, squash and the red cabbage. Make heaps of cabbage – it goes brilliantly with ham for a non-vegetarian Boxing Day lunch. No arguments there.
Mushroom wellington (pictured above)
Serves 6
12 large field or portobello mushrooms, stalks removed
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
½ onion, finely chopped
100g mushrooms, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg, beaten
50ml milk (or almond milk)
2 tbsp ground almonds
100g mixed nuts, finely chopped
50g cooked spinach, squeezed and chopped
1 tbsp each of tarragon, chives and parsley, chopped
500-600g frozen puff pastry sheets
Salt and black pepper
150g blue cheese, chopped
6 tsp cranberry sauce
1 egg, beaten, for glazing
1 Set the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Put the large mushrooms on a baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and season. Bake for about 15 minutes, then set aside to cool on kitchen roll, to remove any excess moisture (as this will make pastry soggy).
2 Fry the onions for 5 minutes, add the chopped small mushrooms and garlic, then cook over a high heat for another 5 minutes, until tender and all the liquid has disappeared. Allow to cool.
3 In a large bowl, mix the egg, milk, almonds, nuts, spinach and tarragon until well blended. Season. Turn up the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
4 Lay out the pastry sheets on a floured surface. Cut out 12 discs at least 1cm larger than the mushrooms all the way round. Place a mushroom cap-side down on six of the discs, then spread each with a layer of the spinach mix. Sprinkle with blue cheese and top with 1 tsp of cranberry sauce. Top with the rest of the spinach nut mix and top with the other mushrooms cap-side up.
5 Brush around the edges with beaten egg and put the remaining pastry discs on top of the mushroom parcels. Press down the edges, so they seal with the discs below, and crimp to seal. Transfer the six parcels to a baking tray lined with parchment. Glaze with the egg wash. The rounds can be scored lightly with a knife going down the sides from top to the edges. At this point, you can put them in the fridge and cook them the next day, if you like.
6 Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.
Red cabbage with radicchio
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
½ red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
100ml madeira
1 head radicchio, thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
1 Cook the onion in the olive oil for about 10 minutes in a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the rosemary, garlic, vinegar and sugar and cook for another minute.
2 Tip in the red cabbage, then stir-fry quickly for 5 minutes. Add the madeira and turn the heat up. Cook over a high heat for another 5 minutes, or until the cabbage has wilted. Season well, then stir through the radicchio and remove from the heat.
Roasted squash and sprouts with chilli and sage
400g squash, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
250g sprouts, peeled and cut in half
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red chillies, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
10 sage leaves, chopped
Salt and black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Toss the squash pieces and sprouts in the olive oil and season well. Place on a baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost cooked.
2 Remove from the oven and stir through the other ingredients. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, then serve.
Henry Dimbleby is co-founder of the natural fast-food restaurant chain Leon; @HenryDimbleby.
Jane Baxter is a chef and food writer based in Devon; @baxcooka; wildartichokes.com
