You can have the turkey. Just give me the gravy. And I’ll have the chipolatas and bacon rolls too, the cranberry sauce and the stuffing. At Christmas dinner, it is the accompaniments that interest me as much as, or even more than, the big bird. The chewy, scrunchy savoury bits that are traditionally part of the feast can be sublime either on the side or served as dish in their own right.
The Christmas accompaniments can be served in the classic manner or can be touched by a little imagination – either way, they are my favourite bits. This year, instead of chipolatas, I am going for something that could just as easily be a meal in itself – a ring of Cumberland sausage wrapped in pancetta and sweet date molasses.
Likewise the sprouts, which this year I am roasting, with thyme and garlic. But I am concentrating most of my energies on the gravy itself, the essential ingredient that brings the entire carnival of a meal together. As well as utilising the turkey giblets, I am using a handful of chicken wings to give this crucial part of the dinner a silky, glossy finish. And I’m taking my time too. Side dishes these may be, but for me, they are what really turns Christmas dinner into a feast.
Onion gravy for the turkey
Nothing improves Christmas dinner more than a thoughtfully made gravy. It brings the meal together. A good one, deeply favoured, sweet and mellow, takes time, so I suggest you make it in advance. It improves overnight.
Enough for a medium-sized turkey
onion 1 large
olive oil 5 tbsp
banana shallots 6
whole chicken wings 14
turkey giblets
carrots 4 small
celery 2 ribs
garlic ½ a small head
bay leaves 4
black peppercorns 12
dried mushrooms 20g
thyme 8 sprigs
water 1 litre
redcurrant jelly 2 heaped tbsp
dry marsala or madeira 3 tbsp
Peel the onion, halve it, then slice each half into thin segments. Warm three tablespoons of the olive oil in a deep pan, add the onion, then leave to cook over a low heat, stirring regularly. Let the onion cook till it is sweet, golden brown and very, very soft. A good 20 minutes.
Peel and halve the shallots. Warm the remaining oil in a shallow pan and fry them for five minutes or so till nicely browned. Remove the shallots then add the chicken wings to the pan and let them brown, introducing the giblets towards the end.
Scrub the carrots and slice them in half. Roughly chop the celery then add to the onions together with the shallots, the wings and giblets, the bay, peppercorns, dried mushrooms, thyme and water. Bring to the boil then lower the heat so the liquid simmers gently, then leave for 2 hours. Check regularly to make sure the gravy isn’t boiling.
Strain the gravy through a sieve or colander then bring to the boil in a saucepan, stirring in the redcurrant jelly and marsala or madeira. Check the seasoning, adding salt as necessary, then serve, piping hot, with your Christmas dinner.
Parsnip mash and roast brussels with honey
It is essential to turn the brussels sprouts over several times in the butter and oil as they roast, as you don’t want them to dry out. Should you prefer to boil them, do so, then warm the butter with the crushed smoked garlic and thyme leaves, stir in the honey then toss with the cooked and drained sprouts.
Serves 6
For the parsnips
parsnips 800g
butter 30g
double cream 6 tbsp
brussels sprouts 450g
olive oil 4 tbsp
butter 25g
smoked garlic 6 cloves
thyme 6 sprigs
honey 2 tsp
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Peel the parsnips and cook them in boiling, lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes or until soft enough to mash. Trim and halve the brussels sprouts and put them into a bowl together with the oil, butter, the peeled garlic and thyme, toss everything together then tip into a roasting tin. Bake for 35 minutes, till golden brown and soft, tossing the sprouts once or twice as they roast.
Drain and mash the parsnips, add the butter and cream and beat till smooth. Pile onto a serving dish. Remove the sprouts and garlic from the oven, trickle over the honey, toss gently then spoon onto the parsnip puree.
Salt-crust potatoes with blue cheese and goats’ curd
Salt not only delivers a deliciously crisp crust, but the smoked salt adds its own flavour to the potatoes too. Give me a plate of these this Christmas, and the garlicky cheese dip beside them, and I’ll be just fine, thank you.
Serves 4-8
smoked sea salt flakes 5 tbsp
sea salt flakes 5 tbsp
thyme leaves 2 tbsp
thyme 6 whole sprigs
potatoes 8, floury, medium- sized
garlic 6 large cloves
For the dip
goats’ curd 175g
blue cheese 100g
Mix the smoked and natural sea salt flakes then tip them into a roasting tin. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
Chop the thyme leaves then toss them with the salts. Wash the potatoes thoroughly, then, while they are still wet, roll them in the thyme salt, pressing down so the salt adheres to their skins. Set them well apart in the roasting tin, on the bed of salt.
Tuck the whole thyme sprigs and cloves of garlic, unpeeled, among the potatoes and bake in the preheated oven for an hour, till the potatoes are crunchy outside, soft and fluffy within.
Warm the goats’ curd in a small saucepan, crumble in the blue cheese. Remove the garlic from the oven, slice each clove open and squeeze the soft, sweet flesh within into the cheese. As the blue cheese starts to melt give it a quick stir, then pour it into a small, warm bowl.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and wipe off most of the salt, it has done its job. Split the potatoes open, then serve with the cheese and garlic dip.
Turkey, lardo and fennel seed stuffing, cranberry orange sauce
Plump balls of stuffing made with minced turkey. You can get lardo, the silky white fat that is such a treat served on rough toast with a trickle of olive oil and some crumbled rosemary, from a good Italian grocers. Buy it in a block so you can grate it. Failing that, buy it in thin slices and chop it finely.
Enough for 8
fennel seeds 2 tsp
minced turkey 500g
dried chilli flakes 1 tbsp
lardo 150g
dried breadcrumbs 60g
olive oil 2 tbsp
For the sauce
cranberry sauce or jelly 3 heaped tbsp
orange juice 50ml
orange zest 2 tsp
cranberries 100g, fresh or frozen
Toast the fennel seeds for a couple of minutes in a dry frying pan, then tip them into a large mixing bowl. Put the turkey mince, chilli and breadcrumbs into the bowl then coarsely grate in the lardo. Season generously with both salt and black pepper then mix thoroughly.
Shape the stuffing mixture into 8 large balls, place them on a tray and refrigerate for 25 minutes. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
To make the sauce, put the cranberry jelly or sauce into a small saucepan and place over a moderate heat, add the orange juice and zest and the cranberries and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat so the mixture simmers gently and leave for five or six minutes until the berries have softened a little. You should be able to squash them easily between thumb and forefinger. Remove from the heat and leave to settle.
Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, then fry the stuffing balls moving them round as each side browns, until they are golden brown all over. Transfer the balls to a baking dish, sitting them snugly together, then spoon over the cranberry sauce. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cumberland sausage, dates and pancetta
Sticky, sweet-sour date molasses is available from most large supermarkets and any Middle Eastern grocer.
Serves 6
Cumberland sausage 500g
dates 6
pancetta 75g, thinly sliced
bay leaves 6
sage leaves 4
juniper berries 8
date molasses 2 tbsp
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Place the Cumberland sausage on a baking sheet lined with foil or baking parchment. Split the dates in half and remove their stones. Wrap the pancetta rashers around the sausage, tucking a couple of the bay leaves, sage leaves and most of the halved dates under as you go. Once the pancetta is in place, tuck some of the juniper berries underneath. Scatter the rest of the bay and juniper berries on top, then bake for 25 minutes till nicely browned. Remove from the oven then baste all over with the date molasses and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes or until glossy and sizzling.
