In many families, mine included, Christmas can be quite a challenge. Everyone, but everyone has an opinion, and it's often that everything should beexactly the same as it was last year. And the year before that. "Wealways have turkey/brussels sprouts with chestnuts/parsnips roasted with honey…" come the cries, even from those who never doany of the cooking.
Actually, especially from those who never do any of the cooking. Itcan be frustrating for those of us who do do the cooking, trying toring the changes without facing family mutiny at some point between the opening of the presentsand the Queen's speech. Orthe Bond movie. Or the first howls when it transpires that batteries were not included…
So we cooks need to get a little sneaky to keep things interesting forourselves, and the two components of the meal that best offer themselves up to changes are the starter and the stuffing. That way, you can serve whatever your family's well-worn formula is for harmonious Christmas feasting whilestill allowing your creative juices to flow.
Starters need to be fairly light, butstill have about them a sense ofluxury. Of course, you could do alot worse than a wonderful platter of oysters alongside a selection of Tabasco, lemon wedges and a little bowl of finely chopped shallot macerated in wine vinegar and abitof sugar. Or try my recipe for smoked mackerel with horseradish and beetroot from 27 November, so much more original and tasty than smoked salmon. Andseeing that we've established we're catering for a bunch of traditionalists, why not go completely retro and serve up crab co*cktail? It's astonishingly good, and more sustainable than the standard 70s version using prawns.
Stuffings really allow you to go to town, tweaking the ingredients, playing with the seasoning. For me, they're often the best part of the Christmas meal. I recently challenged River Cottage's head chef Gill Meller to a great stuffing cook-off, and I give you our creations here. Dotry our recipes, but do make them your own, too. Substitute apples for pears, say, or hazelnuts for almonds; add a handful of soaked sultanas in place of the dates; have afree hand with the herbs and citrus. Both of our stuffings go verywell with turkey, chicken, goose or even with a boned, rolled shoulder of pork.
Christmas is certainly a time for tradition, but it's also a time for creating new traditions, too. And you'll know your attempts at subversive cheffing have been asuccess when next year the cry goes up, "We always have that stuffing – you know, the one with the pears and celeriac."
Crab co*cktail
I love this take on that 70s favourite the prawn co*cktail, though I use the more sustainable crab in favour of prawns. Serves four.
3 tbsp good mayonnaise
2 tbsp ketchup
1½ tsp brandy
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
A dash of Tabasco
A pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
About 500g fresh crab meat, picked over for bits of shell
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 leaves romaine lettuce (iceberg at a push), roughly shredded
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
In a bowl, combine the mayo, ketchup, brandy, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and sugar, mix well and season to taste. Lightly toss the crabmeat with the olive oil and alittle salt and pepper. Line four bowls with shredded lettuce, divide the crab between the bowls and trickle some of the dressing over the top. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges.
Parsnip and date stuffing
This fruity stuffing, devised by GillMeller in our cook-off, isgreat with turkey, gooseor even roast pork. Serves sixto eight.
2 tbsp goose fat or groundnut oil
200g smoked streaky bacon, chopped into 0.5cm pieces
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 parsnips, coarsely grated
1½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finelychopped
1 bay leaf, very finely chopped
12 Medjool dates, finely chopped
1 large handful fresh white breadcrumbs
4 juniper berries, finely chopped
½ bunch parsley, tough stalks removed, the rest finely chopped
Zest of ½ orange
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
Heat the fat or oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and fry gently until it begins to turn golden. Lower the temperature slightly, add the onion and sweat gently, stirring from time to time, until softened – about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the parsnips and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10-15 minutes. Add the thyme and bay, and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and tip into alarge bowl along with the dates, breadcrumbs, juniper, parsley, zest and seasoning. Give everything a stir, check seasoning, add the lemon juice andbeaten egg, and mix lightly yet thoroughly until well combined.
You can stuff this mixture under the neck skin of a chicken, turkey or goose, and also put a little inside the cavity of the bird, but don't pack it full because the stuffing will expand and may not cook through properly. Remember to include the weight of the stuffing when calculating the cooking time of your bird. If you have any left over, you can bake it separately in a shallow, buttered dish, or roll it into balls for baking. If you are cooking the stuffing separately, bake it at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 for 35-45 minutes, depending on thickness, oruntil cooked through and golden.
Pear and celeriac stuffing
This was my contribution to the great River Cottage stuffing cook-off. I'm particularly fond of the combination of earthy celeriac with the sweet pears which, along with the liver from the bird, liven up an otherwise fairly traditional sausagemeat stuffing. Serves six to eight.
2-3 tbsp goose fat or groundnut oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
½ small celeriac, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 pears
500g sausagemeat (ideally pork shoulder, coarsely ground)
1 goose or turkey liver, or about 80g chicken livers, finely chopped
100g blanched almonds, finely chopped
1 handful fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped sage
1 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
Pinch ground mace
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the goose fat or oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over amedium-low heat, add the onion and cook gently, stirring from time to time, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celeriac and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Squeeze the lemon juice into alarge mixing bowl. Peel and core the pears, then dice the fruit directlyinto the bowl. Toss it in thelemon juice tostop it discolouring. Add the remaining ingredients, then the cooked onion and celeriac, and give the whole lot agood stir. Season generously.
Cook as for the parsnip and date stuffing, and add the weight of the stuffing to that of the bird when calculating the cooking time if you are not cooking it separately
