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Starter Course

Smoked Salmon Blinis with Lemon-Dill Creme

Tiny buckwheat blinis, warm from the griddle, layered with ribbons of smoked salmon, a lemon-dill creme and a scatter of briny capers - bright, silky and gone in two bites.

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Smoked Salmon Blinis with Lemon-Dill Creme

Serves 12 · Prep 30 min · Cook 25 min · Total 55 min

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Ingredients

• 1 cup (120g)120 g buckwheat flour
• 1 cup (120g)120 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon6 g fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons6 g active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups360 ml warm whole milk
• 11 large egg, separated
• 2 tablespoons30 g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1 1/2 cups360 g creme fraiche
• 11 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tablespoons9 g fresh dill, finely chopped, plus extra sprigs
• 12 oz335 g cold-smoked salmon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons20 g capers, drained
• to tasteto taste flaky sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. 1Whisk the buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Pour in the warm milk, whisk until smooth, then cover and rest in a warm spot for 45 minutes until puffed and foamy.
2. 2Stir the egg yolk and melted butter into the risen batter. In a clean bowl, whip the egg white to soft peaks and fold it gently through the batter.
3. 3Warm a large nonstick pan over medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Drop in heaping teaspoons of batter, 2 inches apart, and cook for about 90 seconds per side until golden with crisp lacy edges. Repeat to make about 36 blinis and keep them warm under a clean towel.
4. 4Stir the creme fraiche with the lemon zest, lemon juice, chopped dill and a pinch of salt until silky, then chill for at least 10 minutes so the flavors marry.
5. 5Dollop a teaspoon of lemon-dill creme onto each warm blini, then drape over a loose ribbon of smoked salmon. Finish with capers, dill sprigs, a grind of pepper and a flake of salt, and serve at once while the blinis are still warm.

Watch out for

• Warm the milk to bath temperature (100-110F), no hotter - milk straight from a boil kills the yeast and the batter will sit flat instead of puffing and foaming in its 45-minute rest.
• Cook on medium, not high - blinis go from golden and lacy to rubbery in under a minute per side past done; pull them at 90 seconds a side and keep the batch under a clean towel so they stay supple.
• Fold the whipped egg white through the batter with a spatula, don't stir - stirring knocks out the air and you'll get dense little pancakes instead of puffy blinis.

Easy swaps

• creme fraiche: sour cream loosened with a splash of heavy cream - same tang, much easier to find
• cold-smoked salmon (to save money): hot-smoked trout or smoked mackerel, flaked - roughly half the price and just as festive
• buckwheat flour: all all-purpose flour (2 cups total) - you lose the nutty edge but the blinis stay tender
• capers: finely diced cornichons or quick-pickled red onion - the same briny pop

Main Feast Piece

Slow-Roasted Goose with Apple-Sage Stuffing, Yorkshire Pudding and Pigs in Blankets

A burnished whole goose, its skin crackling with rosemary salt, roasted over orange and onion until the meat falls off the bone - carved at the table with apple-sage stuffing, towering Yorkshire puddings, bacon-wrapped pigs in blankets, goose-fat roast potatoes, honey-glazed parsnips, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, and a tart cranberry-orange sauce.

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Slow-Roasted Goose with Apple-Sage Stuffing, Yorkshire Pudding and Pigs in Blankets

Serves 12 · Prep 1 hr 15 min · Cook 4 hr · Total 5 hr 15 min

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Ingredients

• 11 whole goose, giblets removed, about 9-10 lbs
• 3 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon pepper50 g salt, 7 g pepper sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 3 tablespoons9 g fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 11 orange, quartered
• 11 yellow onion, quartered
• 8 cups480 g stale sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large1 large tart apple (such as Granny Smith), diced
• 11 celery stalk, finely diced
• 11 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup10 g fresh sage leaves, chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 1 1/2 cups360 ml chicken or goose stock
• 22 large eggs, beaten
• 6 tablespoons90 g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups180 g all-purpose flour (Yorkshire pudding)
• 44 large eggs, at room temperature (Yorkshire pudding)
• 1 1/2 cups360 ml whole milk (Yorkshire pudding)
• 1/4 cup60 ml goose fat or dripping, for the pudding tin
• 1616 pork chipolatas
• 16 slices16 slices thin streaky bacon
• 4 lbs1.8 kg Maris Piper or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 lbs900 g parsnips, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons65 g honey
• 2 lbs900 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 8 oz225 g vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts, halved
• 2 cups200 g fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup100 g granulated sugar
• 11 orange, zested and juiced

Method

1. 1Take the goose out of the fridge 2 hours before roasting. Prick the skin all over with a skewer, taking care not to pierce the meat, and rub it generously with the salt, pepper and chopped rosemary. Stuff the cavity with the quartered orange and onion and tie the legs together.
2. 2Set the goose breast-side up on a rack in a deep roasting pan and slide into a 350°F (175°C) oven. Roast for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, spooning off the rendered fat every 45 minutes and reserving it. The goose is done when the juices at the thigh run clear and a thermometer reads 165F at the thickest part. Rest, tented, for 40 minutes.
3. 3While the goose roasts, make the stuffing: saute the diced onion, celery and apple in 4 tablespoons of the butter until soft, stir in the chopped sage, then toss with the bread cubes, stock and beaten eggs. Season well, press into a buttered baking dish and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35 minutes until crisp on top.
4. 4For the Yorkshire puddings, whisk the flour, eggs, milk and a teaspoon of salt until completely smooth and rest 20 minutes. Spoon a teaspoon of goose fat into each cup of a 12-hole muffin tin and heat in a 450°F (230°C) oven until smoking, then pour in the batter and bake 20 minutes without opening the door, until towering and deeply golden.
5. 5Wrap each chipolata in a slice of bacon and roast alongside the goose for the final 25 minutes, turning once. Boil the potatoes 10 minutes, rough up the edges, then roast in hot goose fat at 425°F (220°C) for 45 minutes, turning twice, until glassy-crisp. Roast the parsnips with honey and oil for 35 minutes, and saute the sprouts in goose fat with the chestnuts until charred at the edges.
6. 6Simmer the cranberries with the sugar, orange juice and zest for 10 minutes until the berries pop and the sauce turns syrupy. Carve the goose at the table and serve with everything - stuffing, puddings, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, parsnips, sprouts and cranberry-orange sauce.

Watch out for

• Prick the skin all over with a skewer but stop before the meat - pierce the flesh and the juices bleed out, leaving dry meat and skin that never crisps.
• Spoon off the rendered fat every 45 minutes without fail - a goose carries pounds of fat, and if the bird sits in it, the skin braises soft instead of turning glassy-crisp.
• Don't open the oven during the Yorkshire puddings' first 18 minutes - the blast of cool air collapses them, and they won't rise again.

Easy swaps

• goose fat (for roasting potatoes): duck fat or beef dripping - same crisping power; save the fat you draw off the bird
• honey (on the parsnips): maple syrup or golden syrup - just as sticky and caramelized
• whole goose (smaller crowd): two 5-lb ducks - same technique, roast 2 to 2 1/2 hours instead of nearly 4
• pork chipolatas: chicken or turkey chipolatas wrapped in beef bacon - a pork-free pigs-in-blankets

Sweet Confection

Flaming Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter and Mince Pies

A midnight-dark Christmas pudding, flamed at the table with brandy until the flames die blue, served with a melting coin of brandy butter and crisp, sugar-dusted mince pies.

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Flaming Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter and Mince Pies

Serves 12 · Prep 1 hr · Cook 6 hr · Total 7 hr

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Ingredients

• 4 cups (600g)600 g mixed dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas)
• 1 cup120 g dried cranberries
• 1 cup240 ml brandy, plus 1/2 cup extra for flaming
• 1/2 cup120 ml dark stout
• 1 1/2 cups165 g fine breadcrumbs
• 1 cup120 g all-purpose flour
• 1 cup220 g dark brown sugar
• 1 cup130 g shredded beef suet or vegetarian suet
• 33 large eggs, beaten
• 11 tart apple, grated
• 11 orange, zested and juiced
• 11 lemon, zested
• 2 teaspoons6 g mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon3 g ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks)225 g unsalted butter, softened (brandy butter)
• 2 cups240 g powdered sugar (brandy butter)
• 1/4 cup60 ml brandy (brandy butter)
• 2 sticks225 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed (mince pie pastry)
• 2 1/2 cups300 g all-purpose flour (mince pie pastry)
• 1/2 teaspoon3 g fine sea salt (mince pie pastry)
• 2 cups500 g good-quality mincemeat
• 11 egg, beaten with a splash of milk, for egg wash
• 2 tablespoons25 g granulated sugar, for dusting

Method

1. 1The day before steaming, combine the dried fruit, cranberries, brandy and stout in a large bowl, cover and leave overnight so the fruit drinks up all the liquor.
2. 2Butter a 2-quart pudding basin. Stir the breadcrumbs, flour, brown sugar, suet, eggs, grated apple, citrus zest and juice, mixed spice and cinnamon into the soaked fruit until everything is well combined.
3. 3Pack the mixture into the basin, cover with a double layer of parchment pleated in the middle, then a layer of foil, and tie tightly with string. Steam in a large pot of simmering water for 6 hours, topping up the water as needed. Cool, then store the pudding in a cool dark place - it only improves with age.
4. 4To serve, steam the pudding again for 2 hours. Meanwhile beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until pale, then whip in the brandy a spoonful at a time to make the brandy butter; chill until firm.
5. 5For the mince pies, rub the cold butter into the flour and salt until crumbly, bind with 4-5 tablespoons of ice water, and chill 30 minutes. Roll out, cut 12 rounds and lids, line a muffin tin, fill each with a heaping teaspoon of mincemeat, cap with lids, egg-wash and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 18-20 minutes until golden; dust with sugar.
6. 6Turn the warm pudding onto a serving plate. Warm the extra brandy in a small pan until it just steams, ignite it carefully and pour the blue flames over the pudding at the table. Once the flames die, serve thick slices with brandy butter and mince pies.

Watch out for

• Don't skip the overnight fruit soak - unsoaked fruit stays leathery and the pudding crumbles when sliced; 12 hours minimum.
• Top up the steamer water during the 6-hour steam - a pot that boils dry scorches the pudding and can crack the basin.
• Cold brandy won't ignite - warm it until it just steams before lighting, and pour it over the pudding the moment it catches so the flames last at the table.

Easy swaps

• shredded beef suet: vegetarian suet or coarsely grated frozen butter - the pudding works with any of the three
• dark stout: porter, brown ale, or strong black tea for an alcohol-free version - any dark, malty liquid
• brandy (for flaming): dark rum or whisky - both catch a blue flame just as well
• brandy butter (make-ahead): it keeps 2 weeks refrigerated - make it days ahead so Christmas Day is just steam and flame

Accompanying Sides

Mulled-Spiced Red Cabbage with Apple

Red cabbage braised low and slow with apple, cinnamon and a splash of red wine until glossy, ruby-bright and sweet-tart - the jewel-toned counterpoint every rich roast deserves.

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Mulled-Spiced Red Cabbage with Apple

Serves 12 · Prep 20 min · Cook 1 hr 40 min · Total 2 hr

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Ingredients

• 2 medium (about 4 lbs)2 medium (about 1.8 kg) red cabbage, cored and finely shredded
• 33 tart apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 22 red onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup110 g light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup80 ml red wine vinegar
• 1 cup240 ml dry red wine
• 22 cinnamon sticks
• 66 whole cloves
• 22 star anise
• 66 juniper berries, lightly crushed
• 4 tablespoons60 g unsalted butter
• to tasteto taste fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. 1Melt the butter in a very large heavy casserole or Dutch oven and soften the onions for 6-8 minutes until sweet and golden at the edges.
2. 2Add the cabbage, apples, sugar, vinegar, red wine and all the whole spices with a generous pinch of salt, and toss until the cabbage is evenly coated - the vinegar keeps it ruby-bright through the long braise.
3. 3Cover and braise in a low oven at 300°F (150°C) for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, stirring twice, until the cabbage is glossy, melting and deep ruby.
4. 4Fish out the cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and juniper berries, then taste: adjust with a pinch more sugar if sharp, a splash more vinegar if flat.
5. 5Serve hot as the jewel-toned counterpoint to the roast - it reheats perfectly, so braise it a day ahead for a party of twelve.

Watch out for

• For a crowd of twelve, use a truly large pot - overfilling traps steam and the bottom layer braises while the top stays raw.
• Remove every whole spice before serving - juniper and cloves bitten whole will ruin a guest's Christmas.
• Taste at the end, not the start - the wine's acidity cooks off and the sugar concentrates, so the balance is only knowable in the last 15 minutes.

Easy swaps

• dry red wine: cranberry juice - same ruby depth for the whole table, no alcohol
• juniper berries: a bay leaf and an extra star anise - a simpler but still mulled perfume
• unsalted butter: olive oil - keeps the whole dish dairy-free too

Traditional Bread Sauce with Nutmeg

A silky bread sauce, the milk steeped with clove-studded onion and finished with nutmeg and a knob of butter - the old-fashioned Christmas classic that belongs beside every slice of bird.

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Traditional Bread Sauce with Nutmeg

Serves 12 · Prep 10 min · Cook 30 min · Total 40 min

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Ingredients

• 11 large onion, peeled
• 1010 whole cloves
• 1 quart960 ml whole milk
• 22 bay leaves
• 3 1/2 cups200 g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons60 g unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup120 ml double cream
• 1/2 teaspoon2 g nutmeg, freshly grated
• to tasteto taste fine sea salt and white pepper

Method

1. 1Stud the peeled onion with the cloves, add to a large saucepan with the milk and bay leaves, and bring just to a simmer. Off the heat, cover and infuse 30 minutes.
2. 2Remove the onion and bay leaves. Return the milk to a gentle heat and shower in the breadcrumbs, stirring constantly as they swell into a thick, velvety sauce.
3. 3Simmer very gently for 10 minutes, stirring often - never let it boil - until the sauce is thick enough to leave a trail when the spoon is dragged through.
4. 4Stir in the butter and cream until glossy, then season with salt, white pepper and the freshly grated nutmeg.
5. 5Rest 5 minutes and serve warm in a heated jug - bread sauce is the old-fashioned Christmas classic that belongs beside every slice of bird.

Watch out for

• For twelve, make it in a wide pan, not a tall pot - breadcrumbs sink and scorch on the base of a deep pot before the top thickens.
• Infuse the full 30 minutes - scaling up means more milk, and more milk needs the full steep to taste of clove and bay.
• Warm the jug before pouring - bread sauce thickens as it stands, and a cold jug sets it before it reaches the table.

Easy swaps

• double cream: single cream or milk for a lighter jug that still pours silkily
• whole milk: half milk, half turkey stock - a savourier sauce for dark-meat lovers
• fresh white breadcrumbs: fine sourdough breadcrumbs - a gentle tang under the nutmeg

Cauliflower Cheese with Gruyere and Mustard Crumb

Tender cauliflower florets baked under a bubbling Gruyere sauce with a crisp mustard-spiked crumb - unapologetically rich and built for gravy.

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Cauliflower Cheese with Gruyere and Mustard Crumb

Serves 12 · Prep 25 min · Cook 40 min · Total 1 hr 5 min

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Ingredients

• 2 large (about 4 lbs)2 large (about 1.8 kg) cauliflowers, broken into even florets
• 5 tablespoons70 g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup40 g all-purpose flour
• 1 quart960 ml whole milk
• 2 tablespoons30 g Dijon mustard
• 2 1/2 cups280 g Gruyere, grated
• 1 1/2 cups170 g mature cheddar, grated
• to tasteto taste fine sea salt, white pepper and cayenne
• 1 1/2 cups90 g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons60 ml unsalted butter, melted, for the crumb
• 2 teaspoons10 ml Dijon mustard, for the crumb
• 2 tablespoons6 g fresh thyme leaves

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Boil the cauliflower florets in two well-salted batches for 4-5 minutes each, until a knife tip meets slight resistance. Drain and steam-dry in the colander.
2. 2Melt the 5 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in the milk gradually, whisking smooth, and simmer until the sauce thickly coats the spoon.
3. 3Off the heat, whisk in the Dijon and all the Gruyere and cheddar until melted and glossy. Season with salt, white pepper and a pinch of cayenne.
4. 4Divide the florets between two buttered baking dishes, pour over the cheese sauce, and toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter, extra mustard and thyme; strew over both dishes.
5. 5Bake 25-30 minutes until bubbling, deeply golden and crisp on top. Unapologetically rich - and built for gravy.

Watch out for

• Blanch in batches in well-salted water - crowding the pot drops the temperature and the florets stew grey instead of staying bright.
• Whisk the cheeses in off the heat - Gruyere goes stringy and grainy if the sauce is boiling when it hits.
• Use two dishes, not one mountain - a single overfilled dish steams the crumb soggy in the middle.

Easy swaps

• Gruyere: Comte or Emmental - the same nutty alpine melt
• fresh white breadcrumbs: panko for the crispiest possible crumb
• cayenne: a grating of nutmeg - warmer and milder for a crowd