How to keep your Christmas downsizing(ish) but so delicious that you wonder why you ever did it any other way.

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Recipes

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Roast capon with pumpkin, prune and chestnut stuffing

Roast potatoes with orange gremolata  

Red cabbage with caramelised onions and cranberry sauce

Brussels Sprout salad with Raspberries, Brazil Nuts, and Pomegranate Seeds

Cauliflower puree

Everything about Christmas is calorie-dense –  or calorie-dense as a newt.  So how on earth do you downsize Christmas lunch without wanting to top yourself, or your nearest and dearest  leaving home because you haven’t put enough cream and butter in the bread sauce.

And on the subject of bread sauce, as far as I am concerned, it’s the best bit of Christmas lunch – a great cauldron of it made with fresh sourdough, cloves and nutmeg, and plenty of double cream and butter.  It is absolutely delicious.

It is also ruinously calorie-dense, which I would normally ignore, owing to the fact that it is Christmas  – and I am aiming for damage limitation, not leaving out all my favourite bits – but a combination of a close friend who is celiac and a growing suspicion that eating bread does not agree with me, I have been contemplating the abyss: a bread-sauce-less Christmas. A tragic thought, but I think I have found a rather good alternative:  cauliflower puree.

Now before you run away screaming or take to social media to warn the world that I have taken leave of my senses, go and make some now – it only takes 10 minutes: steam or boil some cauliflower until it is good and soft; drain and add butter, a good grating of nutmeg, and plenty of salt and pepper, and puree until completely smooth. It is not only remarkably good, but it has some surprising similarities to bread sauce – minus the gluten and most of the calories.  

Of course, not everyone is a bread-sauce-aholic and other things also matter – like stuffing. I love stuffing almost as much as bread sauce, and the trick about stealing calories without causing a washing-up boycott, is to use substitutions and choose them well. For example some pumpkins – like the blue-grey crown prince – have a rather similar taste and texture to chestnuts but are much less calorie dense, and if you leave out the sausage meat, you not only drive a coach and horses through the calorie-count, but it’s delicious for any vegetarians or vegans you have about the place.  

With the veg, you can be pretty indulgent – because they are vegetables and so most of the dish is low-calorie-dense to start with.  

I don’t think Christmas lunch (or dinner) needs a starter, but if you want one, then gin-cured salmon – or smoked salmon if you haven’t time – with roast beetroot and apple puree and a small green salad is a lovely fresh option.

As for the pudding – Christmas or otherwise – try not to eat the whole thing yourself: there are more calories in a sheep than a lamb. Annoyingly.  And don’t eat anything unless it is delicious: calories have no discernment, and there are just as many in a bad mince pie as a delicious one.

Roast Capon

I love a capon and there are many ways of cooking them – including Marcella Hazan's roast chicken method. But I also like this way, which starts with a blast of heat and then turns the oven down. Cooking time is roughly 30 minutes per kilo plus 15 minutes.  You can either put the stuffing in the neck cavity or cook it separately – but remember to add the weight to the total. Use a meat probe so you can keep an eye on the temperature: you don't want it to over-cook – or still be raw in the middle. Take it out when the temperature reaches 65º and the juices run clear; it will continue rising during the resting period. Total cooking time for a 4kg capon is about 2 hours 15 minutes. If the skin doesn't look sufficiently crispy, you can turn the oven back up for the last 30 minutes

Serves 6

• One 4kg capon
• Rosemary and thyme
• Stuffing
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200º /400f / fan 180º / gas mark 6
2. Season the capon all over with salt and pepper and rub with oil.
3. Put the stuffing into the neck cavity, and rosemary and thyme into the body.  
4. Put the capon breast-side down in a roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes.
5. Turn oven down to  180º / fan 160º / gas mark 4.
6. After 45 minutes, turn the capon over, and roast for another 45 minutes – or however long it takes to reach 65º and the juices to run clear.  
7. Take it out of the oven, wrap loosely in foil, and put it somewhere warm to rest for 30 minutes.  

Diva Notes

Capon temperature

Often, a temperature of 75º or even 80º is recommended.   65º – with a pop-up timer already inserted – is recommended by Fosse Meadows who produce wonderful poultry, and who have a vested interested in their birds tasting fabulous without anyone getting food poisoning.   It is also implicitly recommended by the various chefs who give a short cooking-time for their poultry. The important thing is that the juices run clear – which for centuries was the only way to tell if the bird was cooked. The temperature does continue to rise during the resting period, but if you are really worried, keep in the oven until it reaches 75º.

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Cooking time

If 30 minutes per kilo seems rather short, its 10 minutes more than Raymond Blanc recommends. Fosse Meadows recommends 40 – 45 mins per kilo, but turning the oven down to 140ºC / gas mark 1 – or the simmering oven in an Aga – giving a cooking time of 2hrs 40 – 3hrs.  

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Chestnut, pumpkin, and prune stuffing

• 500g pumpkin
• 200g cooked chestnuts
• 120g prunes
• 2 medium red onions
• 1 apple
• 2 teaspoons honey
• A sprig or two of rosemary
• A few sprigs of thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 30g butter
• Lime zest

1. Dice the onion, grate the apple and put them in a bowl. Add the honey, salt and pepper, and mix well.
2. Melt the butter  in a sauté pan. Add the onion mix.  Cook with the lid on for 10 minutes or so – until the onion iswell-softened.  
3. Peel and dice the pumpkin, finely chop the rosemary and thyme, and add to the onion. Season with salt and pepper.Cook until it starts to soften.  
4. Roughly chop the chestnuts and prunes. Add them to the onion and pumpkin with a little water. Check theseasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
5. Simmer until the pumpkin is cooked.  Allow to cool, then add the grated lime zest. Make sure the stuffing is coldwhen you put it in the bird.

Brussels Sprouts with Raspberries, Brazil Nuts, and Pomegranate Seeds

The quantities in this salad are deliberately vague, so you can decide whether you want it more sprouty or more fruity. And depending on what you have in your fridge – which is where most of my salads begin.

Serves 4 – 6

About 600g sprouts, peeled and very finely sliced

1 apple, grated

A handful or two of raspberries

Pomegranate seeds

A few Brazil nuts – about 10, finely sliced

A handful of mint, finely chopped  

A couple of teaspoons of honey

Zest and juice of a lime

A few teaspoons of toasted sesame oil

Salt and pepper

Put the sprouts in a large bowl, and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and play with the honey / lime juice / sesame oil until it tastes delicious.

Braised red cabbage with star anise and cranberry sauce

This is my absolute favourite way of cooking red cabbage: the cranberry sauce – a much underused substance – as well as giving sweetness, has a tiny hint of bitterness,  and never mind Christmas, I eat it – hot or cold – with everything: salmon, lentils, beef, game, chicken, beans, chickpeas … and on its own.  For the cranberry sauce, you can either use a jar, or make your own – recipe below – which takes about 10 minutes and is well worth it.

Serves 6 – 8

• 1 red cabbage
• 2 large red onions
• 3 teaspoons olive oil  
• A pinch of crushed coriander and cardamom
• 12 crushed juniper berries
• 1 – 2 star anise
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons cranberry sauce
• 4 – 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper

1. Finely slice the red cabbage.
2. Finely slice the onions; put them in a bowl and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Mix them really well with your hands to make sure that all the onion has a coating of oil.
3. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a sauté or chef’s pan until it has spread out to cover the base.  
4. Add the onions and cook on a medium heat until they start to sizzle, then turn down for 10 minutes or so until the onion has softened and the juices have started to come out.
5. Turn the heat up a bit for 5 – 10 minutes to intensify the flavour and reduce the liquid – being careful not to brown or burn them.  
6. Crush the garlic and add it with the spices to the onion; cook for a moment or two.
7. Add the cabbage, balsamic vinegar, cranberry sauce, and a good pinch of salt.
8. Stir well, cover, and slowly bring to the boil.Turn the heat down and simmer for 40 – 50 minutes, stirring from time to time, and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

It is done when it is glistening and soft.  

Diva Notes

Preparing Red Cabbage

Red Cabbage is hard work, so either keep someone in the house who is into bodybuilding, or cancel your gym membership. At the very least, make sure that your knife is very sharp – and if you are not looking to streamline your flabbing arm muscles, use a food processor to shred it.

A Pinch of Sugar

If your balsamic vinegar is not particularly sweet, add a little sugar.

Achieving Delicious Sautéed Onions Using Minimal Oil    

Onions usually demand a lot of oil when they are sautéed. However, they are just making a fuss: they can be absolutely delicious with very little, but there are 2 important things that make this possible:

1.     Use your hands to mix the oil into them, ensuring that they are really well-coated. This stops bare onion coming into contact with the base of the pan, and makes them taste properly sautéed.    

2.     Adding a pinch of salt at the same time as the oil draws out the juice, which helps with the caramelisation, keeps them moist, and brings out the sweetness of the onion (think salted caramel..).

Balsamic Vinegar

I use 4 tablespoons of ordinary balsamic and two of the very dense kind. My current favourite is made by Due Vittorie.

Cranberry Sauce

I love cranberry sauce, and if you have time, making your own is really worth it – it is zingy, fresh, and has much more flavour, and it only takes about 10 minutes. It keeps really well in the fridge, so make it in advance.

• 500g cranberries
• 200g water
• 200g sugar
• Zest and juice of an orange
• 1 star anise
• 1 clove
• Small piece of cinnamon
  
  

Put all the ingredients in a small pan, slowly bring to the boil (to allow the sugar time to melt), and simmer till the cranberries split – about 8 minutes

Roast potatoes with orange gremolata

I often cook roast potatoes with a coating of gremolata – it’s makes them wonderfully crispy and gives terrific flavour – but I also like it using orange peel rather than lemon.

Serves 6

• 1 ½ kg potatoes
• Orange gremolata
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
  

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For the gremolata

Take an unwaxed orange, a clove of garlic, and a good handful of parsley

1. Peel the orange with a potato peeler.
2. Crush the clove of garlic  and wash and dry the parsley.  
3. Put the strips of orange peel and crushed garlic on top of the parsley, and finely chop.
4. Add salt and a little olive oil, and mix well.

For the potatoes

1. Heat the oven to 200º / fan 180º gas mark 6.
2. Wash and roughly chop the potatoes.
3. Put in a pan of water with a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.  Boil for 5 – 10 minutes, until they are well on the way to being cooked.  
4. Drain them and leave to cool and dry, and then put in a mixing bowl. If you haven’t done it earlier, make the gremolata.  
5. Put a couple of teaspoons of oil in a roasting pan and put it in the oven to get good and hot.
6. Add the gremolata, a good drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to the cooled potatoes. Mix well with your hands, so they have a good covering of both oil and gremolata.
7. Tip them into the hot roasting tin and roast for 40 minutes – or longer, depending on your potatoes and your oven – turning them over halfway through.
   
   
   
   

Cauliflower puree

Whether you decide to use this as a substitute for bread sauce – you should check this with all members of the family to avoid bloodshed – or as another vegetable, it is really delicious and extremely easy. The amount of butter you use depends on your taste, the state of your liver, and whether it’s for Christmas lunch or something more frugal.

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• Butter
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
  

1. Break / cut the cauliflower into florets.
2. Steam or boil it until it’s soft.
3. Drain it well and return it to the saucepan. Add a really good knob of butter, a grating of nutmeg, and plenty of salt and pepper.  
4. Puree with a stick blender or in the food processor.  Or if you want a slightly rougher texture, you can mash it with a potato masher.

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