It's all very well "The kids jingle-belling/And everyone telling you/Be of good cheer", but when you're the cook, the pressures to bring the year's most important meal to the table can rather take the gilt off the gingerbread house. So today I hope I'm giving you a menu that will keep you as sanguine as Santa. I've ditched the turkey (never my favourite meat) in favour of a fabulous forerib of beef, and kept the rest as easy as possible, so you can enjoy the day as much as your guests.
You've no doubt got enough to do this week, so don't pile on the pain by making your celebratory feast too elaborate. What you think is do-able in a quiet evening spent planning the meal and making the shopping list, can often descend into a frantic trial. Instead of enjoying being CEO of the festivities, you turn into a decidedly un-festive slave to the Christmas system as you warm gravy boats, drag scorching serving dishes out of the oven with your holey oven glove (a new one was on your Xmas list, but who read that?) and plate up dishes in varying states of over- and under-doneness while trying to make suitably admiring noises about grandpa's unusual Christmas jumper, keeping the dog off the table and dodging kids running about the kitchen trying to hit each other with cheap tat from their stockings.
The mistake many of us make is to prepare too many vegetable and side dishes, labouring as we do under the dictatorial cosh of family tradition and expectation. After all that effort, with all those elements clamouring for attention on the plate, the end result can look like the sloppy offerings of a dismal carvery of doom. Sowith the beef, it's Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes, one green veg (kale or sprouts), horseradish, a simple pan-juice gravy and that's your lot. No stuffing, no bread sauce, no chipolatas wrapped in bacon. And, most festively of all, no panic attack.
Celeriac salad (V)
I like to begin a rich meal such as this with a piquant, crunchy salad. The cider in the raisins adds the festive note. Serves eight.
100g raisins
400ml cider (or apple juice)
400g celeriac, peeled weight
2 eating apples
200g Puy lentils, cooked
1 big handful flat-leaf parsley, tough stalks removed and roughly torn
For the dressing
2 tsp English mustard
1-2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Soak the raisins in the cider for at least four hours. Shake the dressing ingredients together in a screw-topped jar to emulsify, then tip into a bowl. Peel and cut the celeriac into thin matchsticks – the easiest way to do this is with a mandoline. Tip into the dressing and toss so the celeriac doesn't get a chance to brown.
Peel, quarter, core and thinly slice the apple, and add to the salad with the drained raisins and the lentils. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve either straight away, or leave for an hour or so, during which time the celeriac will soften slightly. Toss in the parsley just before serving.
Forerib of beef with yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce
There are few more celebratory offerings you could bring to the table. Serves eight, with leftovers.
1 joint of aged forerib of beef, 3-4ribs' worth
Olive oil (or good dripping)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 bashed garlic cloves
3-4 thyme sprigs
2-3 rosemary sprigs
200ml red wine
700ml good beef stock
For the yorkshire pudding
160g plain flour
2 tsp English mustard powder
3 eggs, lightly beaten
440ml whole milk
2 tbsp finely chopped chives (optional)
About 80ml fat from the roasting tin
For the horseradish sauce
About 100g fresh horseradish root, peeled and finely grated
2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp English mustard
A pinch of sugar
125g creme fraiche
A pinch of salt
A grind of black pepper
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Weigh the joint, then massage all over with oil and season lightly. Place in an oven tray tin and roast for 30 minutes, until the meat is well browned and sizzling. Turn down the heat to 160C/320F/gas mark 3 (leave the oven door open for a minute, to help it cool quickly). Remove the meat tin from the oven and scatter the garlic, thyme and rosemary under and around the joint. Return to the oven and allow nine to 10 minutes more cooking per 500g for very rare meat, 12-15 minutes for medium, 18-20 minutes for well done. (The shorter cooking times are for joints of 5kg or under.)
Towards the end of the cooking time, prepare the yorkshire pudding batter. Sift the flour and mustard into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and stir in the eggs with a wooden spoon. Once incorporated, stir in milk until the mixture has the consistency of double cream. Stir in the chives, if using. Cover and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the meat from the oven and whack up the heat to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Transfer to a warm serving plate or carving tray and cover loosely with foil. Leave to rest at least half an hour before carving.
Meanwhile, pour off some of the fat from the roasting tin into a clean roasting tin, heat this up in the oven, then transfer to a low heat on the hob to keep the fat hot. Pour in the batter – it should sizzle as it hits the tin – then return to the oven and bake until risen and golden, about 30-35 minutes.
To make the gravy, place a sieve over a jug and pour in the contents of the meat roasting tin, pressing down on the herbs and garlic to release as much of their flavour as possible. Skim off as much fat as you can. Put the tin over a medium heat on the hob and pour in the wine, stirring and scraping up any tasty brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain into a clean pan, and add the stock and juices from the pan. Simmer gently for five minutes, to reduce slightly, taste, adjust the seasoning and keep warm.
Combine the horseradish with thevinegar, mustard and sugar, mixwell and leave to macerate for 10 minutes. Mix again. Stir in the creme fraiche and season to taste.
Roasted brussels sprouts with shallots and thyme (V)
One of my favourite ways to serve sprouts – this dish has been known to convert those who turned their noses up at brussels in the past. Serves eight.
800g brussels sprouts, trimmed andhalved, or whole if small
700g shallots, peeled and halved (orsmall onions, peeled and halved or quartered)
5 tbsp rapeseed oil
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
5-6 sprigs thyme, plus a bit more forserving
A generous squeeze of lemon juice
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the sprouts and shallots into a large roasting tin, trickle over the oil, season well and toss to coat. Tuck in the thyme sprigs here and there. Roast for about 35 minutes, giving the contents of the pan a good stir halfway through, until everything is a bit crisp, brown and caramelised. Squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with some fresh thyme leaves. Toss and serve.
Prune and chocolate cake
This rich and elegant cake is deceptively simple to make, and agreat alternative for the many whodon't get on with Christmas pud and mince pies. Serves eight to 10.
12 pitted prunes
100ml brandy
250g butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
250g dark chocolate, about 70%, broken into pieces
4 eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
100g light muscovado sugar
50g plain flour
50g finely ground almonds
1 tbsp icing sugar
Soak the prunes in the brandy overnight. Next day, grease a 23cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Butter the parchment. Heat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Drain the prunes, reserving the soaking liquid, and gently pat dry on kitchen paper.
Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Stir occasionally until the butter and chocolate have melted, then leave to cool slightly. Whisk the egg yolks and sugars in alarge bowl until well combined. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Combine the flour and almonds, then fold them in, too.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Stir a large spoonful of egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then fold in the rest of the egg whites with a large metal spoon or spatula, trying to keep in as much air as possible.
Pour half the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange the prunes over the top, then spoon over the rest of the mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, until only just set – it should still wobble slightly in the centre – then leave to cool for about 15 minutes before releasing the tin.
Dust with icing sugar, and serve warm or cold, on its own or with thick cream or creme fraiche – flavour the cream with some of theprunes' soaking liquid and abitof icing sugar, if you like.
