100 top tips from celeb chefs to make Christmas easier and tastier than ever
From Mary Berry to Gordon Ramsay, read on to get tips from the best in the business
WITH so much to prepare and think about – Christmas dinner can be a daunting prospect.To avoid a festive kitchen meltdown we’ve asked experts for their top tips.
From starters to leftovers, this is the ultimate guide to culinary success this Christmas. Here, GIULIA CROUCH gets the best 100 tips and ideas from Britain’s top chefs and foodies to ensure your dinner is a cracker this Christmas.
Starters
1 Hairy Bikers: Make easy party vol-au-vents by filling squares of puff pastry with smoked haddock and prawn, chicken and tarragon.
2 Nigel Slater: No one can resist Stilton puffs. Make the cheesy parcels using shop-bought puff pastry for ease.
3 Jamie Oliver: For a brilliant and easy festive starter, try topping griddled figs with honey, thyme, pine nuts and soft goat’s cheese.
4 Delia Smith: No one wants an enormous starter today. A warm pear and walnut salad with Roquefort dressing and croutons is a light and very Christmassy appetiser.
5 Mary Berry: Keep it old-school like the queen of TV cookery and whip up prawn cocktail – a ’70s recipe worthy of a comeback.
6 Nigella Lawson: Parmesan shortbreads are an easy four-ingredient starter made of plain flour, Parmesan, unsalted butter and an egg.
7 John Torode: Top puff pastry with black olives and goat’s cheese and bake for tasty tartlets.
8 James Martin: Keep it simple and open a packet of smoked salmon.
9 Gordon Ramsay: Try cream of cauliflower soup for a warming starter you can make in advance.
10 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: A crab cocktail is an impressive twist on the traditional prawn version of the dish.
Roast potatoes
11 Jamie Oliver: After an hour of roasting, take your potatoes out of the oven, half-squash each one with a fish slice or masher so they kind of push into each other and fill the tray, sprinkle with sage and olive oil and return to oven for another 25 mins.
12 Nigella Lawson: Drench them in semolina after parboiling then cook them in searingly hot goose fat (which has a high smoking point) for fluffy and crunchy roasties.
13 Yotam Ottolenghi: Whatever fat you’re using to cook the potatoes, make sure it is smoking hot before adding your spuds. Heat the fat for 8 minutes to reach the desired heat.
14 Michel Roux Jr: Leave the potatoes while they are roasting if you want them to be golden brown and crisp.
15 Delia Smith: Steam potatoes instead of parboiling. Then, to test if they are ready for the oven, run a skewer along the surface. If it stays smooth, give it a few more minutes.
16 Marcus Wareing: Scratch spuds all over with a fork after parboiling them to create maximum surface area to hit the hot fat, making for the crunchiest roast potatoes possible.
17 Heston Blumenthal: Boil your potato peelings up with your spuds for added flavour.
18 Hairy Bikers: Sprinkle parboiled spuds with polenta before roasting for added crunch.
19 Marco Pierre White: If you’re feeling fancy, cook potatoes in clarified butter and sprinkle them with a chicken stock cube, instead of salt, before roasting.
20 James Martin: For the best roast potatoes, always cook them in lard.
Turkey
21 Nigella Lawson: Brining your bird makes it much easier to carve into elegantly thin slices. To do this, pop the turkey into your largest cooking pot along with six litres of water, 250g salt, 200g sugar, onions, the juice of an orange and herbs and spices of your choice and leave overnight.
22 Gordon Ramsay: The trick to knowing if the meat is cooked is to insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and check the juices are running clear, rather than pink. Check 30 mins before calculated roasting time as ovens very.
23 Jamie Oliver: Remove turkey from the fridge 30 mins before you cook it. That way it won’t shrink as much when it goes into a hot oven.
24 Heston Blumenthal: Use a probe thermometer and when the breast gets to 60C, take it out and let it rest. Give it 20 minutes before removing the legs and putting them back in to cook some more – they need longer than the white meat.
25 Hairy Bikers: Buy the best turkey you can – the wilder and more free-range the better. They go for a bronze turkey for gamey flavour.
26 John Torode: Make sure you use the fan setting of your oven rather than the standard setting. This will help the moisture to circulate and ensure that the bird does not dry out.
27 Nigel Slater: Start the bird on its breast and turn it over halfway through roasting – this will keep the breast meat deliciously moist and juicy.
28 James Martin: Never stuff a turkey, says the former Saturday Kitchen presenter. If you put something in the cavity, it makes the bird too dense so air doesn’t circulate properly.
29 Delia Smith: The secret to success is blasting the bird with heat to begin with (about 220C) so it penetrates right through. Then turn it down and cook it gently (at about 170C).
30 Raymond Blanc: Rest the turkey for as long as you cook it. If your turkey takes 90 mins in the oven, then you should rest it for 90 mins. This will make the meat more tender and succulent and the juices will be distributed more evenly.
Vegetables
31 Nigella Lawson: Pimp up plain sprouts with pancetta, vacuum-packed chestnuts, marsala, parsley and lots of butter.
32 Tom Kerridge: Simmer carrots in a cooking liquor of water, butter, sugar, salt and star anise for a spicy-sweet buttery glaze.
33 Marcus Wareing: Never roast parsnips because it makes them tough. Instead fry in oil, butter, thyme and seasoning before glazing with honey.
34 Yotam Ottolenghi: Boiling sprouts makes them lose too much of their flavour, so instead roast them in olive oil with salt and black pepper.
35 Jamie Oliver: Shred your sprouts and fry with finely sliced onion, sage leaves and garlic.
36 Delia Smith: After parboiling your parsnips coat them in flour, salt, pepper and Parmesan and roast in the oven for a wicked savoury flavour.
37 Rick Stein: Prep all your veg the night before and leave it in pans of cold water overnight. It saves a lot of faff the next day.
38 Gino D’Acampo: For a more Italian twist on your sprouts, adorn them with Pecorino cheese, garlic, parsley and breadcrumbs and toast in oven.
39 Heston Blumenthal: Cook vegetables such as carrots and asparagus in butter instead of water. Some vegetables lose their flavour if cooked in boiling water, but butter will make sure they stay sweet and flavourful.
40 Lorraine Pascale: Slice your sprouts and cook them on a baking tray with butter, chorizo, chestnuts and thyme.
Gravy
41 Jamie Oliver: Deglaze your roasting tin with a spoonful of jam before adding flour and meat juices to make your gravy. It will give it a beautiful shine and a little extra sweetness.
42 Nigella Lawson: Make sure your gravy stays warm by filling the jug with boiling water for ten mins, drain, dry and fill with gravy.
43 Marcus Wareing: Finish off your gravy by whisking in a knob of butter for some added flavour and shine.
44 Tom Kerridge: Add a big splash of dry sherry to really pimp your gravy.
45 Gordon Ramsay: Coarsely crush walnut pieces using a pestle and mortar and then tip them into your gravy for texture and flavour.
46 Raymond Blanc: The key to great gravy is to taste, taste, taste as you’re making it.
47 Mary Berry: The best way to ensure flavour is to use a good stock made from turkey giblets.
48 Hairy Bikers: Wild mushroom gravy goes very well with turkey.
49 Nigel Slater: Booze, giblets, chicken wings and redcurrant jelly all flavour Nigel’s gravy.
50 Delia Smith: Giblets are essential to good gravy.
Trimmings
51 Mary Berry: Cook your stuffing in a separate dish rather than in the bird so it goes nice and crisp. Mary makes hers with apricots and chestnuts for festive flavours.
52 Jamie Oliver: Take your pigs in blankets to the next level by glazing them in Worcestershire sauce and runny honey at the end.
53 Nigel Slater: Want a twist on traditional pigs in blankets? Make sticky cranberry sausages by cooking sausages with red onions, cranberry jelly, fresh or frozen cranberries, orange zest and olive oil.
54 Hugh Fearnley- Whitting-stall: Give your stuffing a meaty hit by using turkey liver. Combine chestnuts, celery, onion, butter, prunes, parsley, egg, the turkey’s liver, trimmed, washed and finely chopped, and fresh breadcrumbs.
55 Nigella Lawson: For a twist on pigs in blankets, roast cocktail sausages in a mix of soy sauce, honey and sesame oil.
56 Gordon Ramsay: Add apricot and pistachio to pork stuffing for some festive flavours.
57 Tom Kerridge: Including black pudding in your stuffing makes it extra special.
58 Antony Worrall Thompson: For extra special pigs in blankets, cut the sausages lengthways and spoon in some sweet chilli pickle before wrapping in bacon and grilling.
59 Hairy Bikers: Add chop-ped ginger to give your stuffing an aromatic edge.
60 Rick Stein: Drizzle stuffing with olive oil to make it crispy.
Sauces
61 Marcus Wareing: Liven up bread sauce with wholegrain mustard for a kick. It can be made the day before and then reheated on the big day.
62 Heston Blumenthal: Remove the crusts and use white bread for a smooth, tasty bread sauce.
63 Nigella Lawson: Always use a day-old loaf for to make bread sauce. If the bread is not slightly stale already, leave the pieces out on a wire rack to dry out.
64 Jamie Oliver: Make a break with convention and use some ciabatta instead of standard white bread for your bread sauce to give it added flavour.
65 Raymond Blanc: For cranberry sauce cook on a low heat in order to retain a little texture of the cranberries; cooked too intensely for too long, the compôte will become a purée lacking texture and freshness.
66 Lorraine Pascale: Don’t make cranberry sauce. Go for shop-bought and jazz it up with orange zest and Cointreau.
67 Tom Kerridge: Use rye bread for an alternative bread sauce this Christmas.
68 Mary Berry: Add cider vinegar to cranberry sauce and serve it hot or cold.
69 Delia Smith: Don’t bother with a bain marie to infuse your milk for your bread sauce. It’s easier to do in a small pan over a low heat.
70 Nigel Slater: To avoid cranberry sauce turning into jam cook the fruit in wine instead of water. This will prevent it liquefying.
Pudding
71 Nigella Lawson: Forget brandy butter, make Nigella’s Eggnogg Cream to go with your Christmas pudding. It’s 350ml double cream whipped with 125ml adovcaat.
72 Mary Berry: When making trifle, a classic Christmas dessert, spread the cake with jam for an extra hit of fruit.
73 Nigel Slater: For a lighter pud go for a festive fruit salad of mango, clementines, pomegranate, gooseberries and lime, lemon and orange juice. Serve with a brandy snap for crunch.
74 Hairy Bikers: Make a mincemeat pie, essentially a giant mince pie, for an impressive and delicious pudding.
75 Lorraine Pascale: Add port and and vanilla extract to your mincemeat and brush your pastry with maple syrup for perfect mince pies.
76 Jamie Oliver: If you can’t face anything heavy after a huge main course try a festive jelly. Jamie suggests a clementine jelly made from the juice, sugar, fresh ginger, and gelatine.
77 Raymond Blanc: Make a festive Yule Log and fill with whatever flavours your family like best.
78 Paul Hollywood: For mince pies use a deep muffin tin rather than a shallow bun tin to ensure plenty of filling in each mouthful.
79 Prue Leith: Add some sweetened chestnut purée to double cream for a festive twist.
80 Nadiya Hussain: Bake the tops of your mince pies separately and add them on after so that they don’t go all soggy.
Drinks
81 Marco Pierre White: Put white wine and fizz in the fridge a couple of days before December 25 so it’s properly chilled.
82 Nigella Lawson: Make a Christmas Cup – a cocktail of prosecco, cherry brandy and dry ginger ale.
83 Jamie Oliver: Pop a few fresh berries, strips of citrus peel or little herb sprigs into your ice cube tray before filling it with water and freezing for festive ice cubes.
84 Delia Smith: The trick to the perfect mulled wine is a generous splash of Grand Marnier. The orange liquor creates a Sangria- like effect.
85 Hairy Bikers: Their favourite tipple is Christmas pudding vodka. Infuse the spirit with mixed dried fruit, caster sugar, cinnamon sticks, mixed spice, cloves, nutmeg and the zest of an orange and lemon.
86 Nigel Slater: Make pomegranate Prosecco for the morning by adding clementines, cardamom pods and pomegranate juice to the fizz.
87 Gordon Ramsay: Add lemongrass to your mulled wine for a twist on the traditional.
88 Tom Kerridge: Opt for mulled cider instead of wine this Christmas.
89 Lorraine Pascale: Make a special Christmas martini by combining spiced gin, vermouth and orange peel studded with cloves.
90 Mary Berry: Always add brandy for the perfect
Leftovers
91 Lorraine Pascale: Combine turkey, goat’s cheese, bacon and cranberry sauce in a toastie for a brilliant treat.
92 Jay Rayner: The restaurant critic has a novel way to use up surplus Christmas pudding – fry it in bacon fat for a sweet savoury snack.
93 Jamie Oliver: Give leftover Christmas pudding a makeover by putting it in an ice cream sundae.
94 Nigel Slater: For the perfect Boxing Day sandwich include a mayonnaise seasoned with any of the following: capers, chopped gherkins, tarragon, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, chilli sauce, paprika, wasabi paste, grated fresh horseradish, crème fraîche and chives, or seeded mustard.
95 Paul Hollywood: Make turkey, stuffing and cranberry Chelsea buns for a great alternative to the Boxing Day sandwich.
96 Tom Kerridge: Fry Christmas pudding and eat it with a full English breakfast for a great hangover cure.
97 James Martin: Add smoked fish to bubble and squeak to add decadence.
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98 Brian Turner: Bored of traditional flavours? Make sweet-and-sour turkey with egg-fried rice on Boxing Day.
99 Hairy Bikers: Use up Christmas turkey and chipolatas in an exciting cajun-spiced jambalaya.
100 Nigella Lawson: Make French toast out of leftover panettone for Boxing Day breakfast. Soak slices in egg, milk and mascarpone cheese and fry in oil.