08/12/2013 Nigel Slater's 12 Tastes of Christmas

I find Christmas to be a magical time.

And as a cook, I think it's the most rewarding.

It's when traditional family feasts bring everyone together.

It's also when I am happiest in the kitchen.

It doesn't take much to kick-start Christmas for me.

And once the decorations are up,

I just can't wait to fill the house with warming aromas

and festive flavours.

I start sneaking some of my favourite tastes of Christmas

into my everyday cooking.

I'll share my favourite tastes of the season with you

and sprinkle some festive cheer on a few delicious dishes.

From treats that'll tempt you in the build-up

to dishes that will delight on the Christmas Day table.

And the ultimate one-pan feast that is Boxing Day.

This to me is what Christmas is about.

Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without a tree.

And I'll be taking a trip to Norway,

'where I'll be on a very special mission.'

See, that to me looks like... I would call that a perfect tree.

'I'll be finding out how a few Scandinavian flavours

'can really capture the essence of Yuletide.'

I think it works beautifully.

'So, with a waft of pine trees in the air, it's time to get in the mood.'

It's Christmas. Straightaway.

Celebrate, indulge and enjoy the tastes of Christmas.

-# Hey, hey, hey snowflake

-Snowflake

-# My pretty little snowflake

-Snowflake

# Who, who, who The change in the weather

# Has made it better for me... #

My first taste of Christmas is often confined to the day itself.

But its magnificent colour and flavour can actually give

festive cheer to any dish.

My first flavour is always cranberries.

The minute I see them, I've got to use them.

Christmas is a very sweet and sticky time,

so it's nice to have something that's a bit sharp.

So I've got some red onions here.

I want them to cook quite slowly,

so they become sticky and a little bit jammy.

They have a sweetness to them,

which will balance out the sour little cranberries.

Put those over a moderate heat, not too high, and give them time.

'This cheerful flavour is going to pep up an otherwise everyday ingredient.'

There's not many people I know who don't like a sausage.

I've bought these little chipolatas

because they just feel more festive. There's something fun about them.

'Pop them in with the onions just as they start to soften.'

So, the onions are really sticky and the sausages have started to brown.

It's time to add my real Christmas flavours.

Cranberry jelly.

And then...

..some cranberries, a good handful.

Use fresh or frozen.

And then, keeping the heat quite low, let the jelly melt

and the cranberries cook through. You'll see that sticky glaze appear,

which is a mixture of the cranberry jelly

and all the sticky bits from the onions and the sausages.

Wee bit of salt and pepper.

And then a little bit of grated clementine.

Then no-one is in any doubt what time of year it is.

This is the first of the Christmas flavours.

The first time I see cranberries.

So there it is, Christmas on a fork.

This playful dish will gently deliver a little festive cheer

when you have the first flurry of visitors on the way.

It's a great way to work in that first taste of Christmas.

Flavours can unlock memories, and my next taste takes me right back

to my childhood, and the magic of the season.

I use it all year round, but at this time of year, spicy ginger, to me,

is one of the most festive tastes of all.

And I think my love of ginger started with good old ginger nuts.

But I've discovered something better. I've discovered spiced biscuits.

I start with 80 grams of muscovado sugar,

which is wonderful butterscotch-scented sugar.

It smells like an old-fashioned sweet shop.

And then 70 grams of butter.

And then I'm going to cream this until it's really dark and fluffy.

'The ginger is going to be the king of tastes in this recipe,

'but an extra kick of spices will make all the difference.'

What's really good is getting a tiny little nugget of cardamom

in your mouth when you're eating the biscuit.

And there's a little explosion of flavour.

'A little dark treacle will bring out

'the flavours of the sugar and butter..'

I need about two tablespoons.

'And then comes the plain flour.

'250 grams.

'A little bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of sweet cinnamon,

'and finally the ginger.

'It'll all need a good sieve.'

It just smells like Christmas the minute you get the spices out.

And then that goes into the butter and sugar.

'The yolk of an egg will bind my ingredients.'

And then the ground cardamom.

Now, that's very dry,

it needs a little bit of milk to bring the whole mixture together.

A little bit of flour on the board to stop the dough sticking to it.

And go as thin as you dare.

'Once you've got some festive shapes,

'pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 180.'

What I want with a crisp biscuit like that is a refreshing drink

and I've got a great cocktail to go with them.

Very Christmassy, very easy and it's full of ginger.

'Something cool and sharp,

'a few more of those festive cranberries

'will work well with spicy ginger. Using the hot, sweet

'and sticky syrup from the jar will bring out the flavours.

'Now for the Christmas fizz. I'm using cider.

'Give all the ingredients the briefest blitz

'so the cranberries keep some of their texture.'

So, crisp little biscuits.

'These sweet treats would be delicious as they are,

'but I think I can make them even more festive.

'Icing sugar, with a little lemon,

'will work wonderfully with the spicy ginger.'

Now, I want this to be able to trickle from my spoon, so not so thin

that it pours off the biscuit, but not so thick that it lands in a blob.

The only way to do this is to do it from a height,

and you'll make a bit of a mess. You just have to go with it.

Whether you let the children find these heavenly decorations

shimmering on the tree, or serve them up still warm from the oven,

once you've made these for someone they will always remember,

and Christmas and ginger will stay with them forever.

'If there's one thing I like to stock up on each Christmas, it's nuts.

'As soon as I see a bowlful, all shiny and festive,

'it's impossible not to get in the mood.

'But, much as I love to snack on them,

'they make the basis of a delicious meal too,

'and a nice change from eating meat.'

It wouldn't be Christmas without the nut roast.

But my nut roast isn't just nuts.

I start with dried porcini.

They're expensive dried mushrooms,

but just 40 grams will give you not only enough mushrooms

to flavour an entire nut roast, but also the best stock in the world.

The first nut to cook with, for me, is the chestnut.

These are cooked chestnuts.

And they're just all soft and ready to be used.

'And to me, a sprinkle of macadamias adds a touch of festive decadence.'

They're very, very rich in oil.

And they make a very luxurious nut roast.

Now, to those, I'm going to put some mushrooms.

'These will bulk out the roast.'

I'm going to give this a very quick blitz.

'Next, I like to add beans as a great alternative to the traditional rice

'in a nut roast.'

And you can choose any bean.

I just happen to like the little green flageolet.

'Now for the real hit of flavour.'

These dried mushrooms take literally minutes to plump up.

But, whatever you do, don't throw away this gorgeous liquid.

And there's only a few here, but they will give bags of flavour.

'Once the mixture has a good consistency,

'pouring in a beaten egg will hold it all together.

'And then I like to add a splash of dark soy and some honey.'

It sounds odd, but it actually works very, very well with the soy.

I'm putting a few breadcrumbs in, just to firm the mixture up a bit.

And just mix until it's just stiff enough to roll into balls.

Put a little bit of seasoning in in the way of salt and pepper.

And be generous. Give it a good stir.

These little bundles would fry up nicely in a pan but, for me,

the smell of these ingredients roasting in the oven

just helps to conjure up that Christmas feeling.

So, in the oven at 200 for about 30 minutes, just keep an eye on them.

When they've nearly had their time,

I can put my flavoursome porcini broth to good use.

So as soon as that's boiling, pop in some shredded kale.

What I've got is little patties that are crunchy on the outside

and they feel very springy and quite moist inside.

And then...

..these little chaps.

I'm still not going to waste that porcini juice.

So, if I'm not going to eat meat this Christmas, that's for me.

There's just something really festive and luxurious

about a nut roast.

It never fails to satisfy my cravings for something rich and wholesome.

It's a real foodie treat in the build-up to the big day.

'My favourite Yuletide ritual is choosing the tree.

'I'm a bit of a perfectionist - I love wandering up and down

'the pine-scented rows in search for the one I'll eventually bring home.

'Picking a tree for the house is one thing,

'but imagine having the prestigious task of finding one suitable

'to be admired by a nation.

'I've come to Norway to help do just that.'

'I'm here in the Nordmarka Forest to help park rangers Frank and Runar

'find London's Trafalgar Square tree.'

It's a little bit different between the tree for your home

and for Trafalgar Square, because this needs to be nice all around.

You see, I get quite obsessional about choosing my tree.

I will go and I will walk round all of the trees.

I like big, long branches but quite even all the way around.

'I have a feeling this might take some time.'

It has good branches, but it's a little bit too short.

20 metre. So it's not tall enough.

Thankfully, there are plenty to choose from.

-This one you could have on your night table, you know.

-Yes.

-I mean, here's a real tree for the future.

-This way!

-Yeah...

-NIGEL LAUGHS

-Oh! You need a hand.

-I do.

Thank you!

'Every year since 1947, Norway has gifted a tree to Britain

'in thanks for our support during World War II.

'And it seems only the best will do.'

The silhouette of that tree is just beautiful.

The way the branches just curl at the edges all the way up.

That to me looks like... I would call that a perfect tree.

'Finally, it looks like we've found her.

'But this beauty has been waiting patiently for decades

'to earn the title.'

16, 17... 117 years old.

'This magnificent queen of the forest

'will now begin her careful journey to London.'

-Good job. Good job.

-It's your tree!

'I can't wait to see her lighting up Trafalgar Square in all her glory.

'Back in Frank's cabin, it's a great excuse for me to celebrate

'another of my favourite Christmas flavours...

'..cloves.

'And nothing captures the essence of cloves more than mulled wine.'

-First you put on the heat.

-OK.

'Everyone has their own way of making this warming wine.

'But I'm keen to find out how Frank makes his.'

And is this a precise recipe or do you alter it every year?

Every family have their own recipe.

'The key to good "glogg", as it is known here,

'is getting the perfect balance between sweet and spicy.'

Brown sugar, for more taste. And 100 grams of honey.

Then we have two pieces of cinnamon.

-Little cinnamon sticks.

-Yes.

Now, once you've warmed it,

do you leave it for a while before you drink it?

Normally we drink straightaway.

But then you can add some vodka or something else to it.

Maybe without the vodka. FRANK CHUCKLES

-You decide.

-Maybe without the vodka.

-Is that a vanilla pod?

-Yes.

'And then for the star ingredient - cloves.

'They are the most aromatic

'and flavoursome of the spices at this time of year.

'For me, Christmas and cloves are inseparable.'

It smells good.

It smells wonderful. It's one of those magical smells.

'Nothing will complement the taste of this clove-infused mulled wine

'more than a few spiced nuts toasted with sugar to give a sweet crunch.

'A simple treat, but it'll really put you in the mood for the big day.'

I think we should toast to something.

-How about the tree?

-For the Christmas tree to London?

-Yeah.

Let's toast to the Christmas tree to London. Cheers.

-And in the Norwegian way - skal.

-Yeah, skal.

-The Norwegian way.

Much better.

'For me, simple, rustic treats like this capture the true essence

'of the season.

'Back in the last minute hustle and bustle, I always like to make sure

'I have a few wintry dishes full of warming spices

'that will quietly cook themselves

'while I get on with the rest of my day.

'And, inspired by the spicy mulled wine,

'in this slow-cooked lamb recipe,

'cinnamon is going to be my shining star.'

It goes on so many things I cook.

In fact, just one sniff from the cinnamon jar

and I feel like it's Christmas Eve.

'Added to some cardamom and cumin, the trickle of oil

'mixed in will form a paste that will pack a punch with flavour.'

And then to go into that, I've got some lamb.

I'm actually using a neck fillet here.

It comes with a nice little bit of fat on it,

which is exactly what we want for slow cooking.

Now, this goes into the spice paste.

I'm just going to mix that up so that each piece of lamb is coated.

I want to brown that meat off a bit.

So, as soon as the oil is hot, just pop in the lamb.

It's important not to let the spices burn.

So, when a nice little crust has appeared on the underside

of the lamb, then turn it over and just brown the other side.

Whilst they're browning, I'm going to get on with the rest of it.

What I've got are these lovely little shallots.

'Once the meat is nicely browned, remove it from the heat

'and pop in the little onions whole.

'They'll soak up all of the meaty flavour.'

And as soon as they are a little golden here and there,

you can put the meat back.

And any juices that have come out of it too.

'I want quite a thick and rich sauce for this dish, so just before I add

'the final ingredients, a little bit of flour will help things along.'

Not much. A tablespoon is fine.

Now, the spices that I've used in my stew are exactly the same spices

that I would use in mulled wine,

and what I'm going to put in is actually some port.

It's just that bit more festive.

And also some stock.

'I'm using a lamb stock, but beef stock will work just as well.'

Now, bring that to the boil.

Now, what I've got in there is something

that actually smells like Christmas.

But what I want to do is to make it even more festive.

And I'm going to add some prunes.

They will enrich this sauce so beautifully

and they'll work very nicely with the spices.

Now, that also needs some black pepper.

I'm going to add salt later.

And now just one last thing - some more of that cinnamon.

Just a stick.

And then that goes into a really low oven for a good couple of hours.

Look at that shine. That's from the prunes.

So, this lamb is really tender now.

Soft onions and prunes.

But best of all, I've got a sweet and slightly spicy gravy.

All it needs is just a little zip and zing from something very fresh.

A few pomegranate seeds.

Break those over the top.

So when you eat the sweet and spicy lamb,

every now and again you get a little mouthful

of wonderful, sour pomegranate.

'A few springs of fresh mint will deliver a final cool hit

'to complete this wonderfully flavoursome dish.'

And there we are. Mulled lamb.

And of all the things I do with cinnamon,

I think this is my favourite.

'This is such a pleasing offering for a cold, crisp winter's day.

'I've shown that those warming spices needn't just be for mulled wine.

'This looks and tastes like Christmas on a plate.'

For me, Christmas Eve is the most magical time,

and it's become almost a ritual to celebrate it

with a glass of port and some cheese.

This next recipe is simple, takes minutes

but also takes a wonderful piece of Stilton

to a heavenly new level of enjoyment.

What I do is to take a sheet of ready-made puff pastry,

put it onto a floured board and then just roll it out

so that it's no thicker than a one-pound coin.

There's nothing nicer than thin, crisp puff pastry hot from the oven.

So, I cut the piece of pastry, first of all, into four strips.

And then each of those into six.

I want these little pastry parcels to seal quite tightly.

So, I'm going to make up a little bit of beaten egg.

I've got some wonderful, ripe Stilton here.

Because, for me,

it's one of the absolutely essential tastes of Christmas.

It's just not Christmas without blue cheese.

So, just brush the pastry all over.

And then take a little spoonful of the crushed Stilton,

and just pop it onto each one like that.

Just fold the pastry over and seal it as tightly as possible.

Then, so that they come out of the oven shining,

just a little bit of beaten egg on the top.

And I know they're perfect,

but I can't resist putting a little bit of grated cheese on top.

Just a tiny bit of Parmesan.

Now, I'm just going to pop a little hole in the top of each,

partly to let this steam out and partly so that

a little bead of melted cheese pops out of each one.

200 degrees.

For about 12 minutes.

'If you're expecting guests this Christmas Eve,

'being greeted by the smell of these little pastries

'bubbling in the oven will tempt and tease the taste buds.'

These smell as if they're ready.

These are amazingly light. And the cheese has oozed out here and there.

Makes them even more delicious.

And just one tiny little thing more.

'I've made some melting Stilton into the ultimate festive snack.

'It's the perfect celebration food to toast the big day.

'With a glass of wine in hand,

'there's no better start to the holidays.'

This is it - the Christmas blockbuster is about to begin.

From this moment on, delicious food is going to be delighting guests

morning, noon and night.

And the great thing is there are still

so many Yuletide flavours to explore.

But to really herald the start of the celebrations,

there's one more festive flourish that I've just got to go and see.

CHEERING

Isn't she beautiful?

So, the big day has arrived and so have the guests.

This is the time to cook up a feast

and make the most of that special time together.

And when it comes to the roast itself, I'm a traditionalist

and I like to cook something easy, but that doesn't mean turkey.

In fact, there's no more time-honoured centrepiece

to the table than a goose.

The biggest decision for me at Christmas

is what bird is going to be in my oven -

is it going to be a turkey, is it going to be a goose?

I always go for the goose.

I love that dark meat and all the fat

and it's the fat that I really, really value.

Some of it is in the skin.

Some of it is tucked inside the body cavity.

There's no point in introducing butter or oil

when you've got all this luscious stuff to start with.

I'm using it to start the stuffing.

As all that fat melts, it'll add bags of flavour to my onions.

Now the heart and soul of my stuffing,

I like a bit of sausage meat.

I pick the butcher's best breakfast sausages and just unpeel them

and then what you end up with is this really tasty stuffing.

When you're cooking with a bird as flavoursome as a goose,

a kick of citrus to your stuffing is always welcome.

You can add the zest and the juice.

This is very rich food -

we want something fresh and bright and clean in there.

'By now, my onions are just starting to become tender.'

And I don't want a stuffing that's too smooth,

I want it to have a lumpy interesting texture,

so I'm going to add some chickpeas to this.

So crush them down a bit...

..and then they go in with your sausage and lemon.

Plenty of seasoning and some fresh mint

will make the stuffing smell wonderful.

Now some of this is going to end up as little balls around the goose

and the rest of it is going to go right inside the cavity.

So that as the goose roasts,

some of the fat runs down into the stuffing

and just makes it gloriously, gloriously delicious.

And do it by hand, just pack it in.

Save some of the mixture

and make use of the lemon halves to keep it all in one place.

Now there's no need to put any oil, any butter, anything on the bird.

It's all there. You do need to season it.

A bird this size is going to take

a good two and a half, three hours to cook.

Now I want some of the stuffing to be soft inside the bird,

but I also want these little balls which will crisp up.

And then for the potatoes.

It's got to be roast potatoes.

They're the best part of it, and particularly with a goose,

because they just soak up all that wonderful fat.

So about halfway through cooking,

time to put the stuffing in and the potatoes in.

What's in the pan is the goose fat of legend.

This is the stuff that makes your roast potatoes the best ever.

And this'll need probably another hour, hour and a half.

There are few meals as highly anticipated

as the Christmas Day roast.

Those rich aromas will tantalise everyone as the bird slowly cooks.

There is the glorious goose, all the roast potatoes,

almost translucent with fat and all that flavour.

Stuffing balls, ready to go.

You know I love cooking, but I also like taking food to the table.

And to walk in with something like this - glistening and roasted -

it is the most wonderful gift.

If you usually worry the turkey will be too dry,

or that any other cut just won't feel Christmassy enough,

then this year give the goose a go.

Once you've tried this glorious Christmas roast,

the family will always remember it and you'll never look back.

During my build up to the big day, I travelled to Norway,

for some festive inspiration.

So many Scandinavian flavours feed in to our Christmas menus

and the wide-open spaces are a great escape from the busy shops at home.

Not only did I get the chance to choose the tree

for London's Trafalgar Square.

-Good job, good job.

-It's your tree?

-Yes.

'But I also managed to truly indulge in some Christmas flavours.'

I think it works beautifully.

Take salmon, remote smokehouses on the shores of Norwegian fjords.

The smell in here!

Delicately infuse this fish of the season.

That's so gentle and it's very subtle and mild.

And gravlax, with its classic dill and mustard flavours,

are one of my yuletide favourites.

Now this is just blissful. Would you like a piece? That is so gorgeous.

Being such a fresh and versatile fish,

it inspired me to come up with a few new ways

of working this taste into my Christmas.

I've got the perfect Christmas canape

that'll add a sprinkle of festive cheer

at any time of the day.

There's so much cooking at Christmas.

It's quite useful to have something up your sleeve which is very simple,

and very straightforward. I've got a really easy little sauce for salmon.

I roasted some garlic and I've been keeping it warm.

It's a whole head.

It went in about an hour ago.

Inside the skins is the most wonderful, soft, scented garlic.

I'm just going to drop that into the food processor,

and then for the herb that you simply can't go wrong with, dill.

It works every time, with fresh or smoked.

Just break off the fronds, drop them in with the garlic,

everything but the very tough end of the stalks is fine.

And then the only other ingredient, some double cream.

Just pour it in and give quick blasts of the on switch.

What you're after is something that will fall very slowly from the spoon,

kind of like that. That silky salmon and the creamy sauce

deserves something crisp to go with it.

Crispest of crispbreads.

So, some nice untidy folds of salmon on crispbread.

You want little valleys and grooves of salmon to hold the sauce.

Having something that is just so straightforward,

and it's done in minutes.

It's just very, very useful/

Then, some of our dill and garlic sauce.

Just a little trickle over the salmon.

And then a bit more dill.

All that needs is a glass of something very, very nice.

A decadent snack like this

is a great excuse to pop a cork and toast the day.

It never fails to amaze me how simple it can be

to make a really luxurious treat from some smoked salmon.

So good. It's just so good.

The first glimpse of these little canapes

will guarantee to get your guests in a celebratory mood.

Merry Christmas.

This is a shining star on Christmas Day.

Of course, the great thing about salmon

is it can be as big a feature on the Christmas Day menu

as you want it to be.

My new take on the timeless tradition of gravlax and smoked salmon

definitely deserves its place on the table.

I'd be happy to bring this in on the day itself.

Whenever I think of salmon, I always think of cucumber.

They go together perfectly.

Now, because this cucumber is going to be used as a stuffing,

I'm going to discard the seeds in the middle.

Because there's a lot of water in there

and it'll just give a soggy stuffing.

A couple of cucumbers will give you enough for a relish

as well as a filling.

So into the coolness of that cucumber,

I want to put some seasonings.

And the first is mustard.

It'll add a welcome intense flavour.

A good five tablespoons will do the trick.

And then a generous helping of honey will sweeten the mix.

And something to sharpen it up -

a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

Now for me, salmon and cucumber are ingredients that beg to be introduced to dill.

It is absolutely one of my favourite herbs.

Finely chopped.

And then a good stir up.

Now this is going to be one of the star dishes of my Christmas

and I want to bake this wrapped in pastry.

I just need a piece of ready-made puff pastry

rolled on to a lined baking sheet.

So I'm going to take one piece of salmon...

..and then some of my cucumber stuffing.

Now on top of that goes the other piece of fish.

I want this Wellington to be a real golden showpiece.

It's just having something to bring to the table

that just looks majestic and festive.

Just brush this all the way round the outside of the pastry.

Pull the pastry up, put it over the salmon, sealing the ends...

..and leaving a bit of a gap in the middle.

That way you can see what's going on

and the beauty of the salmon can be seen when you bring it to the table.

And then I'm going to brush it again with a little bit more egg.

By doing this it comes out of the oven glistening.

Give it a good seasoning of black pepper

before it goes into the oven at 180 for 45 minutes.

And the cucumber relish goes into the fridge to chill.

Isn't that beautiful?

So I've got layers of salmon, cucumber and crisp pastry.

A slice of these delicious flavours will delight your guests

at any time - on the big day or beyond.

It's a lovely change to Christmas food,

with something fresh, bright and light.

This dish is a triumph.

It's earned its place on the Christmas menu

and will doubtless be back year after year in the Slater household.

# Jingle bells! # Jingle bells!

# Jingle all the way

# Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh! #

From the bottom of my stocking, to clove-covered decorations,

my next festive taste has been a shining star

of my Christmas for as long as I can remember.

But something bright and refreshing to break up a mountain

of indulgent dishes on the Christmas table is my best use for oranges.

There are lots of flavours that instantly say it's Christmas,

but there's also the smell of things too

and for me the first of those is orange.

And I'm going to use an orange as the base for a fruit salad.

But first some biscuits to go with it.

So I want 60g of butter.

And a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar.

And then the same of golden syrup.

What I'm making here are biscuits that will shine and glisten

and be very crunchy to go with the fruit salad.

And just let that melt with the butter and sugar.

Now I'd like a little bit of spice in here.

Going to put a little bit of ginger in.

Barely a teaspoon.

Now as soon as the butter has melted

and you've got a mixture that looks like thick honey,

then in goes the flour.

About four good heaped tablespoons.

Stir that in.

And because it's Christmas, a drop of brandy.

A few roughly chopped pistachios

will add a bit of texture to these festive brandy snaps.

As you spoon on little mounds of the mixture, sprinkle them on top,

before going in to the oven at 150 for ten minutes or so.

Those biscuits are go to with my fruit salad

and we'll start off with a good juicy base.

I'm using a whole juicy orange, and their juice is quite sweet,

so I like to put something in there that'll sharpen the whole thing up.

So, a nice soft ripe lemon.

And then for real sparkle, I'm going to stick in the juice of a lime.

What we've got here is a lovely bright-tasting citrus base.

So got some little clementines here

and they smell instantly of Christmas

and everyone will get one of these a piece.

So far, so traditional, but now for a few exotic and indulgent treats.

Some glorious mango.

A few jewels of sharp pomegranate.

And finally these little caped gooseberries - physalis.

So that I'm going to chill very thoroughly in the fridge

and bring it out with the warm biscuits.

Now when these come out of the oven,

they are quite soft and very pliable.

Which means I can pop them round my rolling pin

so they make a sort of groovy curved shape.

These warm, rich brandy snaps will make such a delicious contrast

to the fresh, sharp flavours of my fruit salad.

Now I'm just going to take these in to the room.

And then everybody can have some of the fruit

and the orange juice and then can dunk their biscuits.

That will look great on the Christmas table.

When you're desperate for something refreshing, this dish is a cracker.

And served with the crisp brandy snaps,

it still feels wonderfully indulgent.

There are lots of great flavours here,

but the orange for me is the Christmas star.

When doing my Christmas shopping in Norway, I couldn't resist

stocking up on one of Scandinavia's most famous exports.

Hi. Hello there.

The Norwegians celebrate the unique flavour of marzipan.

For them, it's so much more

than simply something to wrap round a cake.

I know somebody who'd love that.

Can I have one of those please and a marzipan pig?

-And a cake?

-Yes.

-Of course, no problem.

It got me thinking that we all love something sweet

to reach for on Christmas Day afternoon.

So perhaps I could do something

a little more creative with my next taste.

I love the stuff.

Occasionally I'll wrap it round a Battenberg cake

and then I got an idea to put it in a cake.

And I start my little marzipan cakes with 180g of butter.

Some caster sugar. The same, 180g.

And that I put onto the machine to cream

until it's really light and fluffy.

While the ingredients are mixing, lightly beat a couple of eggs.

When the butter and the sugar are really pale and fluffy,

you just start to add the beaten egg.

Next comes 80g of plain flour.

And then the first kick of festive flavour, 150g of almonds.

This is where my marzipan comes in.

Going to drop these little nuggets of marzipan

- about 100g of it - into the mixture.

And what will happen is that when we eat our little cakes...

..we'll just get the odd mouthful.

After a brief final mix,

simply spoon little mounds of the mixture onto some greaseproof paper.

Now so far so sweet.

But what I want is something in each of those

that will balance the sweetness of the marzipan.

A sort of sharp little fruit.

And my little fruits are blueberries.

And then into the oven. 180 for about 30 minutes.

So, as it's Christmas, a little bit of icing sugar.

And then as soon as they're cool, you can eat them.

If you can wait that long!

It's that little nugget of marzipan that makes this.

When you're eating and you suddenly

come across this almost molten marzipan.

It's delicious.

Marzipan is an ingredient we should embrace at this time of year.

These little cakes really celebrate its festive flavour.

They're a subtle yet sublime treat

to round off a wonderful Christmas Day.

The big day may have passed in a haze of great food,

fizz and gifts, but there's still plenty of merriment to be enjoyed.

In fact, the Boxing Day lunch in my house champions

one of the greatest Christmas tastes of all.

Every Christmas I love to have a ham in the house.

I love the juicy pink meat and I love the fat too.

But I also like the crust that I put on it.

This year I'm covering my ham with a bacon crust.

Which I'm going to marinate with some maple syrup -

a good three tablespoons.

And then three tablespoons of black treacle.

Just cover all the rashers

and I'm going to leave this in a cool place to marinate.

Three or four hours minimum

and next time we see that the bacon will be very dark.

These flavours are going to intensify with time

and give my ham a luscious crust.

Now, I think the best way to cook a ham is poached in liquid.

And for me, it's got to be apple juice.

It just imparts a very gentle flavour.

This nice big juicy ham and the apple juice

will tolerate plenty of aromatics.

So in goes the onion - whole, pierced with a few cloves.

You can just throw the cloves into the apple juice if you want,

but I'm doing this cos it's the way my mum did it.

A handful of whole black peppercorns and a bay leaf.

And then a couple of stars of anise

and that will give a very, very gentle aniseed flavour.

And I'm going to bring that to the boil, turn it down to a simmer

and leave it for about an hour and a half on a low heat.

This is one of those dishes that will always

lend a hand over Christmas.

Whenever anyone's peckish, they'll always reach for the ham.

Once it's had its time absorbing all those wonderful flavours,

it's ready for my marinated crust.

Smells gorgeous.

And the bacon has gone really sort or treacly and interesting.

I'm going to spoon a little bit of the marinade over the top.

The perfect partner to ham is, for me, the pumpkin.

This bright, wintry vegetable has been softening in the oven,

seeds removed, trickled with oil

and given plenty of butter and black pepper.

And it's looking great.

A little bit crusty and black on the outside

and then really tender on the inside.

While that rests and gathers its thoughts,

my ham goes into the oven for 15 minutes,

to let its crust darken and the flavours intensify.

By now, the kitchen smells pretty wonderful.

The bacon is glossy.

Nice and crisp in parts.

And it's going to be absolutely delicious.

Got succulent ham in there.

Soft scoop of roast pumpkin.

And then still got a little bit of my apple juice.

Pour that all over.

It's a fabulous plate of food for a cold day.

The Boxing Day gammon never fails to delight.

Thank goodness there's plenty left over.

There's always that moment at Christmas when you think,

"Am I ever going to use up all those leftovers?"

But this is a time that I relish.

Even those little delights sitting on saucers wrapped up in film

can be turned into the ultimate comforting feast.

I call my final recipe my bauble and squeak -

where anything goes, even that classic taste of Christmas...

sprouts!

It's a sort of Christmas one-pan supper.

It needs a savoury base, it needs something to bring it all together.

So over a moderate heat I'm going to soften the onion,

maybe even let it brown a little bit.

It's a dish that welcomes some juniper.

This is a spice that tastes of winter to me,

it's very clean-tasting.

And I've got a bit of ham going in here

so it's going to work very nicely.

So these are my goodies, this is a treasure I found in the fridge.

And it's very tempting when you're doing this sort of left-over dish

to chop everything too finely,

but I like to rip the pieces into chunks and then drop them in.

And I've got some goose there,

I've also got some bits of cold ham.

Keep it chunky.

And a bit of bacon too.

Just tear this into strips.

Got some skin from the goose.

So I'm going to put the soft stuffing in.

And the crisp stuffing balls. That'll work too.

And then I'm going to put these roast potatoes in.

I'm going to break them up,

just push it in around the other ingredients.

Give it a little bit of a stir, but don't over mix it,

otherwise you'll end up with one stodgy mass - which we don't want.

Now here I've got beautiful roast pumpkin.

This will hold everything together.

Just spread it throughout.

And who would ever cook anything new after Christmas

when you've got all the stuff in the fridge just waiting

to be put into a pan, all these flavours, all this treasure.

And then the special ingredient -

those fresh Christmas greens that didn't make the big day roast.

I think this is the time to use up the remains of the sprouts.

It's just that injection of freshness and vitality

into what is a pan of quite rich sweet flavours.

If, like me, you once felt that sprouts outstayed their welcome

at Christmas, cook them up in this and I guarantee

you'll be surprised and delighted.

You can hear that crust forming on the bottom.

All the flavours of Christmas coming together in one pan.

You know I love the roast,

I love bringing it out onto the table and carving it,

but I'm sorry I'd rather have this.

This to me is what Christmas is about.

This is the perfect end to an indulgent Christmas

and the best way to let sprouts win over even

the most resistant members of the clan.

By cooking them in this unconventional dish,

you'll realise what a treat you've been missing all these years.

This Christmas, let food be a celebration.

Seek out those festive tastes

and let them inspire you to make show-stopping dishes.

If there's ever a time to let food do the talking, this is it.

Let yours say a big cheery Merry Christmas.

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