Make your Christmas dinner a cracker

It only comes around once a year, so follow Philippa Vine‘s top tips to make sure Christmas dinner goes without a hitch

We usually have beef for Christmas. My father is a retired turkey farmer who, despite giving up turkeys 25 years ago, would still rather not see one on his plate on Christmas Day – even though his son-in-law is a practising turkey farmer.

This year we’re flying out of the country on Christmas Day and the children have requested that we have a traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve after the last turkey order has been collected. That’s assuming we haven’t had to sell our own – it has been known.

I’m sure you all have your tried and tested methods for doing Christmas and I don’t want to teach any grandmothers to suck eggs, so I’m not doing an actual recipe for cooking turkey but just a few helpful hints.

As a light alternative to Christmas pudding, I thought of turning leftover panettone into a delicious fruity bread and butter pudding. Wherever you are and whatever you are eating, have a very Merry Christmas.

Roast Turkey

Don’t put stuffing in the main body of the bird as it will go soggy and mess up your cooking times. By all means stuff the neck skin with stuffing but there probably won’t be enough for everyone. Season the inside of the bird and place some aromatics in this cavity – a bunch of herbs, including thyme and bay, and an onion studded with cloves. Smear the outside of the bird generously with butter.

Cover the whole roasting tray with a double sheet of foil throughout most of the cooking time to keep the breast meat moist. Make a good, rich stock from the giblets for really excellent gravy. Timing: Roughly the timing is 20 minutes for every pound, with a bit extra added on.

Make sure it is at room temperature before cooking commences. So, for say a 12lbs turkey, set the oven at 200C (400F, Gas mark 6) and roast for 45 minutes. Cover the whole tray with a double sheet of foil and tuck it under the rim of the roasting tray.

Reduce the temperature to 170C (325F, Gas mark 3) and continue cooking for 3 hours. Remove the foil, baste well, and increase the heat of the oven back up to 200C (400F, Gas mark 6). Cook for a further 30-45 minutes until nicely browned. Crucial to easy carving is letting it rest – 20 minutes in a warm place should do it.

The Best Roast Potatoes

It is more to do with the type of potato than the cooking. King Edward is my favourite as they are really floury and soak up the dripping well. Second choice would be Maris Piper or Desiree Reds. Part boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water and drain well (let them steam for a bit so they get quite dry).

Melt the dripping in the roasting tray (you may have some of the turkey fat by this time or you can use any dripping you have saved or even bought duck or goose fat). Put the potatoes in and get them sizzling on the hob.

Season with salt and black pepper and tuck some bay leaves or sprigs of rosemary amongst them. Roast until crisp and golden, turning them over occasionally.

Stuffing

1 large onion
110g (4oz) smoked streaky bacon
110g (4oz) finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary or thyme
10 dried (no need to soak) apricots
75g (3oz) peeled chestnuts
110g (4oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dripping

Chop the onion and fry it with the celery in the dripping. Chop the bacon and add it along with the herbs. Keep frying until the bacon is cooked then remove it from the heat. Chop the apricots and add to the mixture with the chestnuts and breadcrumbs.

Season with the pepper and salt (you may not need too much salt because of the bacon). An egg can be added to make a more ‘set’ stuffing. Bake in a dish suitable for the oven. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Bread Sauce

75g (3oz) stale, white bread (with crusts removed)
425ml (¾ pint) milk
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
6 peppercorns
1 onion
50g (2oz) butter
2 tablespoons double cream

Chop the onion very finely and stew it in the butter until soft. Pour in the milk and add the bay leaves, cloves and peppercorns and bring to the boil. Allow to cool and stand for 30 minutes. Remove the bay, cloves and peppercorns. Make the bread into crumbs and sprinkle into the milk, add the cream and bring to the boil. Add salt if necessary, and for a really smooth sauce put it through a food processor.

Carrot and Parsnip Puree

450g (1lb) carrots
450g (1lb) parsnips
1 clove of garlic, crushed
50g (2oz) butter
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Peel and chop the carrots and parsnips. Cook in salted water until soft. Drain well. Add the crushed garlic, butter and some black pepper. Mash with a potato masher or for a very smooth puree finish in a food processor. Taste for seasoning.

Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding

Serves 6
8 slices of panettone
300ml (½ pint) milk
150ml (¼ pint) single cream
25g (1oz) butter
2 eggs
110g (4oz) caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F, Gas mark 3). Butter a 1-litre shallow baking dish. Layer the slices of panettone in the dish. Place the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Whisk the eggs and half the sugar together.

Pour the boiling milk and cream over the egg and sugar mixture while stirring. Strain and pour the resulting mixture over the panettone. Allow the liquid to soak into the panettone for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the pudding and bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm.

• Philippa lives on a Sussex farm, producing beef, poultry and lamb. The mum-of-four, who’s appeared on TV’s Masterchef, is a champion of locally produced food. Philippa devises these recipes specially for Farmers Weekly readers every month.

Read some of Philippa’s favourite recipes she’s contributed to Farmers Weekly over the past decade and watch videos of her cooking at www.fwi.co.uk/philippavine