A decadent starter – and a godsend for cooks who like to get ahead.
A set of festive snacks: caraway, spelt and parmesan grissini with aleppo chilli, to dip in a three-cheese mix with spiced date syrup and pine nuts, and a posh, sake-cured salmon with sesame sprinkles and pickles.
Two light first courses to offset the big feast to come – a bright prawn, fennel and celery salad, and a ricotta and spinach bake that’s somewhere between a soufflé and a frittata.
With roast cassava, a garlic and coriander salsa, rainbow chard with ham hock, and a cranberry and chard stem pickle.
A cheering alternative ham with a spicy, sweet-sour Mexican glaze of pineapple and chilli.
Dried fruits are a speciality of the Levant, and bring festive luxuriousness to these dishes of fragrant roast chicken and nutty, chewy jewelled pilau rice.
A bulging, festive squash filled with a savoury stuffing of spicy, herby veg, mushrooms and nuts.
A crisp and fresh winter salad of festive red cabbage, crunchy apple and sweet-sour pomegranate that will go nicely with any roast.
A whole fillet of salmon baked with fennel in chilli and sea salt, then drizzled with a honey, lemon verbena and clementine vodka glaze, with candied clementines, and a dill creme fraiche.
Spiced apple pies that will win over people who (say they) don’t like mince pies.
Turn the remains of the festive table into a barnstorming pie that’s as satisfying to make as it is to eat.
Introducing a Chinese-inspired vegan centrepiece for your Christmas table.
Delicious – and easily adapted to feed however many people you have around the table.
A Scandinavian feast of blow-dried roast duck with a boozy cherry sauce, a winter salad with clementines and candied walnuts, and a luxurious, layered potato hotpot.
Wild mushroom, chestnut and stilton filo pie, a “sunset roast” of swede, pumpkin and sweet potato with saffron lemon yoghurt, and pickled beetroot with a sprout, dried cherry and dill slaw.
A crowd-pleasing seafood alternative to the turkey roast.
Turn heads with a roast spatchcock chicken in chilli butter, with a Gruffalo-inspired stuffing cake, sweet potatoes roasted with pecan and lime, and a zingy sprout slaw.
A banquet of gammon cooked with stout, oranges, molasses and spices, with sides of mustard pears, blue cheese gratin, roast parsnip and date salad, herby sprouts with puy lentils, and a caramelised onion mash.
Everyone will tuck into these festive beetroot pastries – plus a recipe for honeyed harissa brussel that may even win over the anti-sprout brigade.
Known as vada pav, this snack gets on well with a bit of green chutney for the perfect festive evening snack.
The perfect combination: spicy chicken jewelled with cranberries and cashews, and a sharp fruity side.
A big, bronzed turkey or a sage and stilton nut roast this year? Or both? And not forgetting all the classic festive sides. Our resident perfectionist shows you how.
This adaptable seasonal favourite features a ricotta pastry with just the right amount of flaky crumble and a thick and richly flavoured filling.
A satisfying dessert that’s a cross between mousse, cheesecake filling and blancmange – enjoy with a glass of something strong.
The pinnacle of trifle decadence: mascarpone, panettone, poached pear and chunks of dark chocolate, with a good kick of sherry.
A chocolate and cinnamon rice pudding, known as kheer + caramelised almonds = a Christmas dessert with the x-factor.
A tender, outrageously sweet dessert.
Is there any dessert more flamboyant than this retro barnstormer of ice-cream on a sponge base, all smothered in meringue and blowtorched to crackly perfection?
If you’re still looking for a high-impact sweet centrepiece for the Christmas table, this simple baked dessert is ideal.
This festive tribute to the Terry’s Chocolate Orange makes for a showstopping dessert.
The sweetness of clementine curd mellows the hit of fiery ginger in this tasty winter pudding.
A winning alternative to traditional Christmas pud. Spoons at the ready …
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Food stylists: Emily Kydd (Yotam, Ravneet, Sweet Spot, guests, Tom), Kitty Coles (Felicity, Thomasina, Meera, guest spots), Benjamina Ebuehi, Anna Wilkins (Sweet Spot), Rosie Ramsden (Felicity), Ellie Mulligan (guest spots). Prop styling: Jennifer Kay (Yotam, Rachel Roddy, Felicity, guest spot, Tom), Louie Waller (Felicity, Thomasina, Meera, guest spots), Tabitha Hawkins (Felicity), Toni Musgrave (Thomasina, guest slots). Food styling assistants: Jessica Geddes (Yotam, Rachel), Rosie French (Felicity) Julia Aden (Sweet Spot, Rachel), Sarah Vassallo (Felicity, Meera, guest spots). Photo assistant and retouching: Sophie Bronze (Yotam, Rachel Roddy, guests, Tom Hunt).
