Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbook
Page 22
With eggs, always go free-range or organic, and do the same for anything containing egg, such as mayo and pasta. Please choose organic stock and bouillon cubes, too.
With staple dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and butter, I honestly couldn’t endorse more the trade-up to organic. It is slightly more expensive, but every time you buy organic you vote for a better food system. Embrace seasonal produce to get it at its cheapest, and at its best.
SWAP-INS
You’ll notice throughout the book that sometimes I’ve given you very specific recommendations for ingredients. This doesn’t mean you can’t substitute your own personal favorites; they’re just the things that I believe will elevate your dish to that extra-special place. So, for example, when I’ve suggested a certain type of wine for the base of a sauce or stew, the idea is that you can enjoy a glass of that wine when you serve up, too, safe in the knowledge that it’s going to be a brilliant companion to your finished dish.
A NOTE ON FREEZING
Let food cool before freezing, and break it down into portions so it cools quicker and you can get it into the freezer within 2 hours of cooking. Make sure everything is well wrapped, meat and fish especially, and labeled for future reference (and to avoid freezer roulette!). Thaw in the fridge before use. Generally, if you’ve frozen cooked food, don’t freeze it again after you’ve reheated it.
Hungry for more?
For handy nutrition advice, as well as videos, features, hacks, tricks, and tips on all sorts of different subjects, and loads of brilliant tasty recipes, plus much more, check out jamieoliver.com and youtube.com/jamieoliver.
jamieoliver.com
Thank you
WITH BELLS ON
With every book I write, I tend to do the thanks page last, so I can make sure everyone who’s played a part gets a mention. But with it being Christmas, that wonderful yearly event we can’t get enough of, and one that I’ve been creating content for, for over 17 years now, this thanks page is a little bit special. I’ll tell you why: there are a LOT of incredibly talented, brilliant people out there—some who I still see and work with every day, and others who’ve long flown the nest—all of whom by their input over the years have contributed to the heart and soul of this book. You wonderful lot have helped me hone and perfect my ideas, culminating in this bumper book that I really am very proud to be sharing.
It’s a funny old thing, the thanks page, because it really does mean such a lot to each and every individual and team that appears here. And rightly so, because every single one of you—and I wish I could fit more of you in by name—deserves to be thanked. Without the love, support, creativity, patience, and commitment of you lovely bunch, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. So, whether you’re named here or not, I hope you know how much I appreciate you.
So, first and foremost, thank you to my brilliant family and friends, because let’s face it, that’s what this time of year is all about. To Jools, kids, Mum, Dad, Anna, Mrs N., the don Mr Gennaro Contaldo, and all the gang.
To my dear chum and long-suffering photographer, “Lord” David Loftus, thank you. We’ve done a lot of new stuff for this book, and boy is it beautiful, but it’s also such a pleasure to see so much of our history peppered throughout the archive shots, too.
To my talented food team, who are a constant source of inspiration, and always ready to get stuck elbow-deep into Christmas, whatever the time of year. To old-timers and my closest book allies Ginny Rolfe, Pete Begg, and Bobby Sebire. Christmas is a great time for reflection, and looking back on what we’ve done together, I can’t help but wonder what we’ll all be doing to support each other come another 20 years … let’s start an old people’s home and grow old together. To the rest of the wonderful motley crew that make up my amazing food team—thank you—Abigail “Scottish” Fawcett, my original Greek sister Georgina “Sparkly” Hayden, my conscience Christina Mackenzie, super-dedicated Phillippa Spence, one-of-a-kind Jodene Jordan, wonderfully mad Maddie Rix, lovely Elspeth Meston, sweet Rachel Young, and my Aussie mate Jonny Lake, as well as handy festive helpers Francesa Paling, Becca Sulocki, Lisa Harrison, and Isla Mackenzie. Big shout out to the rest of the extended food-team family, super-creative Sarah “Tiddles” Tildesley, got-my-back Joanne Lord, organization whiz Laura James, my new Greek sister Athina Andrelos, world-traveler and hair-flicker Daniel Nowland, and the one-and-only Helen Martin. Thank you to genius Barnaby Purdy on my art team, and to lovely ladies Ella Miller and Sam Graves for all your help trawling the archives for the old shots.
On nutrition, thank you to ever-patient Eretia O’Kennedy and Rozzie “Batch” Batchelar, overseen from afar by the boss Laura Matthews. There’s no escaping the fact that this is an indulgent old book, but the values you’ve instilled in me still ring true even in these recipes, so thank you for helping me to make the recipes be the very best they can be, without going off the charts!
Big thank you to my brilliant words girls, my illustrious editor Rebecca “Rubs” Verity, testing-maestro Bethan O’Connor and gang, for making sure I’m as clear and helpful as can be, and ensuring that everything from the color of the ribbons (and the fact there’s two!) to how to describe (or not to describe!) something is always spot-on.
To the rest of my truly fantastic team that support me in the creation of the book and beyond, headed up by my brother-in-law Mr Paul Hunt, cactus-collector and media extraordinaire Claudia Rozencrantz, and, of course, secret agent Louise “Chewbacca” Holland. To everyone on my personal team, especially chicken-lover Sy Brighton and Amelia Crook, my book marketing and PR gang, including the leader-of-the-pack Claire Postans, Laura Jones, Ben Lifton, and Peter Berry, all the digital and social crew, the girls in legal led by Giovanna Milia, Therese MacDermott and the finance team, the IT boys, and everyone else who supports us in getting this book out there! One of the things I’m always grateful for is the enthusiasm of my team of office testers—you guys make a real and valuable contribution to the success of these recipes, so thank you.
So on to the wonderful team at Penguin Random House UK. I know you’ve wanted me to do this book for some time, so Tom Weldon—happy Christmas, my friend! Thank you for letting me wait until now. The time was right. To everyone at Penguin who contributes to the success of my books, led by the always glamorous and supportive Louise Moore, thank you. John Hamilton—I’m proud to have known you and called you a mate before those tattoos came along. Juliette Butler—big thanks, and sorry for making your life dramatic. To all the wonderful guys in the PR, marketing, and comms teams, led into the fray by super-ladies Clare Parker, Bek Sunley, and Elizabeth Smith. To always lovely Chantal Noel, Anjali Nathani, Khan Lawrence, and the rest of the diligent rights team. To Martin Higgins and all the sales gang—big shout out to you lot for getting the book out there! And last but not least, to Nick Lowndes, my old friend Annie Lee, and Jill Cole, Caroline Pretty, and Caroline Wilding.
A massive shout out to Mr James Verity (lead designer and champion of leopard skin—maybe an idea for next year’s cover?), Mark Arn, and the guys at creative agency Superfantastic. Thank you for helping me to have fun navigating 17 years’ worth of Christmas stuff, and creating this Christmas bible that I know we’ll take great pleasure in seeing on the shelves, year after year.
You’ll see throughout the book many of the crazy haircuts I’ve had over the years on my various TV shows, so thank you to Jay Hunt and all the guys at Channel 4 for continuing to support me in helping the public have stress-free Christmases. New ideas champ Zoe Collins, super-resourceful, lovely Katie Millard, and razor-sharp Sean Moxhay—we’ve done a fair few Christmas shows together, thank you for your boundless enthusiasm on an annual basis. This year, thank you to Emily Kennedy and Jo Thornhill for heading up what I know is set to be an epic production. And a massive thanks to all the crew who have helped with my shows over the years. A lot of you have come back year-on-year and become great friends, and every show is a joy to film. I hope we’ll be doing it for many years to com
e!
And finally to Lima O’Donnell, Julia Bell, and Abbie Tyler for making me look presentable. I know my wife appreciates it (just don’t cut my hair!).
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Recipes marked V are suitable for vegetarians
A
almond biscotti
Monte Bianco V
pannacotta
almonds
Amalfi cake V
banoffee Alaska V
biscotti V
cauliflower cheese V
classic mince pies V
cracker ravioli V
Florentines V
frangipane tart V
phyllo mince pies V
roasted parsnips V
truffles V
winter slaw V
Amalfi cake: almond sponge layers, limoncello lemon curd, & raspberry sauce V
apples
apple carpaccio V
apple pie V
my Christmas cake V
cranberry sauce V
crispy Camembert parcels V
granita V
mince pie strudels V
pea soup
pear pickle V
piccalilli V
pork & rice salad
red cabbage
roasted apple & squash soup V
turkey sloppy Joes
winter slaw V
apricots
my Christmas cake V
Christmas pudding V
nut roast V
pigs in blankets
vegan m’hanncha V
Arctic roll: Black Forest style with chocolate sponge, kirsch, & cherries V
arugula
balsamic potatoes V
beet carpaccio V
Fifteen Christmas salad
avocados
four party dips: guacamole V
roasted carrot & avo salad V
shrimp cocktail
B
bacon
Brussels sprouts: braised Brussels
get-ahead gravy
meat stuffing
meatloaf
pigs in blankets
pork terrine
red cabbage
spinach & bacon salad
toad in the hole
the turkey
turkey chowder
turkey pie
turkey stew
badass brownies: double chocolate, maple syrup, macadamias, & sour/tart cherries V
Christmas sundaes V
baguettes
bánh mì
spinach & bacon salad
Waldorf salad V
baked Alaska: banoffee Alaska V
baked bread sauce: sweet tender onions, English mustard, cloves, butter, & bay V
baked buns stuffed with winter ragù
baked Camembert, tear ’n’ share spongy rosemary rolls V
baked mash: crushed Yukon Golds & oozy Red Leicester cheese V
baked squash stuffed with nutty cranberry-spiked rice V
balsamic vinegar
balsamic potatoes V
beet carpaccio V
red cabbage
roasted beets V
bananas: banoffee Alaska V
bánh mì: crispy sesame turkey, silky pâté, & pickled veg baguettes
banoffee Alaska: almond pastry, caramel, bananas, & vanilla ice cream V
barley: vegan m’hanncha V
bay leaves
baked bread sauce V
Brussels sprouts: braised Brussels
jerk ham
perfect popcorn: spiced sugar V
piccalilli V
pork terrine
potato al forno
roasted parsnips V
the turkey
BBQ sauce
beans: chili con carne
beef
roasting times
beef carpaccio
dark bone gravy
meatloaf
roast beef
beer
billionaire’s shortbread V
my Christmas cake V
beets
beet carpaccio V
gravlax
roasted beets V
Bellini V
berries see cranberries; raspberries; strawberries
best roast potatoes: crispy, fluffy, squashed spuds with goose fat, garlic, & sage V
billionaire’s shortbread: Guinness caramel, dark chocolate, & sea salt V
biscotti with dark chocolate, almonds, & hazelnuts V
Black Forest gâteau: Arctic roll V
black pudding
pigs in blankets
sausage roll mania: bold black pudding
blood oranges
apple pie V
Christmas sundaes V
blue cheese
hasselbacks V
Waldorf salad V
braised Brussels, crispy bacon bits, bay, & shallots
brandy
brandy snaps V
phyllo mince pies V
retro layered salad: Marie Rose sauce
shrimp cocktail: Marie Rose sauce
silky pâté
see also grappa; kirsch
bread
baked bread sauce V
baked buns stuffed with winter ragù
baked Camembert: tear ’n’ share spongy rosemary rolls V
bánh mì
bread & butter pudding V
hasselbacks V
pea soup
pigs in blankets
roasted carrot & avo salad V
spinach & bacon salad
taramasalata
warm crispy duck salad
Welsh rarebit
bread crumbs
cauliflower cheese V
champ pie V
cheese pie V
Christmas pudding V
meat stuffing
meatloaf
nut roast V
porchetta
pork terrine
rack of lamb
sausage roll mania: garlic mushroom & thyme V
veggie stuffing V
broccoli: cauliflower cheese V
brownies V
Christmas sundaes V
Brussels sprouts
braised Brussels
Brussels in a hustle
cheese pie V
mustard Brussels tops V
quesadillas V
squashed Brussels
toad in the hole
bubble & squeak: the ultimate leftover veg flavor party V
butter
flavored butters V
roast chicken with your choice of flavored butter
butter beans: chili con carne
butternut squash
baked squash V
beef carpaccio
chili con carne
classic mince pies V
cracker ravioli V
nut roast V
party
squash soup V
pumpkin purée V
roasted apple & squash soup V
sausage roll mania: sweet squash & Cheddar V
Thai green curry V
vegan m’hanncha V
veggie stuffing V
see also pumpkins
C
cabbage
bánh mì: quick pickled veg V
red cabbage
turkey falafel
winter slaw V
cakes
Amalfi cake V
chocolate log V
my Christmas cake V
cupcakes V
the Jaffa cake V
my Victoria sponge V
Camembert cheese
baked Camembert V
crispy Camembert parcels V
cannelloni: crispy turkey skin & chestnut pangrattato, winter ragù
cannoli brandy snaps filled with silky sweet ricotta, chocolate chips, & fruit V
caramel
banoffee Alaska V
billionaire’s shortbread V
carbonara cake: spaghetti, smoked ham, & lotsa lovely cheese
cardamom: cupcakes V
carpaccio
apple carpaccio V
beef carpaccio
beet carpaccio V
carrots
bánh mì: quick pickled veg V
clapshot V
glazed carrots V
retro layered salad
roasted carrot & avo salad V
turkey sloppy Joes
winter slaw V
cauliflower
cauliflower cheese V
piccalilli V
cavolo nero: lasagne
cayenne pepper
roasted apple & squash soup V
shrimp cocktail
smoked salmon pâté
taramasalata
celery
granita V
Waldorf salad V
celery root: roasted celery root V
champ pie: leeks, watercress, Cheddar, & super-crispy potato skins V
Chantilly cream
pavlova
my Victoria sponge V
Cheddar cheese
cauliflower cheese V
champ pie V