Written by Ben Felsenburg
Ah. Turkey. Spuds. Sprouts. Gravy. Bread sauce. Cranberry sauce. Christmas pud with brandy. And then, cue a long, deep slumber. What more could you want? Well, you can forget all about such a primitive repast come Christmas Day chez Miss Lawson. Nigella: At My Table (Monday, BBC2, 8pm) offers a recipe – in fact a thick fistful of recipes – for a far, far more sophisticated affair. Of course she’s never been a woman to settle for less, and the mouth- watering dishes filmed in sensual style demand a certain care and craft.
For the big bird, turkey is out – instead, brace yourself for all the palaver of dealing with duck and that ocean of fat you have to slosh away. Orange is mixed with soy and ginger for an exquisitely oriental garnish and, yes, there are potatoes – but mashed into a garlic and parmesan gratin. In the evening, you’ll have to rouse yourself from the comfort of the armchair and stir up something rather more ambitious than picking at the leftovers from lunch. Now our tastebuds fly out to North Africa for a lovely winter warmer – a vegetable hotpot, Moroccan style, served with couscous gently enlivened with dill and pine. And, just to take you to the point of guaranteed utter satiety, comes an elegant culinary coda of chocolate pistachio meringue cookies.
Tune in for oodles of inspiration – and this might just be the year to liven up the traditional blowout and rejoice in Nigella’s radical revolution.
