nigellas christmas favourites

Jansson’s temptation is very much the taste of Christmas for Swedes, and I have enthusiastically incorporated it into my own festive eating schedule. And while I do, indeed, serve it with the Norwegian pork ribs, it is so addictively good that I am happy to make a main meal out of it, with a salad or two on the side. 

Jansson’s temptation

onions, approx. 400 grams/14 ounces, thinly sliced

flakes,

black pepper

300 milliliters/½ pint full-fat milk

300 milliliters/½ pint double cream

breadcrumbs (optional)

This crowd-pleasing bread sauce recipe by Nigella Lawson is an easy extra for Christmas Day and is just as good served cold with leftovers. The recipe appears in Nigella's book Feast, published by Chatto & Windus.

Nigella's bread sauce

white bread

litre/2 pints full-fat milk

onion,

cloves

bay leaves

white peppercorns

blades fresh mace mace

tsp salt

grams/1 butter

tbsp double cream, optional

nutmeg,

Sometimes I can get so fixated on a recipe that I find it hard to step away when, even after repeated testing and retesting, what I’m looking for continues to elude me. I’m glad that I persisted here, where more reasonable people would long since have given up, as I have finally created the dark, treacly bread I had hitherto only imagined and obsessed over.

I love this bread with smoked salmon, smoked trout, any smoked fish. And this is indeed how I suggest you serve it as a first course, if one is wanted.

No-knead black bread 

500 milliliters/18fl oz Irish stout,

large free-range egg, at room temperature, separated

dark muscovado sugar

tbsp extra virgin olive oil

tbsp black treacle

300 grams/10½oz dark rye flour

300 grams/10½oz strong white bread flour

cocoa

tsp activated charcoal (optional)

tsp nigella seeds, plus 1 tsp for sprinkling

tsp caraway seeds

fennel seeds

yeast

1¼ tsp fine sea salt

vegetable oil, for greasing

salmon

dill fronds

Nigella's easy roast parsnips with a generous glug of maple syrup. A wonderful Christmas dinner accompaniment. 

Maple-roast parsnips

parsnips

125 milliliters/4fl oz vegetable oil

maple syrup

Don’t be modishly alarmed by the double-carb combo: it can be an alcohol-sopping salve, much appreciated at this time of year. Besides, it is important to remember that the original predates central heating.

Hearty wholewheat pasta with Brussels sprouts, cheese and potato

grams/1lb 10 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

250 grams/9 ounces baking potato, peeled and cut in 2-3cm dice

salt

100 grams/3½oz ricotta

Gruyère, cubed

unsalted butter,

garlic oil

sage leaves, shredded

Hearty wholewheat pasta with Brussels sprouts

Most of the time I refer to this as my Cider and five-spice gingerbread, but I changed the name out of concern for those who expect a little more gingeriness from their gingerbead. If you want to intensify the ginger element, use 250ml/9fl oz ginger beer in place of the cider.

This cake is wonderful enough plain as it is, though I have something of a faiblesse for the gleaming accompaniment of the smoky salted caramel sauce, as you can see from the picture.

For this recipe you will need a 2½/4½ pints litre capacity bundt tin or a 20cm/8in square cake tin (approx. 5½cm/2¼in deep).

Cider and five-spice bundt cake

250 milliliters/9fl oz cider,

175 milliliters/6fl oz sunflower oil,

grams/3½oz soft dark brown sugar

grams/10½oz black treacle (use an oiled 1-cup measure for ease)

eggs

3cm/1¼in piece (15 grams/½oz) fresh root

300 grams/10½oz plain flour

tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder

cinnamon

unsalted butter

grams/1¾oz soft light brown sugar

grams/1¾oz caster sugar

golden syrup

125 milliliters/4fl oz double cream

smoked sea salt flakes,

Most of the time I refer to this as my Cider and five-spice gingerbread, but I changed the name out of concern for those who expect a little more gingeriness from their gingerbead. If you want to intensify the ginger element, use 250ml/9fl oz ginger beer in place of the cider. This cake is wonderful enough plain as it is, though I have something of a faiblesse for the gleaming accompaniment of the Smoky salted caramel sauce, as you can see from the picture.

Cider and 5-spice bundt cake

Add a touch of sparkle to your party with a refreshing pomegranate and ginger cocktail using that very Italian ingredient, vermouth.

Top 7 nigellas christmas favourites recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

Jansson’s temptation

Nigella's bread sauce

No-knead black bread

Maple-roast parsnips

Hearty wholewheat pasta with Brusse...

Cider and five-spice bundt cake

Pomegranate Christmas cocktail

Top 7 nigellas christmas favourites recipes from across the web

The most viewed nigellas christmas favourites recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Jansson’s temptation

Nigella's bread sauce

No-knead black bread

Maple-roast parsnips

Hearty wholewheat pasta with Brusse...

Cider and five-spice bundt cake

Pomegranate Christmas cocktail

The most viewed nigellas christmas favourites recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine