Christmas in the Sodha family is a movable feast. We usually eat British or European food, rather than the Indian we have every day, because to us it feels more celebratory. Every year, each of us chooses something we most want to eat and, to honour that household tradition, every recipe on today’s Christmas menu is based on one of my family’s favourite ingredients or dishes.
I love being in the kitchen on Christmas Day, preparing the day’s meal while family and friends wander in and out. That said, I am well aware that this is not everyone’s idea of fun, so I have tried to come up with recipes in which many of the elements, if not the entire dish, can be prepared in advance. Happy Christmas, everyone.
Pickled squash, sage and cannellini beans on crisp rye
This one’s for my dad, who loves beans, crisps and snacking: sweet, sour, crunchy and creamy. You can make all the elements beforehand, but the squash will taste stronger the longer you leave it in the pickle (keep the sage and rye in separate air-tight containers for a day or two). Makes 20-30 canapés, a generous serving in case carol singers come a-knocking.
100g peeled butternut squash (ie, about ¼ butternut)
200ml white-wine vinegar, plus 1 tbsp extra for the beans
2 tsp caster sugar
Salt
200g rye flour, plus extra for dusting
¼ tsp baking powder
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 400g tins cannellini beans in water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Around 40 sage leaves
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and line two oven trays with baking paper. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the squash into thin strips.
Put the vinegar, sugar and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, then take off the heat and pour into a bowl. Put the squash strips in the pickle liquor, put a small bowl on top, to keep the squash immersed, then set aside to pickle.
To make the rye breads, put the rye flour, baking powder and two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt in a bowl, whisk to mix, then add two tablespoons of olive oil. Bring the mix together with your fingers, then add 110ml water, little by little, and knead into a soft, pliable dough.
Lightly dust a surface with rye flour and cut the dough in two. Roll out each piece as thin as you can (the thickness of a 10p piece is ideal), then put each piece on a baking tray and prick all over with a fork. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bread has hardened enough to make a sound when tapped, remove and leave to cool on the tray.
For the cannellini bean spread, drain the beans over a bowl, to catch the water. Put the beans, garlic, two tablespoons of oil, a tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of salt in a blender, then add the bean water little by little: how much you need will depend on your beans (I used about three tablespoons in all) – and blend to the consistency of hummus.
Line a plate with kitchen paper and heat four tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan. Once hot, fry the sage leaves in batches: when they start to crisp and turn translucent, transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper, to drain. Don’t discard the oil: it has a lovely flavour, so keep it for drizzling on bread.
Put the canapes together just before serving. Crack the rye crisp bread by pressing down on it so it shatters into bite-sized pieces. Smoosh a little cannellini spread on each shard, top with a strip or two of pickled squash and finish with a sage leaf or two.
Brussels sprouts, radicchio and caramelised walnut salad
My second favourite cuisine, after Indian, is Italian, because in so many ways it’s the complete opposite. A lot of the hard work is done beforehand, to make sure the ingredients taste fantastic before they get into the kitchen, meaning they need very little fussing with. This salad is a case in point: crunchy, sweet sprouts mixed with bitter radicchio and walnuts caramelised with a few Christmas spices. You can make the nuts and dressing ahead of time, but don’t shred the sprouts and leaves until just before serving. Serves four.
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 ½ tbsp caster sugar
120g walnut pieces
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and cracked black pepper
5 tbsp walnut oil
3 tbsp lemon juice (from ½ lemon)
200g radicchio (ie, about half a head)
150g trimmed brussels sprouts
First make the caramelised walnuts. Line an oven tray with greaseproof paper. Heat the rapeseed oil in a pan until hot, add the sugar and stir to pull in the granules from the sides, until it melts (this will take a couple of minutes). Add the walnuts, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, a quarter-teaspoon of cracked pepper and a pinch of salt, stir to coat the walnuts evenly, then spread them out on the lined tray.
For the dressing, whisk together the walnut oil, lemon juice and half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
For the salad, trim the end of the radicchio, cut it into 1cm-thick slices, then pull these apart into long, thin strands and put them in a serving bowl. Cut the sprouts first in half and next into very thin slices, then add to the bowl.
A few minutes before serving, pour the dressing into the bowl and toss the salad with your hands, to coat. Roughly smash the nuts into small chunks (put them in a bag and use a rolling pin), add these to the salad, toss through and take to the table.
Red cabbage parcels with macadamias, mushrooms and chestnuts
This is not just any red cabbage. This is red cabbage stuffed with deep mid-winter flavours: festive chestnuts, mushrooms, creamy macadamias and sweet red onions all pull together to form a tight and delicious team. The parcels can be made in advance and braised ahead of serving, then drizzle over the herby, lemony oil at the last minute, to add some spark and twinkle. Serve with salad leaves or roast vegetables. Makes about 12 parcels, to serve four.
180g pre-cooked chestnuts
100g macadamia nuts, plus 30g extra
400g chestnut mushrooms
150g bulgar wheat
Olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Salt
1 red cabbage
300ml vegan stock
1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice
1 large handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 large handful mint leaves, finely chopped
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. First, prepare the stuffing. Put the chestnuts and 100g macadamias in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Break in the mushrooms and process again until finely chopped (don’t over-process, or the mushrooms will turn to mush).
Put the bulgar in a bowl, pour over 250ml just-boiled water, cover with clingfilm and set aside.
Heat four tablespoons of oil in a frying pan on a medium flame and, when hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the garlic, cook for another five minutes, then add the blitzed nut and mushroom mixture, the bulgar wheat and a teaspoon and a half of salt. Cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for six to eight minutes, until all the moisture evaporates, then turn off the heat.
Put a pan of water big enough comfortably to hold the whole cabbage on to boil. Being very careful, remove as much of the core from the cabbage as you can while keeping it intact. When the water is boiling, drop in the cabbage and simmer for 15-20 minutes (the water will turn blue). When the outer leaves start to fall away, lift the cabbage from the water; leave the water gently simmering. When the cabbage is cool enough to handle, gently pull away the leaves. They should be cooked enough to be pliable enough to roll; if they are not, pop them back in the simmering water for a couple of minutes, to soften further. Repeat until you run out of leaves.
Spoon two or three tablespoons of the stuffing mixture in the centre of each cabbage leaf, tuck in the sides, then roll towards the outer edge, to create a neat cylinder. Place the parcel seam side down in a heavy oven dish, and repeat with the remaining leaves and stuffing. Brush the parcels all over with oil, pour in the stock and bake for 40 minutes.
While the cabbage is cooking, make the herb and nut oil. Put the remaining 30g macadamia nuts on an oven tray and roast for five minutes, until pale gold, then leave to cool. Put six tablespoons of oil in a bowl, add the lemon juice, parsley, mint and a third of a teaspoon of salt. Finely chop the cooled nuts, add to the bowl and mix.
To serve, drizzle the herb oil over the hot cabbage parcels when they come out of the oven.
Quince trifle
I don’t remember a single Christmas without my mum’s famous trifle: a big, gaudy triple-decker of jellied sponge, tinned fruit, Bird’s custard and cream squeezed into a 1980s crystal bowl, like a portly clown into a tight suit. I’ve used quince here, because of how special and rare it tastes, like the love child of a sweet pear and tart apple. It can look a bit intimidatingly hard and furry, but treat it just like an apple. For a simpler version of this pudding, buy ready-made vegan sponge and skip the jelly. You can make the trifle in advance, but bear in mind that coconut cream will set the longer it is refrigerated. Serves four to six.
800ml full-fat coconut milk
750g quince, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm-wide wedges
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
280g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra for the nuts
450ml moscatel wine (check that it’s suitable for vegans)
80g sunflower spread (such as Pure), plus extra for greasing
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
200ml unsweetened almond milk, plus 568ml extra for the custard
2 tbsp agar agar flakes
Bird’s custard powder
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 handful flaked almonds
The day before you serve the trifle, put the tins of coconut milk in the fridge – this is so the cream in the milk hardens, so you can whip it.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the quince wedges in a deep dish and sprinkle over the cloves, cinnamon and 140g caster sugar. Pour over the moscatel and give everything a quick stir. Take a piece of greaseproof paper large enough to cover the top of the dish, wet it and scrunch it up, then lay over the top of the quince. Roast for 40-60 minutes, until the fruit is soft, then remove and set aside to cool.
While the quince is poaching, make the sponge batter. Grease and line a loose-bottomed 18-20cm cake tin with sunflower spread. Cream together the margarine and remaining caster sugar. In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Whisk the flour and 200ml almond milk little by little into the creamed spread and sugar mixture, to make a batter, then pour into cake tin and spread it flat using the back of a spoon. Bake for 25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean, then leave to cool. Once cool, release from the tin and use a serrated knife carefully to cut the sponge into thick fingers.
To make the jelly, strain the liquid from the poached quinces (you should have about 400ml) into a small saucepan. Sprinkle in two tablespoons of agar agar flakes and, without stirring, very gently bring up to boiling point. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until dissolved.
To assemble the trifle, line the base of a serving bowl with sponge fingers. Layer the quince evenly over the cake, then pour over the quince jelly and refrigerate for at least an hour, to set.
Meanwhile, using the remaining almond milk, make up a pint (568ml) of Bird’s custard according to the instructions and pour into a jug. Cover the surface of the custard with clingfilm and leave to cool. When the jelly has set and the custard cooled, pour the custard over the jelly, cover the dish and pop in the fridge.
Just before serving, make the coconut cream. Take the tins out of the fridge 10 minutes beforehand, and gently lift the thick, hardened coconut cream from the top of each can, leaving behind all the liquid (save this for smoothies or porridge). Put the cream in a mixing bowl and whisk until thick and creamy; take care not to overwhisk, or it will split. Fold in the icing sugar, then spread the coconut cream over the custard layer of the trifle.
Finally, make the caramelised almonds. Heat a tablespoon of caster sugar in a nonstick frying pan and, as it starts to liquefy, add the flaked almonds and stir until all the sugar has melted and the almonds are evenly coated. Tip out on to a plate and leave to cool. Once cooled, scatter the nuts over the top of the trifle and serve.
- Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Louie Waller. Christmas props by Lillibet and Rowen & Wren.
