It’s fair to say that Newport chef Jamie Scott isn’t a fan of turkey. Here, he suggests some other special dishes to savour on Christmas Day.
I love Christmas – and winter in general. I love the bare trees, the fallen leaves, frost, cold breath hanging in the air, root vegetables, slow cooked pieces of meat in sauce so sticky that it coats your tongue. I love the colours – the silvers, white, greys, blues and even a touch of gold.
My idea of Christmas is not the commercial version we are all force-fed. To me, it’s not about red cola trucks, retail adverts, and presents. I have, however, been blessed with two little girls this year so I want them to enjoy the kind of Christmas where it’s about family, food and enjoying the fruits of winter: the hopeful chance of snow, crisp walks in the frost and bundling home to warm up with a comforting feast.
This brings me to the food and more specifically the main of everyone’s Christmas meal: the overrated, bland, boring and un-festive Turkey!
You might have guessed that I’m not a fan of the bird. Although I know a couple of amazing breeders and farmers who supply the free-range bronze birds for eating, I just don’t associate it with being festive.
A more traditional dish in the UK back in the day was to eat goose at this festive time of year. I absolutely love goose for its delicious gamey flavour – it’s sweeter and fattier than duck and slightly leaner.
I also love a whole rib roast (pictured). A beautiful aged piece of beef with gratin potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips with a rich onion gravy should please anyone on Christmas day.
My last recommendation might be a little left field for some: why not indulge in a whole salmon or even a whole turbot. Ask your local fishmonger to trim the fins, gut and scale the fish, then stuff it with lemon and thyme, rub with olive oil, season and roast at 170c for 35-45 minutes until the skin just peels away from the flesh. Imagine that as a showstopper in the middle of the table.
All I’m saying is, don’t get stuck in a rut and feel you have to have turkey – make up your own tradition for Christmas Day.
Chef’s tip
Pigs in blankets or chipolatas wrapped in bacon have got to be one of my favourite festive treats. My recipe jazzes them up a little bit. Buy good quality chipolatas from the butcher and source dry cured streaky bacon, wrap and cook them as normal but finish them in delicious sweet, sticky, spicy glaze when they are still warm to take them to different level. All you need to do is mix together 200ml of tomato ketchup, 50ml of red wine vinegar, 100ml honey, 1 tbsp dark brown sugar and 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard, coat the sausages with the glaze and pop back in the oven to glaze for five minutes – absolutely delicious!
