14 Christmas Cooking Tips From The Pros

“Miso sprouts are a great way to add flavour to the divisive veggie. Halve them and roast them flat-side down until they are really crispy. Mix them together with some white miso paste and water (or resting juices from the meat) until you get a thin paste. Toss the sprouts through the paste and cook for a couple more minutes. You'll get a serious umami hit.”

“Do you have lots of leftover cranberry sauce? Don't just chuck it! Bake a whole camembert in the oven (or a Tunworth which is my personal favourite) and load it up with leftover cranberry sauce, dried fruit and nuts and you've got a delicious post-dinner cheese course (if you can manage it).” 

Visit TheBlackSwanOldstead.co.uk and RootsYork.com

“For the ultimate roast potatoes, boil them in salted water then leave them to steam in the colander before giving them a good shake to rough the edges up. Season all over with English mustard powder and sea salt. Add to a hot tray with duck fat, a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary and crushed garlic and roast until golden and crispy.”

“I always suggest cooking the legs of the turkey separate from the crown. I like to fill them with sage and cranberry stuffing, wrapped in tin foil at a lower temperature oven of 120°C for a longer period of time to keep them moist, and allowing you to focus on cooking the crown or breast at a hotter temperature for a shorter time.”

Visit Paul Ainsworth.co.uk

“A tip for a calm kitchen at Christmas is to keep it simple with your vegetables. Just one or two root veggies will do – you’ll save on hob space and on the washing up. Take carrots: keep them whole, and throw them in with your roast potatoes with some olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. The caramelisation brings added flavour, and it makes plating up so much easier. That way you can concentrate on the main event. If you’re looking for a showstopper to put on the table, a beef wellington is a true festive delight.”

“Do you have leftover bread sauce? I like to take mine and make it into a savoury bread pudding. Take about half a pint of bread sauce, add two eggs and mix well. Pour the mixture into a terrine mould or loaf tin and bake it slowly in the oven. Chill and serve sliced, topped with turkey breast or cold ham.” 

Visit CorriganCollection.com

“For a vegetarian main course, cooking whole vegetables that you can pimp up with sauces when they come out of the oven is a great way of saving time. I love slow-roasted celeriac to which I usually add tahini and slow-roasted onion cooked down with sumac.”

“Winter is a really great time for citrus. A touch of last-minute acidity and salt can really elevate dishes. Ingredients like bergamot and green citrus are great. I suggest zesting any green citrus you can get your hands on. Adding this at the last minute to roasted vegetables like brussels sprouts or carrots will add another dimension of flavour.”

Visit Bubala.co.uk

“Keep it as simple as possible: cook a couple of things that you really love rather than going overboard and trying to make lots, which always ends up being stressful (for you and your guests). Make lists with timings of when you're going to do what, so that when it comes to Christmas Day, all you have to do is follow the steps. Go all out with pudding: my favourite is snowy panettone cake. The recipe is in my cookbook, A Table for Friends, but basically you slice a shop-bought panettone crossways, as if you were cutting across a Victoria sponge, then sandwich it back together with whipped cream, cover the whole thing in soft meringue (so it looks like a snowy mountain) and burnish it with a blow torch. You can add a few redcurrants and berries to top it off, if you like. I can't tell you how spectacular it looks – and how good it tastes. Finally, use fruit, cakes and sweets to decorate the table. They look pretty and festive, last longer than flowers – and you can eat them when you're done.”

Visit SkyeMcAlpineTavola.com