FESTIVE FOOD
Eat like a VIP this Chrimbo for a fraction of the price
Whatever Christmas looks like this year, we’re likely to be making an effort to keep it less spenny than usual. But how can you create an A-list feast without breaking the bank? Fear not! We’ve rounded up some of the most epic supermarket treats to ensure you blag a banquetworthy Christmas table. We’ve also got some frugal tips from Miguel Barclay (aka @onepoundchef) whose new book, Storecupboard One Pound Meals (Headline, £16.99, out 10 December), is packed with plenty of tasty recipes inspired by the tins you have lurking in the back of your cupboard. So, you’re all set for chowing down an epic dinner on the big day without going OTT…
Hey, Miguel – what are your tips for keeping Christmas dinner simple this year? My number one thing – and it’s controversial – is to swap your turkey for chicken. Don’t get yourself a turkey that weighs four stone and leaves you eating turkey for weeks afterwards. Chicken is lovely, it only takes one-anda-half hours in the oven and you almost can’t mess it up. It couldn’t be easier! Turkey is an absolute nightmare – you don’t know how long to put it in the oven for, you only cook it once a year and it’s a lot of pressure. If I was having four or five people round for Christmas lunch, I would just cook two chickens. I prefer chicken anyway, and it’s going to make your life a whole lot easier. Which side dishes are the least expensive? People go overboard on side dishes. I’m suggesting this year that you ask people who are eating with you what vegetables they like, and just cook the two most popular – which is going to be peas and carrots. People will love it and you don’t need all the weird stuff! I’m sort of turning it into a Sunday roast, but you can still have your pigs in blankets!
‘Turkey is a nightmare – use chicken’
How do we make sure that there is that “wow” moment when you create your Christmas table? It’s really important for Christmas to have that centrepiece – which is why a chicken is so lovely, as you can put the potatoes around it and nominate someone to do the carving, giving it that sense of theatre. What I really like is to have everything on the table in dishes so that everyone can help themselves. It’s a very Jamie Oliver way of presenting it, and a lovely communal way of eating. Are fancy, expensive ingredients always better? Not at all. I get given a lot of stuff, so I’ve got weird stuff like barrel-aged smoked olive oil and pink salt. Who needs pink salt? I’m just a normal salt kinda guy. I love standard ingredients. I don’t really entertain the added extras and weird stuff. How do you elevate those simple ingredients? When you’re cooking anything, you have to treat the ingredients with love. Even a chicken – you don’t want to burn it or undercook it, you want to have it just right, with a nice crispy skin. It’s important to treat ingredients well and cook them with respect to get the most out of them.