What’s in your festive feast?

It’s the question that has gripped the nation. No, not whether Theresa May will see out the month as Prime Minister, but how many potatoes you should have with Christmas dinner.

It started when a colleague casually mentioned that she makes both roasties and mash. Mash? The Cratchits might have eaten it (with apple sauce to make their goose go further), but surely two varieties of spud in 2018 is just showing off?

Another admitted to making Yorkshire puddings and – deep breath – broccoli. “The children love it,” she offered. I thought the point of being a child was to spend the whole meal trying to drop your unwanted sprouts on the floor.

Then, a third confessed that his family has dispensed with the entire circus and now orders “a Peking duck and as much Chinese as we can eat” (he is, I should say, an Englishman).

As the row raged on, I put the question to Twitter – what makes the cut for your festive feast?

Shame on the person who

answered “roast monkfish and red pepper sauce” (fish only on Christmas Eve surely?), and the culinary maverick who makes parsnip croquettes in advance (“par-boiled, rolled in breadcrumbs, fried in butter on the day”). Nobody wants to be frying anything on Christmas Day.

And I must have missed the memo when chipolatas, and leeks in cheese sauce became staples. My plate? Turkey (unpopular opinion: you don’t need bacon if you’re basting it properly), sprouts (no pancetta, thanks), roasties, carrots, red cabbage, chestnuts, stuffing (Paxo, of course), bread sauce and enough gravy to float it all down the table. Yours?