Christmas can be a time of indulgence, when we can ‘eat, drink and be merry’, but we can be left feeling pretty grotty through over-eating and drinking. Remember Dawn French in one of the Christmas episodes of The Vicar of Dibley? You know, the one where she visits everyone from the parish council for Christmas lunch because she hasn’t the heart to turn them down? Mmmm... I love that episode, but I don’t want to feel remotely like that after my Christmas lunch (and I did last year), so here’s my plan for a slightly healthier version (note the slightly!), and of course, cutting down those portion sizes matters here too.
Roast potatoes and parsnips: I’ll use King Edward potatoes, parboiled (with the parsnips) with a pinch of salt and then roasted in olive oil with some freshly ground black pepper. For the last couple of years I’ve experimented with duck and goose fat, with sunflower oil and with lard, but for me, olive oil works best because the ‘roasties’ develop a fabulous crunch and golden brown colour, and they are a little healthier!
I’ll have plenty of steamed veg – carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed swede – as well as the seasonal spiced red cabbage, and the Brussels sprouts cooked with diced pancetta (okay – I know, that bit’s not particularly ‘healthy’, but it’s delicious).
I won’t be eating any turkey skin, but I will have some stuffing and a bacon-wrapped sausage (again, not healthy, but lovely!).
If there’s room for dessert, I’ll either have a small piece of Christmas pudding (made the evening before so it’s lighter than the traditional ones) or homemade cranberry steamed pudding, or even a cranberry and apple pie with custard or cream...
Mmmm... Doesn’t sound that ‘healthy’ really, does it? So, after an hour or so, a walk in the woods with the dogs will sort everything out!
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