Nigella christmas

Nothing will ever take the place of my Ham in Coca-Cola from Bites — in my heart or on my table — but this slow-baked ham is a revelation of a different sort. The meat is astonishingly tender and carves into thin slices with ease; there is also very little shrinkage, and no wrangling with large joints of meat in boiling liquid. I always like a ham for the holidays — hot, it is spectacular, and it is helpful, after, to have cold ham to bring out alongside cold turkey (and for general sandwich…

Nigella's Christmas Muffins are made with flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, clementines, milk, vegetable oil, egg, and dried cranberries, topped with demerara sugar for a festive treat ready in just 35 minutes!

This tangy, subtly cheesy mash with a crunchy topping has revolutionised my cooking life

fruit cake

A vital part of the Christmas Eve dinner in Norway, these pork ribs have the tenderest meat and the crunchiest crackling imaginable. You have to take a leap of faith when making them, as the idea of letting the rind get so wet in the course of cooking goes against every bit of advice you may have heard thus far about the importance of keeping it dry. This method is an absolute revelation. You need a big old slab of pork belly on the bone for this, which requires a visit to the butcher. And —…

I think it’s hard to improve on this cake: dark, damp, squidgy and luscious. You don’t taste the chocolate full-on – the cocoa just leaves a hint of smoky richness.

Sometimes, it makes sense to use one’s obsessions to advantage. I know that most people don’t have trivial light-bulb moments when the notion pops into an already food-filled head to make a stuffing in which crumbled gingerbread cake replaces breadcrumbs, but that’s, unfathomably, how my mind works. You can use dark brown, dense gingerbread, or the lighter, sandier loaves. I buy spiced bread rather than make it and you will often find it sold, even still in loaf-shape, as ginger cake. It all…

I didn't know about slaw until I moved to the U.S. - I hadn't even heard the word. But I soon found out about the crunch it adds to a plate and the tang that reminds me of the pickles that I've loved since I was a boy. So I've started to play with slaw. Here I shred Brussels sprouts - they're little cabbages, aren't they? - cook them in bacon fat and butter to give them layers of flavor, sweeten them up with apples, and add zing with vinegar and ginger. It's a gateway dish. Serve this to…