Nigel Slater’s mussels and brussels recipe

The recipe

Scrub 1kg of mussels, discarding any that are chipped or that fail to open when tapped. Cut 150g of smoked streaky bacon into small pieces about 2cm square. Cut 300g of Brussels sprouts into thin slices, about 4 or 5 to each sprout, and wash thoroughly.

Warm a large pan over a high heat, add the still wet mussels and cover tightly with a lid. Let the mussels cook in their own steam for 3 or 4 minutes or until their shells have opened. Remove as soon as they have opened then, when cool enough, pull the mussels from their shells. Reserve the cooking liquor.

Warm 2 tbsp of olive or groundnut oil in a heavy frying pan, then add the bacon and cook for 3 or 4 minutes over a moderate heat, until the fat is just starting to colour.

Peel and finely chop 1 clove of garlic then add to the pan and stir in the sliced sprouts. Let them fry in the oil and bacon fat for 5 or 6 minutes until bright and tender. Then add the shelled mussels and some of the strained juices from the pan.

Leave to bubble briefly then serve immediately. Serves 2.

The trick

I tap each mussel on the side of the sink as I wash them. Any that fail to close immediately are chucked in the bin. It is not a good idea to skip the straining of the mussel cooking liquor. Use a sieve to remove any fine grit or broken shell. This is not a dish that holds well, so eat as soon as possible while the mussels are still plump and juicy.

The twist

Long-stemmed broccoli and even kale are possible contenders to replace the sprouts. Shred into small pieces then stir into the hot bacon.

Roast poppy seed chicken recipes

The chickpeas, cooked inside the chicken, swell deliciously with the fat and juices from the bird as it roasts. You can expect a 2kg chicken to take a can and a half of chickpeas. The remainder, scattered around the bird, will crisp lightly. Mashed until almost smooth with lemon juice and the roasting juices, you end up with a deeply savoury hummus to eat with the chicken and its crunchy, poppy-seed freckled skin.

chickpeas 2 x 400g cans
chicken 1 x 2kg free-range
olive oil 2 tbsp
redcurrant jelly 2 heaped tbsp
white vinegar 1 tbsp
poppy seeds 1 tbsp
lemon juice of 1
flat-leaf parsley 6 sprigs
olive oil

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.

Drain the chickpeas, then season them with salt and a little pepper. Place the chicken in a roasting tin on its end and spoon the chickpeas inside the bird, letting any overspill fall into the tin. Lay the chicken down, trickle the olive oil over, season, then roast for about 55 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven, tip or spoon out all the chickpeas and transfer them to a food processor.

Mix the redcurrant jelly and vinegar in a small pan over a moderate heat, then brush the bird with the mixture, scatter with the poppy seeds and return to the oven for 7-10 minutes.

Pull the leaves from the parsley. Process the chickpeas to a smooth, wet purée with the lemon juice, a few spoons of the pan juices from the chicken and the parsley leaves.

Remove the bird from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes, then carve into thick pieces and serve, together with the chickpea purée and any juices from the roasting tin.

How to pick the right sauce for your roast dinner

However succulent your centrepiece, what will make each mouthful absolutely worthwhile is the sauce with which you serve it. Each cut of meat has its steadfast sidekick – mint sauce with lamb, apple sauce with pork, horseradish with beef, cranberry with turkey and gravy with, well, anything – but things need not be set in stone. The whole point of a condiment is to enhance the flavour and texture of the main event, and there are so many ways of doing that: it’s possibly where the culinary endeavour is at its most creative. Here are a few subsitutes for those trad, shop-bought jars ...

With pork, you want sweetness combined with something tart to cut through the richness of the meat. Fruit ketchups have, since medieval times, been used to this end, and rhubarb is a particularly inspired choice, bringing a pop of pink to your plate. Richard Turner in his book Hog (Mitchell Beazley) has an excellent recipe for a rhubarb ketchup that combines the pink stems of forced rhubarb with cider vinegar, sugar, fresh ginger, cloves, cinnamon, orange juice and seasoning (see picture, far left).

Much like pork, turkey flesh also sits comfortably with a fruity sharpness. Why not switch your all-American cranberry sauce for a freshly foraged hedgerow jelly? Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall makes his with blackberries, rosehips, haws, sloes, elderberries or rowan berries and an equal measure of crab or cooking apples, to ensure a good set.

If it’s beef you’re having, you’ll want nose-tingling piquancy. Try switching your trad horseradish for wasabi mayonnaise. Darina Allen adds a flourish of parsley as well, for extra freshness.

While most often used as a dip for crudités or a toast topping, a tub of anchoïade will serve a roast handsomely. Turner, in Hog, pairs it with slow-roast pork, but it would do your roast lamb just as proud – lamb and anchovy are, after all, an enduring combo. Follow Clotilde Dusoulier’s simple recipe for this Provençale paste, which combines the anchovies with garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

And lastly, in place of (or, frankly, as well as) the onion gravy – without which most roasts would quite simply be lost – keep your vegetarian tablemates happy with a boat of beurre blanc. This French butter sauce can be a little tricky to make, but Jamie Oliver gives an easy method using a shallot, some dry white wine and white wine vinegar, and a whole lot of butter.