Start your pudding a week early and spend 24 hours on the turkey: When to begin your festive cooking (and it's MUCH earlier than you think)

Roast joint of beef

Leave the oven door slightly open for a few minutes to achieve the perfect roast joint of beef

Servings: 8-12 portions

Ingredients: 1 beef joint; 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; Salt and pepper

Method: Preheat your oven to 220C. First, rub the joint with the olive oil all over, then with the mustard. Season well with salt and pepper all over. Now put the joint into the preheated oven on 220C for 30 minutes. After that time, turn the temperature down to 180C and open the oven door slightly for a few minutes to let out some of the surplus heat. Roast for 12 minutes per 500g for a perfect pink. After that time, take the beef out of the oven and cover with tin foil. Leave to rest for 15 minutes before serving. 

Roast goose with apples and prunes

Servings: 6 portions

Ingredients: 1 goose, around 4kg; 4 medium Bramley apples, cut into chunks; 200g whole prunes; 2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped; 700ml cider; Ground pepper

Method: Remove the giblets and any fat from the inside of the goose. Rinse the goose under cold water and then dry off with kitchen roll. Preheat your oven to 175C. Mix together the apple pieces, prunes, rosemary and pepper. Stuff the goose with the mix and close it with some wooden toothpicks. Place the goose in the roasting tin and pour the cider over. Put the goose into the oven and roast for four hours, basting it every 30 minutes. Once done, cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Pour 700ml cider over your goose to add to give it a sharp, fruity taste 

Start your prep the day before to give you time to soak your turkey in brine overnight

Roast turkey with oranges and shallots

Servings: 8 portions

Ingredients for the brine: 6 small shallots, cut into halves; 3 oranges, quartered; 20 black peppercorns; 20 whole cloves; 4 sprigs rosemary; 1 bunch parsley; 5 star anise; 100g salt

For the stuffing: 2 oranges, cut into 6 pieces; 8 small shallots, quartered

For the glaze/basting: 100g butter; 3 tbsp maple syrup; 2 tbsp orange liqueur

Method:  You will need to start the prep the day before Christmas.

Day before: First remove all the giblets and rinse the turkey under cold water. Put the turkey into a large bucket/pot/sink or similar, which will allow you to immerse it completely in water. Cover the turkey with cold water and add all the ingredients for the brine. Leave to steep overnight.

On the day: On Christmas Day, remove the turkey from the brine, rinse and pat dry with some kitchen roll. Preheat your oven to 200C. Place the turkey into a large roasting tin. Cut the oranges and shallots and put them into the cavity. In a small pan, melt the butter, then add the maple syrup and orange liqueur. Pour the melted butter mix over the turkey and put the whole thing into the oven. Roast the turkey for 3 hours, basting it every 30 minutes. Cut the oranges and shallots and put them into the cavity. In a small pan, melt the butter, then add the maple syrup and orange liqueur. Pour the melted butter mix over the turkey and put the whole thing into the oven. Roast the turkey for 3 hours, basting it every 30 minutes.  Once done, take the turkey out of the oven and cover it with tin foil to rest for 20 minutes before serving/ 

Chestnuts, almonds and oregano all go into this comprehensive nut roast recipe

Nut roast

Servings: 6-8 portions

Ingredients: 150 finely chopped mushrooms; 3 small shallots; 2 cloves of garlic; 150g risotto rice 100ml white wine 500ml vegetable stock 100g walnuts; 100g almonds; 100g vacuum packed chestnuts; 50g breadcrumbs; 125g grated cheddar; 3 eggs; 2 tbsp olive oil; 15g fresh, chopped oregano; 15g fresh, chopped rosemary; 15g fresh, chopped sage; Butter to grease the tin Salt and pepper

Method: Preheat your oven to 190C. Start by finely chopping the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and herbs. Quickly whizz the walnuts and almond in a food processor. Crumble the chestnuts into rough chunks with your hands. Heat up the vegetable stock. On a medium heat, fry the shallots in the olive oil until soften. Now turn the heat up and immediately add the risotto rice. Cook for a minute until you can hear it drying out. Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed. 

Slowly add the stock, whilst stirring, and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked but still a little firm. Pour the rice into a large bowl and leave to cool. Fry the chopped mushrooms until browned and slightly crisp. Grease your loaf tin with the butter and line with baking paper. Mix the nuts, breadcrumbs, cheddar, mushrooms and herbs with the rice.

Beat the two eggs and stir into the mix. Now transfer into the loaf tin and tap the tin onto your worktop a few times to get rid of any air and smooth with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for an hour until the loaf is firm. Once baked, leave to rest for 10 minutes before turning the loaf out. Decorate with some walnuts and fresh herbs.

Pancetta is best for perfectly crispy pigs in blankets - and they'll need 30 minutes in the oven

Pigs in blankets

Servings: 4 portions

Ingredients: 12 chipolatas; 12 slices of pancetta; 1 tbsp olive oil

Method: Preheat your oven to 200C. Wrap each chipolata in a slice of pancetta. Put the oil into a small roasting tin. Put the chipolatas into the roasting tin, with the end of the pancetta facing down. Roast for 30 minutes until browned and piping hot. Serve straight away.

Garlic and rosemary roast potatoes

Servings: 6 portions

Ingredients: 1kg Maris Piper potatoes; 1 jar (295g) goose fat; 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves torn off; 6 garlic cloves, bashed and unpeeled

Method: Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks roughly the same size. Rinse the potatoes under cold water and put them into a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200C. Pour the goose fat into a large roasting pan and put into the oven. Drain the potatoes into a colander Now put 5-7 potato chunks into a sieve and swig them around vigorously to roughen up the surfaces. Repeat with all potatoes.

Once the goose fat is hot, put the potatoes into it and spoon some of the fat over the potatoes. Roast for 30 minutes. Tear off the leaves of the rosemary and bash the garlic cloves. Add to the potatoes, mix everything to cover with the fat and return to the oven. Roast for another 45 minutes until golden. Serve whilst hot.

Goose fat, garlic and rosemary are the perfect accompaniment to these Maris Piper roast potatoes

Pear and chestnut stuffing 

Ingredients: 5 small shallots; 2 medium pears; 100g pancetta cubes; 2 handfuls fresh parsley; 300g vacuum packed whole chestnuts; 250g breadcrumbs; 2 eggs, beaten; 75g butter plus extra for greasing the dish; salt and pepper

Method:Preheat your oven to 200C. Peel and roughly chop the shallots, core and roughly chop the pears, then add to a food processor with the pancetta cubes and parsley. Process until finely chopped but not “mushy”. Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat, then add the processed mix and cook until softened. Pour the mix into a bowl, crumble the chestnuts into it, then add the chestnut purée and the breadcrumbs. Mix all with your hands. Grease the baking dish and put the mixture into it. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes. This can be done under your turkey.

To save time, put your stuffing mix in the oven at the same time as your turkey at 200C

Yorkshire puddings

Servings: 15 portions

Ingredients: 4 large eggs; 225ml semi skimmed milk 132g plain flour; 1 pinch of salt; 2 tbsp oil

Method (Prep): Whisk the eggs, milk and salt until combined. Sieve the flour into the egg mix and whisk until all combined and bubbles appear. Now put the mix into the fridge and leave to cool for an hour. After an hour, preheat your oven to 220C and pour around half a teaspoon of oil into each mould. Give the batter another whisk.

Cook: Heat the oil until it starts to smoke slightly.

7. Now pour the batter into the moulds filling each to just about half.

8. Put the pan straight back into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

9. Serve whilst hot.

Leave your Yorkshire puddings to cool for an hour, before putting in the oven for just 20 minutes

Roast parsnips and carrots

Servings: 9 portions

Ingredients: 800g parsnips; 800g carrots (preferably the smaller ones with stalks on; 200ml light olive oil; 3tbsp maple syrup; Pink Himalayan rock salt to season

Method: Preheat your oven to 220C. Pour the oil and maple syrup into a roasting tin and put into the oven. Clean and trim the parsnips and carrots, cutting the parsnips length-wise. Now put the vegetables into the roasting tin and stir to cover with the fat. Roast until browned, occasionally turning them.

Add maple syrup and pink Himalayan rock salt to make your roasted veg stand out

Brussels sprouts with pancetta

Servings: 8-10 portions

Ingredients: 950g Brussels sprouts; 200g pancetta cubes; 3 tbsp olive oil

Method: Trim and halve the sprouts. In a large pan, heat the olive oil on a high heat and fry the pancetta until crispy. Add the sprouts and turn the heat down to medium. Fry the sprouts, until they’re slightly browned, stir occasionally to ensure they don’t burn. Put a lid onto your pan, turn the heat off and leave the sprouts to steam for 15 minutes before serving. 

The trick to the perfect sprouts is frying them and then leaving to steam for 15 minutes

Gravy

Ingredients for the stock: Turkey giblets; 1 onion, quartered; 1 carrot, cut into chunksl 1 celery stalk, cut into chunks; 5 peppercorns 800ml water

For the gravy: 500ml turkey stock; 20g flour; 200ml red wine

Method for the stock: To make the stock, first wash the giblets and put them into a saucepan. Add the vegetables, peppercorns and water. Use a spoon to remove any froth that emerges on the surface. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain the stock and store until you’re ready to make your gravy.

Method for the gravy: After your turkey has been roasted, remove it from the roasting tin. Strain the fat from the tin, keeping the juices. Put the roasting tin onto your hob and heat the juices over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the wine and scrape all stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Continuously stirring, boil the gravy for around 5 minutes until thickened. Strain into a jug and serve.

Heat the juices from your turkey in a pan and add wine to create the ultimate gravy

The pièce de résistance, Christmas pud, should be started a week before and be doused in brandy butter

Christmas pudding

Servings: 8-10 portions

Ingredients: 100g currants; 100g sultanas; 100g candied orange peel; 50g candied cherries, plus some for decorating; 1 cooking apple – around 150g; 2 tbsp maple syrup 175ml rum; 125g fresh, white breadcrumbs; 150g suet; 150g dark brown muscovado sugar; 100g plain flour; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 9 tsp ground cloves; 10 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tsp baking powder Zest of one lemon Zest of one orange 3 large eggs

Method

The week before: Put the currants, sultanas, orange peel and candied cherries into a bowl, add the rum and cover with clingfilm. Leave the fruits to soak overnight or even up to a week.

The day before: Bring a large pan of water to boil and grease your pudding bowl including the lid. Mix together all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the soaked fruit and the rum and mix it all until well combined. Put the mix into your greased pudding bowl, press it down and tap the bowl on your worktop a few times to release any air, then cover with the lid. Wrap the whole bowl in tin foil. Put the bowl into your pan making sure the boiling water comes up half way. Steam the pudding for 5 hours occasionally checking the water hasn’t evaporated – if it has, top up a little with hot water. After the 5 hours, carefully remove the pudding from the water, take off the tin foil and store until Christmas Day.

On the day: On Christmas Day wrap the pudding up in tin foil again and steam for a further 3 hours. Once the pudding is done steaming, carefully remove from the water, take the foil and lid off, put a plate on top and swiftly turn it upside down to unmould the pudding. You can decorate it either with a little holly or with some glazed cherries. Serve with brandy sauce.