Nigel Slater on cooking sprouts the RIGHT way and how to make the perfect Christmas dinner

Virgin Radio

6 Dec 2021, 15:22

You boil sprouts, right? Are you kidding? The OBE-owner, writer, journalist and broadcaster joined the Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to talk about the perfect Christmas dinner and his new mouth-watering book full of recipes and stories.

Is his Christmas pudding brought from the shops? Hell no. He said: “My Christmas pudding is already made, in fact, it’s last year’s that has been sitting quietly in the larder just waiting for its moment which is what my mum did. There was always next year's Christmas pudding on the shelf. It’s something I can eat 365 days a year. It’s my very favourite thing. I know some people don't like it.”

On how to cook the perfect Christmas meat, he suggested: “Roast it slowly. I don’t like a very big turkey. I remember once my parents had one that was so big it could barely get in the oven.”

On handling dreaded sprouts, he said: “I try not to get them near water, so I cut them in half and I cook them in a frying pan in bacon fat. So cook them slowly then keep turning them over. I think they were never meant to be in water. Just slowly cook them first on the hob over a low heat and let them soak up all the bacon flavours.”

So when does he eat his big yuletide dinner? He admitted: “Always about an hour later than I said. It’s made up of so many parts there's always a bit you forget. You know, you suddenly forget about the bread sauce or whatever. I like the accompaniments more than I like the meat.”

What questions do his fans hound him down and ask him? He said: “Very often I'm asked about baking, in particular about bread, because as you know everybody is now baking but I'm continually asked, is that your kitchen we see on television?” (It’s not, but it is his stunning kitchen in his new book).

On fashionable food trends coming and going, he said: “Sometimes I just laugh at them, sometimes I think they're fun. I like the fact that cooking is a little bit lighter, it’s not so heavy, not so meat-based. I love the fact that vegetarian cooking and vegan cooking has become mainstream but I also like cake and I like my treats and pies and puddings.

“There's a whole chapter [in his new book] on chickens and I wanted it to be balanced. I wanted something in there for everybody so there are vegan recipes and vegetarian recipes but there's still people wanting to cook that big Sunday lunch, that big piece of meat. I wanted that to be in there as well.”

A Cook's Book is out now.

Listen to The Graham Norton Radio Show every Saturday AND Sunday from 9:30 am on Virgin Radio or catch up on-demand here.