What’s your go-to Christmas dish?

Bookends authors share their favourite dishes that make Christmas all-the-more special.

Kirstie Allsopp, author of Kirstie’s Real Kitchen

The gravadlax recipe which I’ve included in Kirstie’s Real Kitchen. I love it because it looks really flashy but is actually dead easy to make. And it’s very versatile, so great for breakfast on Christmas morning, or a light lunch, or as a starter before your main meal.

Sheila O’Flanagan, author of Christmas with You

Is it criminal to say anything from Marks & Spencer? I’ve gone past the time when I made every single thing myself and if I’m doing Christmas in Dublin I usually buy everything from Marks. It makes it all so stress free. However I do make some rather good cocktail sausages in a honey and mustard sauce if that counts!

Elizabeth Gill, author of Snow Angels

I presume this means anything outside the house as in Christmas parties. Champagne, I don’t like prosecco as a welcoming drink. I’m a big foodie,  in fact anything which I don’t have to make or wash up after, lots of red wine and a duck is perfect with plum sauce, spring onions and pancakes. Also there has to be cheese, ripe, blue, very gooey up to slide off the plate. I don’t do sweet stuff, puddings or cake.

Chrissie Manby, author of The Worst Case Scenario Cookery Club

Ha ha!  Are you talking to the right person?  The Worst Case Scenario Cookery Club may have hit the dizzy heights of number one in Amazon’s ‘books about cakes’ chart but the idea of me having a ‘dish’ would make most of my friends and family snort egg-nog. If however you’re asking which dish I always want to eat at Christmastime, then I would say Italian cotechino sausage with lentils.  It’s more of a New Year tradition than a Christmas one.  The Italians have it that eating the coin-shaped lentils at midnight on New Year’s Eve will bring you luck in the coming year.  The more lentils you eat, the more money will come your way!

Barbara Bourland, author of I’ll Eat When I’m Dead

Never had one. This year we’ll be in California with my husband’s family. With luck we will go out to the sushi boat place, where your sushi is delivered on a boat that runs though the restaurant on a tiny river.

Emily Phillips, author of Trying

If I wasn’t allergic to wheat, I’d be spending half the time boring a hole into a Panettone, and then the other half scoffing Stollen (all gluten free suggestions welcome). In the meantime, you’ll find me next to a tray of roast potatoes. It’s extremely key to balance the consistency between fluffy and crisped up.

Helen Wallen, author of Baby Boom!

We’re all a bit anti-Turkey in my family (sorry!), so we tend to have a posh roast dinner of some sort each year, but it changes dependent on what everyone fancies. Every year before dinner we always have the same DIY canapés though – Carr’s water biscuits with smoked salmon, cream cheese and some lumpfish caviar. Crackers loaded with tiny black fishy balls that pop in your mouth – what could be more festive than that! Ha! All washed down with plenty of fizz. Naturally.