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Potatoes, Easy Matthew Ryle Potatoes, Easy Matthew Ryle

Beef pommes boulangère

Pommes boulangère is a dish so special that it deserves a spot on your Christmas table. This recipe comes from the classic but is closer to a hybrid between a cottage pie and boulangère. This dish is most commonly served with lamb, but Christmas is no time for lamb! I love a roast rib of beef at Christmas – years of dry, almost crumbling turkey breast have scarred me. My first job in London we roasted 3 whole ribs of beef a day, we were taught to remove the rib caps before roasting, and so, of course this is my preferred technique. The cap is a delicious cut, in this recipe it’s marinated in red wine and slowly cooked like you would for a bourguignonne, the braised beef paired up with slowly caramelised onions and sliced potatoes is a version I think is more delicious than the original! That being said, if you aren’t having beef and want to give this a go, drop the rib cap and follow the recipe for a more classic version. There are a few things to get ready but again this can be completely finished the day before and just warmed up on Christmas day.

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Vegetables & Salad, Easy Matthew Ryle Vegetables & Salad, Easy Matthew Ryle

Braised greens, Café de Paris butter

The oven is never big enough at Christmas, at least in my house anyway. Playing oven Tetris, trying to squeeze everything in is part of every Christmas day. As much as I enjoy the games, a vegetable dish that can be prepared ahead of time and cooked on the stove during the big day is no bad thing. Café de Paris butter is a great compound butter which is normally served with steaks and shellfish, but it’s particularly special on these braised wintery greens.

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Meat & Poultry, Easy Matthew Ryle Meat & Poultry, Easy Matthew Ryle

Glazed gammon

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a glazed gammon, would it? And there is no need to complicate things. No intricate scoring needed, no need to place an individual clove in each square before roasting. Who started this clove thing? It’s a bit like when you’re eating a nice curry and you crunch through a whole cardamon seed, definitely not enjoyable. Who wants the cloves? Just give me thick slices of sweet, smoky, salty ham. Mustard is a must, sweetness is needed, marmalade is the go-to in my house, and lots of black pepper to finish things off. Go big on your ham, its great cold on Boxing day, or with a fried egg and some chips, in a left-over turkey pie, in a baguette with lots of butter and some cornichon, I can go on…

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Starters, Easy, Egg Matthew Ryle Starters, Easy, Egg Matthew Ryle

Oeuf mayonnaise, smoked salmon, watercress

For me, there are only 2 options for starter on Christmas day - prawn cocktail or some smoked salmon. Oeuf mayonnaise, once on the brink of extinction is now enjoying a well-deserved comeback. This is a classic French dish featuring hard-boiled eggs draped in mayonnaise, it’s one of those unexpected culinary pleasures. It’s particularly delicious when paired up with some salty smoked fish, as its Christmas of course smoked salmon is getting involved. Served with some fresh peppery watercress it’s a great, light, festive starter to kick off proceedings, some crusty bread in the middle of the table wouldn’t go a miss with this dish too.

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Potatoes, Easy Matthew Ryle Potatoes, Easy Matthew Ryle

Roast potatoes

I’ve done my research on potatoes this year, and there was a clear winner. Glass thin, crispy exterior with a soft buttery textured centre – The red rooster, blew the Maris pipers, King Edwards and fancy restaurant spuds out of the water. These are my ultimate Christmas roasties, cook them in water the day before and leave in the fridge overnight to dry and help with stove space on Christmas day. A jar of duck fat for roasties always signified Christmas in my house, but feel free to substitute it for any fat or oil you prefer, the variety of potato is the real key to success, don’t worry the fats will just change the flavour.

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Meat & Poultry, Easy Matthew Ryle Meat & Poultry, Easy Matthew Ryle

Boeuf bourguignon

Takes the edge of the days getting shorter when you can start to cook dishes like this. Hands down the most famous stew in French cookery, if you can’t get hold of short rib, 1kg of beef chuck will do the trick too.

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Sweets, Easy Matthew Ryle Sweets, Easy Matthew Ryle

Tarte tatin with calvados cream

This could be the best dessert in the whole of France. Apple tarte tatin is famous worldwide for good reason. Caramelised apples with a crisp puff pastry base, cooked upside down in the oven and flipped once cooked.

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Sweets, Easy Matthew Ryle Sweets, Easy Matthew Ryle

Greengage clafoutis

My go to dessert – it’s so quick and easy to put together. In a matter of minutes you can have your batter and add any seasonal fruit you want. Cherries, berries or soaked prunes all work amazingly well.

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Easy, Eggs Matthew Ryle Easy, Eggs Matthew Ryle

Omelette x Arnold Bennett

The king of all omelettes. One of the first things I learnt to make as a chef and my all time favourite breakfast. A decadent omelette with smoked poached haddock.

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