Tell me your best Christmas dinner side dish recipes.

[Clevs]

I'm hosting Christmas dinner this year for four adults and a toddler. Will be cooking roast beef and (probably) slow cooker gammon in cola.

I'm after some tasty side dishes to have with it such as red cabbage, stuffing, creamed leeks, etc.

Give me your best homemade recipes for any side dishes suitable please 😊 Ideally able to be made in advance as the kitchen in our new house is a bit basic and lacking worktop space.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/must-try-red-cabbage-braised-with-apple-bacon-and-balsamic-vinegar/

This is gorgeous. I could eat it by the bucketload!

This is my go to stuffing recipe. it’s American style, but I love the texture with the chunk pieces of bread rather than breadcrumbs.

I’ve made these maple glazed carrots As a side dish for a roast many times and it’s delicious. I reduce the amount of maple syrup and sugar though to about a quarter to bring the sweetness to a level I prefer.

I also love just plain roasted Brussels sprouts with salt and pepper, though part of that is that I much prefer having some elements of the Christmas dinner being plainer. When every side dish is trying to be the star, the whole meal starts competing with each other and it can end up a confusing mess (that took hours of work to make).

When every side dish is trying to be the star, the whole meal starts competing with each other and it can end up a confusing mess

I couldn't agree with this more. I have gone out for a nice Sunday roast at a great local restaurant and there was so much going on it wasn't a cohesive plate of food. Truffled cauliflower cheese, merlot & bone marrow gravy, honey fennel carrots, bacon cabbage... It was all a bit much.

This is easy, can be made in advance, re-heated in mic - although it's also good cold 📧
www.petersommer.com/recipe/taze-fasulye-green-beans

It's also a good way to use up bendy beans & tired toms.

I agree with others that too many fancy side dishes can be too much but carrot and swede mash can be made in advance and heats up really well in the microwave

You can't beat mixed roasted veg, mixture of carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, beetroot, onion is my go to, simply roasted on sunflower oil with fresh rosemary

I make this every year without fail, it's delicious

Gratin of Brussel Sprouts

Sprout, leek and hazelnut gratin
Sticky carrots and parsnips
Ultimate crispy roast potatoes

This is a Greek dish also. Can also make it with peas. Or obviously not for Christmas but I make it with potatoes & chicken pieces or lamb chops in the oven for an easy midweek meal. Add plenty of cinnamon.

Celery sauce is a favourite in our house.

I make a pancetta chestnut and sage butter for the sprouts. Everything else is just "plain" but delicious.

I forgot to say I love cauliflower but preferably broccoli cheese or a mix of the two with roast beef. If making it with just broccoli I add a dollop of garlic purée & tomato purée to the cheese sauce. For some reason it seems to work well. But not with the cauliflower.

@MissMarpleRocks I add a couple of spoons of wholegrain mustard to my cauliflower cheese. It's lovely with roast beef or roast port or secretly eaten out of the serving dish before anyone else has seen how good and bubbly it is

Oh yes always add mustard to cauliflower cheese. The scraping of the edges are cooks perk in my book.

Thanks everyone. I hadn't thought too much about flavours clashing with each other. But I've got some ideas!

My mum's mashed swede, boil your swede until tender then mash with a tablespoon of creme fraiche, and a teaspoon of either nutmeg or allspice and plenty of pepper. This mutes the flavour of swede so it's more palatable.

I make a plain paxo stuffing (2 packets) and sex it up with caramelised red onions, chestnuts and dried apricot. Lots of butter and shallow baking tray so you get crispy edges.

I agree that lots of sides can end up overpowering everything.red cabbage is too punch for me. I'd stick with cranberry relish for the sweetness

Roast potatoes and parsnips. Don't need honey they're sweet enough. And mashed carrot and swede. Plus sprouts