Italian chef and TV star Gino D’Acampo has revealed his top culinary hacks to make cooking Christmas dinner for your entire family feel like a breeze – including what specific drink you should always rely on
Take the stress out of Christmas dinner with Gino D’CAcampo’s genius culinary tips. If the roast is down to you this Christmas, you will have inevitably have spent the last few weeks fretting about everything. Is the oven big enough? Will the turkey be dry? How many versions of potatoes is acceptable? And how much gravy is too much gravy? Unless you have eight arms and a degree from cooking school, you’ll probably have already realised that some prep needs to be done the day before. This allows you to focus on those more challenging tasks on the day – like the Turkey Crown (or nut roast…)
Speaking to the Express, Gino agreed that getting a head’s start of your roast is a good idea. In fact, him and his family start meal prepping on Christmas Eve, and end up cooking enough food to last them until December 27. “Often, the thing that people do without realising is they overcomplicate it by trying to do so many things, like make everything fresh all in one day,” he said. “Things like potatoes, vegetables, or even the gravy, could very easily be prepared the day before.
“For example, you could beautifully cook the potatoes the day before, cool them down, and sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil in a tray. And when it’s heated to 100C and ready to go, you can add the potatoes, put a parmesan crust on top and they’re done.”
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The chef added that mashed potatoes will still taste just as tasty if prepped the day before too. As for vegetables, you can pre-cook them as long as you then cool them down in freezing cold water straight away. This will stop them over-cooking and turning all rubbery. On the day you’re ready to serve them up, simply heat them with butter or oil, salt and pepper. It’ll make them extra tasty and your guests will never know they were made the day before. Most desserts cam also be cooked in advance, whether you’re making a cheesecake, classic Christmas pudding, or tray of brownies.
As for drinks, Gino likes to keep it simple by offering just one alcoholic beverage: Gin & Tonic. He argued that the versatility of the botanical spirit means you can tailor it to ‘match with everything that you cook’ and that it is ‘much more affordable’ than trying to pair different wines with your food. Naturally, he said he only serves ‘Italian gin’.
What parts of a Christmas roast do you sort the day before? Let us know in the comments section below