A Christmas lunch via Mrs Cripps

A cool, gentle and very delicious summer lunch menu inspired by Episode 6's book, The Light Years.

To the letter writer from our last episode, this is what I thought might be nice for your Christmas lunch this year. Or lunch or dinner for friends sometime soon.

It’s a cool, gentle, and very delicious menu with no sharp edges.

Plus, the whole menu can be served cold, so you can do things the day before and/or earlier in the day and just relax come lunchtime.

I would and (and did the other night) just serve this with a warm crusty baguette. You could, if you like, serve the potato salad warm too, but somehow, the idea of this cold meal for a hot Christmas Day seems just perfect.

Merry Christmas and sending all our love for a calm and bright few weeks and happy new year, Sophie and Germaine x

A simple Christmas lunch, the menu

Thanks must go to the fictional Mrs Cripps, housekeeper in this episode’s book The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard.

Poached salmon with parsley sauce
Potato, dill and pea salad
Aioli and asparagus
Summer pudding with cream and raspberries

Recipes all serve 4-6.

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Potato, dill, and pea salad

I love this salad; it’s perfect with the salmon and tastes bright and fresh without any heaviness. You could mix up the herbs if you like, add in some pine nuts too, and/or some blanched sugar snap peas?

Also, you could swap the olive oil-based dressing for some of the aioli below if you’d like it to feel/taste a bit more luxurious.

1 kg baby/new potatoes
2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
1 cup frozen or freshly podded peas 
1/2 cup dill, finely chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted till golden
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
Lemon zest, finely grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat and cook till tender (around 30 minutes).

Drain, then set potatoes aside to cool. Slip off the skins if they are a bit tough, or leave them on if you prefer. 

Meanwhile, cook the peas in boiling water until tender, then drain and rinse under cold water. Halve the potatoes and place them in a large bowl; add the peas, dill, and almonds.

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, and mustard, then pour over the salad and mix well. I use my hands to ensure that all is lightly covered. Transfer to a pretty serving plate or platter.

Aioli and asparagus

A simple but very delicious side, or perhaps you could serve this as a starter? Either way, delicious.

And if you felt like it, you could pile a little mountain of prosciutto on the side of the spears and/or perhaps sprinkle over some dukkah for crunch.

I like to make the aioli by hand; it’s one of those methodical, calming kitchen tasks like the pesto we talked about a few newsletters back. But you can also do this in a food processor or blender if that’s easier. Or just buy some really nice mayonnaise and whisk through the garlic and lemon juice.

1 egg
4 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon juice, to taste
2 bunches of asparagus, ends snapped off

Combine the egg, garlic cloves, and salt in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Now add the olive oil, drizzling it slowly into the bowl as you whisk, so the mixture emulsifies and thickens as you go. Keep whisking and adding the oil until you’ve used it all up and you have a golden mayonnaise consistency (it won’t be as thick as commercial mayonnaise).

Stir through the lemon juice to taste. Keep in the fridge until needed or for a couple of days.

Bring a deep-sided frying pan full of water to a boil for the asparagus. Add asparagus and cook for a minute, then drain and blanch under cold water.

Poached salmon

2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp peppercorns and salt
1 lemon, sliced thinly

Combine all the aromatics with 8 cups of water in a large, deep saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes. Gently lower the salmon into the poaching liquid, cover, and poach for 5 minutes or until it is just cooked or opaque.

Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a serving platter. Cover with a tea towel and place in the fridge to cool.

To serve, I like to flake into chunks and place on a nice platter lined with thinly sliced lemon.

Parsley sauce

This is the gentlest of sauces. Nothing groundbreaking, just a smooth, comforting thin white sauce livened up with fresh parsley and lemon juice. Beautiful over the cold poached salmon or with corned beef or poached chicken.

You could swap the parsley with dill or tarragon if you like and add more mustard or a grainy style. The sauce may thicken upon standing and develop a skin on top, but that’s fine; just scrape it off and give it a stir. Thin out with a little water or lemon juice if you prefer.

20g butter
20g flour
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups whole milk
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 good handful of finely chopped parsley
Juice of one lemon

Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Add the flour and mustard and whisk for a couple of minutes or until you have a thick, dry paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir and cook on low for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until you have used it all up and have a lovely thick white sauce on your hands.

Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes before stirring through the parsley and lemon juice. Check the flavour and add more salt, lemon juice, parsley or whatever you think it needs. Maybe nothing!

And for dessert, it just had to be a summer pudding, The cheeriest, easiest, most delicious Christmas dessert (in my humble opinion anyway!).

I was going to write up my recipe but then thought, why reinvent the wheel?

Nigella’s summer pudding recipe is bomb-proof, basically the same but written out with every step so thoughtfully explained that I thought, let’s just go with that! I know you’ll love it too. Remember this needs to be made at least a day in advance.