Celebrate the end of the year with December's seasonal ingredients
- Nadine Brown
loading...
Get 5 months for £5 when you subscribe today
Make the most of December’s best ingredients, from sweet potatoes to apples and Savoy cabbage
Want to know what’s good and in season in December? Looking for December recipe ideas? Use sweet potatoes, crisp, crunchy apples and mild Savoy cabbage from your local greengrocer to make these seasonal dishes and bakes. We’ve included plenty of tips for how to shop for particular varieties, prepping guides and useful ideas for using leftovers.
Ad
After, check out our best January recipes, February recipes and March recipes.
Sweet potatoes
The sweet potatoes you’ll typically find in supermarkets are orange-fleshed, moist and sweet. Not as widely known is the white sweet potato, also called boniato. Available in Caribbean and Asian supermarkets, it's also known as kumara or Caribbean sweet potato. It has creamy white insides, is drier and less sweet.
Slow cooker sweet potato, chickpea and coconut one-pot
Creamy, spicy and zingy, this hearty one-pot freezes brilliantly and is ideal for warming up on chilly nights.
Sweet potato muffins
Get ahead and bake a batch of sweet potato muffins. They make a great speedy breakfast or brunch addition.
Cauliflower
The head of a cauliflower (the curd) is made up of hundreds of undeveloped flower buds. That collection of buds should be pure white when buying, and held in crisp green leaves, which can also be steamed and eaten.
Roasted curried cauliflower
Make cauliflower the star of the meal with this easy three-step dish – perfect as a flavour-packed lunch.
Cauliflower, cheddar and Marmite soup with cheesy Marmite croutons
This is a comforting soup packed with umami flavour. Homemade Marmite croutons make all the difference, so don't miss them out.
Apples
British apples are at their best during the colder months. Go for fruit that’s not bruised and wrinkly, and don’t be fooled by shiny skin – quite a few apples are waxed purely for aesthetic reasons.
Invisible apple cake
This French cake is so called because the thinly sliced apples meld together in the batter to make the body of the cake, and they almost disappear.
Halloumi schnitzel with harissa honey drizzle and crispy apple slaw
The perfect texture combination of rubbery cheese and golden, crisp breadcrumbs, served with a spicy honey and a cool crunchy slaw.
Savoy cabbage
Named after a region in France, Savoy cabbage is mild in taste and – due to its large, robust leaves – holds up well when cooking. The leaves are especially good for stuffing.
Roast savoy cabbage with orzo
A great vegan alternative to a classic Sunday roast, with minimal washing up as it's all cooked in one tray. Choose harissa for a spicy kick, or tomato pesto for a more rounded, umami flavour.
Chestnuts
Although chestnuts start to fall in autumn, their creamy, nutty flavour is synonymous with festive recipes, and their deep mahogany shells makes them easy to store until December. Find them glacéed as treasured sweets, puréed and folded into cream for desserts, or simply sold in their shells ready for roasting (I serve mine with a little dipping dish of salt ready for dunking once roasted). You can buy them cooked and vacuum-packed (great to have on hand), or make a cross in the shells with a sharp knife and roast at 200C/180C fan/gas 6 for 20 mins until the shells start to peel back to reveal the creamy flesh inside.
Marmalade-glazed sprouts with chestnuts
Give Christmas sprouts an effortless twist with marmalade, chestnuts and thyme. Frying steamed sprouts in butter lends colour and a velvety shine to your veg.
Chestnut stuffing with dates and molasses
Impress your guests over the festive period with our epic stuffing recipe, featuring chestnuts, sausagemeat, sage leaves and sour cherries.
Parsnips
These sweet roots are a member of the carrot family. In season from September to March, they’re at their best in the cooler months, which is exactly when you want to eat the warming comfort foods they’re suited to – roasted and served with a Sunday dinner, whizzed into a silky smooth soup or simmered in a slow braise. Their sweetness and robust texture make them great additions to vegetarian mains.
Spiced parsnip pilaf
A warming winter pilaf, packed with plants and lightly spiced for a fragrant, nutty midweek meal.
Parsnip, sage and apple wellington
Our best vegan wellington recipe, stuffed with fried parsnips, mushrooms, lentils, crispy sage and sweet apple. It's the perfect Christmas Day centrepiece.
Clementines
Bringing brightness to the darker months, clementines are part of a handful of fruits (mostly citrus) that are in season in the winter months due to them being imported from warmer climes. They're a hybrid of an orange and a mandarin, grown for their easy-peel skin and lower acidity over regular oranges. Pile into a bowl for an easy festive table centrepiece, or stud with cloves and allow to scent a room.
Panettone and clementine tiramisu
Layers of coffee-soaked panettone, candied peel, Cointreau mascarpone and cocoa powder make for a showstopping dessert that's perfect for Christmas Day.
Clementine and bream crudo
With only a handful of ingredients, minimal prep and no cooking, you'll have an effortless restaurant-style starter in a matter of minutes.
Pomegranate
Pomegranates grows on trees throughout the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean, and the ruby red seeds can add a pop of colour and crunch to both sweet and savoury dishes. The flavour is sweet, tart and floral, bringing a freshness to winter salads, but the seeds can also be used as a garnish on lamb dishes, add a pop of zing to a slaw, or mixed with citrus for a festive fruit salad.
Whipped goat's cheese, fig and pomegranate crostini
Simple to bring together, these canapés are ideal alongside some prosecco for effortless entertaining.
Cranberries
Jewels of winter, these tart, crimson fruits are often simmered with sugar to make jam to serve alongside turkey for Christmas, but they can be used for more than festive condiments. The sweet-sour nature lends well to refreshing, zingy desserts, such as fools, crumbles and pies.
Cranberry cake
Tangy bursts of cranberry, crunchy pistachios, fluffy citrus sponge and smooth, sweet icing make this cake a flavour sensation – the perfect Christmas treat.
Cranberry tart with cinnamon cream
Fill your tart with a Rudolph-red cranberry curd for a fitting festive dessert this Christmas. Serve with sweet whipped cinnamon cream.
Duck
Duck has a robust, gamey flavour that holds up to a variety of cooking methods, particularly roasting, which allows the skin to crisp while the meat remains tender and juicy. It pairs well with sweet, sharp accompaniments, such as sherry and shallots, as their sweetness and acidity balance the richness. Classic side dishes such as buttery mashed potatoes, roast potatoes and seasonal greens are ideal partners, creating a comforting and impressive main course for special gatherings.
Roast duck with sherried shallots
Sweet sherry and meltingly soft shallots pair well with rich, gamey duck in this effortless main for two. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes, or roast potatoes and some greens.
Leeks
With a subtle onion flavour, leeks add a hint of allium without overpowering a dish. They can also be used in their own right, steamed and buttered or stirred through a rich cheese sauce. Cut down the length of the green part to separate the layers, and fan out under cold running water to remove any grit. The green parts are often discarded or used for stock, but when they’re double cooked and swimming in cheese sauce, they offer a wonderful texture to leek gratin.
Leek gratin with crispy leek topping
Take classic leek sauce to the next level with this gratin, featuring plenty of grated cheddar, golden breadcrumbs and extra-crispy leeks on top.
Carrots
Carrots are a versatile root vegetable, celebrated for their natural sweetness and vibrant orange hue. Carrots can be used in a variety of ways: they are delicious when roasted to bring out their caramel notes, steamed or boiled for a softer texture, or eaten raw for a crisp, refreshing bite. They also work well when grated into salads or slaws. Carrots pair beautifully with warming spices such as cumin and coriander, and complement other root vegetables like parsnips and potatoes.
Crispy plaice with Thai-style carrot salad
Serve strips of crispy seasoned plaice with a vibrant carrot and green bean salad. Finish with mint and coriander for herby freshness.
Carrot cake loaf
Make this carrot cake loaf extra-special with brown butter soft cheese frosting, or you can simply leave it off if you’re short on time.
Mutton
Mutton brings a depth and character you don’t get from younger lamb. At its best in the colder months, it’s made for hearty winter cooking. Slow braises, stews and gentle roasting coax the meat into tenderness, while drawing out its full, warming flavour.
Ad
Slow-cooked fragrant mutton curry
This slow-cooked mutton curry is all about deep warmth and tender meat that melts into a fragrant, spiced sauce. Let it simmer gently, then serve with rice or naan for an easy, crowd-pleasing winter feast.
Authors
Nadine Brown
Comments, questions and tips
Choose the type of message you'd like to post
Choose the type of message you'd like to post
CommentQuestionTip
Ad
Ad
Loading...
Ad
Loading...
Want to see this content?
This page contains olivemagazine content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.
Accept and continue