Free Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities by Nigella Lawson Page B

and boil with onion, leek, carrot, bay and salt for about 3 hours. With a turkey carcass you could make double this, easily.
    Serves 6 as a main course
3.5 litres chicken stock
2 teaspoons celery salt
    2 teaspoons ground cumin
    3 bay leaves
    1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced
    2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
    4 spring onions, finely sliced
    300g cooked shredded chicken (or turkey)
    FOR SERVING:
    2–3 × 15ml tablespoons vegetable oil
    1 teaspoon chilli oil
    1 packet (8) soft corn tortillas
    200g cheddar, or red Leicester, grated
    1 avocado, peeled and diced
    3 × 15ml tablespoons chopped coriander
    3 limes, cut into quarters
    • Heat the stock in a large pan, and add the celery salt, cumin, bay leaves, garlic, chillies and spring onions.
    • Let the soup boil gently for about 10 minutes, then take off the heat and add the shredded chicken.
    • While the soup’s bubbling, put about a third of the vegetable and chilli oils into a frying pan to heat. Take a pair of soft corn tortillas, roll them up like a cigar and, with scissors, snip into approx. 1cm strips. Do likewise, in pairs, with the remaining 6 tortillas.
    • Fry about a third of the tortilla strips in the hot oil and, as they scorch, remove to some waiting kitchen paper. Add and heat another third of your oil and continue like this, with the rest of the tortilla strips and oil. The home-fried tortilla chips may seem disappointingly soft in the pan, but they seem to crisp up as they cool slightly on the kitchen paper and, later, serving plate.
    • Ladle the hot soup into bowls, and arrange the hot tortilla strips, the cheese, avocado, coriander and lime wedges (for spritzing) in separate dishes on the table to add to the glory of the occasion and to the soup.
    MAKE AHEAD TIP:
    Make the soup then cool, cover and keep in the fridge for up to 1 day. Bring slowly to the boil to reheat then simmer very gently until piping hot. Avoid too much stirring or the chicken will become stringy.
    THREE SEASONAL SALADS
    CHRISTMAS SALAD
    RED SALAD
    CHARGRILLED PEPPERS WITH POMEGRANATE
    CHRISTMAS SALAD
    It is predominantly the colour – for all that I have another red salad – that makes me think of this as a Christmas salad. But then, the starring role played by the Christmas fruit – the pomegranate – would surely be justification enough. This is the salad I bring out time and time again at Christmastime, either to bring a little joy and colour to a quickly gathered together tableful of leftovers, as a side dish when the food really needs no more than a light accompaniment, or even as a starter, so people have something to pick at as I do a little last minute this-or-that.
    At this time of year, given my pomegranate-predilection, my fridge is full of those packets of all-done-for-you seeds, and the amount here represents half what I’d expect to find in a packet. If you’re going for the whole fruit, use the seeds from a whole pomegranate.
    If the salad is a starter, I tend to throw in the red peppers; as a simple side dish it is elegant perfection without.
    Serves 6
    2 heads red chicory
    1 large head radicchio or tardivo
    2 red peppers (optional)
    seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 75g pomegranate seeds from a tub/packet
    FOR THE DRESSING:
    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    ½ teaspoon honey
    juice of 1 clementine/satsuma
    1 teaspoon lime juice
    pinch of salt
    3 × 15ml tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • Tear the chicory and radicchio or tardivo into pieces into a salad bowl.
    • If you are using the red peppers, deseed them and cut into 2cm strips, and add to the salad.
    • Sprinkle some of the pomegranate seeds over, then whisk together the dressing ingredients to pour over the salad.
    • Toss everything together, then do a final sprinkling of pomegranate seeds over the top before serving.
    MAKE AHEAD TIP:
    Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, pour into a clean jar or an airtight container and keep cool for up to 3 days.
    ABOVE:
    Chargrilled Peppers