Christmas sorted: mains, sides and drinks

Christmas ham recipes

Golden ale and honey-glazed easy-carve ham (left)

The golden ale adds a bitter note to the sweetness and fat, so the ham really doesn't need any more accompaniment than a quality apple sauce and a simple green salad.

Herb and pine nut-crusted roast ham (right)

Adding the herbs after cooking gives the ham a really fresh taste. This is delicious served with a creamy potato salad.

Crab and cucumber cocktail sandwiches

Chilled cucumber and prawn soup with crisp prawn heads

This recipe leaves nothing to waste; it's head-to-tail cooking if you will. The refreshing flavour of cucumber is great with prawns.

Bajan rum punch

Prawn and avocado salad with spiced tomato dressing

Vietnamese prawn cakes

A classic street-food dish in Vietnam, these tasty treats wrapped in lettuce and dipped in nuoc cham are perfect summer fare.

Cider apple-glazed ham

Barbecued lobster tails with lemon drawn butter

Classic roast turkey

Traditionally, the breasts were carved from the roast turkey at the table and served hot, while the remainder was returned to the kitchen, where the leg meat was used in a 'gentleman's supper', which is, really, a nice way to phrase 'leftovers'.

Fennel-spiced pork rack

Grilled peas with bitter greens

Iceberg lettuce salad with bacon, pine nuts and buttermilk dressing

Besan-fried prawns with saffron-braised vegetables

The besan flour (chickpea flour) coating gives these prawns a crisp nuttiness; it's available from health-food shops and Indian grocers.

Peach and ginger roast turkey

Freekeh, sour cherry and feta salad

Bajan roast pork

Apricot and pistachio-stuffed turkey legs

Roast duck with orange and rhubarb

Christmas ham

The key to a great ham is a top-quality raw ingredient; a well-raised free-range pig with plenty of marbling through the leg will keep it moist during baking. Natural smoke is essential; ensure that liquid smoke has come nowhere near your ham.

Pickled beetroot and heirloom carrot salad

Orange-glazed ham with potato and parsley salad

"I buy my ham each year from Leo Donati in Melbourne," says Brigitte Hafner. "It's such a fine smoked ham that it almost doesn't need a glaze, but this one adds just a little bit of sweetness and spice."

Malaysian-style roast turkey with cucumber acar

"I don't remember when we started cooking turkey for Christmas but I have vivid childhood memories of picking bits of delicious meat from the bird," says Tony Tan.

Charcoal-grilled veal wrapped in lardo

Fried ham with homemade tomato sauce and grilled bread

"While I do love a good ham sandwich, sometimes the cook needs to come up with something different," says Stephanie Alexander. "The following recipe is based on an idea from Elizabeth David who claims it is a Corsican way to enjoy ham. This dish is gutsy, incredibly simple and a great post-Christmas favourite for young and older at my place."

Suckling pig with roast fennel and warrigal greens

This is the dish that will really impress your guests when it arrives at the table.

Turkey roll with sour cherry relish

"This dish is for the true food-lover who's prepared to spend a bit of time in preparation and enjoys a challenge: the wow-factor is definitely there at the end, and all the work can be done in advance," says Stephanie Alexander.

Cocktails

Mint Julep

Gin Rickey

Blackberry-vanilla cordial

These incredibly refreshing drinks are just the ticket for an afternoon in the sun.

Chrysanthemum and cress salad

"Chrysanthemum is one of my favourite salad leaves," says Hamish Ingham of Bar H in Sydney. "It has such a lovely soft texture with a fragrant, almost celery-like taste, and mixed with the other herbs it makes a fantastic light salad to cut through any rich meat dish."

Roast turkey with freekah and pancetta stuffing

This turkey brings together a traditional brining technique and a modern freekah stuffing. It's great served with sautéed green beans and roast kipfler potatoes. You'll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Pineapple and rum glazed Christmas ham with tomato sambal

"It's been the family tradition to serve baked ham with pineapple for as long as I can remember - my family probably got the recipe from Aussie friends or relatives. Back in Malaysia we do, however, serve this with a spiced tomato sambal along with a host of condiments such as chilli sauce, chutneys, pickles and salads."

Potato salad and horseradish cream

Barbecued lemongrass snapper with pomelo and herb salad

Roast herbed turkey roll with Meyer lemon mayonnaise

Meyer lemons are thought to be an orange/lemon hybrid; slightly sweeter than regular lemons, they have a wonderful perfume.

Red cabbage-apple slaw with speck and caraway dressing

A fruity touch makes this salad a tasty - and colourful - Christmas side.

Spice-crusted ham with mango salsa

If you like a touch of heat, this ham is for you. The thick glaze forms a crust as it cooks, giving a chewy, crunchy coating. You can still achieve this effect without the heat by reducing the amount of cayenne. Balance the salsa's sweetness with a large pinch of salt and alter the quantity of jalapeños to suit your taste. This is great served with a classic coleslaw.

Roast turkey

Covering the turkey breasts with overlapping slices of pancetta helps to retain the moisture in the meat while the legs cook (quite often the breasts will dry out before the legs are cooked). You could also use a larding thread and insert pork fat into the breast for extra juiciness, if desired.

Seared tuna with dill cucumbers and potato salad

Pecorino-and-parsley turkey rotolo

Asparagus with blood-orange and chervil hollandaise

Ricotta and spinach crespelle

Nectarine Sgroppino

Rolled turkey breast with pine nuts, coriander and preserved lemon

Jerked ham with mango chutney

Jamaican jerk spice mix is perfect for flavouring a whole ham. It can also be used with barbecued poultry and fish with equally good results. You will need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Radish and preserved lemon salad

Roast turkey with burghul, preserved lemon and pine nuts

"The Middle Eastern flavours of this stuffing add a gorgeous fragrance to the flesh of the bird. I like to serve this with a simple salad of avocado wedges, orange slices and shaved fennel, tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, Sherry vinegar and torn mint leaves." Brigitte Hafner

Roast herb chicken with Parker House rolls

This is the dish to bring out once the party is in full swing - it'll fuel your guests into the wee hours. You can have all the components made ahead of time and assemble them when the time is right. Parker House rolls, invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, are a soft white oval roll popular in the 1920s.

Wild rice with glazed onions and hazelnuts

Wild rice with glazed onions and hazelnuts

Try this alongside a salad with Christmas meats.

Asparagus, pea and mint salad

This fresh salad (top) lightens the load on Christmas Day.

Black bean, corn and blood orange salad

This salad, filled with the classic flavours of the Caribbean, is gorgeous with ham but you could also serve it with barbecued prawns and calamari. You will need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Pork and turkey luncheon pie

Turkey, fig and duck liver salad

Christmas sauces

Cranberry and orange sauce

A contemporary version of Cumberland sauce, this is perfect with ham, turkey, pork or game.

Blood plum, star anise and nebbiolo relish

This substantial relish with spiced fruit flavour will match any game, pork or poultry served at Christmas.

Christmas stuffings

Madeira jus

Don't be put off by the cooking time: this luxe sauce does all the work for you by means of gentle stovetop reduction. Serve with poultry, game or pork.

Fig and speck stuffing

We like this with poultry, pork or lamb.

Bath Oliver crackers with cheddar and port

These are best served with a good aged cheddar and some good-quality port. They can also be baked in large sheets and broken into smaller pieces.

Boxing Day sandwich

Christmas turkey and ham are gifts that keep on giving. Load the leftovers into this tasty sandwich and put your feet up.