Chestnuts are synonymous with this festive time of the year across Europe

These mahogany like burnished nuts are synonymous with this festive time of the year. Across European cities and in London the air is filled with these iconic nuts being cooked over coal on street corners and parks. They’re served in a paper cone or bag, you peel off the shell and enjoy the sweet, smoky inside.

You can buy a special implement to cook the nuts over an open fire. I got one recently from a blacksmith in Aghadowey called Ian Moran. A saucer like circle with holes is attached to a shaft. When you’re cooking chestnuts, cut a slit in the side to stop them exploding and then place on the saucer and place above direct coals or even your gas cooker top. A more user friendly way is to slit them and then roast in a 180oc oven for about 20 minutes or until the shell blisters. Cool them down until you can handle them and slip off the shell. For an even easier way you can buy them already cooked, shelled and bagged for you – effective but definitely not as much fun.

Brussels sprouts are a contentious vegetable. One of their problems we tend to overcook them and not drain them properly. Serving anything soggy and wet does nothing for the image. If you cut them in half through the root, they cook quicker and retain their verdancy. Blanch for two minutes in boiling water, drain well and toss in fresh rosemary, oil and seasalt. Roast them, add some shaved chestnuts at the end of the cooking and you have something even the most ardent of sprout hater could warm to.

Staying on the brassica theme, red cabbage is now firmly a mainstay on the Christmas dinner table. It’s ideal as it’s a vegetable that actually improves with being cooked in advance. Here it’s shredded and cooked with onions, cooking apple, sugar, vinegar, port, dried cranberries and spices. This recipe makes quite a lot of cabbage but any leftovers can be bagged and it freezes successfully.

A festive meal wouldn’t be the same without proper roasties. There’s nothing as nice as pumping hot, crispy roast potatoes . There’s much debate about what makes an ideal roastie. The first thing to consider is the potato itself. King Edwards, Maris Pipers or roosters are all good. Robin Cherry a grower from outside Ballymena, famous for producing pak choi, produces a great spud, the Sunbeam. It’s a dry potato that is ideal for roasting. You can find them in good shops in the area and in Slemish Market Garden Farmshop in Ballymena. For me they’re the best for roasting with a good local rooster coming in a close second. Peel the spuds and cut them to roughly the same size. Par boil them for ten minutes then drain and dry them well. At this stage I like to toss them in fine semolina that’s been seasoned with salt. The next stage is where the debate really gets going. Some people swear by duck fat, some by goose fat but my preferred way is to cook them in Broighter Gold rapeseed oil. It gives a lighter roastie that won’t have you reaching for the Gaviscon at five o’clock, is crispy and extra golden from the colour of the oil. But it’s entirely up to you – a bit of gently debate makes the world go round.

Whatever way you cook your sprouts or roasties this Christmas I hope you and yours have a lovely one. Happy Christmas.