In these unusual times, Christmas seems the only ‘safe place’ for custom and ritual. But even this most traditional of feasts cannot escape controversy. Do we celebrate it at all? And, if so, do we do it with any of the usual religious symbols, or in a more general, humanistic way?

In our house, now that I, an agnostic Jew, have succumbed to the idea of celebrating the birthday of the son of God, the arguments focus on the best distraction I know: food. The stakes aren’t as high and the rewards far tastier. My husband Karl, who isn’t at all traditional, wants this to be the one time of year when he can pass on to our two sons something directly connected to his own childhood. ‘Don’t poncify Christmas,’ he says if I dare suggest anything remotely inconsistent with the turkey-stuffing-potatoes-brussels of his early years in Northern Ireland. And so out goes my brilliant idea of democratising the table by banishing the turkey and trimmings altogether, and replacing them with a Middle Eastern meze.

Play Video 4:19 Yotam Ottolenghi’s Christmas dinner with Grace Dent - video

To be fair, I see the point of holding on to food traditions when they are genuinely rooted in a personal or national story. Food isn’t only a distracter, it’s also a great caretaker of memory. That is why our only change from tradition is a few pomegranate seeds on the sprouts.

I also accept that one big thing in the centre of the table enhances and focuses the feast. It needn’t be a turkey – today’s lamb shoulder does a very good job – but the sense of occasion is really helped by something properly grand. Whatever you do, though, eat, eat some more and be very, very merry.

Cumin and Szechuan pepper lamb with steamed aubergine

This is a marvellous festive dish – so much better than turkey – in which the juices from the spicy lamb are used to dress the aubergines, injecting them with a tremendous amount of flavour. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of salt in the aubergine: it mostly steams away as it cooks.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yotam Ottolenghi’s Szechuan pepper lamb with steamed aubergine. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

Prep 15 min

Marinate 1-2 days

Cook 5-6 hr

Serves 6

1.8kg bone-in lamb shoulder, patted dry and pierced all over with a skewer

350ml dry white wine

1 whole garlic bulb, top fifth cut off to expose the cloves

6 large, mild red chillies, cut in half lengthways and deseeded

6 banana shallots, peeled

2 cinnamon sticks, roughly crushed

4 aubergines, green tops trimmed

1½ tbsp roasted and salted peanuts, roughly chopped

3 spring onions, green ends very finely sliced on an angle

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely cut into julienne strips

2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely sliced

1 tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar, or normal rice-wine vinegar

For the marinade

Flaked sea salt and black pepper

1½ tbsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted

1 tbsp Szechuan pepper

1¾ tsp chilli flakes

5 small garlic cloves, peeled

5 black garlic cloves

90ml soy sauce

60g soft dark brown sugar

65ml Chinkiang black vinegar, or normal rice-wine vinegar

Put the lamb skin side up in a 35cm x 25cm high-sided baking tray, then rub all over with a tablespoon of flaked salt and plenty of pepper. In a spice grinder or mortar, blitz or grind the cumin, Szechuan pepper and chilli to a coarse powder. Add both garlics and the soy sauce, and blitz or pound to a smooth paste. Tip into a bowl, stir in the sugar and vinegar, then massage all over the lamb. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate, ideally for two days and at least overnight.

Take the lamb out of the fridge two hours before you want to cook it, so it comes up to room temperature. Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/320F/gas 2½. Surround the lamb with the wine, 500ml water, the garlic bulb, chillies, shallots and cinnamon. Roast for an hour and a half, then baste the lamb and cover tightly with foil. Return to the oven and roast, covered, for four hours more, until very soft. Turn up the heat to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5, remove the foil, baste the lamb again and roast for another 15 minutes, until browned and slightly caramelised. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then skim off as much fat as possible from the top of the cooking juices.

Half an hour before the lamb is ready, cut the aubergines into 2cm-thick x 7cm-long batons, then toss in a large bowl with two and a half tablespoons of flaked salt. Fill a large saucepan with enough water to come 3cm up the sides and bring to a boil. Put a large steamer over the pan, then lay in the aubergines and cover with the lid (or seal well with foil). Turn down the heat to medium-high and steam for 18 minutes, until very soft but holding their shape. Transfer the steamer basket to the sink and leave to drain for a few minutes.

Transfer the aubergines to a large bowl with the peanuts, spring onions, ginger and coriander. Remove the chillies and garlic from the lamb. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins, and add to the aubergines with the chillies. Stir together gently, being careful not to break up the aubergines.

Transfer 75ml of the lamb cooking juices to a small saucepan on a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of Chinkiang vinegar and keep warm. Transfer the lamb, shallots and remaining jus to a large platter and arrange the aubergine beside it. Pour the warm jus and vinegar on top of the aubergines, and serve.

Potato gratin with coconut, chilli and lime

This is lighter than a dauphinoise or boulangère, so works very well with the fatty lamb. If you’re making the whole of today’s Christmas spread in one oven, bake the gratin ahead of time and reheat in a very hot oven just before serving. Top with the aromatics and zest just as you serve, and not before.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yotam Ottolenghi’s potato gratin with coconut, chilli and lime. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

Prep 25 min

Cook 110 min

Serves 6

5 banana shallots, peeled and cut into 5mm-thick slices

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

Flaked sea salt and black pepper

1.4kg slightly waxy potatoes (I used yukon gold), skin on, cut into 5mm-thick slices (use a mandoline, ideally)

100g coconut cream, gently melted until liquid

3 limes – zest finely grated, to get 1½ tsp, then juiced, to get 60ml

200ml vegetable stock

For the aromatics

150ml olive oil

2 red chillies, finely sliced into rings

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced (on a mandoline, ideally)

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely cut into julienne strips

5 spring onions, green ends finely sliced at an angle



Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put the shallots, garlic, oil and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a 28cm ovenproof saute pan on a medium heat. Fry for eight to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and deeply golden, then tip into a large bowl. Keep the pan to be used again (no need to clean it).

Put the potatoes, coconut cream, lime juice, two teaspoons of salt and plenty of pepper in with the shallots and mix very gently, taking care not to break up the potato slices. Lay a quarter of this mixture in the saute pan – use any smaller or broken slices of potato at this stage, and save the larger, whole slices for the top – and spread out in an even layer. Lay the remaining potato mixture in a spiral on top of this base layer, with each slice at an angle and overlapping the next. Pour on the stock, cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the aromatics. Heat the oil in a medium pan on a medium flame, then gently fry the chilli, garlic and ginger for five minutes, stirring once in a while, until the garlic is just starting to turn golden. Add the spring onions, fry for two minutes more, until the garlic is a light golden brown and the chilli aromatic, then transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon, to stop them cooking further; reserve the aromatic oil.

Remove the gratin from the oven and discard the foil. Drizzle 60ml aromatic oil evenly over the top, then return to the oven uncovered and bake for 50 minutes more. Turn up the heat to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 for the last five minutes, until the top is golden brown and crisp.

Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, top with the fried aromatics, lime zest and a generous pinch of flaked salt, and take to the table.

Gingery cucumber salad

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yotam Ottolenghi’s gingery cucumber salad. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

A simple, crunchy and sharp pickled salad to balance the richness of all the protein and carbs. Chinkiang vinegar is a rice-based black vinegar that you’ll find in any good Asian supermarket. It has a very particular taste that’s both acidic and umami all at once. If you can’t find it, use rice-wine vinegar with a touch of soy mixed in instead, though that would mean the dish is no longer gluten-free.

Prep 10 min

Marinate 2 hr 20 min

Cook 5 min

Serves 6

2 large cucumbers, cut in half lengthways, watery centres scraped out and discarded

Flaked sea salt

2 small garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar, or normal rice-wine vinegar with a touch of soy sauce

3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Cut the cucumber into roughly 1.5cm chunks. Add to a bowl with two teaspoons of flaked salt, stir and set aside for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding any liquid, then return the cucumber to the bowl with the garlic, lime, vinegar and two-thirds each of the ginger and spring onions. Leave to marinate for two hours. To serve, toss through the coriander and the remaining ginger and spring onions, and sprinkle over a quarter-teaspoon more salt.

Fiona Beckett’s wine recommendation

You need a bright, juicy red such as an Aussie shiraz or new world pinot noir with these bold, spicy flavours: Mahana Gravity Pinot Noir 2016 (£11.99 on the mix-six deal at Majestic, 14%) fits the bill perfectly.