day 24: a very merry nigella-christmas, part one
It has been a while since my last entry, but if you’ve been following me on social media then you’ll know only too well that I decided to take a little break from the computer - which, of course, equated to a little break from writing too. Ten-hour-work-days at the computer can make even the recreational web-shop browsing and hobby-writing more chore than fun, and I am sure many of you who spend all day at a computer will know exactly what I mean.
I appreciate there may be some ambiguity as to what constitutes a ‘day’ in 365 Days of Nigella, so I have decided to define a day within this challenge as a single entry to this blog: it could include one, two, or more, Nigella recipes but will be defined by me sitting down to witter on about my experiences and gains from this cookalong - as, ultimately, these are the objectives.
Anyway, Happy New Year from me to you!
Although Christmas was different to usual, as it was for many of us, what did not change for me was that I still got to spend many merry hours in the kitchen. My Christmas culinary choices are fairly traditional, and I don’t often stray far from what I spend all year looking forward to, but this year I decided to use my 365-day Nigella cookalong to expand on the familiar and introduce a few newbies to the menu (which I’ll cover over the next couple of ‘days’).
In our house, we honour Polish traditions on Christmas Eve and British Traditions on Christmas day; this is to say, in summary, we eat no meat on Christmas Eve and stick with the traditional turkey feast on Christmas Day. Wigilia is the traditional Christmas Eve supper: we sit down at the sign of the first star and joyously eat our way through copious amounts of pierogi (filled with mushroom & sauerkraut), alongside an array of fish and vegetable dishes. Traditionally, this spread is comprised of twelve dishes, in memory of the twelve apostles, however, this year such amounts were not necessary - so I opted for a side of salmon, quickly roasted on high with tarragon, orange and dry white vermouth.
After seeing Nigella’s Cook Eat Repeat Christmas Special I could not stop thinking about Jansson’s Temptation and very quickly decided that this would be the main starch-side for our Wigilia supper. I’d like to take a second, before we move on, to say that this Christmas Special was the tonic I needed after the vexing year of 2020. I signed off from work, made a lunch-time Snowball in Heaven and watched, in gleeful wonderment, as Nigella soothingly cooked for us some her favourite Christmas comforts. And, from what I saw across social media, I believe many of you thought the same.
Nigella’s Janssons’s Temptation
When my copy of Cook Eat Repeat arrived in the post after publication I, of course, had a quick flick through and Jansson’s Temptation was definitely the jump-out dish on first perusals. It was actually this and Nigella’s Celeriac and Anchovy Gratin (among others) that made their impressions, which just reinforces so accurately how passionate I am about gratins.
Deciding to add this to our Wigilia supper was a rather last-minute decision, and if truth be told - I had already completed all of my Christmas food shopping. Holding fast to the 365 Days of Nigella mission brief, I ideally wanted to use Swedish ansjovis, but given my last-minute planning could source neither those nor the suggested herring alternative. I did a little bit of research and found that I could, with caution, substitute ansjovis in Jansson’s Temptation with regular anchovies. The suggestions came with warning notes to be careful with how many you use in case you end up with an inedible, or overly-rich, salty gratin, so for Nigella’s recipe I used just the one tin of regular anchovies instead of two tins of Swedish ansjovis.
Flavour musings
I spent a few years of my childhood in Scandinavia, Norway to be precise, and equal time avoiding pickled/jarred or marinated herring. I, therefore, cannot comment on how the use of regular anchovies affected the taste of this version of Jannson’s Temptation, but I can say that this was one of the best things I have ever eaten. My potato gratins are good, but this, this blew my mind. I have every intention of making it again with the Swedish ansjovis; a conviction I never thought I’d contemplate, let alone commit to in writing.
The umami depth of anchovies elevates the flavour of this gratin to a plane far higher than any I’ve been to before. Whether it is acceptable or not - or whether it even counts as Jansson's (if anchovies are used in place of ansjovis) - I believe I'll often include them in my gratins for as long as I continue to cook. As for any anchoviphobe guests that come to visit; well, they'll probably be none the wiser. Unless, of course, allergies are a factor - in which case I would of course omit.
These culinary revelations, and the passions they ignite in me, are why I so joyously and willingly make the effort, and take the time, to commit to this 365-day Nigella cookalong.
