READY OR NOT: Suzanne Mullholland makes Christmas less stressful by prepping food way in advance (Image: Lauren Mclean/Getty and Andrew Hayes-Watkins)
The secret to a stress-free Christmas is getting ahead with the food, according to Suzanne Mullholland, otherwise known as The Batch Lady. It’s no fun being stuck in the kitchen when family and friends are enjoying festive tipples, gifts and TV specials in another room.
However, Suzanne discovered that batch cooking and freezing food makes Christmas much easier. She says: “I started to change gradually. I would make sure my roast potatoes were done, but I always felt like there was quite a lot that maybe I couldn’t do in advance.
“And then over the years, I’ve actually managed to do it all in advance. Everything.” November is the perfect time to start and also helps spread the cost of food for the festive period.
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Suzanne says: “If you happen to have a Friday morning or a Tuesday evening in November where you’re not doing anything, you can think, actually, I might get four recipes done for Christmas.” She has two types of recipes: “Either you ‘cook ahead’ – which means cooking it and putting it in the freezer, or ‘grab and cook’ which means you’re making it up raw, and then you’re putting it in the freezer.”
‘Cook ahead’
Or: What to cook, freeze and reheat on the day.
Accompaniments like bread sauce and cranberry sauce, as well as sides like roast potatoes and Brussel sprouts, can be fully cooked and frozen far in advance. It works well for starters too, think parsnip and apple soup, or desserts like panettone bread and butter pudding.
Suzanne says: “The whole point of freezer cooking is that you use recipes that are meant to be frozen. Those recipes are specifically created to make sure that they’re going to be delicious. A lot of things actually taste better if you’ve cooked them in advance.”
‘Grab and cook’
Or: What to prepare ahead, freeze but cook on the day.
“Prepping ahead is really that you’re getting it ready, but you’re not necessarily cooking it. You’re just getting all the ingredients ready together,” says Suzanne. For example, mixing the stuffing ingredients and putting into balls, before freezing uncooked, or wrapping the bacon around sausages for pigs in blankets.
She adds: “We’re still cooking Christmas dinner. We’re just not prepping everything from scratch.” You can do this for roast veg – parboil, cover them in oil, add any seasoning, then put them in the freezer, ready to be cooked on the day.
Her new book, The Batch Lady Saves Christmas, includes 100 budget-friendly, made-in-advance, freezable recipes – and she has shared how to prep that festive favourite, roast potatoes. “These made-in-advance roasties cook straight from frozen and are one of my most popular recipes ever,” she says.
Made-in-advance roast potatoes
Prep: 10 minutes, serves four to six
Ingredients:
1kg Maris Piper potatoes80g melted goose fat or 5 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil over a high heat.Cook for six or seven minutes, then drain and return the potatoes to the saucepan to allow to steam dry.Pour the melted goose fat or olive oil onto a tray, then add the hot potatoes. Turn to coat them thoroughly in the oil and season with salt and pepper.Flash-freeze the tray of potatoes for one hour to allow them to become firm, then transfer them to a large labelled freezer bag and freeze flat.
To oven cook from frozen: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Place a baking tray in the oven for three minutes to heat. Carefully remove from the oven and add the frozen potatoes to the hot tray. Cook for 40 to 50 minutes until golden.
To cook in an air fryer from frozen: Preheat the air fryer to 190°C. Add the frozen potatoes to the basket and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, shaking them every 10 minutes.
If cooking immediately, follow the preparations above until the end of step 3, then…
Using an oven: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Place a baking tray in the oven for three minutes to heat up. Carefully remove from the oven and add the oiled potatoes to the hot tray. Cook for 35 minutes until golden.
Using an air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 190°C. Add the oiled potatoes to the basket and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking them every 10 minutes.
Festive cookbooks
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The Batch Lady Saves Christmas by Suzanne Mulholland is half price on Amazon, priced £12.50. With 100 budget-friendly, made-in-advance, freezable recipes. The Get-Ahead Christmas Cook by Jane Lovett costs £28 at Waterstones. The ultimate stress-busting guide for the festive period with failsafe recipes, hints, tips and menus. Save more than 80% on Mary Berry’s Christmas Book Collection at Books4People. It’s down from £30 to just £4.99, plus an extra 20% off with the code SALE20. Save 21% on Jamie Oliver’s Christmas Cookbook, now £23.83 on Amazon. With 400+ pages of classic recipes, veggie alternatives and clever ways to use leftovers.
Prices correct at the time of publication.
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