Originally published in print December 2020.

We asked TN2 food writers to tell us about the unusual or unconventional foods that they enjoy with a traditional Christmas dinner. Read about the results below!

Marinated lamb chops 

Over the years I’ve come to realise that there is no such thing as a ‘Classic’ Christmas dinner. What I mean by this is that every family tends to have something a little different at the dinner table. Given my name, you’d be forgiven for assuming I’m Asian, more specifically sub-continental Asian, but you’d be right. We have a lot of classics on our table: cranberry sauce, glazed ham, roasties, brussel sprouts, gravy, and the undeniable king – stuffing (don’t @ me). One substitution we make is roast chicken in for turkey; we just don’t like it at all. The unusual appearance on our table is curry-marinated lamb chops. Yep. We have the salty glazed ham, the moist roast chicken and the exciting kick of spiced lamb chops. They just add something a little different to Christmas dinner and it gives a barbaric release from the knife-and-fork formality of it all. We trialled so many other meats, in fact going as far as having goose a few years ago, but lamb chops are an absolute winner. They’re like red meat chicken wings because you grip the bone, take a massive chunk out and there’s no way you don’t end up with a smear of marinade on your cheeks. It just lifts the dinner when you can have another option that isn’t flavoured with the classic thyme, rosemary and sage. It’s our subtle way of imparting our heritage and culture on a very Western tradition. 

 Hot sauce 

Frank’s hot sauce’s slogan of “I put that s*** on everything” is particularly apt given that for me, the Christmas table isn’t complete without it. Although I spare the turkey the honour (horror?) of being doused in hot sauce, the combination of potatoes with a little melted butter and kick of Frank’s is a favourite, and reminiscent of the sauce that Buffalo wings are usually tossed in. While Frank’s is a classic, Inferno hot sauce is a close second. My favourite is the Junior hot sauce, which is a little less tangy than Frank’s, but still has piquant haberno kick which is great for livening up vegetables like sprouts. If you’re feeling brave, you could sample Inferno’s Extreme Hot Sauce, or their Voodoo Reaper, although at 50% Carolina Reaper Chilli, this may not be one to try at home. Failing that, you could always opt for a Christmas day Bloody Mary with lashings of Tabasco and a sprinkle of paprika.