Jamie's Christmas Shortcuts, Channel 4, review: Oliver's tried-and-tested tips for a stress-free feast
Hang on a minute. I’ve always thought “clementine” rhymed with “Valentine” but here is Jamie Oliver in Jamie’s Christmas Shortcuts (Channel 4) saying “clemen-teen” to rhyme with “seventeen”. Have I been mispronouncing it all my life? Maybe I should stick to satsumas.
Oliver talks about them a lot, because his latest Christmas recipes involve squeezing a clementine into the sauce for his cheesecake, mashing one into the butter for his vegetables, using one as a marinade for carrots and microwaving one with a clove and bayleaf before putting it in a turkey. I’m not familiar with that last tip.
The problem with Christmas cookery shows it that they all tread similar ground, but here Oliver provides a “handhold” for those nervous about tackling lunch – with some novel ideas. I’m not quite sure about the “shortcuts” of the title, because you can’t cut down the time it takes to cook the turkey and roast potatoes. But there were some nice extras, such as mashing butter with salt, pepper, chilli, thyme and – yes – clementine zest to melt over your veg.
Some interesting tips too, including putting vinegar on your parsnips before roasting them. Apparently it leaves them with a fragrant flavour. Nigella Lawson scandalised traditionalists when she recently suggested doing away with Christmas pudding. Oliver’s substitution was a baked cheesecake, although some of his younger guests appeared less than thrilled.
His vegetarian option looked delicious: baked squash stuffed with leeks and cheese. Or Gorgeous Cheesy Stuffed Squash, to give it its official title. I lost count of the times that Oliver called something “gorgeous”. He’s stopped bish-bash-boshing, but his command of the English language is still unique. “Just clank these up,” he said, gesturing at the carrots.
The programme had a lovely, woozy atmosphere and ended with a family meal. For once, there isn’t an accompanying book, and this two-part series feels more like a public service: Oliver helping to take the stress out of Christmas cooking.
