Nigella's Tips For A Frugal Yet Festive Holiday

Published December 11, 2011 at 11:01 PM CST

Just because you don't want to spend a lot over the holidays doesn't mean you don't want to enjoy yourself. In her book Nigella Christmas, chef Nigella Lawson has plenty of tricks for making food festive yet frugal.

"At key times of the year like the holidays, what one really wants are the simpler, more traditional foods," Lawson tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "I don't know that I want anything giddyingly fancy."

When you're cooking for a family of all ages, it's hard to please everyone. Lawson says that when you're feeding both a 7-year-old and a 70-year-old, keep it simple and "multigenerational."

For an appetizer, Lawson suggests "fully loaded" potato skins — with sour cream, grated cheese, scallions, Worcestershire sauce and bacon bits. "I think you need a lot of carbohydrates. [It] may be unfashionable, but it's cold, and maybe you're drinking a lot," Lawson says.

For a main dish, Lawson offers the recipe for a crowd-pleasing pumpkin and goat cheese lasagna (recipe below). There's no meat, which will please the vegetarians at your table, and will also cut back on costs. It's inexpensive, but it still looks pretty on the table.

"A huge tray of lasagna always is pretty festive," Lawson says. "... It's very basic, the sweet and the sharp ... there's the tangy sauce and then of course that incredible comforting smoothness of a lasagna."

Frugal holidays don't have to mean sober holidays either. Lawson recommends the "Poinsettia" — a straightforward drink that won't force you to go out and buy half a dozen different liqueurs. All you need is a bottle of Prosecco (or any fizzy dry wine), a half cup of any orange liqueur and two cups of cranberry juice.

If you dust a bit of powdered sugar through a sieve on top of anything, it suddenly looks more expensive.

"With the orange liqueur in it, not only is it fantastic, but the dangerous thing is it doesn't taste alcoholic," Lawson says. "I'm just warning everyone now."

No holiday dinner is complete without dessert — Lawson suggests trying a sticky gingerbread (see recipe below.) It's very easy to make. ("You just put all the relevant ingredients into a saucepan, you heat it, and then stir everything together," Lawson says.) And it's OK to bake ahead of time — leaving it sitting for a day or two will just make it stickier. "It's so wonderful just with a cup of tea or coffee," Lawson says, and it's easy to bring over as a gift if you're visiting friends.

If you're serving the gingerbread at a dinner party, Lawson suggests classing it up a little with "a taste of the tropics." Cube some mangos and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top of the gingerbread.

And here's a little secret: "If you dust a bit of powdered sugar through a sieve on top of anything, it suddenly looks more expensive," Lawson says.

There you go. Merry Christmas.

Recipe: Pumpkin and Goat's Cheese Lasagne

Serves 12-15

For the pumpkin filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

8 sage leaves

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

12 cups cubed pumpkin flesh (this is from a 5 lb pumpkin or about half a decent-sized pumpkin, a proper eating one not the Halloween king, peeled, seeded and cut to 1-inch rough cubes)

1/3 cup dry vermouth or white wine

1/4 cup water

1 x 14 oz can diced tomatoes

salt and pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a shallow Dutch oven or cast-iron braiser and fry the sage leaves over a gentle heat for about 2 minutes.

Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pan and fry gently for another 10 minutes or so.

Add the pumpkin pieces, turn well in the oniony oil and, after about 5 minutes, add the vermouth (or wine), the water and diced tomatoes. Simmer, covered, for an hour, stirring occasionally so the pumpkin cooks evenly. Taste for seasoning – I tend to add quite a bit of salt here – and leave to cool.

For the tomato sauce:

3 cups canned or bottled tomato sauce, pref. organic with no added salt

2 cups water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 tablespoon table salt

good grinding of pepper

Simply pour the tomato sauce and water into a large jug or bowl, and stir in the sugar, salt and pepper, whisking it all together.

For the cheese layer:

1lb soft fresh goat's cheese (chevre)

13/4 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

3 eggs

good grating of fresh nutmeg

12 fresh lasagne sheets (approx. 1 1/4 lbs)

1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese

1 cup pine nuts, toasted in a hot dry pan

salt and pepper

In a separate bowl beat the goat's cheese and ricotta with the eggs, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400F, slipping in a large cookie sheet as you do.

To assemble the lasagne, begin by putting 2 cups of the cold tomato sauce in the bottom of a roasting pan (measuring approx. 14x10x2 1/2 inches).

Then layer with a third of the lasagne sheets, overlapping them well (Italians do it with the pan horizontal but the pasta vertical, if that makes sense, but I don't know that it truly matters ...). Leave the rest of the tomato sauce aside for the time being.

Layer a third of the pumpkin filling over the lasagne, and dollop on a third of the cheese mixture, coaxing with a rubber spatula. It won't cover completely; think more of spreading blobs about. Then start again with a layer of lasagne, followed by pumpkin, then the cheese. Repeat once more – lasagne, pumpkin, and the last of the cheese mixture.

Pour the remaining cold tomato sauce over, letting it sink down and be absorbed in the layers.

Slice and chop the mozzarella and dot over the top.

Bake in the oven, on the cookie sheet, for 1 hour. Once baked, take it out of the oven and let it stand for 15-30 minutes to make cutting and serving easier. (I love this when it's stood for an hour or so, too.) As you cut and slice, you will notice a shallow tomatoey cheesey pool at the bottom of the pan; bread dunked into this is gorgeous.

Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the lasagne, and cut into squares to serve.

Side Bar: I use a soft goat's cheese log, often sold as chèvre, that has no skin and a texture more like that of a goat's curd cheese.

Make ahead tip:

Up to 2 days ahead, make the pumpkin filling, leave to cool and keep, covered, in the refrigerator. Make the cheese layer and keep, covered, in the refrigerator. When ready to use, assemble the lasagne and cook as directed.

Freeze ahead tip:

Cook, cool and freeze the cooked pumpkin for up to 1 week. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to use, assemble the lasagne and cook as directed.

Recipe: Sticky Gingerbread

Makes 20 squares

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 cup molasses

2/3 cup packed soft dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 2 teaspoons warm water

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs, beaten to mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a roasting pan or ovenproof dish (approx. 12 x 8 x 2-inches) with aluminum foil or parchment paper (if using foil, grease it too).

In a saucepan, melt the butter over a lowish heat along with the sugar, syrup, molasses, fresh and ground gingers, cinnamon and cloves.

Take off the heat, and add the milk, eggs and dissolved baking soda in its water.

Measure the flour into a bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients, beating until well mixed. It will be a very liquid batter, so don't worry. This is part of what makes it sticky later.

Pour it into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until risen and firm on top. Try not to overcook, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway will carry on cooking as it cools.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the gingerbread cool in the pan before cutting into 20 squares, or however you wish to slice it.

Make ahead tip:

Make the gingerbread up to 2 weeks ahead, wrap loosely in parchment paper and store in an airtight container. Cut into squares as required.

Freeze ahead tip:

Make the gingerbread, wrap in parchment paper and a layer of aluminum foil then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours and cut into squares.