Boxing Day Dinner for 6

Our answer

If you are cooking on Christmas Day as well as entertaining on Boxing Day then you may prefer to avoid anything too complicated and instead go for something using up turkey leftovers - the North American Salad from Feast (p60), Turkey Pilaff from Christmas (p144) or the Chinatown Chicken Salad from Kitchen (p228 but using turkey instead) are all light, low effort dishes with lots of flavour and colour. Alternatively you could cook a ham on Christmas Eve and serve it cold and thinly sliced on Boxing Day with Macaroni Cheese Deluxe from Christmas (p102) and a green salad or with baked potatoes and one of the seasonal salads from Christmas (p56-59).

If you are aiming for something more impressive then beef is a good option and beef fillet (tenderloin) is appropriately luxurious for the holiday season. Fillet of Beef with Red Wine and Anchovies from How To Eat (p382-383) can be cooked and then left to rest if you are enjoying a first course or some pre-dinner cocktails with your guests and just needs peppery rocket (arugula) and a potato gratin to go alongside. Sake Steak and Rice from Feast (p342, the method do a whole fillet in the note section at the side of the page) is another easygoing but impressive dish and goes well with plain boiled rice or Nigella's favourite of sushi rice (see Kitchen p18) and some quickly stir-fried spinach or bok choi with a little ginger and garlic.

For dessert trifle is quite popular over Christmas and Nigella has some deconstructed trifles which are easy and quick - try the Orange and Blackberry Trifle from Kitchen (p171) or the Ginger Passionfruit Trifle from Express (p226). A more traditional Boozy British Trifle can be found in Christmas (p42), but if you are going for something a bit more involved then tiramisu is one of Nigella's favourites and both the Tiramisu Layer Cake from Christmas (p93) and the Frangelico Tiramisu from Kitchen (p164) are eminently suitable for the season.