If there’s a nation that knows how to enjoy good food better than the Italians, I’ve yet to meet them. Nowhere else have they made the family meal such an art form.

You’ll find whole generations – from the grandmother in her black shawl to the babies being passed from lap to lap – sitting around the same table chatting and eating, and eating and chatting, the noise of their conversation increasing with every course. It’s a really enjoyable way of living – and equally rewarding for the cook, too.

I guess the closest we come to that kind of conviviality is at Christmas, which is the one time most of us still sit down to eat as an extended family. So, this year, I’ve turned to Angela Hartnett, head chef of Murano and York & Albany, for a bit of Italian inspiration. Her mother’s side of the family is Italian through and through, and that has shaped her style of cooking.

If you’re accustomed to the Italian way of eating, you will know that a meal often revolves around meat, particularly in the Emilia-Romagna region, where Angela is from.

It’s common to start with a selection of cured hams, followed by pasta with a meat sauce, and then move on to a hearty stew or grilled cut of meat. But, apart from a basket of bread on the table, Italians don’t stuff themselves with additional carbohydrates such as potatoes with the main course – it’s usually just salad or simple vegetables.

Game is just as popular, if not more so, in Italy, where you can expect to find it served in dishes such as the guinea fowl with lentil ragout below. You will also find spicy flavours creeping into some of Angela’s recipes, inspired by the cooking of southern Italy, where there is a strong Moorish influence. The red snapper with spiced couscous and golden raisins demonstrates this well.

Italians don’t generally conclude with a dessert but, when they do, they are likely to go to a local shop and buy one. However, this is definitely not the case in Angela’s family. Her grandmother’s zabaglione is always a big hit at Christmas – although I’m sure that’s partly down to the amount of alcohol that goes into it. For something a little more refreshing, the grappa granita with mango and papaya won’t disappoint either.

Christmas menu

Nibbles: Parma ham and fig crostini

Starters: Pumpkin veloute with parmesan toast ; clam linguine

Main courses: Guinea fowl with lentil ragout ; red snapper with spiced couscous and golden raisins

Vegetables: Caramelised raddichio di Treviso with grated pine nuts ; roasted root vegetables with sage and garlic ; onions stuffed with pancetta, porcinin and chestnuts

Desserts: poached winter fruits with melting zabaglione ; grappa granita with mango and papya

Get Gordon to cook your goose...

Gordon Ramsay and Angela Hartnett will be appearing at Gordon Ramsay presents Taste of Christmas at ExCel, London, December 4-7 - a celebration of the best in Christmas food, drink and entertaining, including cookerydemonstration, wine tastings and a live show. www.tasteofchristmas.com

Ten Times Magazine readers can win VIP tickets for the day of their choice and will be able to meet Gordon Ramsay and put their Christmas culinary conundrums to him in person. To enter click here after midnight, tonight November 21.

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