Christmas meals often end up taking their toll on our wallets and digestive system. In a new episode of La Plaça, Adrià Subirana, executive chef of Oyatsu Lap, explains how we can improve our Christmas meals with a more balanced and economical cuisine.

According to a report by the consultancy Deloitte, this year the average family will spend €165 on food and drink during the Christmas holidays. A considerable expenditure, given the current economic situation of many families.

But to enjoy a good Christmas meal it is not necessary to spend large sums of money, reused leftovers, vegetables and common sense are our allies. We must avoid overeating, as Subirana explains, “we have a bad tendency to prepare food for twenty people when there are only five of us”, and he also recommends “introducing seasonal vegetables that can reduce the cost considerably”.

The importance of a good chicken

The Christmas roast is a well-established dish in Catalan culinary culture that no home is complete without during the festive season. Chicken with plums and pine nuts is the basis of a very simple recipe with many possible variations, but as the chef of Oyatsu Lab points out, “we buy a good chicken that has a small breast and a fat thigh!“, chickens don’t fly, they walk, so “if it has a small thigh, this chicken didn’t move!”.

And for dessert, nougat? Not everyone is a fan of nougat, so Subirana offers us a good option to maintain the nougat tradition, but adapted to lighter tastes, preparing “a nougat mousse with yoghurt, cream and mascarpone” which can be decorated with a biscuit or a bit of fruit.

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