Christmas Veg Recipes :
ROAST POTATOES
You'll need:
As many potatoes as you want to eat!
sea salt
oil, lard, or fat from the meat or poultry, to roast
Method:
Oven heat at gas 7 or 8 (450 degrees F, 230 degrees C)
Make sure the oil for roasting, (about 1cm deep) is in the tin heating-up in the hot oven.
Peel and cut the potatoes into similarly sized pieces (not too small)
Parboil them gently for no more than 10 minutes - they should be just beginning to soften on the outside)
Drain them then, using a fork, gently 'distress' the surface of the potatoes to make them 'fluffy'.
Carefully place them in the hot fat and baste them well.
Sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt
Return the tin to the oven and roast until they are golden brown - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Turn them over half way through cooking.
ROAST MIXED VEG
for 6 - 8 people
You'll need:
Try combining an equal-quantities mix of carrots, parsnips, celeriac and sweet potato (about 1.4kg in total)
4 cardamon pods (open and crushed lightly)
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
150ml olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to gas 6 (200 degrees C, 400 degrees F)
Put a roasting tin, containing the olive oil, into the oven to warm.
Cut the carrots and parsnips into strips (not too thin or short; keep them chunky)
Cut the celeriac and sweet potato into bite-sized chunks (not too small!).
Place the vegetables in the hot oil, turning them to make sure that they're completely covered in oil.
Roast them in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring and turning them a couple of times.
After 30 minutes take them out of the oven and add the brown sugar and cardamon pods, stirring carefully to distribute them evenly.
Return to the oven and bake for a further 30 minutes.(Keep an eye on them to make sure that they brown well but don't start to disintegrate)
Remove from oven and season to taste.
SPROUTS
Almost mandatory with Christmas dinner, but you can liven them up a little with this recipe!
You'll need:
1kg brussels sprouts
250g thick, smoked bacon or gammon.
50g - 75g butter
60ml - 90ml double cream
3 teaspoons caraway seeds
salt and black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
Method:
Trim and shred the sprouts into fine ribbons.
Using a wok cook the bacon over a high heat until the bacon browns and the fat runs.
Stir in the butter.
Add the sprouts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over a high heat stirring all the time.
Add the cream and caraway seeds and continue stirring and cooking for another 1 minute.
Remove from heat and add seasoning and nutmeg.
This dish is best served immediately.
If you fancy a change then try Savoy or white cabbage instead of the sprouts
