Christmas dinner veggies
We've had the canapés, the starters and the turkey - now Phil Vickery is back showing us how to make the perfect accompaniment... yes, it's time for the veggies!
Plus Olly Smith has some festive ideas for after dinner drinks.
Roast potatoes
Serves: 6-8 personsPreparation time: 15 minutesCooking time: 1 hour, approx
Chefs can’t cook roast potatoes, this is Fern’s recipe with a tweek here and there!
The best way I have found to cook crispy, crunchy roast potatoes is to blanch them in boiling water until the edges start to crumble away.
Drain well, then cook in very hot dripping or goose or duck fat, and only turn them once. That really is it!.
Ingredients
1 kg peeled potatoes, Rooster or Maris Piper are good roasters.200g good beef dripping, duck, goose fat or lardsalt and freshly milled black pepperPre heat the oven to 200 Degrees C, Gas 7.
Place a pan of cold water on the stove and bring to the boil, add salt and re boil. Pop in the potatoes cut into large 1/4 ‘s. Bring back to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the outsides start to fall away, carefully drain.
Place the dripping in a baking tray, pop into the hot oven and heat for 10 minutes, or until just smoking
When drained, remove the tray from the oven carefully add the potatoes to the hot fat, season well with salt and pepper and pop into the oven, cook for 35-40 minutes
When the bottoms are very crisp and golden, turn over and return to the oven, cook for a further 35-40 minutes, until both sides are crisp and golden
The inside will be soft and powdery with 2 crunchy edges, perfect!.
Serve piping hot
Roasted honeyed carrots
Serves: 6-8 personsPreparation time: 10 minutesCooking time: about 1 hour
Ingredients
500g small carrots100mls vegetable oil2 tsp cumin seedsjuice 1 large lemonsalt and freshly milled black pepper2 tbsp clear honey
Method
Peel the carrots and top and tail
Split in half from top to tail, then cut into quarters
Heat the oil in a baking tin in a hot oven, 200 C, Gas 6-7, for about 10 minutes
Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the carrots, bring back to the boil and simmer for 1 minute
Drain well, then carefully lay in the very hot oil and season well with salt and pepper and return to the oven
Cook for 30 minutes, then carefully turn over and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until crispy on both sides
Pour on the honey, seeds and lemon juice over and cook for a further 5 minutes to glaze. They will burn very quickly, keep an eye on them.
Serve piping hot and golden brown
Brussels sprouts with apple butter glaze
Serves: 6-8 personsPreparation time: 20 minutesCooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
700g sprouts, tightly closed and brilliant green, trimmed100g unsalted butter6 small shallots, peeled and chopped finely1 large Bramley apple small dice250mls dry cider1 x 10g vegetable stock cubepepper
Method
Cook the sprouts in plenty of boiling water, until soft in the centre, about 10 minutes. They need to be slightly over cooked I think.
Or place into a medium sized bowl, add salt, pepper and 200mls water. Cover with film, make a couple of small holes and microwave for 5 minutes. Check and see if cooked, if not re cover and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Cool under cold water then drain really well. This can be done a few hours before.
Then you come to serve, there is only one way to warm them up, pop them in the microwave
Warm the butter and add the shallot and cook for 1 minute to soften, then add the apple and cook for 10 minutes until the apple softens
Add the cider and stock cube cook down til syrupy
When ready add the sprouts and coat well
Twenty minute braised red cabbage with smoked bacon and paprika
Serves: 6-9 personsPreparation time: 15 minutesCooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
100g unsalted butter2 small red onions, sliced6 rashers smoked back bacon, thinly sliced1 tbsp black onion seeds1 small red cabbage1 large glass tangerine or Satsuma juice2 tsp sweet paprikasalt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the butter in a large pan until it starts to bubble (but do not brown), then add the onion, bacon and seeds and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes
While the onions and bacon are cooking, remove all the outside leaves from the cabbage and discard
Cut the remaining cabbage into quarters and shred very thinly, wash well and drain thoroughly
Add the cabbage to the bacon and onions and stir, add the juice and paprika then cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
The cabbage will then stew in the butter and retained moisture
At the end of cooking, season, then tip into a large bowl and tuck in - the buttery juices are delicious I promise you, and all you need with it is crusty bread and a chunk of cheese
Roasted parsnips
Serves: 6-8 personsPreparation time: 10 minutesCooking time: about 1 hour
Ingredients
1kg parsnips, thats about 6-8 medium ones200mls oilsalt and freshly milled black pepper2 tbsp clear heather honey
Method
Peel the parsnips and top and tail
Split in half from top to tail, then cut into quarters, leave the core in
Heat the dripping or fat in a baking tin in a hot oven, 200 C, Gas 6-7, for about 10 minutes
Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the parsnips, bring back to the boil and simmer for 1 minute maximum, or, they will start to fall to pieces
Drain well, then carefully lay in the very hot dripping, season well with salt and pepper and return to the oven. Cook for 35 minutes, then carefully turn over and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until crispy on both sides.