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Sunday, 27 December 2015

Christmas Dinner: Part 4, Christmas Veg

A vegetarian's annual palm-off. And a meat eater's annual over-eating relief.
1)As these take longest to cook, start with them. Peel and chop 2 small butternut squash and place them in a roasting tin with some unpeeled garlic cloves (they roast and go sweet and soft, so you can crush them as you eat) and oil to coat.
2)Peel and chop some parsnips into long strips, and de-stalk them if they're really woody. Put them in a tin with some goose fat, just to make it harder to be vege in my family, and peel and chop up about 2 bramley apples per kg of parsnips for extra tanginess, as parsnips can often be too sweet and cloying. Drizzle with 2 tbsp runny honey and sprinkle with salt. I would even maybe add some lemon juice to serve in hindsight.
3)Roast them both for about 45 minutes at 180 ish  (it can just roast with everything else so don't fret about the temperature) turning them a few times.
4)For the much underrated sprout,  ensure you don't overcook them as that's what makes them have a vile texture and a farty taste. Steam them for about 4 minutes, testing them as you go. In the meantime,  toast about 100g walnuts and the same of cooked, peeled chestnuts until toasty and fragrant, then toss the sprouts in. Cook the sprouts until they go crispy too, then loosen everything with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
P.S: I have no prejudice against vegetarians, I love the creativity of their meals and quite often cook vege food.


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