festive veg

You’ve gotta love your veg

I’m starting to feel l like the veg has been getting overlooked more and more over the last few Christmases. Everything just gets bunged in the oven smothered in honey mustard, which is delicious but I’m getting TIRED of it! It’s time that we gave it a lil revamp to pump up the side dishes at Christmas. This is my xmas veg masterclass.

Carrots

It’s a little bit embarrassing how much butter I use in this recipe. Like, it’s a lot. But if you can’t do it at Christmas, when can you bab?! For these delicious *healthy* carrots, you’re going to need:

  • 250g/9oz unsalted butter, cubed
  • 8 small carrots, peeled but left whole
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves garlic, bashed but in their skins
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp red wine or moscatel vinegar

Chuck all of your butter, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic, cumin seeds, maple syrup and vinegar into a small pan (you want it just big enough to fit the carrots in). Season well with salt and pepper, then bring to a bubble and leave until the butter browns. Tip in the carrots and swirl the pan to coat in the buttery goodness. Scoop all of the spices up and pop them on top of the carrots, then put on a lid and leave to gently simmer away until the carrots are tender.

Parsnips

I LOVE a parsnip. They’re super sweet and starchy, and soak up all of the delicious flavours of the chilli and honey I put on them. Plus, this is a great way to use your air fryer to make a bit of space in your oven on Christmas Day! For your ‘snips, you’re going to need:

  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
  • 1 tbsp butter, melted
  • 5 fat parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise
  • Salt and pepper

In a small pan, warm together the honey, chilli flakes and garlic with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Leave to infuse over a medium high heat for a few minutes until the honey goes a pale red colour.

Place all of the parsnips into a large mixing bowl, then pour over the melted butter and hot honey. Give the parsnips a really good toss in the honey and butter, then preheat your air fryer to 180ºc/350ºf for around 5 minutes. Pour in all of the parsnips and arrange as a single layer in the airfryer basket. Roast for 8 minutes, then pour over any remaining butter and honey from the mixing bowl. Return the basket to the air fryer for another 8 minutes, then give them a check – if your parsnips are huge, they might need a few more minutes of cooking. They’re done when they’re nicely coloured and tender all the way through.

Cabbage

I know, the greens are usually the boring bit of a roast dinner. I love it because there’s only so much fat and carb a girl can take without a bit of green. I do always add in some bacon and fattiness, I’m not a monster. For this delicious cabbage, you’ll need:

  • 1/2 large savoy (or 1 whole small) cabbage, quartered and core removed
  • 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
  • 1 small handful hazelnuts, roughly ch0pped
  • 50g/1.5oz unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp sage and onion stuffing mix
  • 100ml/2.5oz chicken stock

Cut your cabbage into thick strips (around 1 inch thick), and do the same with the bacon rashers. Tip the bacon into a cold frying pan, then bring up to a medium high heat to render out the bacon fat. Chuck in the butter, and when it’s foaming add the dry stuffing mix and chopped hazelnuts. Fry for 2 minutes until the stuffing has absorbed the butter, then stir through the sliced cabbage. Pour over the chicken stock then cook for 2-3 minutes until the cabbage has softened slightly. Remove from the heat and finish cooking in the residual heat of the pan. Serve up with the rest of your veg, then pile it all up high!