Festive veg
The festive season is no excuse to skip your 5-a-day
I’m starting to feel 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, don’t get me wrong…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. SO, welcome to my xmas veg masterclass…
The masterclass starts now
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?! Said goodbye to those sad rounds of mushy carrot and hello to buttery, spiced wonder. These babies are soft, sweet and a bright addition to any plate this festive season.
PARSNIPS
Not a proper dinner with a good ole parsnip is it?! And 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! Because not only is this recipe delicious but it’s also convenient, time saving and leaves you hob/oven space for big birds, glorious roasties and giant Yorkshire puds.
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. Plus, I genuinely feel that this recipe will convince non cabbage-lovers that they can actually be swayed.
Check out the video tutorial here
Now you’ve got a little insight into how I enjoy my veg on Christmas day, why not try these recipes out yourself? I have step-by-step tutorials over on my YouTube channel, along with other festive faves and of course…potatoes.
Festive veg
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/festive-veg/
Ingredients
The carrots
- 250g 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
Metric
Imperial
The parsnips
- 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
Metric
Imperial
For the cabbage
- 1/2 large savoy (or 1 whole small) cabbage, quartered and core removed
- 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- 1 small handful hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 50g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp sage and onion stuffing mix
- 100ml chicken stock
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- For the carrots - 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.
- For the parsnips - 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.
- For the cabbage - 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!