3 Festive Vegetable Dishes

...that might be better than the main course!

My favourite part of any festive celebration, aside from dessert of course, are the vegetable dishes! Here are three of my favorites.

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Potato Bake

I love this method of slicing and then steaming the potatoes until almost cooked before assembling the potato bake. It means you can still get the potatoes beautiful and thin, while speeding up the final cooking time and avoiding the possibility of a slightly tough top layer of potato that can occur when it takes too long to cook in the oven. That said, it will still be delicious if you don’t have the ability to steam the potatoes, just have some kitchen foil on hand in case it starts to brown too quickly on the top.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

4 large potatoes such as Yukon gold or Dutch cream

1 yellow onion, halved and finely sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 c milk

1/2 c cream

1 1/2 T Dijon

4oz sharp cheddar, coarsely grated

Salt black pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Grease a casserole dish with butter- I use a 12 inch oval dish but a 9-11 inch round cake pan also works well.

• If steaming the potatoes first, get your steaming pot going while you cut the potatoes. Finely slice the potatoes into rounds 2mm thick- I like to use a mandolin for this.

• Steam the potatoes in a couple of batches (you can really pile them in there) until they are just under cooked- if they are too soft they will become difficult to handle and fall apart. Remove from the steamer and place into a bowl.

• Combine the milk, cream and mustard and then pour this mixture over the potatoes, agitating the potatoes a little to separate them.

• Set 1/2 of the cheese aside. Lay 1/3 of the potatoes into the casserole dish, followed by 1/2 of the onion and 1/2 of the garlic a sprinkle of the remaining cheese and a big pinch of salt. Repeat with another 1/3 of the potato and the remaining onion and garlic and cheese and then end with a layer of potato on top. Pour the milk and cream mixture over the top and then finish with the cheese that was set aside.

• Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

• If you do not steam the potatoes first, the process is the same but will take 60-90 minutes to cook- check that the potatoes are cooked by piercing with a knife. If it is very dark on top but not cooked, cover with foil and reduce the temperature slightly for the reminder of cooking.

Variations: sub half the potato for sweet potato; add a bunch of finely chopped chard or beet greens gently cooked down in a pan with a little olive oil. I made a version over the summer that had both sweet potato and beet greens and it was a real crowd pleaser!

Roasted Carrots with Feta, Herbs and Pistachios

Serves 4 as a side dish

1 lb carrots, the smaller the better

3oz feta, gently broken

A handful shelled pistachios

1 bunch parsley

a handful of dill

2 tsp pomegranate molasses

1/2 small red onion cut into thin half moons

2 T sherry vinegar

Olive oil

Salt

1 Lemon

Aleppo pepper to serve, optional

• Preheat the oven to 400F/200C

• Wash the carrots and peel if they need it- if the carrots are very small and sweet there is no need to peel them, just wash well. If they are very small (the size of a finger) leave them whole, other wise cut them lengthwise into quarters. Toss with a tablespoons of olive oil or so and a good pinch of salt. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until softened and starting to caramelize.

• Make a quick pickle with the onion: in a small bowl combine the red onion, sherry vinegar and a good pinch of salt and set aside to soften until you are ready to assemble the salad.

• Toast the pistachios by placing on a tray and roasting in the oven for 5 minutes or until they turn a bright green- pistachios turn a dull brown rather quickly so keep an eye on them. Once removed from the oven, chop them roughly with a knife.

• To assemble the salad, separate the herb leaves from the stems, set the stems aside to use in another dish (they are good finely chopped and thrown in soups or grain salads). Place the carrots, pistachios, pickled onion, herbs and broken feta into a bowl. Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Gently toss to combine everything being mindful not to over mix or it will become flat. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with a little Aleppo pepper if using.

Roasted Cauliflower, Castelvetrano Olive, Date and Celery Salad

serves 4-6 as a side dish

I love this salad. It’s is sweet and savoury with lots of good textural interest. I have listed the almonds as optional, they are a nice addition but the salad is still really good without them.

1 head of cauliflower

Olive oil

1 bunch parsley

6-8 Dates (preferably Medjool), seed removed and cut into smallish pieces

2 sticks of celery

Handful of Castelvetrano olives, seed removed and halved

1/2 cup flakes almonds, toasted in the oven until golden (optional)

1 Lemon

Olive oil

• preheat oven to 400F/ 200C

• Cut the cauliflower into large bite-size pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with plenty of salt and spread out on a roasting fry with plenty of space between pieces- this will help the cauliflower to become crisp as it roasts rather than just soggy. Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes, turning once, until it is mostly dark golden brown, but still nice and juicy. This may take more or less time depending on your oven. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

• Slice the celery on a sharp angle into thin slices and place in a bowl. Remove the leaves from the stems of the parsley and place in the bowl, saving the stems for another use (finely chopped in grain salad or soup is great). Add the dates and olives followed by the roasted cauliflower. Squeeze over the lemon and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Toss gently together before transferring to a serving plate. Top with flaked almonds if using.