December Recipes
Beetroot & Butternut Squash Salad
1kg raw beetroot
1 ¼kg large butternut squash, peeled and deseeded
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
50ml olive oil
Horseradish cream
175ml soured cream
3 tbsp creamed horseradish
85g watercress, large stalks removed
Heat oven to 180C fan/gas 6. Peel the beetroot and cut each into 8 wedges. Cut the onions and butternut squash into roughly the same size. Spread out in a large roasting tin. Mix the vinegar and sugar until dissolved, then whisk in the oil. Pour over the vegetables, toss and roast for 40-45 mins until charred and soft, stirring halfway through cooking.
To make the horseradish cream, mix together the soured cream, horseradish, lemon juice and some seasoning.
To serve, put the roasted veg in a large bowl or on a platter, followed by the watercress, then drizzle over the horseradish cream. Serve warm or cold.
Turkey Schnitzels & Potato Salad
Salad
2 medium baking potatoes (about 450-500g total)
1 carrot
70g frozen peas
3 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
2 small gherkins, finely chopped, plus a splash of their vinegar
½ bunch dill, finely chopped, plus a few sprigs to serve
Schnitzels
2 turkey breast steaks
30g plain flour
1 medium free-range egg, beaten with a pinch of salt and a splash of milk
80g breadcrumbs (fresh or panko)
Ketchup
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp cranberry sauce
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Peel the potatoes, cut into 3cm pieces, then boil for 15 minutes. Peel the carrot, dice into 1cm cubes, then add to the water when the potatoes have 5 minutes left. Add the frozen peas with just 1 minute to go. Drain them all, then add to a bowl with the mayonnaise, chopped gherkins and dill. Stir well with a wooden spoon until the potatoes start to mash into the mayonnaise, then taste and season with lots of salt, pepper and a splash of the gherkin vinegar. Put in the fridge to chill.
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Mix the ketchup and cranberry sauce and set aside.
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Bash the turkey escalopes flat between 2 sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin until evenly thin and flat. Set up 3 wide bowls or trays: one containing flour, one containing the egg beaten with milk and a pinch of salt and one for the breadcrumbs. Heat the oven to low.
Put oil in a large frying pan to 1cm deep, then let it heat up over a medium heat. Dust each escalope with flour, dip into the beaten egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs on both sides. Once hot, add a schnitzel to the oil and cook for a couple of minutes on each side until perfectly golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper on a tray and keep warm in the oven while you fry the second schnitzel. Serve sprinkled with salt and dill sprigs, with the Russian salad and ketchup on the side.
Crinkle Cookies
60g cocoa powder, sieved
200g caster sugar
60ml vegetable oil
2 large eggs
180g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 oranges, zested
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
50g icing sugar
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5
Mix the cocoa, caster sugar and oil together. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until fully combined.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, orange zest, mixed spice, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, then add to the cocoa mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. If it feels too soft, put in the fridge to chill for 1 hr.
Tip the icing sugar into a shallow dish. Roll heaped teaspoons of the dough into balls (about 20g each), then roll in the icing sugar to coat. Put the balls on one large or two medium baking trays lined with baking parchment, ensuring they’re evenly spaced apart.
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Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool – they will firm up as they cool, but still be fudgy in the centre. Will keep for up to four days in an airtight container.