Braised Red Cabbage

Currently cooking in my oven ready for tomorrow's Festive feast, braised red cabbage is one of my favourite accompaniments. Sweet and savoury, it goes so well with everything, from your traditional turkey, goose or duck to simple pan fried sausages.

The key is to get the spices, sugar and vinegar correct so that you get a mouthful of sweet and savoury rather than top heavy on one or the other. Then simply place it in a low oven for a couple of hours. It can then be eaten straight from the pot or put aside and reheated for another day. Lovely.

Braised Red Cabbage

1 small red cabbage or half a large red cabbage, cored and sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 apples, cored and sliced
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
4 tbsp cider or red wine vinegar
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Salt and pepper
50g butter

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160C/GM3.
2 - Put all of the ingredients except for the butter into a large casserole dish and stir well. Bring to the heat on the hob.
3 - Dot with the butter and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for 2 to 2 and a half hours, checking each hour to see that it isn't cooking dry. if so, add a splash of water and stir.

Mushroom and Parsnip Soup with Peely Crisps

This is a simple soup with a classy finish. Don't throw away those spud peelings; simply heat up a little vegetable or sunflower oil in a pan and add the peelings for a minute or two until golden brown. These can then be placed on top of the soup for that 'restaurant' touch!

Mushroom and Parsnip Soup with Peely Crisps
Feeds 4

300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced
1 litre chicken stock, fresh or made from cube
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt or double cream

To make the peely crisps:
In a small pan, pour in 2 inches of sunflower or vegetable oil. Heat up and test it is ready by dropping in a piece of potato peel. If it is ready, it will fizz and rise to the surface. Add the rest of the peel and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring with a slotted spoon until crisp and and golden. Remove and place onto kitchen roll, season with a little salt and set aside until ready.

To make the soup:
1 - In a deep pan, heat the oil and add the mushrooms. Stir through until they begin to soften, then add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.
2 - Add the potatoes and parsnips along with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the parsnips and potato are soft.
3 - Use a hand blender or pour into a blender and whizz until the vegetables are thoroughly combined. Taste for seasoning and then stir in the Greek yoghurt or double cream.
4 - Serve in deep bowls with a pile of the peel crisps.

Beef and Root Vegetable Rosti Pie

Beef and Root Vegetable Rosti Pie
Feeds 4

This is adapted from Nigel Slater's Eat.

For the filling:
1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
500g stewing beef, cubed
Salt and pepper
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
5 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tbsp plain flour (I use gluten free)
500ml beef stock (either fresh or made from a cube)

For the topping:
1 small swede, grated
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 potato, peeled and grated
50g butter, melted
1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160C/GM3
2 - In a large non-stick pan, heat up the oil. Season the beef and quickly brown in the pan. Add the sliced onion, carrots and garlic and soften.
3 - Stir in the flour then add the stock. Bring to the simmer and then pour into a pie or gratin dish.
4 - For the topping, mix together the grated vegetables in a large bowl with the melted butter, mustard and salt and pepper. Top the pie filling then cover the dish with foil.
5 - Place on the middle shelf and cook for 2 hours. Remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes until the top is golden and crunchy.

Sesame and Poppy Seed Biscuits

This recipe is a slight amendment to Phil Vickery's from his book Seriously Good Gluten Free Cooking.

It's been a challenge helping my wife to adapt to her new diet, as well as find suitable recipes to keep things interesting. These little beauties aren't your 'dunking' biscuits, as they use rice flour and xantham gum combined with caramel and seeds to make a biscuit with the texture of brandy snaps. Sesame seed snaps! There you go.

Either way, they are lovely with a cuppa and amazing to scoop ice cream with. Enjoy.



Sesame and Poppy Seed Biscuits
Makes 12-14

125g icing sugar
25g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
30g rice flour
1 tsp xantham gum (available in most super stores now)
150g sesame seeds
50g poppy seeds
A pinch of salt

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 190C/GM5.
2 - Put the icing sugar, butter and syrup into a pan. Heat up to the boil, then fast boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3 - Remove from the heat then stir in the rice flour, xantham gum, seeds and salt. Combine thoroughly.
4 - Line a baking sheet with greaseproof baking parchment. Allow the mixture to cool slightly then form golf ball sized pieces of the mixture using teaspoons.
5 - Place onto the sheet, allowing lots of space (you will need to cook these in 2 batches in an average sized oven). Press down with a palette knife until flat and spread out. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. Allow to cool on the baking tray.

Carrot, Lentil and Orange Soup

A soup that takes 30 minutes from slicing to serving. Fresh and vibrant with the addition of paprika and just a hint of chilli, the orange adds an unusual but welcome zesty kick.

Carrot, Lentil and Orange Soup
Feeds 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and grated
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
A pinch of ground chilli
4 large handfuls of red lentils
750ml vegetable stock (fresh or from cube)
Juice squeezed from an orange
Salt and pepper

1 - Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and carrot and cook slowly for 10 minutes without colouring.
2 - Add the tomato puree and spices and stir through, cooking for 2 minutes.
3 - Add the lentils and stock, bring to the simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
4 - Blend to your preference (I prefer a bit of texture). Squeeze in the orange juice, taste for seasoning and serve.

Spanish Sausage,Pepper and Chick Peas

Spanish Sausage,Pepper and Chick Peas
Feeds 4

1 tbsp olive oil
8 quality pork sausages
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 red and green pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tsp ground chilli
1 tbsp smoked paprika
500ml tomato passata
1 tin of chick peas, drained
A little water
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil or parsley

1 - Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick sided pan and add the sausages. Quickly brown all over then remove and set aside.
2 - Add the onions and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until beginning to soften.
3 - Add the garlic and spices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
4 - Return the sausages and any juices along with the passata and chick peas. Bring the the simmer and add a little water. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
5 - Taste for seasoning then serve I generously with fresh torn basil or chopped parsley.

Chocolate, Coffee and Almond Truffle Cake

Do you want a dessert that is incredibly easy to make? Impressive enough to serve at a dinner party? Unbelievably delicious? And packed full of calories?

Okay, I'm not exactly selling it with that last sentence. But this dessert qualifies for each and every one of them, including the last, and is all the more delicious for it. It takes hardly any time to make, no cooking, can be made in advance and served to eager guests to end the dinner in style. Just remember to go for a run the next day...

Chocolate, Coffee and Almond Truffle Cake
Serves 8-10

300g 70%-80% chocolate
700ml double cream
100ml milk
4 tsp instant coffee or a measure of espresso
50g caster sugar (double the quantity if you prefer your chocolate less bitter)
100g blanched almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

1 - Prepare a 20" spring-form cake tin by lightly oiling it and lining it with cling film.
2 - Heat up the milk then stir in the coffee and sugar.
3 - Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl over a pan of hot water (bain marie). Heat gently until melted.
4 - Whip the cream until it just begins to thicken and slightly stiffen.
5 - Fold the melted chocolate into the double cream followed by the milk until thoroughly combined.
6 - Tip the almonds into the cake tin to cover the base. Spoon over the chocolate and cream then gently tap onto a work surface to remove any air bubbles.
7 - Place into a fridge for a couple of hours. When ready to serve, simply invert onto a plate and remove the cling film. Serve with a spoon of Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. The cake will keep, covered in a fridge, for 3 days.