22 November 2010

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS VEGETABLE DISHES

SALAD ROUGE This is the recipe I want to be remembered for. It was created for a Cuisine magazine feast celebrating Christmas and has become a staple of many Christmas celebrations across New Zealand. Prepare everything ahead, refrigerate but bring back to room temperature before serving.

• 5 small red peppers, de-seeded, stalks and membranes removed and cut into wedges
• 3 small red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 4 medium beetroot
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into neat diagonal slices
• 2 large acid free tomatoes

For the dressing: * 1 orange, juice and zest cut in thin strips and blanched * 1 tablespoon runny honey * ¼ cup olive oil * salt and freshly ground black pepper * a few fresh basil leaves for garnish

Heat the oven to 180ºC and roast the pepper and onion wedges until soft and mellow (about 25 minutes.) Keep aside To prepare the beetroot, boil in water for about 40 minutes until tender, cool and remove the skins. Cut into rough chunks. To prepare the carrots, cook in salted water with a pinch of sugar for about 10 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Keep aside. Wash the tomatoes well and cut into neat chunks. Make the dressing by mixing everything together in a small screew top jar. Place the vegetables on a large white platter, and drizzle over the dressing. Garnish with a few torn basil leaves and serve at rooms temperature. Serves 10-12. Recipe by Lauraine Jacobs

ROAST ROOT VEGGIES Crisp roasted vegetables are an absolute must as part of Christmas feasting. By par-boiling the potatoes and kumara before they go in the oven, you will have really crispy roasted veggies. This is a dish that cannot be cooked ahead but you can prepare the vegetables, including the par-boiling ahead of time.

• 4 large roasting potatoes (Agria)
• 4 large kumara
• 1 kg pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
• 4 thick parsnips, peeled
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a handful of fresh thyme sprigs

Peel the potatoes and kumara and cut into even pieces. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water, add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes, and drain well. Cut the peeled pumpkin into chunks about the same size as the kumara and potatoes. Cut the parsnips into long slices, lengthwise. Heat the oven to 200ºC and place a large shallow roasting pan in the oven to heat. Add the olive oil to the heated pan, tip all the vegetables in and toss to coat lightly in oil. Grind over pepper, add salt and thyme, and cook until crisp and golden (about 50 minutes). Turn onto a heated platter and serve at once. Serves 10-12.
Recipe by Lauraine Jacobs