Take 5 recipes: midweek wonders

Our food consultant Emma Marsden shares her simple recipes in the lead up to Christmas

 

Top-notch winter salad

Scrub a couple of whole beetroot, each around the size of a cricket ball. Quarter and trim (use clean rubber gloves otherwise your hands will be stained purple for days), then put in a roasting tin with a quartered red onion and a couple each of big carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks. Drizzle with oil, season and roast at 200°C/180°C fan oven/gas mark 6 for 30min. Roughly chop a chunk of country bread and add to the tin. Continue to roast for 10min until the veg is tender and the bread crisp. Put in a bowl, add a handful of chopped chicory and spinach and some soft goat's cheese. Pour a good glug of good-quality extra virgin olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar and season well. Whisk together and pour over the salad with a handful of chopped walnuts. Toss well and serve immediately. Serves 4

 

Simple pot-roast pheasant

Put a knob of butter and splash of oil in a large casserole pan and heat gently. Brown a pheasant all over until golden. Take out and put on a plate. Roughly chop an onion, a carrot and a stick of celery. Add to the pan and cook for 5-10min. Return the pheasant to the pan and pour in enough hot chicken stock to come halfway up the bird. Season well, tuck in a bay leaf and a couple of sprigs of thyme, then add a splash of white wine. Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for about 1hr or until the pheasant is cooked. It's the same method as checking a chicken - push a skewer into the thigh and the juices should run clear. Take the pheasant out of the pan, rest for 15min, then carve and serve with braised cabbage and creamy mash and some of the juices from the pan.

 

 

Hearty mixed bean stew

Chop an onion, a carrot and a stick of celery and fry in olive oil over a medium heat for about 10min until just golden. Stir in a crushed clove of garlic and cook for 1min. Throw in two cans of drained mixed beans and half a jar of passata. Pour in a mug of hot vegetable stock and squeeze a dollop of sundried tomato paste on top. Tuck in a large sprig of rosemary. Season well, then stir everything together; cover and simmer for 20min. Stir in a couple of handfuls of finely chopped cabbage and simmer for five more minutes.Add a splash of hot water at this point if it's looking a bit dry. Meanwhile, rub a garlic clove over a couple of slices of baguette and brush with oil. Toast lightly on each side. Put on a baking sheet and cover each with grated mature cheddar cheese. Grill until golden and bubbling. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with the cheese toasts. Serves 4

 

 

Chicken - Italian style

Slice a couple of large chicken breasts horizontally through the middle. Put a large sage leaf on top of each, then wrap a slice of Parma ham around. Season well. Heat a spoonful of oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken on each side. Add a mug of hot chicken stock, cover and simmer for 15-20min until the chicken is cooked. Melt a little butter in a large pan and add two or three large handfuls of chopped Swiss chard. Cook until tender. Season well and add a drizzle or two of double cream, a good grating each of nutmeg and parmesan. Toss everything together and serve with the chicken and bread to mop up the chicken juices and creamy sauce. Serves 2

Tip: You could do the same with cod fillets. No need to pan-fry - just roast for 20min and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with a wedge of lemon and the chard alongside.

 

 

A taste of pear strudel

Melt a good knob or two of butter in a pan. Take eight sheets of filo pastry. Lay one on a board and brush with the melted butter. Put another on top and repeat until all the sheets of filo are sitting on top of each other and are buttered. Chop and core four or five ripe pears. Put in a bowl with a large spoonful of golden caster sugar, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a couple of tablespoons each of mincemeat and fresh cranberries. Toss everything together then spoon evenly along the middle of the filo, lengthways. Wrap the front of the pastry over the fruit, then roll up as tight as you can. Put onto a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment, with the seam underneath. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 200°C/180°C fan oven/gas mark 6 for 30min until the pastry is golden. Serve with whipped double cream. Serves 6

 

 

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