Saucy sides: simple stuffing, parsnip and cheddar bake, and more

I find that it's the bits on the side that can tip you over the edge at Christmas. People can deal with the turkey and ham bit. But it’s the endless dishes of veg and spuds, (and in many houses, a vegetarian main course) that can send you into culinary melt-down.

To avoid ending up looking like some tear-stained, crazy person clutching at a bottle of gin two hours before dinner begins, can I make the following suggestions: people do not eat as much as you think they do, and they don’t need four different types of potato dishes. Keep it simple and straightforward.

And keep the stuffing vegetarian and bake it separately (rather than stuffing the turkey). I remember my years as a vegetarian were marred by many meaty events, but not being able to eat stuffing (if it was baked inside the turkey) was the one I just couldn’t deal with. Trust me – sulky vegetarians are not fun to deal with on Christmas day.

Simple stuffing

This is suitable for vegetarians and basically should do 10 people. I’m not specifying what herbs to use. Whatever you have handy will do – a few sprigs of parsley, rosemary or thyme or even sage. Feel free to add some lemon zest or juice, more dried fruits or nuts or even some tinned, peeled and chopped chestnuts.

2 medium onions, peeled and diced

Few cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

150g butter

Salt and pepper

A few tablespoons of chopped herbs

Handful of raisins (about 50g)

Handful of pine nuts (about 50g)

450g bag breadcrumbs

Sweat the onion and garlic in the butter until soft. Don’t allow it to colour. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the breadcrumbs) and cook out for a little longer. Add the breadcrumbs and mix. Taste, and make sure it tastes great – use plenty of seasoning.

This can be chilled overnight until the final stretch. When you’re ready to finish cooking, put the stuffing in a small gratin dish, or, if you’re running out of space in the oven, make a foil bundle and stick it in the corner of some other dish that is cooking/reheating (such as roast potatoes). It can cook at any temperature until hot through, but around 180 degrees/gas mark four is probably best. Opening up the foil will mean that a few bits get a bit of a tasty crust on them.

Parsnip and cheddar bake

I am partial to honey-roast parsnips, but I like this dish a lot and if I was vegetarian I would happily scoff a dish of this on my own. I made this, left it in the fridge for a few days (ready to bake), and it reheated very well, so it’s definitely one to do ahead of time. A good-sized parsnip weighs about 250g, so four decent-sized ones should do it.

1kg parsnips, peeled

Salt and pepper

2 big knobs butter

1 x tub, 200 ml (approximately) of crème fraîche

200g Cheddar, grated

Grated nutmeg

Chop the peeled parsnips into chunks and cook them in simmering salted water until tender. Drain them and put back in the saucepan, over a low heat, with a tea towel covering them. Let them dry out and then add the butter, crème fraîche, half the Cheddar and the nutmeg. Season well and mash until soft and well mixed. They will have more texture than mashed potatoes, for example, but give them a good mashing so it looks nice and even. Transfer to a shallow gratin dish and allow to cool.

Refrigerate for a day or two, until you’re ready to finish cooking. Top with the remaining Cheddar and bake at 180 degrees/gas mark four for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

Broccoli and sugar snap peas

This is a bit bold as I’ve included some flown-from-Kenya sugar snap peas and green beans. Shameful. But it will provide a welcome splash of colour. The tahini dressing may be too “fusion” for you, but it’s quite tasty, so you may end up dunking some turkey into it. Serves at least six as a side dish.

500g broccoli (which is one giant head)

200g sugar snap peas

1 x 180g pack green beans

3 tbsp sesame seeds

Few knobs butter

Salt and pepper

Dressing

2 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp hot water

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp soy sauce

Squeeze of honey

2 tbsp rice vinegar or sherry vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

The trick to making the broccoli manageable and a bit more interesting is to trim it into tiny little florets. Trim the green beans. Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for about two minutes. When it’s 30 seconds away from being cooked, dunk in the green beans and follow with the sugar snap peas (they only need about 20 seconds). Drain and then rinse them until they are cold. Set them aside until you are ready to serve, or refrigerate overnight.

Toast the sesame seeds in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, but do shake them round a bit. Keep an eye on them as they may toast up in five minutes, but mine took forever to toast. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together and season to taste.

When you’re ready to serve, heat the knobs of butter in a large saucepan, along with a splash of boiling water. Heat up the blanched vegetables, throwing them around so they get coated in some butter and when they are hot, plonk them on a platter, scatter the sesame seeds on top, and serve with the tahini dressing.

Cranberry, kumquat and red wine sauce

This recipe is easy and really delicious. Serves 8

1 x 340 g bag frozen cranberries

8 kumquats, thinly sliced

100g caster sugar

150ml red wine

This could not be simpler. Put all of the ingredients in a large frying pan (non-stick works best) and gently heat until simmering. Cook very gently for about 15 minutes until the sauce is rich and glossy. Stir occasionally but gently as you don’t want to mush up the cranberries too much. Allow to cool fully and this will keep in a jar in the fridge for a week.

See also www.itsa.ie

DOMINI RECOMMENDS P. Jacquin Selles-sur-Cher Chevre, a delicious soft goats’ cheese that’s one of the tastiest I’ve ever had. I could happily gorge on this and a very nice glass of white Burgundy on Christmas day. It is sold by Sheridans Cheesemongers