Parsnip, Rosemary and Horseradish Gratin
This can be a side or a main dish. Gratins are one of the best comfort foods around, and a handy thing to cook given all the preparation can be done in advance of when you need to serve it. You can even bake it a couple of days ahead, then reheat to serve. I like to serve this with roast chicken or braised meat on a cold winter’s night.
SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 1¼ HOURS, PLUS 30 MINUTES INFUSING
225ml single cream
525ml milk
½ onion, thinly sliced
½ nutmeg, finely grated
2 bay leaves
½ bunch of rosemary, leaves stripped
1 tsp table salt
4 tbsp fresh grated horseradish or 4 tbsp horseradish sauce
6 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 5mm-thick slices
1 Put the cream, milk, onion, nutmeg, bay leaves, rosemary leaves and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes then remove from the heat and blend using a stick blender until the herbs have broken down. Cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and leave to infuse for 30 minutes, then pass it through a fine sieve and retain the liquid. Stir through the grated horseradish or horseradish sauce.
2 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
3 Place a layer of parsnip slices on the bottom of a 20 × 20cm baking dish, then cover with a little of the milk mixture. Repeat, ensuring the parsnips are fully submerged in the liquid. Cover the entire dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20–25 minutes until a knife inserted into the gratin meets no resistance.
4 Remove from the oven and serve.
MARCUS’ TIP:
I prefer a roast dinner with one side done really well, rather than three or four different vegetables on the plate – one great dish like this one that has a bit more effort put into it makes it much more interesting. Nothing wrong with that.
Celeriac, Ham Hock and Barley Hot Pot
As far as winter warmers go, this one ticks all the boxes. Celeriac is such a versatile ingredient, to serve both raw and cooked. It is a winter staple for me and it pairs well with the salty, rich ham hock in this recipe. Just add some fresh bread and you have a great winter’s lunch or supper. Always remember to bring ham hocks to the boil in a pan of water then drain them before cooking, otherwise they will be too salty.
SERVES: 4–6 | PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: ABOUT 3¾ HOURS
1 smoked ham hock (about 1kg)
½ bunch of thyme, tied with string
200g pearl barley, rinsed
100g yellow split peas, rinsed
1 celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped
4 onions, roughly chopped
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, rinsed and roughly chopped
½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1 Place the ham hock in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain and rinse the ham under cold running water. Place the ham back in the pan, cover with fresh cold water and add the thyme and a generous grind of black pepper. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2½ hours, topping up the water to ensure the ham is always submerged.
2 Add the pearl barley and split peas and cook for a further 30 minutes.
3 Check to see if the hock is cooked by putting the handle of a spoon into the flesh: if the handle meets no resistance, the meat is cooked. If the meat doesn’t yet yield to the spoon handle, continue to cook it, checking every 15 minutes. Remove the hock, add the remaining ingredients, apart from the parsley, and simmer for a further 30 minutes.
4 Using two forks, remove the skin from the hock, discard it and shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Remove the bunch of thyme.
5 Finish with the parsley and serve.
Poached Rhubarb and Rhubarb Jelly with Bay Leaf Cream and Shortbread
Rhubarb, jelly and cream. So simple, yet so delicious. The bay leaf infusion in the cream adds a savoury element to the dish which balances the sweetness of the rhubarb and shortbread. During rhubarb season I generally always have some poached in the fridge – it is great to have with cereal for breakfast, to use in baking and also as a simple pudding. Who doesn’t like rhubarb and jelly?
SERVES: 6 | PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES, PLUS SETTING AND INFUSING | COOKING TIME: ABOUT 15 MINUTES
200g caster sugar
2 tbsp grenadine
400g rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
3 gelatine leaves
FOR THE BAY LEAF CREAM
100ml milk
2 bay leaves
300ml double cream
FOR THE SHORTBREAD
70g plain flour
50g cornflour
40g icing sugar, sifted
pinch of sea salt
90g cold diced butter
1 To cook the rhubarb, put the caster sugar and grenadine in a large saucepan. Top up with 500ml water and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Place the rhubarb pieces in the hot liquid and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and allow the rhubarb to continue to cook in the liquid for 10 minutes, as it cools down. Carefully transfer the rhubarb from the liquid into a bowl using a slotted spoon and place in the fridge to cool. Measure out 400ml of the cooking liquor, place it in a medium saucepan and set aside.
2 To make the jelly, soak the 3 gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Heat the 400ml of rhubarb cooking liquor until it just reaches the boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine leaves and stir them into the hot liquid until completely dissolved. Strain the liquid into a clean container lined with baking parchment (around 15cm square), which gives the jelly at least 1cm height, and chill until set. Remove from the container and cut into squares.
3 For the bay leaf cream, heat the milk in a small saucepan. Break up the bay leaves and add them to the milk. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the boil. Cover the surface of the milk with clingfilm and set aside to infuse for 20 minutes. Using a stick blender, blitz the milk to disperse the leaves, strain and place in the fridge to cool. Once cool, mix in the double cream.
4 To make the shortbread, preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
5 Put all of the dry ingredients in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse in short bursts until you have a dough that clumps together in little bits. It may take some time to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients.