(All Recipes have Gluten-Free Options)
Mashed Carrots with Pernod (Serves 4)
Such a simple recipe, the aniseed from the Pernod gives the carrots a subtle lift!
650g carrots, peeled and sliced
30g butter
1-2 tablespoons Pernod
Sea salt and black pepper
- Boil the carrots for 20 mins until tender, then drain and return to the pan.
- Mash with the butter, Pernod and plenty of seasoning until fairly smooth and most of the moisture has evaporated.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Lentils (serves 4 as a side)
3 sweet potatoes
400g tin green lentils, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 generous pinches of sea salt
4 turns of ground black pepper
2-3 handfuls of spinach
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
A handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
- Peel the sweet potatoes and chop each of them into 8-10 pieces.
- Lay the sweet potatoes in a roasting tin, add the oil, sea salt and black pepper, and toss the potatoes so that they are evenly coated.
- Roast the potatoes in a preheated oven, 160’c, for 20 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven, turn the potatoes, add the crushed garlic and return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly golden on the edges and just cooked through.
- Finally, remove from the oven and while still hot add the lentils and spinach. Gently toss. The lentils will warm through and the spinach will wilt a little. Finish with a dash of vinegar and sprinkle with parsley, if using.
Fried Carrots (Serves 4)
Such a simple idea – but soooo delicious!
600g carrots, peeled
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
- Slice the carrots lengthways.
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add some salt and the carrots. Cook, gently bubbling for 7-8 minutes until they are just cooked – still al dente.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the carrots with the unpeeled garlic cloves, until browned.
Butternut Squash Mash with Sage (Serves 4)
This is a recipe which I found in Leith’s cookbook ‘How to Cook’. Roasting the butternut squash instead of simply boiling it, makes all the difference – the flavour is much more intense. The browned butter (buerre noisette) gives the squash a delicious nutty flavour.
1 large butternut squash (about 700-800g once peeled and cubed)
50g unsalted butter
A few sage leaves
- Peel, half and deseed the butternut squash, cut into 3 cm cubes and place in a bowl. Melt 10g of the butter and pour it over the squash, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Place in a roasting tin and roast in a preheated oven, 200’c, for about 45 minutes, until the squash is very tender – a knife should pass through very easily.
- Place the cooked squash in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan. Cook over a moderate heat to a ‘buerre noisette’ – until it is a deep golden brown and gives off a slightly nutty aroma.
- Slice the sage leaves finely then add them, with the puréed squash, to the butter (buerre noisette). Adjust the seasoning and serve.
Menu Mistress 