Chicken Curry with Parsnips and Chestnut Mushrooms

A Madras curry made with four quartered chestnut mushrooms, and two diced parsnips, along with diced chicken, finger chillies and two cloves of garlic.Fried first of all in some sunflower oil.  Then I added half a tin of chopped tomatoes and some coriander leaf.. Cooked twice - the second time on the next day.  

Served with Basmati rice, and delicious lime pickle (Patak brand). 

 

Christmas Lunch with Chicken

A stripped down Christmas lunch for 2020. Brussels sprouts cooked for about seven or eight minutes in a steamer, roast potatoes, pork sausages wrapped in bacon (pigs in blankets), boiled carrots and parsnips, a whole chicken breast roasted for thirty minutes in a lidded casserole dish, then for another fifteen minutes without the lid (judge by eye). The pork and bacon sausages could have been cooked along with the pork, but I did them separately since the sausages cook in half the time the chicken takes. Doing them separately means you don't have to stand around the hob the whole time, watching progress. 

A gravy was made  with the stock from the boiled carrots and parsnip, with chicken stock and some cornflour, plus a pinch of sage. The chicken breast was dressed in a pinch of coriander leaf. 

What did I skip this year? Chestnut stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I used no onions at all (those would have been a component in the pork and chestnut stuffing). 

As I've said before, the trick is to have all the ingredients ready at the same time. The entire dish was prepared by lunchtime on Christmas Eve, put into the fridge overnight, and reheated in a casserole dish the next day. 

I've discussed the making of good roast potatoes here. 

Lorne Sausage and Roasted Parsnips

 A simple dish of Lorne Sausage (a Scottish favourite, also known as 'square sausage'), with chipped parsnips, fried baby plum tomatoes, and raw spinach. 

The sausage was slow-cooked in a little sunflower oil for twenty minutes, mostly under glass, along with the chopped baby plum tomatoes. Turned once. 

The chipped parsnips were dressed in tomato ketchup, sunflower oil, and vinegar, plus the herbs oregano, basil, and coriander leaf. Also some ground white pepper. Grilled for about fifteen minutes (judge progress by eye). 

Pork Sausages in a Tomato and Sage Salsa

Pricked pork sausages, cooked slowly (30 minutes) in their own fat, under glass in a ribbed frying pan. Turned four times.

The tomato salsa was made with onion (fried in another pan for about fifteen minutes), and later with diced cherry tomato, sliced mushrooms and diced red pepper. All cooked in a little sunflower oil for another fifteen minutes.

After that a little water was added to the salsa pan, along with two squirts of tomato puree, and a teaspoonful of dried sage. Stirred thoroughly.

The chipped parsnips were dressed in sunflower oil with a pastry brush, and were cooked under the grill for twenty minutes or so (watch by eye!). Turned once. Alternatively you can melt a little butter, and dress the chips in that.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Irish Stew

Some braising beef (which I didn't bother to braise), browned in a saute pan with onions, chopped parsnips, and sunflower oil.  Once browned I added boiling water and some beef stock. I added freshly podded peas, chopped green beans, and two sticks of celery. Simmered for half an hour. Then I added peeled and quartered Maris Piper potatoes. Simmered for another forty-five minutes under glass at a low heat, stirring occasionally, by which time the beef was tender. 

No herbs required for this dish, since much of the flavour comes from the celery and parsnips. But you could add pinches of rosemary and thyme, or oregano, according to choice. 

Irish Stew