I’ve not written in forever because we’ve bought a house, decorated it, ripped out the kitchen with our bare fists and we’re planning the wedding. Therefore, my cooking has gone by the wayside due to a plethora of first world problems! 

Once again, it’s getting cold and the desire to hibernate and eat mince pies washed down with booze and gravy is ever increasing. However, how does one get nutrients on those cold evenings? You don’t want the only piece of veg you eat to be chopped up and ‘thrun’ in a meat-based stew (or even if you do, you can’t do it every night). SO after checking what’s in season this month and having a wee ‘pin’ of some recipes I finally decided to sort out my roots. Not the roots of my hair (they’re still savage) but carrots and beets.

I get obsessed with buying in season at about this time because I feel like the veggies know what nutrients we need at various times of the year. It’s all about those beautiful roots at the moment which can be made really exciting. I would love to make this stuff for a vegetarian. Minus the meat neighbour pictured! 

Beetroot

So the beets- slice them, sprinkle generously with a dressing of red wine vinegar 2tbsp, orange (zest and juice of one), olive oil 1tbsp, chilli flakes, honey 1tsp and salt and pepper. Leave some of the dressing aside. Throw a chopped red onion on too for good measure. I assembled this on baking paper in order to not lose any goodness. Cook in a preheated oven for 30 mins (200 oc). Slice a goats cheese in half and put in the oven for about 3/4 mins on top of the cooked beets. Serve with a liberal sprinkling of the sweet/tangy dressing.
Carrot

Hats off to M&S for doing a mixture of purple, yellow and orange carrots. They’re visually gorgeous and it’s nice to have the purple back (kid of like seeing a red squirrel). This dish is from the ‘Olive’ magazine and it’s a tarty way to serve Peter Rabbit’s favourite.

Put oven on at 200 oc. Drain off a tin of chickpeas and toss them with a glug of oil, smoked paprika and chilli powder. Stick them in the oven to roast for 40 mins. 

Next, you’ve got ten minutes to scrub your carrots gently with a knife, toss in oil, honey, salt and pepper and get them in the oven 200 oc for thirty mins. If they’re thicker, cut in half or if they’re thinner than your fingers, leave whole. Unless you’re Bill, Billy or Mac or Buddy with those ‘THICK fingers’.

Mix some tahini (2 tbsp) with some lemon, half a clove of garlic and some olive oil. Have a quick chill then pull out of the oven. Assemble the carrots on a plate, drizzle the tahini and sprinkle the crispy chickpeas on top. 
Next time…. osso bucco Milanese with Italian onions and asparagus. The wedding diet starts Monday so I will be doing some healthy winter food but not before this Sunday is out!

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Before
After