Spiced parsnip gougères
These ugly little brutes are delicious served straight after baking, whilethe cheese inside is still warm and soft. That said, they willhappily sit on the baking tray ready to be launched into a hot oven, giving you more time to mixthe drinks. The dough will keep for a few days in the fridge: they bake a little heavier cooked from cold, but still taste just as good. Serves six to eight.
200ml water
75g unsalted butter
1½ tsp salt
200g strong white flour
25g mustard powder
1 tsp ground allspice
5 medium eggs
150g parsnip, peeled and grated
250g cheddar or stilton, broken into hazelnut-sized lumps
Put the water, butter and salt in asaucepan, and bring to a boil. Haveready the flour, mustard powder and allspice, then, just as the water starts to boil, tip in the dryingredients and beat well until itforms a ball of dough in the pan and starts to come away from the sides. Remove from the heat, leave to cool for a few minutes, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until smooth – this takes a surprising amount of elbow grease, so it will bemuch easier with a very sturdy stand mixer. Stirin the parsnip and transfer to acontainer in the fridge, where it will keep for a day or so.
To cook, cover a baking tray with nonstick paper secured in place witha few dabs of the dough mix, and sit the tray on top of a folded teatowel to hold it steady. Heat theoven to 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7. Spoon aquarter of the dough into a bowl, crumble in a quarter of the cheese and stir gently. Spoon walnut-sized dollops on to the tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until puffed and sizzling. Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese.
Orange and pistachio stollen bars
Very straightforward to make and outrageously good to eat. Be very generous when you brush the top with melted butter, and they'll keep very well. Serves six to eight.
175g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter
125g full-fat cream cheese
2 tsp orange extract
1 tsp glycerine (optional; it helps keep the mix soft)
¾ tsp mixed spice
¾ tsp cardamom seeds, ground, husks discarded
1 medium egg
75g ground almonds
100g sultanas
100g shelled pistachios
250g strong white flour
1 tsp baking powder
275g marzipan
Melted butter and icing sugar, to finish
Beat the caster sugar, butter, cream cheese, orange extract, glycerine (if using) and spices until smooth, then beat in the egg. Stir in the almonds, sultanas and pistachios, add the flour and baking powder, and mix to a soft dough. Chop the marzipan into 2cm pieces and mix through. Line a 20cm square tin with foil and spoon the dough into it. Wet your fingers or aspatula and press the dough evenly into the corners of the tray. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4 and bake for 30 minutes, until puffed and golden on top. Leave in the tin to cool, then, while still warm, brush generously with melted butter and leave until cold before wrapping well.
To serve, peel off the foil, dredge heavily with icing sugar and slice into fingers. You can make this ahead of time because it will keep for up to a fortnight if well wrapped.
Mammoth rolls – what New Yorkers call "heros" – that are just made tohold a procession ofhot pork sausages (or roasted veg)and spoonfuls of chilli cranberry sauce. Slice into quarters, sixths oreven eighths to serve, and holdsteady with long skewers. Therolls freeze very well wrapped in clingfilm andare best warmed inthe oven before serving. Serves six to eight.
For the heros
1 small bunch fresh sage (about 20g), picked
1 medium bunch flat-leaf parsley (about 80g), stalks discarded
1 small bunch chives (about 25g)
1 dessert apple
100g natural yoghurt
1 medium egg
225ml warm water
1 sachet fast-action yeast
50ml olive oil
650g strong white flour
2 tsp salt
Oil, for kneading
Flour, for shaping
1 beaten egg, to finish
For the chilli cranberry sauce
1 medium onion
1-2 10cm-long red chillies
Olive oil
1 jar cranberry sauce
Sausages
Roughly chop the sage, parsley and chives, and put in a mixing bowl. Peel and grate the apple, discarding the stalk and pips; add tothe bowl, then beat in the yoghurt, egg, water and yeast. Add the oil, flour and salt, and mix to a smooth, soft dough, adding a little more water ifit feels a little dry or extra flour if it's too sticky. (Ingredients such as grated apple and fresh herbs make it hard to be precise with the water needed, so use you judgment.)
Cover the bowl, leave for 10 minutes, then lightly oil a worktop and knead the dough for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for an hour and a half, until risen.
Divide the dough into quarters and shape each one into a 15cm-longoval. Cover and leave on theworktop for 15 minutes, so thedough loses its tightness. One byone, roll out each piece to about 30cm long. (If you're a bit skilled, you can even shape them much as you would a baguette.)
Place the rolls two-up on two baking trays lined with nonstick paper, cover with a cloth and leave for an hour to rise.
Brush the tops with beaten egg and bake at 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7 for about18-20 minutes, until brown ontop. Carefully remove from the trays and leave on a cooling rack until cold.
For the sauce, finely chop the onion and chilli, fry until soft in alittle oil, then stir in the cranberry sauce. Cut the heros lengthways, fillwith sausages and a little sauce, secure everything in place with skewers and cut into halves or thirdsto serve.
Onion seed breadsticks, with shots of smoked salmon cheese
Keep a box of these beauties to helpyou out in any last-minute lunch parties. They look smarter than crackers or crisps, and are a cinch tomake. Ilike to serve them to dip into shot glasses filled with whipped cream cheese softened with lemon and mixed with strips ofsmoked fish, orin a garlic-rich aubergine and labneh dip. Serves sixto eight.
For the breadsticks
1 sachet fast-action yeast
75ml warm water
200ml milk
100g unsalted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar, any sort
250g spelt or wholemeal flour
250g strong white flour
2 tsp salt
25g black onion seeds
Oil, for kneading
For the salmon cheese
Cream cheese
Lemon juice
1-2 tsp Tabasco
Smoked salmon
Ground black pepper
Mix the yeast and warm water in acup or small bowl until dissolved, then set aside.Bring the milk to aboil, add the butter and sugar, remove from the heat, pour into amixing bowl and leave until the butter has melted. Add the flours, salt, onion seeds and yeast liquid, and mix to asmooth dough. Cover the bowl, leave for 10 minutes, thenlightly knead until smooth. Return the dough to the bowl and leave for anhour until risen.
Cut the dough into quarters andone at a time roll out each quarter toabout 1cm thick. Cut a1cm-wide strip from this dough roll, and roll out into a smooth breadstick about25cm long. Place on a baking tray lined with nonstick paper, and continue with the remaining doughuntil you've filleda tray or two. Bake at 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4for about 30 minutes, until crisp and golden.
These keep well for at least aweekif wrapped well, but I prefer tocrispthem up in the oven (at the sametemperature, for about 15 minutes) on the day of serving.
To serve, beat some cream cheesewith lemon juice and Tabasco until smooth and spreadable, then stir in chopped smoked salmon and ground blackpepper. Spoon dollops of thecheese mix into shot glasses with one or two breadsticks poking out of each.
