Saturday, 19 October 2019

The Dinner Party – the vegetable fest!


My next decision is what vegetables I'm going to serve – here's the list :

Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Lemon glazed roasted carrots
Cauliflower cheese
Mange tout – because they are a favourite!

I've got crunch, sweetness, bright vibrant colours and a creamy cheesy cauliflower dish.

The added bonus – only the mange tout requires steaming on the night.

The potatoes, parsnips and carrots are peeled and chopped to size and part roasted on the morning of the party. I par boil my potatoes, drain, add a tablespoon of semolina then shake well so that they are coated. The Chestnut and Apple roast too. Bake in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover and set aside to cool.

For the cauliflower cheese I steam a whole head of cauliflower, minus its leaves and then set it aside on a tray lined with layers of kitchen roll. This allows all the moisture to drain away from the cauliflower, ready to finish later on. I make the mornay saucecover and set aside until required. I grate Parmesan cheese in readiness to garnish the cauliflower dish and plan to be generous and sprinkle liberally! If you're able to use the same oven proof oval dish as for the Chestnut and Apple roast (see the recipe for the measurements and a photo in the forthcoming step by step guide) – both can then be served straight from the oven to the table.

Why so many I hear you ask? Easy … variety is the spice of life and guests will try something new when offered a choice. Most of my American friends didn't know what a parsnip was never mind about sampling this most delicious under-rated vegetable … we'll see!

This is starting to take shape …

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