25 Days of Christmas Recipes, Day 12: Hasselback Honey and Mustard Carrots, and Parsnip Croquettes

Day 12 and we’ve hit my favourite area of any Roast Dinner (or dinner in general): Vegetable sides. As a child I loved vegetables. My sister and I were very much the Jack Sprat and his Wife of our family (Jack Sprat would eat no fat, his wife would eat no lean and so between them both they licked the platter clean). My sister loved to eat any form of meat and wasn’t a big fan of any vegetable. I loved vegetables but wasn’t a big fan of most forms of meat. So this area was really my area. I love trying new things to do with vegetables and prove how versatile they can be if you just treat them with as much creativity as possible.

I’d seen multiple different Hasselback potatoes recipes and I wondered, why can’t you do this with other root vegetables? The answer is, you can. These carrots soak in the flavour of the mustard, fennel seeds and honey and look lovely to boot. As a bonus, they’re also extremely simple to make.

The parsnip croquettes, on the other hand, take a bit more of a patient hand. The actual mash created is quite wet so you have to be light-handed and quick to get them coated in their breadcrumbs and ready to fry. However, once you taste them, you’ll know they’re 100 percent worth the effort that goes into them. My Mum loves parsnips. They’re her favourite vegetables and she loves these croquettes just as much as any other parsnip dish out there.

Hasselback Honey and Mustard Carrots

Ingredients:

• 3 Large Carrots
• 2tbsps Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
• 2tbsps Grain Mustard
• 2tbsps Honey
• 1tsp Fennel Seeds

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6.
2. Wash your carrots thoroughly.
3. Cut the carrots into 6-7cm pieces. (Note: if there are different widths adjust the length of the piece making the thicker ends shorter and thinner ends longer).
4. Place your carrot next to a wooden spoon.
5. Make a cut in the carrot diagonally every 1cm but not all the way through to the bottom, using the wooden spoon to stop the knife. Turn the carrot around and make the same cuts in the other direction.  Repeat with the rest of your carrots. You should end up with a diamond pattern of cuts along each carrot piece.
6. Put the carrots into a dish facing the diamond pattern upwards.
7. In a bowl put the oil, mustard and honey and mix thoroughly.
8. Spoon the mixture over the carrots making sure it goes into the diamond slits you have made.
9. Scatter the fennel seeds over the top.
10. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until cooked through.
11. Baste with any mustard-oil at the bottom of your pan, serve and enjoy.

Parsnip Croquettes

Ingredients:

• 3 Large Parsnips
• 1 Medium Potato
• 1tsp Honey
• Medium Egg Yolk
• Fresh Chopped Parsley, small handful

• 300g Dried Breadcrumbs
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 60g Plain Flour

Method:

1. Cut the parsnips into 2cm pieces.
2. Cut the potato into 3cm pieces.
3. Put into a medium pan and cover with water. Place on a high heat and bring to the boil. Boil for 10-12 minutes or until soft.
4. Pour through a colander and place back on top of the pan. Cover with a clean tea-towel and leave for ten minutes to dry.
5. Mash as finely as possible (you could use a ricer, pass through a sieve etc. but for the tastiest croquettes make the mash as fine as you possibly can).
6. Add in your egg yolk, honey and parsley and mix together. Season to taste.
7. Allow your mash to cool slightly and then put it into the fridge for two hours to firm up.
8. With flour on your hands, roll 1tbsp of your mash into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mash. Lay your balls on a plate or tray. Put back into the fridge for 30 minutes.
9. Preheat a deep-fat fryer, or deep pan filled with flavourless oil, to 190 degrees C.
10. Put your breadcrumbs onto a large plate, your plain flour onto a smaller plate and your beaten egg into a bowl.
11. Roll your balls first in flour, shaking to get rid of excess. Then with your other hand, roll in your egg, and then with your dry hand roll in your breadcrumbs until coated and put back onto your tray/plate.
12. Repeat with the remaining balls.
13. Fry your balls, a few at the time so you don’t crowd your fryer, until golden brown and crispy. Drain your balls on a plate with kitchen roll.
14. Sprinkle over salt and serve.