Celeriac puree with honey

This side dish is often created on shows such as Masterchef and merely smeared over the plate as a smudge. However, do not dismiss it as a pointless bit of presentation or an attempt to make the dish sound classy. Celeriac puree is a very tasty side dish that would accompany roast lamb or beef superbly.

Ingredients

One large celeriac
25g butter
250ml milk
1 heaped teaspoon of thick honey
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Firstly trim the thick skin off the celeriac root and then cut it into cubes.
Place in a pan and cover in water and then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain the water and leave the part boiled celeriac to one side while you melt the butter over a low heat.
Now add the celeriac and honey the pan and mix together.
Add the milk and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Using a hand blender turn the mixture into a puree, or a very soft mash.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with roast meat and gray.

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Spicy chinese chicken drumsticks and wings

As part of my 'three meals from one chicken' approach this is a way of using the legs and wings for a side dish or a snack perhaps. The recipe contains the usual chinese flavours with lots of ginger and chili, but it is also very sweet, so probably consider this dish to be a treat. The secret is to marinade the chicken for roughly 24 hours before cooking the chicken and then to cook it in the marinade.

Ingredients

2 chicken legs
2 chicken wings
an inch of grated root ginger
1 medium red chili
1 heaped tbsp of honey (chinese if available)
3 tsp of chinese five spice
2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of muscavado sugar

Method

1. It is essential to marinade the chicken at least overnight. Cut off the chicken legs and wings and lacerate them with a knife.
2. In a bowl mix all the other ingredients. Make sure the ginger is finely grated and the chili is chopped finely. Deseed the chili, or leave it out, if you do not like the spice, but it adds a cracking contrast to the sweetness of the honey and sugar.
3. Marinade the chicken and when possible spoon the marinade over the chicken again.
4. In a dish create a bowl out of tin foil and place the chicken and marinade in the middle.
5. Place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for an hour. This should create a crispy and dark skin, which while being unhealthy is delicious. Go on, treat yourself!

Serve with the sauce drizzled over the chicken and what else you are eating, such as rice and corn on the cob.

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Salmon Fillet with Honey, Orange and Ginger

This quick and easy salmon recipe is sweet with the honey, while the orange and ginger accompanies the fish delightfully.

Serve this dish with a plateful of salad, or some new baby potatoes and steam vegetables for a meal that takes 30 minutes to complete from start to finish.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 fresh salmon fillets
1 tbsp of honey
juice of 1 orange
2 tsp of grated ginger
a handful of chopped fresh coriander
sprinkle of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Turn on the oven and heat at 200 degrees.
   
2. Place tin foil on a baking tray and lay on the two salmon fillets. Turn up the foil so that it can hold a small amount of liquid.
   
3. Now grate the ginger root and squeeze the juice from the orange.
   
4. Mix together with the honey to form a paste and pour over the salmon fillets.
   
5. The paste will fall off, so wrap up the tin foil around the sides of the fillets.
   
6. Sprinkle on the chopped coriander and place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes depending on how well done you like your salmon.
   

To improve the above recipe you should marinate the salmon fixture in the mixture for at least a few hours.

Yeah this blog needed some pictures - so here is a salmon fillet :)

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Honey and orange marinated gammon

Honey and orange marinated gammon recipe - perfect for a sumptuous roast or to serve cold, as our house love to do for tea on Christmas Day.

Ingredients 

1kg piece of unsmoked gammon joint

4 cloves

10 peppercorns

10 coriander seeds

1 tbsp orange marmalade

1 tbsp of honey 

1 tsp of grated orange rind

1 tsp of grated ginger

juice of half an orange

one slice of orange for garnish

Method

This is simple. Combine all the ingredients together (apart from the orange slice), mix well and then smear all over the gammon. It is quite runny so there will be plenty of juice in the pan. Place the orange slice on top before covering loosely with tin foil and place in a preheated oven (190 degrees) for 140 minutes. Take the foil off for the last hour to allow the top of the meat form a lovely crust. Also baste throughout with the juices. 

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