Boxing Day Bakes

26th December comes round again- and I have a few more ideas for your Christmas leftovers. Read on if you have parsnips, nuts, veg or chocolate to use up (and I know you do..)




If you've already made your turkey bones and leftover veg into soup- here are some tasty quick rolls ( no need for yeast or proving) to go with it- made with parsnips and chopped herbs:

Parsnip and Herby Rolls:

220g grated parsnips
275g flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp chopped herbs ( eg rosemary or thyme)
1 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
2 tbsp milk or natural yoghurt






1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add the grated parsnips
2. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and yoghurt or milk
3. Mix together with a knife and then tip the dough onto a floured board. Divide into 6-8 rolls and place on a greased or lined baking tray.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or so until golden.

Baked rolls

They freeze well too.


The baking powder bread mix is excellent for a quick pizza base too. I make a frying pan version- just roll out your dough to fit your frying pan, fry on one side and then flip it over to fry the other.

Frying pan pizza

Cover with a topping of your choice and bake.


If all yesterday's rich food leaves you craving a vegetarian main dish, which is super-quick to prepare ( and a bit of a cheat- but so what?) then look no further than my Not-Pot.
The cheat's ingredient is tinned (yes tinned) Potato Dauphinoise. This is readily available in Lidl in France (and widely served up in restaurants masquerading as home made!) - but might be harder to source in the UK. Of course you don't have to use tinned- you can make your own (!) or use another supermarket version.

Not-Pot

Just rub a clove of garlic around a buttered gratin dish and layer up potato dauphinoise, cooked leeks or onions and/or any other cooked veg you want to use up- I used chard and Jerusalem artichokes (as I grow them) but parsnips, kohl rabi, carrots, squash  etc will be just as nice. Pour on 1/2 cup of stock. Sprinkle with grated cheese and breadcrumbs (you can mix in leftover bread sauce if you have some) and bake in a hot oven until golden.

Not-Pot

If you still have cooked parsnips to use up- try them in this savoury loaf. We had it as an accompaniment to the turkey on Christmas Day, then sliced with a salad another day and then hot with a spicy tomato sauce as a vegetarian main the following day!

 Parsnip and Chestnut Loaf

Serves 6 (with accompaniments)

2 large parsnips

Oil, to grease 1 small savoy cabbage, 4–6 outer leaves only  150g hazelnuts 40g butter or oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 150g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped 100g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped 100g cheese, crumbled
100g brown breadcrumbs 2 tsp fresh or dried mixed herbs 1 egg, beaten

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Peel and quarter the parsnips, and cook in boiling, salted water until tender, drain well.

2. Grease a loaf tin approximately 20cm x 10cm x 7cm, then line with foil, and grease this generously. Blanch 6 savoy cabbage leaves in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes: you'll need enough to line the tin with overlapping leaves, but how many depends on the size of your cabbage, so make sure you have enough before you tip away the water. Lay on a tea towel to dry (and snip out the hard central rib)

3. Toast the hazelnuts in a frying pan over a high heat until starting to colour, then set aside. Turn the heat down to medium, add the butter and chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 7 minutes until nicely softened. Blitz in a food processor along with the parsnips.

4. Blitz the hazelnuts and put them in a large bowl along with the chopped chestnuts, crumbled stilton, breadcrumbs and chopped sage. Add the parsnip, onion and mushroom mix followed by the beaten egg. Season and stir together well.

Mix all together in a bowl

5. Line the prepared tin with overlapping cabbage leaves,  

Line the loaf tin with leaves

leaving any excess hanging over the sides, then spoon in the mixture, pressing it down well, and fold any overhanging cabbage leaves back over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. (Alternatively, you can keep it in the fridge for a day or so before baking.)

6. Remove the foil from the top and put the loaf back in the oven for another 15 minutes, then take out of the oven, trim off any singed cabbage leaves and put a large serving plate over the top of the tin. Holding the tin with oven gloves, turn the plate over so the loaf inverts on to the plate.

Turn the loaf out onto a plate

7. Cut into slices to serve.

Parsnip and Chestnut Loaf

Finally for something sweet.

I am grateful to Yvette for cooking this up at our Atelier de Cuisine. The recipe is hers.

Speedy Choco-Mint Cake

In a 2 litre measuring jug, pour in 125g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 75g icing sugar, 100g melted chocolate, 1 pinch of salt, 3 eggs and  100ml of oil or melted butter. Mix well.
Pour into a greased 23cm cake tin or mould and bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.

Mix well and pour into mould

Allow to cool.

Chocolate cake ready for icing

For the chocolate mint topping, melt 100g of chocolate with 25ml of crème de menthe or peppermint essence ( or melt 100g of chocolate mints) either in the microwave or in a bowl over a simmering pan of water.

Pour on the icing

Spread over the cake - et voilà...super speedy.

Speedy Choco-Mint Cake

Christmas over, Boxing Day sorted. Time to veg out in front of the telly.