The Chestnut and Apple roast

Over the years I've tried lots of vegetarian roasts. The archetypal “nut roast” makes my blood run cold - for me it conjures up a dried tasteless mixture that you could use to lay a crazy paving! I've treated myself to a luxury version where the name has been changed to make it sound appealing when it's really appalling. Hence my own version.

Tried and tested, here it is :

Chestnut and Apple roast

170g/6oz of dried breadcrumbs

2 tsps dried sage

100ml/3fluid oz boiling water

or

1 packet of sage and onion stuffing mix – 170g/6oz

1 packet – 180g/7oz of vac packed chestnuts, blitzed to a

crumb – not dust!

300g of chunky apple sauce – preferably Bramley apple

or

Portion of apple sauce, a la Eliza Acton – 225-350g/8-12 oz

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Drop of rapeseed oil and knob of butter.

2 additional knobs of butter

I used an oval cast iron oven proof dish measuring 25x17x5 cms – 10”x7”x2” in old money.

For your dried breadcrumbs, remove the crusts and tear up into chunks – weigh to achieve 170g/6oz. Pre-heat oven 150fan/170c/Gas 3. Blitz the bread in a food processor until you get an even crumb. Spread the crumbs onto a baking tray and bake for 6 minutes until they are golden. You can make a finer crumb by blitzing again when cooled. Add dried sage to taste – I'd suggest 2 tsps.

You don't have to make your own breadcrumbs, you can buy them dried.

Alternatively if you're short of time, use a sage and onion stuffing mix.

There's a step by step photo guide and method coming next along with the Eliza Acton recipe for the apple sauce.

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 sauce – cover 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 …

The Dinner Party - the table and hints and tips

To save myself as much time as possible I always set the table ahead of the party – preferably in the morning. It is also serves as a useful prompt – you can see what you've forgotten! Are your wine glasses pristine and polished? Plan ahead … choose your dinnerware, including serving dishes and spoons.

Unless you have a kitchen big enough you're not likely to have a warming drawer. I have a solution. You may not have the warming drawer but you might have two ovens – a small one without a fan which usually houses the grill too. Empty the small oven – it's perfect for your appetiser bowls, dinner plates, serving dishes and jugs for sauces. There's no need to turn the oven on, the residual heat from the lower oven rises and gently warms. There's nothing worse than hot food served on a cold plate or vegetables from cold dishes.

I decided to have some fun and chose colourful bowls for the appetiser – have a look at these :

They measure 12cms x 6cms deep – 4½ x 2½” in old money.

If you like the look of these, here's what you need to know :

I've deliberately chosen a menu that allows me to cook ahead and freeze and to pre and part cook ahead too, leaving me with a 30 minute finish time. The only dish I'll need to cook from scratch on the night is the appetiser.

Hmm … what to serve with.

The Dinner Party

We don't do much formal entertaining these days and when we do it's casual and more relaxed, the formality has all but disappeared, thank goodness! There are however times when you need to step up a gear or two when special occasions present themselves.

Such was the case recently when our old friend Neil, who lives predominantly in the USA, was visiting with his lovely lady Rox. In itself not an unusual occurrence but this time they were bringing Rox's best friend and her husband – Gracey and Joe. Although Joe had been to London on business many moons ago, it was their first trip to the UK together.

A dinner date was duly entered in their busy schedule – definitely a special occasion and so the food should be too.

You may not be aware but we Brits do not have a great culinary reputation in the USA so all the more reason to be at the top of my game!

First and foremost - find out what the dietary requirements are – it's never a good idea to fly blind in these situations! Mission accomplished - I have two veggies – although to confuse the issue one does eat shellfish – the rest of the party eat anything - always good.

Now for the tricky bit - I want to spend as much time as possible with my guests and not be tied to the kitchen only to emerge hot and bothered – food you serve when you're flustered shows on the plate.

Here's the menu :

Scallops and king prawns in black bean sauce

Pork with Calvados cream sauce

Chestnut and apple roast for the vegetarians

Gateau a l'Orange with orange syrup, clotted cream

and vanilla ice cream

This is only the beginning ...

Birthday Dessert step by step photo guide – Part II

Add the raspberries

then the ice cream

have a look at a side view – it shows the almond cake

soaked in the juice from the raspberries

Ta dah – decorated with the crushed Amaretti

biscuits

Needless to say it was well received – and the reason I made enough for two – it's like having two slices of birthday cake.

The verdict … five stars and both servings demolished – not on the same day!

Birthday dessert – step by step photo guide – Part I

the Financier – cubed

the Amaretti biscuit

Amaretti biscuit crushed to a rubble

cubed cake in glass dish drizzled with juice

Part II on its way …

Birthday Dessert – Hints and tips

Note to self - I've learnt from experience that I'll always serve a dessert like this twice so I'll make sure I've sufficient ingredients to do just that.

I defrosted 250g of frozen raspberries and I didn't add any sugar, I wanted the pure, sharp raspberry juice.

The box of strawberry ice cream would certainly give me two scoops – tick.

A glass serving dish to serve – another tick.

I crushed 4 Amaretti biscuits in a “Bacofoil SafeLoc” bag – they each weigh 25g approximately and measure 4.5cms/1¾”. Bacofoil SafeLoc bags are really strong bags suitable for food and the freezer – yet another tick.

A financier weighs 25g and I used two cakes for each portion. Cut in half lengthways and then cut into small cubes – you'll get 12 small cubes per financier – 1cm x 2cm/½”x¾” . Place in the bottom of your glass dish. Drizzle the raspberry juice over the cake. You can do this ahead, cling film and fridge.

When you're ready to serve add half of the raspberries on top of the cake. Add one scoop of ice cream and then decorate with the crushed Amaretti biscuits.

Almond and raspberry are a match made in heaven. You have almond in the Financier and of course your Amaretti biscuits. Sharp raspberries and creamy home-made strawberry ice cream topped off with a crunch of the biscuits. What's not to love.

I didn't have to make a trip to shop for the dessert, it was in my freezer and my pantry.

I buy my financiers in bulk – Maison Jacquemart Les Petits Financiers – aka French Almond Cakes from Alma Trading Limited 24x25g cakes £11.99.

You can buy smaller quantities Bonne Maman have bags of 7 x 175g, normally £2. Available in Waitrose.

You could of course make your own but for me it's a really great product that has many uses and a long shelf life so perfect for the pantry.

A step by step Birthday dessert photo guide is up next!