Christmas Recipes: Winter Vegetable Bake

So I arrived back home in Somerset on Saturday to discover that my mum and dad were both still unwell and were starting to worry that we wouldn't be ready for Christmas Day. I asked Mum for a list of what to make and the recipes so that I could crack on!

The dish for the vegetarians this year was a Winter Vegetable Bake with crumble topping.  I actually adapted three different recipes which I took from the December edition of 'BBC Vegetarian Christmas' magazine and the BBC Good Food 'Christmas Made Easy' recipe book.
Hope you like it!

You will need:
2kg/4lb mixed root vegetables (I used sweet potatoes, carrots and parsnips)
300ml/1/2pt full-fat milk
85g butter
Black pepper and sage to taste

 For the topping:
50g/2oz butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g/2 oz fresh breadcrumbs (from about 4 slices bread)
25g/ 1 oz vegetarian-style Parmesan
3 tblsp pine nuts
a small handful of fresh thyme leaves.

1. Peel and dice all the vegetables.

2. Place vegetables in a large pan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25mins until veg. are soft enough to mash.

 

3. Drain the vegetables ,then add the milk and butter to the dry pan and heat until the butter has melted.
4. Tip the veg back into the pan, season with cracked black pepper and sage and mash over a low heat.

5. Remove from the heat and spoon into an ovenproof dish.

6.For the topping: Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes, until golden. 

7. Mix in the breadcrumbs and stir to brown and crisp a little.

8. Season with salt and pepper.

9. Take the pan off the heat and spoon mixture on top of the mashed vegetable mix.

10. Sprinkle on the  pine nuts.

 

11. Bake for 25-30 mins (longer if from chilled)  at 190 degrees, 170 degrees if fan oven or Gas mark 5 until golden and crisp on top.

12. Add a handful of thyme leaves on top before serving.

 

The end result was very tasty and a hit with all the vegetarians! What vegetarian recipes can you recommend for Christmas time??

 

Peebreeks xx