Few dinners put as much importance on the sides as a roast – and Christmas is the most important roast of the year. Keep things fresh with these easy-yet-incredible, familiar-yet-new dishes – all super-quick to put together
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND PHOTOGRAPHS INDIA WHILEY-MORTON
Tahini roast potatoes with chestnuts and figs
Serves 4-6 Hands-on time 10 min Simmering time 10 min Oven time 1 hour 5 min
MAKE AHEAD
You can parboil the potatoes in advance. They may take a little longer to crisp up from fridge-cold though, so stir regularly and add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time.
BE A BETTER COOK
Heating the oil before adding the parboiled potatoes is a very important step – it ensures the oil crisps them up instead of getting absorbed.
KNOW-HOW
Using a high-quality tahini will make all the difference.
• 1kg floury potatoes (desiree, king edward, maris piper) • 3 tbsp vegetable oil or duck/goose fat
• 3 garlic cloves, bashed in their skins
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 100g dried figs
• 3 tbsp tahini (see Know-how)
1 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Peel the potatoes, halve or quarter them (depending on size), then parboil for 10 minutes. Drain, then toss in the colander to rough up the edges a bit – this is the key to those delicious crispy bits. Leave to steam dry in the colander while you heat the oil.
2 Pour the oil/fat into a large roasting tray, add the garlic and rosemary and heat in the oven for 5 minutes. Once hot, carefully add the potatoes and toss gently to coat in the oil. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so to get an even golden finish.
3 Roughly chop the figs, put in a bowl, then stir in the tahini. Carefully coat the hot potatoes in the tahini mixture and roast for a further 10-15 minutes.
Per serving (for 6) 290kcals, 12g fat (1.2g saturated), 6g protein, 37g carbs (10g sugars), 0.1g salt, 4g fibre
Sprouts in blankets
Serves 4-6 Hands-on time 15 min Oven time 10-15 min
Two Christmas icons combine… What’s not to love? As the bacon crisps up, the sprouts are almost confited in bacon fat, creating melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness. Even sprout-haters will renounce their beliefs when they taste them wrapped in bacon.
MAKE AHEAD
To save time when you’re busy with the Christmas dinner (or roast), you can wrap up the sprouts and store them on an oven tray in the fridge for up to 3
