Celeriac, leek, chestnut and cranberry pies

If you're vegetarian - or catering for one - you expect more than the Christmas sides while everyone else tucks into the turkey. This delicious pie from Rachel Demuth of Demuths Cookery School in Bath fits the bill perfectly.

Celeriac, leek, chestnut and cranberry pies

Makes: 1 large 20cm pie or 4 individual pies using large (100ml) ramekins or 3 7.5cm/3 inch metal rings

For the pastry:

• 300g plain flour
• 150g butter (or margarine if vegan)
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• A little water as needed
• Milk to glaze
• Olive oil to rub the pie tin

Filling:

• 1 leek, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 small celeriac, peeled and cubed into 1 cm cubes
• 100g pre-cooked chestnuts
• A small glass of white wine or dry sherry
• A handful of chopped sage and thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Rapeseed oil to cook
• 4 tbsp cranberry sauce – either homemade or shop bought
• Optional extras: grated cheddar or vegetarian Parmesan cheese, cubes of Brie or Stilton, a splash of cream

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 6/200°C

2. Put the flour and butter into a bowl (or a food processor) and rub (or whiz) until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the mustard and stir in well, or whiz, until the mixture forms a ball. If the mixture is too dry add a little water until it comes together easily. Wrap the pastry in cling-film and leave in the fridge to chill for at least an half an hour. (This can be left overnight and will keep for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.)

3. Split the pastry into the number of pies you want to make and then take about 2/3 of each ball to make the pie case - the rest is for making the lid. Roll out the larger ball of pastry out to a thickness of 2mm with a rolling pin. Rub the inside of the ramekins or rings with olive oil and push the pastry gently into the dish so that it goes into all of the edges and hangs over the top. Trim off the overhang to 1cm below the top of the ramekin (the pastry will shrink when cooking). You will be left with extra pastry for topping the pies later. Wrap this in cling-film so it doesn’t dry out.

4. Bake the pastry cases blind (without their filling) for 10 minutes – if you have some you can use baking beans on a piece of greaseproof paper. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for 5 minutes-the pastry should look dry; if it is wet return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

For the filling:

1. Heat a large saucepan and 2 tbsp of rapeseed or vegetable oil. Add the leeks and gently cook, with the lid on, for 10 minutes, checking that the leeks aren’t colouring as you cook.

2. Add the garlic and celeriac and raise the temperature. Fry the celeriac until it is starting to turn golden around the edges. Add the chestnuts, wine and herbs and stir well. If you want to add a splash of cream and/or cheese add it now.

3. Cook for 10 minutes or until the celeriac is just cooked. You may need to add a splash of water or wine to stop it from drying out. Taste and add salt, pepper, lemon juice and more herbs to your taste

To assemble the pies:

1. Carefully divide the filling mixture between the pastry cases (any leftovers are great to serve as a side dish or keep to eat the next day) make a hole in the middle of the filling and fill with a spoonful of cranberry sauce, then push the celeriac filling over the top of the cranberry.

2. Brush the top edge of the pastry with olive oil. Roll out the remaining pastry and place over the top of the ramekins. Press the edges securely and press a fork around the edges to seal.

3. Using a sharp knife trim off the cooked overhang and the uncooked pastry top neatly.

4. If you like you can decorate the pies with shapes such as stars, holly or whatever cutters you have or shapes you can cut with a knife. Stick these on with a little water and glaze the top of the pie with soya milk.

5. Bake for 15 minutes until the top of the pies are golden (or for 45 mins at 180° if you're making a single large pie). If you want to freeze or reheat the pies don’t overcook them at this stage, if you are eating them straight away bake for a further 5 minutes or a little longer for a whole pie. Allow to cool slightly and then carefully turn out the pies.

What to drink: Fortunately you can pair much the same type of wine with this pie as others in the family may be drinking with the turkey: a creamy chardonnay or a Rhône or Rhône-style blend of syrah, grenache and mourvèdre would both work well

Demuths is the centre of Bath at 6 Terrace Walk, BA1 1LN. Tel: +44 (0)1225 427938

Baked apples with porter cake crumbs and whiskey custard

A perfect, simple, but indulgent winter pudding from Trish Deseine's lovely new book about Irish cooking, Home. "Truly unbeatable when made with thick Irish cream, farmyard eggs and a dash of Bushmills."

Trish says "use Bramleys if you like your baked apples very fluffy and tart. Braeburns or any other eating apple will do otherwise."

For 4

10 minutes preparation

30 minutes cooking

4 medium sized Bramley, Braeburn or eating apples

50 g butter

4 teaspoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons porter cake (or dark fruit cake) crumbs

30 g butter

250 ml fresh milk

250 ml single cream

5 egg yolks

100 g sugar

Dash of Bushmills (or another Irish whiskey)

Core the apples, sit them upright in an ovenproof dish and put a little butter and a teaspoon of sugar in the gap where the core used to be.

Put them in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the custard and the crumbs.

Bring the milk and the cream to the boil in a saucepan but be very careful not to boil them.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they have doubled in volume and turned white.

Pour the hot milk onto the yolks, whisking as you go. Tip the eggy cream back into the pan and heat again, stirring all the while, until the custard starts to thicken. When the custard coats the back of a spoon, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard into a cold serving bowl to prevent it from curdling. Add a dash of whiskey.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the crumbs until they are crispy. Let them cool slightly.

Serve the apples in bowls with the hot custard and the crumbs sprinkled over.

From Home: Recipes from Ireland by Trish Deseine published by Hachette at £25. photograph © Deidre Rooney. Food styling Trish Deseine

What to drink: This is such a homely recipe I'm not sure it needs anything by way of wine but you could serve a glass of barley wine (which is a beer)

Fluffy apple and marmalade hotcakes with cinnamon butter

My friend cookery writer Sarah Randell has written the most enchanting book on marmalade full not only of great marmalade recipes but also some delicious ways of using them.

You can either make them for brunch or at teatime. "I often serve them in relays for brunch when friends or family are staying for the weekend" Sarah says. "Eat them hot from the pan."

Makes 16

150g (1 small) Bramley cooking apple

100g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon caster sugar

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons of your favourite marmalade (the apple harvest marmalade in the book is particularly good in these)

150g ricotta

2 tablespoons milk

butter and oil, for frying

FOR THE CINNAMON BUTTER

50g soft unsalted butter

1 tablespoon marmalade

1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

For the cinnamon butter, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl, using scissors to chop any large pieces of peel in the marmalade. Transfer the butter to the fridge to firm up.

Peel, core and dice the apple. Weigh the flour and put it into a mixing bowl, then add the baking powder, sugar and a pinch of salt and mix together. Make a well in the centre.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl, add the marmalade (again chopping any large pieces of peel), lightly whisk together with a fork, then tip into the well in the flour. Using a balloon whisk, gradually whisk the beaten eggs into the flour, followed by the ricotta and milk. Stir in the diced apple.

Heat a small knob of butter and a tablespoonful of oil in a non-stick frying pan until sizzling. Add a heaped dessertspoonful of batter per pancake, frying a few at a time over a low heat for 2-3 minutes on each side – they are ready to flip over when small bubbles appear at the edges. If the fat in the pan starts to darken and burn, wipe out the pan before heating more oil and butter.

Serve the hotcakes straight from the pan, topped with the cinnamon butter.

ALSO TRY

Tropical hotcakes – use lime and grapefruit or sweet orange and passion fruit marmalade in the hotcake mixture and in the flavoured butter, and substitute the cinnamon sugar with regular sugar mixed with a generous grating of nutmeg. Swap the ricotta for thick coconut yoghurt and serve the hotcakes drizzled with passion fruit pulp.

Extracted from MARMALADE: A Bittersweet Cookbook by Sarah Randell, published by Saltyard Books priced £20 and also available as an ebook. Visit http://potofmarmalade.uk/ to find out more.

Pumpkin, coconut and lentil soup

If you're carving a pumpkin for Hallowe'en this weekend here's a gorgeous spicy soup from Jenny Chandler's excellent book Pulse to make with the discarded pulp.

Jenny writes: "Pumpkin gives this soup a wonderful velvety texture and when it comes to the flavour, the Thai balance of spicy, sweet, sour and salty is vital. The chilli provides the spicy heat, so just keep adding small amounts of fish sauce or soy, lime juice and sugar until you reach perfection."

Pumpkin, coconut and lentil soup

Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil

small bunch of spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5-cm/2-in piece of fresh ginger, chopped

1–2 fiery chillies, finely chopped

2 stalks of lemongrass, outer leaves removed and remainder finely sliced

225 g/8 oz/generous 1 cup red lentils, rinsed

500 g/1 lb 2 oz pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and
cut into 2 cm/3⁄4 inch dice

1.2 litres/2 pints/5 cups vegetable or chicken stock

400 g/14 oz can of coconut milk

1 tbsp tamarind paste

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

Thai fish sauce or tamari soy sauce

juice of 1–2 limes

pinch of brown sugar or palm sugar (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add most of the spring onions (setting aside
a tablespoon to garnish). Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass and stir
for a minute or two, until you are engulfed in fabulous smells. You will be wheezing if you have been generous with the chilli!

Add the lentils, pumpkin or squash and the stock, and simmer until the lentils are soft and the pumpkin flesh has collapsed.

Stir in the coconut milk, tamarind and most of the coriander. Now taste and balance the soup with fish sauce or soy sauce, lime juice and sugar.

Serve hot, sprinkled with the remaining spring onions and coriander.

You could also:

... thin the soup with a little extra stock or water and add some sugarsnap peas for the last 2 minutes of cooking

... stir-fry some raw prawns with a little chilli and garlic and serve on top of the soup.

What to drink: I normally go for chardonnay with pumpkin but with these spicy Thai flavours I reckon a dry or off-dry Australian or New Zealand riesling would be a much better option.

Recipe from Pulse by Jenny Chandler, published by Pavilion at £26 . Photograph © Clare Winfield.