What meal would be complete without a delicious side dish? From dinner parties with loved ones to cosy evening meals with your family, create a seriously knockout meal by plating up one of the below brilliant side dishes as well.
From decadent Hasselback roasties to moreish chorizo and pear cabbage, there’s the perfect side dish here for you.
Thyme and Taleggio Hasselback Roasties
This side is best served with roast gammon or chicken, or as a main meal with a delicious green salad. Taleggio is a meltingly delicious Italian cheese, named after the caves of Val Taleggio.
When time is of the essence and you need a speedy potato side, serve up skin on chips from McCain in place of the Hasselback roasties. These big, chunky, skin-on chips taste just as delicious when served with gammon or chicken and are only 3% fat.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5kg Charlotte potatoes
- a couple of sprigs of thyme, plus extra to serve
- 3 skin-on cloves of garlic, bashed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 200g taleggio, rind discarded, and sliced
- a drizzle of runny honey
METHOD
- Preheat your oven to 200°C. Cut down into the potatoes at half-centimetre interludes, being sure to stop prior to the knife slicing all the way through. When cutting, this process is made easier if you place a potato between two wooden-spoon handles when cutting, stopping the knife going all the way down.
- Pour the prepared potatoes, thyme and garlic into a large bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over a little salt and pepper, then toss to coat.
- Arrange in a non-stick roasting tin and cook until the potatoes are almost soft.
- Garnish the top of the potatoes with the Taleggio then give them another couple of minutes to melt the cheese.
- Top with the fresh thyme leaves and drizzle with a little honey before serving.
Chorizo and Pear Cabbage
Packed with bold flavours, this dark-red cabbage is a real treasure and will bring a splash of colour to any table. Shredded red cabbage with slivers of pear and crispy chorizo is a match made in heaven, especially when paired with fennel seeds and red onion.
Serve this stylish side with crusty bread or grilled chicken.
INGREDIENTS
- 150g quality chorizo
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 red onion
- 1 red cabbage, (1kg)
- dash red wine vinegar
- 1 x 410 g tin of sliced pears, in natural juice
METHOD
- Roughly chop the chorizo and arrange in a large casserole pan on a medium heat. Fry for a couple of minutes, or until the chorizo has released its oils.
- Tip in the fennel seeds. Peel and finely dice the red onion, scatter into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, or until tender.
- Snip away any worn outer leaves from the red cabbage, clip the base, then slice into wedges and cut up roughly.
- Tip into the pan with a good glug of red wine vinegar, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Cook, keeping the lid ajar, on a low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Combine the tinned pears, with a little of the juice, and carry on cooking for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft.
Crispy Fried Cabbage
Isn’t crispy seaweed just so good with Chinese food? Now you can make your very own. The British takeaway classic is, in fact, made from dark-green cabbage and can be on the table in a mere 20 minutes.
When you’re next hosting a dinner party, be sure to plate up this delicious side with sweet-and-sour pork or beef in black bean sauce.
INGREDIENTS
- 10-12 Savoy cabbage leaves, tough outer leaves discarded
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt
- ½ tsp soft light brown sugar
- pinch of Chinese five-spice
- vegetable oil for deep-frying
METHOD
- Detach the leaves from the cabbage, snip away the stalks and chop the leaves finely. Blanch in boiling water for a minute or so and drain fully.
- Dab the shredded cabbage with kitchen paper until completely dried.
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, sugar and five-spice.
- Pour vegetable oil into a pan, so it’s one third full. Heat to 160°C (you’ll know the temperature is right if a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds or so).
- Cook little bunches of the cabbage for 30 seconds (be careful, as hot oil may spit) or until thoroughly crisp, then drain on kitchen towel.
- Place into a bowl and garnish with the spice mixture and enjoy.
Celeriac Puree
Easy to make, this buttery puree makes a great garnish to a seared steak. Celeriac’s sweet nuttiness is a wonderful alternative to mashed potato. And why not use any remaining puree with a bit of vegetable or chicken stock to make a scrumptious soup?
INGREDIENTS
- 50g butter
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 celeriac 1 (about 750g), peeled and cut into 2cm dice
- 150ml double cream
METHOD
- Liquefy the butter in a big pan with the vegetable oil, then tip in the celeriac and a good pinch of salt.
- Use scissors to cut out a round piece of baking paper so it’s the same size as the pan and cover the celeriac.
- Cook softly, stirring frequently, until the celeriac is tender and beginning to crumple. Add a dash of water to the pan if it begins to stick.
- Next, bring the double cream to the boil in a small pan.
- Pour the celeriac and butter into a food processor and blitz until creamy.
- Pour in the double cream, a little at a time, between blends, until it’s a feathery liquidised texture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and push through a fine sieve. Warm up a little, then enjoy!
If you’re searching for sides that steal the show, we’ve got you covered. Whatever the season or whatever the main dish, you’ll discover the perfect side dish, right here – from Hasselback roasties with your roast gammon to aromatic crispy seaweed for a Chinese spread.
