(It will separate somewhat, so it will need a good stir before serving.)ĭrain the potatoes, add the butter and a little salt and mash until smooth with a masher, ricer or electric mixer. (I find the blender gives a slightly better texture.) Add the garlic clove, peeled, the olive oil and the water then process to a smooth, green sauce and set aside. Make the sauce by putting the basil, lemon juice, anchovies, tarragon, parsley, cornichons, capers and mustard into a blender or food processor. Add the leaves and continue cooking for a couple of minutes till tender, then drain and set aside. Warm a couple of tablespoons of oil in a shallow pan and fry the chard stems and spring onions for a minute or two. Pile the leaves on top of each other, roll them tightly then cut into fine shreds. Separate the chard leaves from their stems. Test them with a skewer to check their tenderness, they will take anything from 10-20 minutes depending on the variety.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces and steam them in a steamer basket over boiling water covered with a tight lid, or boil them in salted water. Ground nut or vegetable oil for deep frying When frying the fritters, make sure not to cook too many at once, as overcrowding the pan will lower the temperature of the oil and the fritters will be heavy. You could easily veganise this recipe by using a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in place of the butter and by omitting the anchovies, in which case the sauce will need a little salt. Bubble and squeak fritters, lemon salsa verde The big day itself might be over, but there is plenty of life in the feast yet. With its hint of cinnamon and dark muscovado sugar it has the feel of lebkuchen about it – the sort of cake Hansel and Gretel might have baked. What emerges from the oven is a heaven-scented cake poised between fruitcake and ginger loaf, which I then give a crisp coating with dark chocolate.

So I make a ginger cake, freckle the mixture with prunes and candied peel and stir in the final spoonfuls of mincemeat from the jar. There are still cake crumbs in the biscuit tin, the odd raisin and lump of icing with a bottle brush tree attached, but another cake is needed to get us to New Year.

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