Marcus Everyday: Easy Family Food for Every Kind of Day

FOR THE PICKLING LIQUOR

100ml white wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE

100ml carrot juice (fresh or shop-bought)

3 coriander seeds

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

50ml olive oil

1 Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 7.

2 Cut half of the carrots in half, lengthways. Thinly slice the remaining carrots and put half aside to pickle.

3 To make the pickling liquor, place the vinegar and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Put half the sliced carrots in a heatproof bowl, pour the hot pickling liquor over the carrots and set aside.

4 Coat the halved carrots with the vegetable oil and season well with salt, pepper and half of the star anise, grated over the carrots using a Microplane or other fine grater. Place in a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 20–25 minutes until golden, tossing them once halfway through the cooking time.

5 Place the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 8–10 minutes until a deep golden colour, shaking them halfway through. Remove from the oven and set aside 20g for sprinkling over the finished dish and place the rest in a small blender. Season with salt, add 2–4 tablespoons of water and blitz to form a purée – it should have a slightly looser texture than peanut butter. Set aside.

6 To make the vinaigrette, put the carrot juice in a medium saucepan with the coriander seeds and remaining half of the star anise and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly for a few minutes, until the liquid has reduced to around 25ml, then remove from the heat and strain into a small bowl. Mix in the rice wine vinegar and olive oil, and season with salt.

7 To assemble the dish, place the remaining sliced carrots in a bowl and dress them with the carrot vinaigrette. Spoon the pine nut purée onto 4 plates. Top with the warm roasted carrots, pickled carrots and dressed carrots. Finish with the remaining toasted pine nuts, some reserved carrot tops and the tarragon leaves.

Parsnip, Rosemary and Horseradish Gratin (#ulink_d5f09d75-be7c-5e14-8406-9e8ba1da2dfc)

This can be a side or a main dish. Gratins are one of the best comfort foods around, and a handy thing to cook given all the preparation can be done in advance of when you need to serve it. You can even bake it a couple of days ahead, then reheat to serve. I like to serve this with roast chicken or braised meat on a cold winter’s night.

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 1¼ HOURS, PLUS 30 MINUTES INFUSING

225ml single cream

525ml milk

½ onion, thinly sliced

½ nutmeg, finely grated

2 bay leaves

½ bunch of rosemary, leaves stripped

1 tsp table salt

4 tbsp fresh grated horseradish or 4 tbsp horseradish sauce

6 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 5mm-thick slices

1 Put the cream, milk, onion, nutmeg, bay leaves, rosemary leaves and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes then remove from the heat and blend using a stick blender until the herbs have broken down. Cover the surface of the mixture with clingfilm and leave to infuse for 30 minutes, then pass it through a fine sieve and retain the liquid. Stir through the grated horseradish or horseradish sauce.

2 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

3 Place a layer of parsnip slices on the bottom of a 20 × 20cm baking dish, then cover with a little of the milk mixture. Repeat, ensuring the parsnips are fully submerged in the liquid. Cover the entire dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20–25 minutes until a knife inserted into the gratin meets no resistance.

4 Remove from the oven and serve.

MARCUS’ TIP:

I prefer a roast dinner with one side done really well, rather than three or four different vegetables on the plate – one great dish like this one that has a bit more effort put into it makes it much more interesting. Nothing wrong with that.

Celeriac, Ham Hock and Barley Hot Pot (#ulink_3b0b00ae-1f7a-594e-b07b-c67f2ca0ad45)

As far as winter warmers go, this one ticks all the boxes. Celeriac is such a versatile ingredient, to serve both raw and cooked. It is a winter staple for me and it pairs well with the salty, rich ham hock in this recipe. Just add some fresh bread and you have a great winter’s lunch or supper. Always remember to bring ham hocks to the boil in a pan of water then drain them before cooking, otherwise they will be too salty.

SERVES: 4–6 | PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: ABOUT 3¾ HOURS

1 smoked ham hock (about 1kg)

½ bunch of thyme, tied with string

200g pearl barley, rinsed

100g yellow split peas, rinsed

1 celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped

4 onions, roughly chopped

4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 leek, rinsed and roughly chopped

½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped

freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the ham hock in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain and rinse the ham under cold running water. Place the ham back in the pan, cover with fresh cold water and add the thyme and a generous grind of black pepper. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 2½ hours, topping up the water to ensure the ham is always submerged.

2 Add the pearl barley and split peas and cook for a further 30 minutes.

3 Check to see if the hock is cooked by putting the handle of a spoon into the flesh: if the handle meets no resistance, the meat is cooked. If the meat doesn’t yet yield to the spoon handle, continue to cook it, checking every 15 minutes. Remove the hock, add the remaining ingredients, apart from the parsley, and simmer for a further 30 minutes.

4 Using two forks, remove the skin from the hock, discard it and shred the meat. Return the meat to the pot and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Remove the bunch of thyme.