Solstice is just around the corner, and I’ve put together a lovely spread you want to share with family or friends and mark the return to light in the weeks ahead.
Since this year, the shortest day falls on a Friday it’s all the more reason to commemorate the shift in season. The past six months we have been moving towards shorter darker days and now it’s time to bring on the light!
While cozy tealights and a roaring fire are all in order, so is a seasonal meal that is both warming and comforting. Holly, pine and mistletoe all have long been associated with solstice and if available could be added to set the mood.
Join me in welcoming in this change in seasons and enjoy this feast of flavors!
Jamie Oliver’s Winter Salad
•½ a red cabbage
•½ a white cabbage
•2 large carrots
•4 spring onions
•a few shoots from winter cabbages, such as kale or cavolo nero , optional
•300 ml milk- any plant based milk will do
•4 anchovies, from sustainable sources- replaced with a heaping spoonful of chickpea miso or other miso paste of your choice
•6 cloves of garlic
•2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
•6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
•1 handful of mixed seeds, such as poppy, sesame and sunflower
•½ a bunch of fresh mint
Meera Sodha’s Parsnip and Carrot Mulligatawny soup
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 green finger chilli, very finely chopped
2 carrots (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
2 parsnips (250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
150g red lentils, washed and drained
1¼ litres vegetable stock
Salt
For the parsnip crisps
1 parsnip
1 ½ tbsp rapeseed oil
Susan Power’s Cinnamon Ginger Truffles
2 cups almonds, ground fine
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup agave or liquid sweetener of your choice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
dried coconut
cacao powder