What’s your best vegetable sides for Christmas Dinner?

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nothings_new@reddit

Roast brussels with halloumi and orange zest.

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit (OP)

Buckfast? As in the fortified wine Scottish chavs drink?

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puncheonjudy@reddit

Don't diss Buckfast - tis lovely stuff

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit (OP)

I’ve never seen it on the shelves to be fair I have just seen all the memes of it making people go a bit loopy

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McDeathUK@reddit

Mashed carrots but instead of butter use cream cheese

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andreirublov1@reddit

Firstly, well done for calling it 'dinner' - 'Christmas lunch' is for assholes.

I think a standard roast is plenty nice, and to do it well is difficult enough without trying to make fancy side dishes that will spoil the overall flavour profile of the plate, Just make sure you have roast parsnips. :)

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Pottrescu@reddit

Honey to coat your roasted parsnips and carrots and throw some diced bacon in with your Brussels sprouts.

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

Caraway seeds on the carrots along with the honey are delicious

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JustJezebeluk@reddit

Have just started doing this and the carrots taste amazing!

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Lady_of_Lomond@reddit

Or chestnuts with the Brussels. This is also handy if you have any vegetarians at your table.

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Awkward_Chain_7839@reddit

Braised Red cabbage, roasted sprouts with bacon, roast parsnips (Nan used to make honey roast, I don’t bother because I’m the only one that has parsnip). I’m doing mac and cheese this year, my daughter doesn’t eat spuds (more roasties for me!) and likes pasta and gravy (blergh) and we usually have cauliflower cheese (surprisingly nice with gravy) but I’m doing stuffing and extra pigs in blankets instead.

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kat13gall@reddit

Carrots with Jack Daniel’s and butter = taste sensation!

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Ok-Advantage3180@reddit

We normally do Brussels sprouts (sometimes cooked with pancetta), roast parsnips, carrots, peas, cauliflower cheese, and braised red cabbage

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alibacon65@reddit

Braised red cabbage, I cooked mine in mulled wine with some apple/onion/sugar & a dash of vinegar. Delicious and it freezes really well so a good thing to make ahead of time!

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Devilonmytongue@reddit

Honey roast parsnips

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huskydaisy@reddit

When I've hosted my go-tos are:

Roasted sprouts with crispy bacon bits
Honey and mustard roast parsnips
Cauliflower and brocolli cheese

In hindsight I don't think any guest gave a shit as long as the meat, gravy and roast potatoes were on point.

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit (OP)

I’ve got a couple of vegetarians coming which has hamstrung my gravy and roast potatoes (no goose fat)

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crumpets289@reddit

Bisto is vegetarian! I use the granules but make sure to use the water from any veg to make it and it tastes great (been veggie for 9 years and would never expect someone to make me my own veggie gravy from scratch)

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KurtWuster@reddit

Just the red (beef) much to the surprise of many meat eaters. Chicken Bisto is not veggie.

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DiDiPLF@reddit

Trex is a vegetarian solid fat, can get it in morrisons, waitrose etc. But olive oil does a very nice job anyway.

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ButtweyBiscuitBass@reddit

My veggie gravy recipe is as follows

dice three large onions and sweat over a low heat in salt and circa 75g of butter. You want the onions to get a little colour but you are not caramelising them
add 75ml low salt soy sauce and about half a cap of cider apple vinegar to the onions
add 1.5lt water
make up a cornflour slurry with approx 2tbsp cornflour and add to pot
reduce by about 1/4
blend with immersion blender (don't be tempted to leave chunky, you need the sweetness of the onions to be incorporated into liquid) -adjust soy/ vinegar levels to taste but be extremely judicious with the vinegar. Easy to add too much and it can fuck up the gravy as a whole instantly

Ghee is the best veggie roast potatoe fat

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huskydaisy@reddit

Ah, vegetarians: The natural predator of the sunday roast.

I've found olive oil to be the best alternativ on the veggie front if there's not enough oven space to split.

I'd personally do seperate gravy though, M&S do a plant based one that's apparently quite good.

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DameKumquat@reddit

My family prefer olive oil for the roasties, and a bit of rosemary helps too.

Knorr do pots of excellent veggie concentrate for making veggie gravy, so you could do proper gravy too.

Braised red cabbage with apple. Chantenay carrots. Fried sliced mushrooms, with spices if you like. Fried red and yellow peppers look cheerful.

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ChelloRam@reddit

There is always a simple option for vegetarians. They can cook their own fucking dinner.

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KurtWuster@reddit

Roasted red cabbage and the underrated sprout

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Archbishopofcheese@reddit

Honeyed carrots and parsnips

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prawn_features@reddit

Love the carrot and swede mash, with equal parts swede, carrot and butter.

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hb16@reddit

Parsnip puree is really good. Easy to make, very rich so you don't need a lot

Braised hispi cabbage wedges are also something different that I liked

We always have roasted carrots and parsnips, roast potatoes, sprouts and Yorkshire pudding. The above are the different ones I experiment with and change yearly

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RevolutionaryPace167@reddit

Mashed cleric, sprouts- roasted with bacon bits and onion. Cauliflower cheese with a nice Stilton and cheddar in the sauce

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KezzaK2608@reddit

Braised red cabbage.

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pajamakitten@reddit

With grated apple.

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KezzaK2608@reddit

I put in grated apple, sultanas, brown sugar, sherry, freshly squeezed clementine juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Put it in the slow cooker overnight on Christmas Eve. The house smells delicious on Christmas morning.

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Arbdew@reddit

I do the cabbage braised in cider wwith thin slices of apple. Did it for the first time a few yars ago and everyone came back for more which is odd for a vegetable. Couldn't get hold of a red cabbage last year though.

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EdgarAlansHoe@reddit

My go to. Always use Delia's recipe and it turns out perfect.

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noddyneddy@reddit

We have braised red cabbage, sprouts with pancetta, carrot and swede mash, cauliflower cheese and maple roasted parsnips. Plus roasties, two stuffings, apple sauce, cranberry and port relish, pigs in blankets and yorkies as my niece is adamant to the subject

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Pyriel@reddit

Ooh, Good choice.

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Breaking-Dad-@reddit

Yeah, a family favourite for me growing up

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pajamakitten@reddit

Instead of cauliflower cheese, brussell sprout cheese.

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Nicodemus1thru10@reddit

I don't do pigs in blankets, I do stuffing balls in blankets (with my own homemade stuffing).

I also do a roast duck with spiced sherry and plum marinade (as well as turkey)

Red cabbage with apple

Roast potatoes

Maple roast parsnips

Ponchmipe (swede and potato mash)

Creamed leeks

Stir fried green beans

Steamed broccoli

Peas

Yorkshire puds

Proper turkey gravy with stock made from the veg peelings and giblets.

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Icy-Regret7424@reddit

Carrots

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PlinkPlonkFizz@reddit

Honey and olive oil roasted parsnips, with lots of salt and pepper.

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The_Salty_Red_Head@reddit

Maple roasted carrots and parsnips are my favourite.

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SilentSniperK@reddit

LEEKS & BACON

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Lopsided_Soup_3533@reddit

Asparagus tips wrapped in prosciutto (or parma ham or serrano ham)

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thecraftybee1981@reddit

Maple and whole grain roasted parsnips - roast the parsnips in olive oil and s&p and in last 5 minutes take them out tumble in a maple and mustard and sherry vinegar mix and put them back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Braised red cabbage with apple, cider, cider vinegar, onions - prepare the day before and just warm up in the oven, or a pan (or microwave) just before serving

Steamed/boiled sprouts that are then fried in butter with bacon, chestnuts, sage and Madeira or Marsala wine (can’t remember which one I used, but both should work, I imagine).

Crushed carrot & turnip

Minted peas

Cauliflower cheese or gratined leeks.

Stuffing - sausagemeat-based, but try different recipes each year

Devils on Horseback or mini pigs in blankets.

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wardyms@reddit

Personally I’m a fan of simplicity and you can over complicate things on any Sunday roast but especially Christmas.

If you nail the meat (or whatever the main is for non meat eaters), roast potatoes, gravy - nobody is going to care too much.

Cabbage, sprouts, parsnips, carrots etc can be very nice but are not the main event nobody how much pancetta and goose fat you throw at them.

Decent Yorkshire pudding can be a game changer though.

A second meat could also help it be memorable. Turkey is often forgettable but a nice bit of pink beef? Yes please.

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JeanHuguesAnglade@reddit

Cauliflower is NOT traditional at Christmas

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Unhappy_Tap9696@reddit

Might not be Christmasy per se, but I do corn on the cob ribs when I have family gatherings (plenty of recipes online), and they always go down a treat.

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wardyms@reddit

It seems a wild choice to add on the side of a roast dinner.

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GovernmentNo2720@reddit

You may not want to do broccoli if you’re doing cauliflower cheese. Swede is quite an under appreciated vegetable and it can either be made into a mash or cubed and roasted like butternut squash which is also a good alternative. I love sweet potato on the Christmas table and honey glazed carrots, extra points if they’re tender baby carrots.

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mhoulden@reddit

Mushrooms and leeks sautéd together

Rosti potatoes

Roast sprouts with almonds (or bacon). They want to be slightly browned on the outside for that maillard sweetness

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Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit

I do my sprouts in ham stock with pancetta or lardons, I deep fry my parsnips till they’re crispy outside, I do my roast tatties in goose fat (we’re having goose this year too and a bit silverside and a gammon) and I do broccoli, cauliflower, mustard mash, pigs in blankets, cheese board, Sherry trifle (my uncle always makes and brings it) a huge Yule log from the bakers and I haven’t decided if I’m doing cheese fondue with the food or chocolate with afters

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Pablomeisterr@reddit

Got one that we made up a few years ago now it’s a staple. We call it “sprout rubble”.

Sprouts, halved, blanched in boiling water. Pre-Cooked chestnuts, chopped. Smoked lardons. Cranberries, halved.

Fry the lardons til golden. Add pre-blanched sprouts til coloured but not overcooked. add cranberries. Add chestnuts to warm through. Add knob of butter and toss. Salt and pepper.

Gorgeous.

Good luck.

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Candy_Lawn@reddit

Roast parsnips preferably in goose fat.

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snecklesnecks@reddit

Creamed leeks, cook them long and slow with butter and add a dash of cream at the end

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ChelloRam@reddit

Brussels sprouts boiled or steamed until just tender, drain and add crispy bacon lardons and chestnuts fried in the bacon fat.

Red cabbage cooked with star anise.

Parsnips roasted in maple syrup.

Pigs in blankets.

Chantenay carrots boiled with a little orange peel and served with a nob of butter.

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Wibblejellytime@reddit

Delia Smith's red cabbage. Very Cristmasy but nice and easy too.

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Far-Bug-6985@reddit

Coleman’s do a glazed root vegetable sachet at Christmas and it makes them absolutely delish! I buy loads and hoard it!

I also like mashed sweet potato with plenty of pepper, cheesy leeks, kale in brown sugar and cider vinegar, braised red cabbage (although the Tesco frozen one is 10/10 oddly!) and Parmesan crusted sprout in the air fryer….oh and garlic and olive oil on some green beans and in the oven, removes the horrible squeak!

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit (OP)

Thanks. Will look out for the sachet!

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GlitchingGecko@reddit

Sprouts with bacon and wholegrain mustard
and roasted carrot and parsnip fries, with salted maple

We use thanksgiving as an opportunity for a 'practice turkey', so I'm cooking one tomorrow actually.

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit (OP)

Like the idea of carrots and parsnips as fries. Especially if I get some “rainbow” carrots, that could look visually quite nice.

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