Vegetarian Christmas dinner

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
2. Slice the potatoes very thinly, either by hand or with the thinnest blade of a food processor - they should be no more than 3mm thick.
3. Pat the potato slices dry with a tea towel and mix immediately with the cream, nutmeg, garlic, salt, pepper and the finely sliced onion.
4. Butter an ovenproof dish about 30cm long and 6cm deep. Press most of the potatoes and onion firmly into the dish, finishing with the remaining slices placed neatly on top. Sprinkle with grated Gruyere and bake for 1½ hours until the potatoes are perfectly tender to the tip of a knife and the top is bubbling and golden. Serve at once.

Healthy Vegetable Stuffing
Serves 10

920g soft breadcrumbs
115g diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
115g diced celery
60g diced green bell pepper
60g diced red bell pepper
60g diced yellow pepper
170g diced courgette
170g diced yellow squash
170g diced carrots
150g sliced mushrooms
25g fresh parsley
115g diced shallots
115g sliced spring onions
115g frozen corn, thawed
675ml light vegetable stock

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, and celery in a few tbsp broth until it turns a pale golden colour.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and bake at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 30 minutes.

Caramelised Carrots and Parsnips
Serves 6

6 carrots
6 parsnips
olive oil to coat
1 tbsp maple syrup
4cm-piece ginger
dash Tabasco
1 mango, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the carrots and parsnips in halves or quarters lengthways.
2. In a bowl combine olive oil, maple syrup, ginger juice (grate the ginger then squeeze out the juice with your fingers), Tabasco, salt and pepper and the mango.
3. Put the carrots and parsnips in a roasting pan and coat with the mixture.
4. Roast for 30-40 minutes until crisp and caramelised on the outside and soft inside.

Yorkshire Pudding
Use your favourite recipe or try ours (using vegetable oil). Serve on top of a ragout of mushrooms and glazed onions, alongside the glazed parsnips and carrots with ginger.

Braised Fennel
Serves 6

This dish can be made the day before and reheated slowly before serving.

4 fennel bulbs, trimmed of their green shoots and quartered
300ml water
1 scant tsp marigold bouillon powder
4 tbsp sunflower or light olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Reserve the fine feathery shoots from the fennel.
2. Heat half the oil in a heavy based saucepan and add the fennel quarters. Fry them on all sides till catching and burnishing in places. Add the water, bouillon powder, the rest of the oil, sliced garlic and salt and pepper.
3. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes or until fennel is tender, the liquid is reduced to three-quarters and thickened to a coating sauce.