If you’re stuck on what to feed your vegan guests this Christmas, or are opting for a meatless celebration, this is the hero dish for you. This glazed swede has the sweet scent of bay leaf, cloves and sticky muscovado sugar. It will leave everyone curious and wanting more, even those Christmas ham worshippers.
Ingredients:
1 whole swede, peeled
12 whole cloves
2 sprigs of fresh bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water or vegetable stock
1/3 cup muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)
1 heaped tbsp Wholegrain mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan.
Using a sharp knife, score the swede diagonally both ways to create the classic christmas ham look. Make sure you cut about 1cm deep so the flavours seep through.
Press the cloves into the swede, this takes quite a bit of force!
Line a tray with tin foil, overlap two pieces if needed, you will be wrapping the swede in this. then place a sheet of baking paper on top of the foil. Lay the bay leaves on the baking paper, then place the clove-studded swede on top. Drizzle the oilve oil on top and give it a good grinding of salt and pepper. Start to bring the foil up around the swede to create a parcel, then pour the water/stock in and seal the tinfoil over the swede, trapping the liquid in.
Bake in the oven for about two hours, then check with a skewer and continue baking until the liquid has evaporated and the swede is soft, up to 4 hours. Add more liquid in if needed, this definitely helps speed up the process.
While the swede is baking, mix together the sugar, mustard and vinegar with a little salt and pepper and set aside.
Once the swede is soft, unwrap the top of the tinfoil parcel so it exposes the swede and pour the glaze over. Bake in the oven for a further 20-30 minutes until the glaze is bubbline and sticky.
Transfer the swede to a serving platter, with some fresh bay leaves for decoration, and carve. You can serve this with creme fraiche, or a vegan alternative, but it is delicious on its own.
