Honey-glazed carrots with onion and caramelised walnuts

Serves 6 Sauces and accompaniments

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Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Cut the tops away from the carrots, leaving 3cm of stalk still attached. Pick the green leaves off the tops, wash and reserve. Peel and wash the rest of the carrots.

Coat the carrots in the beef dripping in a small roasting tray and season with salt. Roast for 15 minutes, before adding the butter and honey. Mix well and roast for another 15 minutes. You want the carrots to caramelise but still have a little bite – keep testing them with a skewer.

Leave the carrots to rest while you heat the onion purée and roughly chop the walnuts.

To serve, get a lovely sharing dish or platter and start by spreading over the warm onion purée. Add a layer of carrots and pour over the carrot resting juices and fats. Finally, sprinkle over the carrot top leaves and the caramelised walnuts.

Lyonnaise onions

SERVES 6 AS A SIDE

Combine the onions with the beef fat and salt in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Add the thyme and gently stew until the onions begin to caramelise, stirring occasionally. This takes a couple of hours to do properly.

When the onions are a rich golden brown colour, remove from the heat and strain off any excess fat. If you want to store them for a few weeks, don’t discard the fat but leave it covering the onions to preserve them.

Caramelised walnuts

SERVES 4 AS A SNACK

In a heavy-based saucepan, warm the sugar and 400ml water over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, drop the walnuts in. Bring to a medium simmer until the water reaches 116C.

Meanwhile, heat some oil for deep-frying in a small saucepan to 180C (or use a deep-fat fryer).

Drain the walnuts through a colander and shake off the excess sugar syrup. While the walnuts are still hot, deep-fry them in the hot oil for 15-20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper. Season generously with Maldon salt.