Ginger is quite amazing in its versatility, a bit like lemons, you can add it to both sweet and savoury dishes and if in sensible quantities, it’ll improve them.
Basic ingredient in Oriental cuisines, you can make it into a drink and persuade yourself that it cures cold, especially if you join it with lemon and honey. There is anecdotal evidence that it might relieve pain and nausea. Made in heaven match for duck, enlivens bland vegetables (just a grating will transform stir fried pak choi or string beans – okay, with admittedly a dash of oyster sauce and a glug of sesame oil) but I do love it best in baking.
Gingerbreads, or Lebkuchen, are my firm favourites and the Christmassy, German in provenance honey and ginger cake likewise. Here’s a classic: ginger cookies, quite a bit more chewy than the popular British ginger snaps – these are cookies rather than biscuits. If you use only white sugar they’ll be less chewy. The crystallised ginger can be swapped for preserved stem ginger.
The recipe was found here and I improvised on it a little.