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Here you can post recipes for the season: winter :).

Winter recipes

Sweet potato & butternut squash soup with lemon & garlic toast

Prep: 30 mins Cook: 1 hr
Easy
Serves 8 - 10

Roast your vegetables in honey before blitzing into this velvety smooth, spiced soup - served with garlicky, zesty ciabatta slices for dipping


Nutrition per serving (10)

kcalories: 435, fat: 19g, saturates: 9g, carbs: 51g, sugars: 16g, fibre: 7g, protein: 11g, salt: 1.2g.

Ingredients

For the soup

500g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
1 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1l vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
100ml double cream

For the toast

1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
100g butter, at room temperature
zest 1 lemon
2 tbsp snipped chives
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 ciabatta loaves, cut into slices


Method

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the sweet potato and butternut squash on a baking tray and add the honey and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast for 40-45 mins until soft and starting to caramelise at the edges, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, fry the onions in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft, then add the garlic, chicken stock, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 mins.

Remove the sweet potatoes and butternut squash from the oven and add to the pan with the stock. Blend everything until smooth using a stick blender. Stir in most of the cream and bring back to a gentle simmer, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the lemon & garlic toasts, gently warm the olive oil and garlic in a pan over a low heat for a few mins; the garlic should be softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter and lemon zest until smooth. Leave to cool, then stir in the chives and thyme.

Toast the ciabatta slices, and top each with a spoonful of garlic butter. Serve with the soup, drizzled with the remaining cream, and some black pepper.

Beef rendang & turmeric rice

Prep: 40 mins Cook: 2 hrs, 30 mins
Easy
Serves 6

Cover beef shin in coconut milk and spices and add toasted desiccated coconut to thicken the rich sauce in this slow-cooked Malaysian favourite

Ingredients

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2kg beef shin or skirt, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 lemongrass stalks, bashed (see 'Tip' for how to prepare)
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
4 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1½ tbsp chicken stock powder (we used one from an Asian supermarket)
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tsp golden caster sugar
¼ tsp salt

For the paste

15 dry chillies
6-8 baby shallots
thumb-sized piece ginger, chopped
thumb-sized piece galangal, peeled and chopped (use ginger if you can’t find it)
3 lemongrass stalks, chopped

For the rice

2 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp turmeric
10 curry leaves (optional)
700g jasmine rice
2 tsp chicken stock powder


Method

For the paste, soak the chillies in boiling water for 15 mins. Drain, remove seeds and whizz with the rest of the paste ingredients in a small food processor until smooth.

Heat the oil in a wok or a heavy-based flameproof casserole dish. Fry the paste for 5 mins until the aroma is released. Add the beef and the lemongrass, and mix well. Once the beef starts to lose its pinkness, add the coconut milk and 250ml water. Bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer, uncovered. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking, and more often towards the end.

Meanwhile, toast the coconut in a frying pan on a low heat for 5-7 mins until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Using a blender, coarsely blend it to finer pieces – but not too fine. Put to one side.

After 2 hrs, add the coconut, kaffir lime leaves, chicken stock powder, tamarind paste, sugar and salt to the pan. Simmer for 30 mins more. You should start to see the oil separating from the mix. It’s ready when the meat is tender and almost falling apart.

For the rice, use a heavy-based saucepan with a lid. Heat the oil in the pan and add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping, add the turmeric, curry leaves (if using) and rice, and mix well. Add the chicken stock and 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, then turn down to the lowest simmer and cook, covered, for 5 mins. Remove from the heat, with the lid on and leave to steam for 25 mins.

Squidgy chocolate pear pudding

Prep: 20 mins Cook: 35 mins
Easy
Serves 8

This hot, gooey chocolate pud, with dark chocolate and canned pears, can be made ahead and frozen - a perfect no-fuss dinner party dessert

Ingredients

200g butter, plus extra for greasing
300g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
75g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
410g can pear halves in juice, drained
100g plain dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
25g flaked almonds (optional)
cream or ice cream, to serve


Method

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Lightly grease a roughly 20 x 30cm shallow ovenproof dish. Put the butter in a large saucepan and place over a low heat until just melted. Remove the butter from the heat and stir in the sugar until well combined.

Whisk the eggs together in a large bowl. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar, beating well with a wooden spoon in between each addition. Sift the flour and cocoa powder on top of the egg mixture, then beat hard with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.

Pour into the prepared tin or dish and nestle the pears into the chocolate batter. Put the chocolate on a board and cut into chunky pieces roughly 1.5cm with a large knife. Scatter the chocolate pieces over the batter and sprinkle with almonds, if you like. Can be frozen at this stage.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 mins or until the mixture is crusty on the surface and lightly cooked inside. Do not allow to overcook, as the cake will become spongy rather than gooey in the centre. Serve warm with cream or ice cream

Persian lamb tagine

Prep: 25 mins Cook: 1 hr, 50 mins
Moderately easy
Serves 8 - 10

This warming stew is spiced with cinnamon and cumin, and sweetened with apricots and dates - perfect with fluffy couscous


Ingredients

2kg lamb neck fillets
5 tbsp mild olive oil or sunflower oil
3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
large pinch of saffron
2 cinnamon sticks
2 preserved lemon (from a jar), drained and cut into thin wedges
300g ready-to-eat dried apricot
250g ready-to-eat dried pitted dates
100g shelled pistachios
2 tsp rosewater
25g cornflour
small bunch coriander, leaves roughly chopped
cooked couscous or basmati rice, to serve


Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Trim the lamb of any hard fat, cut into chunks and season all over. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the lamb in 3-4 batches over a high heat for 1-2 mins until lightly coloured. Add 1 tbsp more oil between each batch and transfer to a bowl each time a batch is browned.

Heat the remaining oil in the same dish over a medium heat and fry the onions for 5 mins or until softened and lightly coloured. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, 1 tsp ground black pepper and 1 tsp flaked sea salt. Cook for 1 min, stirring. Return the lamb to the dish and add 1.5 litres of water, the saffron, cinnamon and lemons. Bring to a simmer, stirring a few times. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hr.

Carefully remove the dish from the oven and stir in the apricots, dates and half the pistachios, then cover once more and return to the oven. Cook for a further 30 mins or until the lamb is very tender.

Transfer the dish to the hob and adjust the seasoning to taste. Mix the cornflour with the rosewater and 3 tbsp cold water, then stir into the tagine. Cook over a medium heat for 1-2 mins or until the sauce thickens. (Thickening the sauce with cornflour isn’t traditional but helps the tagine to freeze more successfully.) When ready to serve, roughly chop the remaining nuts and sprinkle over the top. Garnish with coriander and serve with couscous or rice.

Chicken & ham lasagne

Prep: 20 mins Cook: 50 mins
Easy
Serves 6 - 8

This comforting dish of layered pasta sheets, meat and spinach is topped with gooey, melted cheese - freeze now for entertaining later

Ingredients

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (around 700g)
½ medium onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
200ml white wine
100g butter
100g plain flour
500ml semi-skimmed milk
140g sliced smoked ham, cut into strips
200g young spinach leaves
225g no pre-cook dried lasagne sheets (about 20 sheets)
200g ready-grated mozzarella
25g Parmesan, finely grated


Method

Put the chicken breasts in a medium saucepan with the onion, bay leaves and wine. Pour over just enough water to cover, around 200ml. Put a lid on top and bring to a gentle simmer. Poach gently for 15 mins or until the chicken is just cooked. Transfer the chicken to a board and strain the liquid into a jug.

Melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook for about a minute. Gradually add the milk, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition to ensure the sauce stays smooth. Once all the milk has been added, stir in the reserved cooking liquid and continue cooking for a further 2-3 mins. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Cut the chicken into small chunks and stir into the saucepan. Add the ham and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Spoon a third of the chicken mixture into the base of a 3-litre lasagne dish (about 26 x 18cm). Top with a third of the lasagne sheets. Repeat the layers twice more, ending with lasagne. Scatter the mozzarella and Parmesan on top and season with black pepper. Can be frozen at this stage (see below). Bake for about 25 mins or until the lasagne is tender, the topping is well browned and the filling hot.