Tom Kerridge's sausage, tomato and butterbean stew

You might associate Tom Kerridge with fancy cooking but his time with footballer Marcus Rashford has found its way into his latest book Real Life Recipes which are, as the tiitle suggests, basic easy recipes to cook for the family. This hearty sausage dish is perfect for the chilly weather we're having now

Tom writes: I guarantee this one-pot sausage stew will become a new regular on your midweek menu. It delivers on all fronts with filling beans, sweet cherry tomatoes and smokiness from the paprika. Get a good colour on the sausages in the pan first, as this really boosts the flavour.:

SERVES 4

1 tbsp olive oil

8 pork sausages

2 onions, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tbsp tomato purée

120ml red wine

400ml beef stock

2 tbsp rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed

150g cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat a large non-stick casserole pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the olive oil followed by the sausages. Cook, turning, for around 5–6 minutes or until well browned on all sides. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

2. Add the onions to the pan and sauté for 2–3 minutes then add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the paprika and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute before deglazing the pan with the wine. Let bubble, stirring gently, until the wine is reduced by half.

3. Add the beef stock, rosemary and tinned tomatoes and bring the sauce to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the sausages back to the pan, along with the butter beans. Leave to simmer gently for another 5 minutes or so.

4. Lastly stir in the cherry tomatoes and cook for another 2–3 minutes or until the tomatoes are just starting to break down. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle over the chopped parsley.

5. Divide the stew between warmed bowls or plates and serve with crusty bread, or mashed potato if you prefer.

What to drink: A hearty red - the same as you're putting in the stew would be perfect. I'd suggest an inexpensive Côtes du Rhône or Languedoc red.

Extract taken from Real Life Recipes by Tom Kerridge Published by Bloomsbury Absolute at £26 Photography © Cristian Barnett

Ravneet Gill's Miso Caramel and Chocolate Tart

Winter is a great time for baking so what better than this wonderfully indulgent Miso Caramel and Chocolate tart from pastry chef Ravneet Gill's delicious new book Sugar I Love You?

Ravneet writes: "Using a mix of cereal and melted chocolate for the base of a tart brings out my inner child. The base here is so madly addictive that it’s quite hard to not eat it before pressing it into the tart case. (Perhaps it’s better to make a double batch of the base so you can do just that.)

The use of a swirled-through miso caramel means that you don’t need to sprinkle sea salt flakes on top.

Miso Caramel and Chocolate Tart with a Crunchy Cereal Base

Makes a 20cm (8in) tart

For the tart case

100g dark chocolate, chopped
40g unsalted butter, melted
30g roasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed
90g bran flakes cereal, lightly crushed
pinch of sea salt flakes

For the miso caramel

35g caster sugar
7g/1⁄2 tbsp unsalted butter
65ml double cream
1 tbsp white miso paste

For the dark chocolate ganache

200g double cream
60g milk chocolate, chopped
90g dark chocolate, chopped

Start with the tart case. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Leave to melt, then allow to cool to room temperature) - or in short bursts in the microwave.

In a large bowl, mix together the hazelnuts, bran flakes and salt. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and stir well.

Press into a 20cm (8in) tart tin, into the bottom and up the sides. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t reach to the very top of the tin, you want just enough to give you a good edge of roughly 2.5cm (1in) deep. Place in the fridge to chill for up to an hour.

For the miso caramel, make a direct caramel in a saucepan by placing it over a medium heat, sprinkling in the sugar and letting it melt to a dark caramel. Add the butter and whisk well, then pour in the cream and let it bubble for a minute.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the miso paste. Set aside for a few minutes. When the caramel has cooled slightly, pour it into a heatproof dish and allow to cool further. We want it to be at pouring consistency but not hot.

To make the ganache, in the same pan that you’ve just poured the caramel from, add the cream and heat until steaming.

Place both the chocolates into a large heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream. Let it sit for a minute before stirring with a whisk from the middle outwards until melted and smooth. Pour into the chilled tart shell and let it sit for 2 minutes.

Take the miso caramel and drizzle thickly all over the ganache. Use a butter knife to drag the caramel through the ganache to form swirls, then place in the fridge to set for 4 hours.

This will keep in the fridge for 2–3 days, but is best eaten as soon as the ganache has set.

What to drink: I'm not sure that a dessert wine isn't too much of a good thing with this wickedly sweet tart but if you disagree you go for it! Personally I'd go for a sweet sherry or madeira or a tawny port. Black coffee for me!

Extracted from: Sugar, I Love You: Knockout recipes to celebrate the sweeter things in life by Ravneet Gill, published by Pavilion Books. Image credit Ellis Parrinder.

Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie

I love a one tin cookbook and the latest that's caught my eye is Rosie Sykes Roasting Pan Suppers which she's written for the National Trust. This is less of a supper dish obviously than an indulgent cake but none the worse for that!

Rosie says "The tahini gives the brownie a distinctive flavour and the banana keeps it wonderfully moist."

Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie.

SERVES 8–10

300g dark chocolate

75g butter

100g tahini, plus a generous tablespoon to finish

3 eggs

200g soft light brown sugar

2 ripe bananas, mashed

80g rye flour

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), gas mark 4. Line a small roasting pan or baking tin (approx. 30 x 20cm) with a reusable silicone baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate, butter and tahini in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt together until light and fluffy. Fold in the mashed bananas, then the melted chocolate mix. You will notice that the mixture starts to thicken a little. When everything is thoroughly mixed, carefully fold in the flour until fully incorporated.

Turn into the prepared tin and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of tahini all over the top. Then sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 25–30 minutes until the brownie is just set – it should still feel soft and moist. Leave the tin on a wire rack to cool for an hour or so. Imagine this warm with some cream or ice cream on top!

TIP These brownies could be made gluten-free by substituting the rye flour for a gluten-free flour.

From Roasting Pan Suppers by Rosie Sykes, published by National Trust. Photograph by Dan Jones.

Baked polenta with feta, béchamel and za’atar tomatoes

Ring the changes with this brilliant homemade alternative to a takeaway pizza from Ottolenghi and Noor Murad's book Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, Extra Good Things

"It’s not a pizza, insisted Noor, when referring to this baked polenta which does in fact look like a giant pizza. It ended up with multiple names at the Test Kitchen such as ‘polenta-pizza’, ‘polizza’ or ‘polenta not-a-pizza’. It really is a happy-looking pie with its yellows and reds and wonderfully golden edges. Serve with a chicory salad or anything leafy and green. You can keep this gluten-free by swapping out the flour for gluten-free flour, if you like."

Serves 4-6
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hr 30 minutes

80g unsalted butter

50g plain flour

750ml whole milk

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

200g quick cook polenta

65g pecorino romano, roughly grated

180g Greek feta, roughly crumbled

5g oregano sprigs (try to use the softer sprigs)

Za’atar tomatoes

400g datterini or cherry tomatoes

120ml olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp za’atar

1/2 tsp caster sugar

5g parsley roughly chopped

5g oregano leaves, roughly chopped

Salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan
2. Make the za’atar tomatoes. Put the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium baking dish, roughly 30cm x 20cm. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through or until the tomatoes have just burst but aren’t completely falling apart. Remove the foil, gently stir in the za’atar and sugar and leave to cool completely. Once cool, stir in the herbs (gently so as not to break up the tomatoes).
3. Turn the heat up to 230°C fan (if your oven will go up that far. I’d need to use another setting on mine FB). Line a large baking tray roughly 40 x 30cm in size with baking parchment.
4. Put 40g of the butter into a medium saucepan over a medium high heat. Once melted, add the flour and cook, whisking continuously for 30 seconds or until it smells like popcorn. Slowly pour in 350ml of the milk, whisking continuously to avoid any lumps, then add the garlic, 1/2 tsp of salt and plenty of pepper, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often until quite thick and no longer floury-tasting. Set aside and cover with a piece of baking parchment to stop a skin forming.
5. Meanwhile prepare the polenta by first putting the remaining 400ml of milk, 300ml of water, 20g of the butter, 1 1/4 tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium sauté pan or saucepan over a medium high heat. Once it gently bubbles, turn the heat down to medium-low, slowly add the polenta, whisking continuously to incorporate and cook for 2 minutes to thicken. Add the pecorino and the remaining 20g of butter and stir with a spatula until incorporated. Quickly transfer to your prepared baking tray and spread out in a large oblong shape about 1cm thick and 38cm in length. Spoon over the bechamel and spread it so it covers the surface, leaving a 1 1/2 cm rim exposed around the edges. Top evenly with the feta and the oregano sprigs and bake for 22 minutes or until golden and bubbling on top and starting to brown round the edges. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.
6. Spoon about half the za’atar tomatoes on top of the baked polenta, serving the rest in a bowl alongside. Use a pizza cutter to easily cut into slabs and serve warm

What to drink: A light juicy Italian red like a young chianti or rosso di montalcino or a mencia, cinsault or pais.

Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Extra Good Things by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Nurad published by Ebury Press at £25, Photograph © Elena Heatherwick.